Let the number crunch commence.
Each Division Football Bowl Subdivision college football team is allowed 25 scholarship athletes per recruiting class and 85 total scholarship athletes.
Now, following recruiting violations, LSU will have only 23 scholarship athletes in the 2011 class and 83 total scholarship athletes. The Tigers can sign a maximum of 26 players but must have only 23 on scholarship by the start of fall camp.
LSU revoked two scholarships and limited recruiting visits following violations between former defensive lineman Akiem Hicks and former assistant coach D.J. McCarthy.
The violations included improper phone contact, transportation and housing. LSU documented the violations in a 53-page report presented to the NCAA and the Southeastern Conference in 2010.
Shea Dixon, managing editor for TigerSportsDigest.com, said the repercussions shouldn’t be devastating for the Tigers.
“They recruited for 23 the whole time, so they knew they would probably be in a situation like this,” he said.
LSU already has 21 players verbally committed in the 2011 class, including Redemptorist running back Jeremy Hill, who is dealing with legal issues.
LSU lineman Cameron Fordham will likely count as an additional scholarship athlete, Dixon said.
Fordham signed with LSU last season but was not offered a scholarship, so he walked on and paid for his fall semester after reportedly being offered a grayshirt.
A grayshirt delays a player’s enrollment by a semester so his eligibility doesn’t count immediately.
“The rule states that if you sign a letter of intent but you walk on you have to count against the class when you go on scholarship,” said Derek Ponamsky, publisher and recruiting analyst for BayouBengalsInsider.
Dixon and Ponamsky said they expect Jermauria Rasco, a defensive end from Evangel in Shreveport, to sign with LSU.
“If he commits and he’s the 23rd, you’re looking at going beyond that if you bring anyone else in and then having to grayshirt,” Dixon said. “The other big name is Tim Jernigan, the defensive tackle out of Florida.”
Rasco and Jernigan, a defensive tackle from Columbia High School in Lake City, Fla., are both five-star recruits on Scout.com and four-star recruits on Rivals.com, though Jernigan is rated higher at his position.
Dixon said it’s possible Hill or defensive tackle Quentin Thomas, who sat out this season at Breaux Bridge High School, could be grayshirted.
“Those are two guys who probably aren’t going to be immediate impact guys, so grayshirts make sense,” he said. “I couldn’t see them jumping ship for anywhere else, because their situation wouldn’t really change.”
Jumping ship is exactly what lineman Elliott Porter did last season after LSU coach Les Miles signed more players than he could offer scholarships to. Porter, who had verbally committed to LSU, declined a grayshirt offer and signed with Kentucky.
After a year at Kentucky as a redshirt freshman, Porter decided to return to LSU as a walk on.
Ponamsky said he doesn’t expect Miles to mess with grayshirting again this year.
He also said he doesn’t expect Hill to sign, which would leave room for at least two more scholarship recruits. He said the staff “feels good about” signing Rasco, which could leave one or two more spots.
“If it’s one more spot, you’re looking at Timmy Jernigan and Mickey Johnson competing for that,” Ponamsky said. “If there’s two spots, maybe LSU takes both guys to try to replace some of the depth that they’ve lost at defensive tackle.”
Johnson, a defensive tackle from Covington, is a four-star recruit.
Ponamsky said five-star defensive end Ray Drew from Thomasville, Ga., who has LSU on a list of five potential schools, could also sign with the Tigers.
The LSU staff has almost a week to lure recruits before National Signing Day on Feb. 2.
 
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contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]