While most people assume summer is the offseason for football, Les Miles and staff are far from off the clock.The Mad Hatter is hard at work again putting together yet another superb recruiting class for 2011. With 11 verbal commitments already under his belt, Miles has gotten a jump start on this year’s recruiting class.And the job is far from over.Summer practices and camps are taking place at schools all over the country, with hopeful recruits attempting to boost their stock and college coaches searching for diamonds in the rough.Shea Dixon, managing editor of TigerSportsDigest.com, said the summer is one of the most important times for high school athletes to visit potential schools and put their skills on display for coaches.”For the recruits, summer is one of the biggest opportunities to get out there and showcase their skills,” Dixon said. “Most of the kids are trying to get out there and see a couple colleges and go to camps to get evaluated in person by head coaches and assistants and to work one-on-one with someone.”Mike Scarborough, Rivals.com recruiting analyst, said more and more athletes are taking the recruiting process into their own hands and visiting schools across the country on their own time.”What you’re seeing now more than ever is a lot of prospects that are traveling to visit schools on their own time,” Scarborough said. “You’ll see people get in the car and they’ll travel a whole week with their parents and go from school to school talking to coaches and going from campus to campus. The kids and their families are getting a lot more educated about the recruiting process on their own.”While recruits are constantly trying to get more hype surrounding their names, recruiting websites and magazines have already begun the initial ranking process. Stars have been handed out, and grades have been given for the class of 2011.According to Rivals.com, of LSU’s 11 current commitments, four have been awarded three stars, six are four-stars and one is a five-star, offensive lineman La’El Collins.Scarborough said the initial ranking list distributed by Rivals.com will most likely change several times by signing day.”Certainly when you look at Louisiana, there are some guys who might be on the outside of the initial Rival 100 who we will see moving up when the season begins,” Scarborough said.Most recruiting fans look for their respective schools to sign the big name five-star athletes each year. But Scarborough said fulfilling team need is more important than star ranking.In terms of LSU’s class, Scarborough said the Tigers have done a good job thus far in filling in the missing holes, and adding one more piece to the puzzle could solidify their offensive line unit.”They’re still looking for a center,” Scarborough said. “But the offensive line group could be without a doubt the top offensive line hauled in by any school … and number two won’t even be close.”Dixon said that running backs were of top priority for LSU going into the 2011 recruiting class, and Miles tackled the issue early with three big commitments.”They’ve done a good job so far,” Dixon said. “Running back would have to be the marquee thing, and with guys like Kenny Hilliard, Jeremy Hill and Terrance Magee, they’re calling it the class of the year.”Kenny Hilliard comes from a family of football players, following in his uncle Dalton’s and cousin Ike’s footsteps. The four-star running back from Patterson committed to the Tigers last December.Jeremy Hill, teammate and friend to La’El Collins, was the first running back to commit to LSU when he and Collins gave their verbal commitments on the same day in late August.The Baton Rouge native attends Redemptorist High School and is also a four-star prospect according to Rivals.com.Terrance Magee is the third running back Miles has on board. The three-star athlete who quarterbacks his Franklinton Demons will make the switch to running back in college.Scarborough and Dixon both agreed the biggest concern facing LSU’s recruiting class is at the quarterback position. The unknown surrounding 2010 commit Zach Lee and his potential MLB career is easily the talk of the town.”That’s what everyone is watching right now – who is the quarterback going to be?” Dixon said. “The Zach Lee stuff is kind of fueling the fire of the quarterback debate. That certainly is the main focus of everyone.”Scarborough said even if LSU can get Lee onto campus, the Tigers need to make a quarterback signing in this year’s class.”I think once the semester begins and [Lee] is in the classroom, that will relieve some of the pressure of signing a quarterback,” Scarborough said. “But I still think they can’t afford to not sign a good quarterback this year.”–Contact Mark Clements at [email protected]