Four-star offensive tackle, Zalance Heard, has committed to LSU. With this commitment, the Tigers add not only another highly-talented offensive lineman, but one of the best in-state recruits for the Class of 2023.
Heard is a 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive tackle from Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana. He is ranked as the No. 9 offensive tackle, the No. 3 recruit in Louisiana and the No. 63 overall recruit in the Class of 2023, according to the 247sports rankings.
The four-star offensive tackle chose LSU over schools like Nebraska, Florida and Florida State. Heard took an official visit to Nebraska on the weekend of June 10th, and an unofficial visit to Florida State on the weekend of June 29th. But LSU emerged as the favorite as the summer winded down.
Heard’s commitment to LSU is also important for the program in that he comes from Neville High School, the same high school that former five-star freshman, Will Campbell, came from. Campbell emerged this offseason as a player that can and will start right away, and he’s set to make his first start in the season opener against Florida State.
LSU fans certainly hope that the pipeline from Neville High School can stay consistent, and they hope that Heard can make the same, smooth transition to the college level that Campbell made.
The fans could potentially owe Campbell a thank you after this commitment. During the Class of 2022’s recruiting cycle, Campbell was a recruit that committed early, and did a lot of recruiting himself to try and get other elite talents to join him. With Heard on Campbell’s high school team last season, Campbell could have been recruiting Heard to reunite with him in Baton Rouge for the better part of a year by this time.
Regardless of how it was done, Heard is now a part of LSU’s Class of 2023, which most definitely strengthens the class even more. With this in-state pickup, Coach Kelly and his staff took a step forward in their ability to recruit in-state talent in their first season and can hopefully add more to their resume into the fall.
