The first recruitment loss of the post-Brian Kelly era has hit the LSU Tigers with four-star edge rusher DeAnthony Lafayette decommitting after the tough loss to Alabama.
Before this loss occurred, interim head coach Frank Wilson was optimistic on keeping the core recruits even through all the front office chaos. With such a star-studded class coming in, it’s extremely important to not lose all function in the program and draw great players away.
With Wilson’s background in recruiting, a key reason why he was named interim head coach was because of his player connections, to keep recruits and current players from losing interest in the program and looking for a future elsewhere. Wilson will try to keep the program stable for long enough for the front office to find a new coach and draw out a plan for the future players to see themselves succeeding in.
LSU is lucky to still have commitment from their prized No. 1 ranked recruit, Lamar Brown, who recently posted on social media a picture of him in LSU’s locker room, seemingly reaffirming his commitment. This is a big relief for LSU, as it was thought by many that such a talented prospect would stray away from a struggling program and look toward the current powerhouses knowing he could go anywhere he wanted.
A big reason for Brown having no doubt about a future at LSU is how connected Wilson is to him and his other fellow in-state recruits.
“Frank Wilson. He’s been on me since the first day,” Brown said about his relationship with Wilson and LSU. “The whole staff, I have a relationship with the whole staff, everybody on the staff that helped for this moment.”
With the deep connection between Wilson and his in-state recruits, I have a feeling the majority of the recruiting scares will be around the out-of-state recruits who have less of a connection to Louisiana football and LSU.
Luckily, a majority of LSU’s recruits come from Louisiana, with 11 in-state recruits compared to only five coming from out of state. In-state recruits have shown support as well recently, with many still having faith in the future of the program with a new coach.
“You go to a school because of a school, not because of the coaching. They’re gonna win the next three games and they’re going to get right.” LSU commit Darryus McKinley said when asked about LSU’s future.
Other top programs have recently been targeting LSU recruits, trying to flip their recruitment in the aftermath of Kelly’s firing. Teams like Texas and Mississippi State have made heavy pushes since the Texas A&M loss to flip some of the top LSU recruits. Steve Sarkisian has even made late attempts to draw Louisiana talent away from LSU, setting up official visits for four-star recruits Richard Anderson and Brysten Martinez.
There will definitely be more attempts to steal top LSU recruits as the season moves on, but luckily, there doesn’t seem to be too much heat as of now. The Tigers will have to show flashes of their strengths in the last few games of the season to stay relevant and keep recruits interested. Wilson will also have to play a big role in holding down the program and continuing to work his magic in drawing talent toward the Tigers.
