The Tigers have fielded a dominant football program in Coach Les Miles’ tenure, winning a national title, two Southeastern Conference championships and five bowl games. This success has been powered by LSU’s ability to secure the Louisiana recruiting scene. Of the 179 recruits that LSU has signed since the beginning of the Miles era in 2006, 99 were from Louisiana. By recruiting so heavily in Louisiana, LSU is enrolling 55 percent of its scholarship athletes from the state that produces the most NFL players on a per capita basis according to the 2010 census. Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium are one of the biggest draws to recruits coming out of Louisiana who were raised surrounded by LSU fans. “Every kid in Louisiana grows up knowing about the Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium,” junior safety Eric Reid said. Tiger Stadium and LSU’s rabid fan base are huge assets when bringing recruits on visits to watch games in the stand. “My best memory is coming to the Florida game in 2009 when [Florida] stomped on the eye,” Reid said. “The crowd was going nuts. I needed to grab Advil after the game it was so loud.” Of LSU’s 22 starters this season, 16 are projected to be from Louisiana. This doesn’t include the stable of homegrown running backs that make up one of the nations best rushing attacks. “It’s just nice knowing you’re coming somewhere close to your family and friends,” said running back Alfred Blue. “Playing with guys from your home state just adds to that level of familiarity.” With the majority of players coming from the same state – some even from the same high school – the incoming freshmen have a support system they can lean on during their first year. “The guys that come in from the same high school know each other a lot of the time,” said senior guard Josh Dworaczyk. “Guys like [junior defensive end Barkevious] Mingo coming from West Monroe are always pretty close.” Being the most prominent football program in Louisiana gives LSU an advantage over other big SEC programs that are forced to compete with in-state rivals for top-ranked recruits. “I grew up wanting to play football at LSU,” Reid said. “Both my mom and dad went here, so this has always been my dream school.” Another key to LSU’s recruiting success has been its ability to fit players into positions that accentuate their skill sets. “When I was in high school I played defensive end,” Dworaczyk said. “But after I came to camp here at LSU they wanted me to play offensive line so that was pretty exciting.” Bennie Logan had a similar journey. He was first recruited as a defensive end, and now he’s considered one of the best defensive tackles in the country after posting 9.5 tackles for loss last year. Miles is LSU’s ace in the hole. Miles has developed a reputation as one of the nation’s best recruiters, and it’s his people skills that help him most while on in-home visits with prospects’ parents. “He’s a player’s coach, so he would ask me what I wanted to accomplish as a student-athlete,” Dworaczyk said. “When visiting with my parents, the first thing he talked about was my education, so of course my parents loved that.” Even with LSU’s dominance in its home state, some of the top prospects will always get away. Landon Collins was a five-star prospect coming out of Dutchtown High School and the No. 1 safety in the country. At the end of his recruiting he had narrowed his choices to two: LSU and Alabama. He eventually chose Alabama, much to the dismay of his mother. “When you’ve got guys from Louisiana going to different schools, especially in the SEC, it creates a rivalry,” Dworaczyk said. “We’ll definitely try to give them a good hit or two during the game, but at the end of the day we all respect each other.” With another strong year of in-state recruiting – 12 of 22 commits up to this point – LSU is looking to continue its strong Louisiana base. “Playing under the lights, it’s just something that you don’t forget,” Reid said.
____ Contact Trey Labat at [email protected]