The Chinese calendar calls 2010 the “Year of the Tiger.” In terms of recruiting, 2010 has certainly been a successful year for the Tigers.LSU reeled in 27 signees for the 2010 recruiting class, earning top-10 finishes in Rivals.com, Scout.com and ESPN.com class rankings.The class consists of 15 four-star commits along with one five-star prospect, Spencer Ware.Ware is the No. 19 overall prospect according to Rivals.com and is arguably the highlight of LSU’s class. A Cincinnati native, Ware chose LSU over an abundance of offers from across the country and will likely join the Tigers as a running back.Ware is one of the most distant recruits in the 2010 class with 860 miles separating Cincinnati from Baton Rouge. While LSU is known for rounding up in-state talent, more than half of the recruits from the 2010 class come from beyond Louisiana’s borders.Eight states in addition to Louisiana are represented in the 2010 recruiting class, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.Scout recruiting analyst Sonny Shipp said the recent success of the football team is the main factor in garnering out-of-state recruits.”Ever since LSU won two national titles, they are recruiting nationally,” Shipp said. “You are going to see more out-of-state recruiting with it.”Miles has had a reputation of putting together some of the nation’s top recruiting classes throughout his tenure at LSU regardless of where the athletes come from.But with two of Miles’ best recruiters — D.J. McCarthy and Larry Porter — leaving the team, Miles had to act fast to fill the recruiting holes.LSU hired former Tennessee wide receivers coach Frank Wilson to coach running backs and help lead the recruiting front. A native of New Orleans, Wilson attended Nicholls State University and has coached in the Southeastern Conference four of the last five years, including two years at Ole Miss.Rivals recruiting analyst Mike Scarborough said despite the short time Wilson has had at LSU, he has already made his presence known.”Frank Wilson has had a big impact since he’s arrived at LSU,” Scarborough said. “That’s why they’ve got a lot of these guys committed right now.”Miles also brought in former Florida wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales to help with recruiting along with coaching wide receivers. Gonzales, who has coached at Florida since 2005, was also assigned to be the passing game coordinator for the 2010 season.Shipp said Miles had big shoes to fill with the coaching losses and that the hires he made did just that.”Les Miles had to go out and hit two home runs as far as guys who were just as good recruiters,” Shipp said. “I think he did that in Frank Wilson and Billy Gonzales.”The recruiting success has not been limited to the football field, though. LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson has also compiled one of the nation’s top recruiting classes.Johnson has received five signees for the 2010 class, along with transfer Justin Hamilton.The 6-foot-11-inch, 260-pound center played in 31 games last season for Iowa State, averaging 6.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.The 2010 basketball class consists of three three-star prospects and one four-star prospect.Matt Derenbecker, the sole four-star prospect, is a 6-foot-6-inch small forward from Metairie and is listed in the Rivals Top 150 recruits for the 2010 class.Tim Miller, head coach of newly signed point guard K.C. Ross-Miller, spoke highly of LSU athletics and its success in sports across the board.”I like the coaching staff and the tradition of the school,” Miller said. “They reach for excellence — not just in basketball but in every sport.”The door has closed on the 2010 recruiting season, but the 2011 door is still wide open.LSU has already received 10 verbal commitments for the 2011 class. Breaking the trend from last year, nine of the 10 recruits are Louisiana natives.Scarborough said Louisiana is full of talent for 2011, and LSU’s class has potential to be one of the best.”I think of the seven, there are probably four or five of them that are Rivals 100-type of guys,” Scarborough said.Scarborough said he sees potential for two or three of LSU’s commits to end with five-star rankings.Shipp attributes LSU’s recruiting success to its ability to produce NFL talent year after year.”At the end of the day, LSU’s reputation for winning and sending players to the NFL is what’s going to get you top recruits,” Shipp said.Rivals recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg said the future of LSU recruiting is a bright one.”In terms of recruiting, LSU will always be fine,” Newberg said.
 
 
 
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