The future looks bright for LSU’s football team with the addition of the new Tigers in the 2009 recruiting class.Every team with the Rivals.com No. 1 recruiting class from 2002 until 2007 has won a national championship during that time, and LSU is poised to win its first Rivals recruiting championship since it had the top Rivals class in 2003.The Tigers’ 21-member class is ranked No. 1 by Rivals and ESPN Scouts Inc. and No. 2 by Scout.com rankings. Ohio State, USC, Texas and Alabama round out Rivals’ top-five.Eight of the top-25 recruiting classes hail from the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers have the consensus Rivals No. 1 class among SEC schools. Alabama is ranked No. 5, Georgia is No. 9 and Florida is No. 10.LSU has four Rivals five-star recruits — quarterback Russell     Shepard, defensive tackle Chris Davenport, defensive back Janzen Jackson and safety Craig Loston.Shepard (6-foot-1, 179 pounds), Rivals.com’s No. 1 dual-threat quarterback, rushed for 1,946 yards and 28 touchdowns and passed for 1,843 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions his senior season at Cypress Ridge High School.The Houston native will be one of five quarterbacks on LSU’s roster, along with rising sophomores Jordan Jefferson, Jarrett Lee, T.C. McCartney and rising freshman three-star recruit Chris Garrett.”I’m an LSU Tiger now,” Shepard said. “I am ready to go in, get my playbook, learn and get into the fight for the starting quarterback position.”Shepard is excited about the potential of the 2009 recruiting class.”It’s looking great. I think we’ll finish up with the No. 1 or No. 2 recruiting class,” Shepard said. “We are definitely finishing very, very strong.”Loston, Shepard’s cousin from Aldine, Texas, added his name to the 2009 class in early January. Loston (6-foot-2, 193 pounds) is rated as the nation’s top safety prospect by Rivals.Davenport is the Rivals’ No. 5 defensive tackle. The 6-foot-4-inch lineman had 18 sacks as a junior at Mansfield High School. Jackson (6-feet, 174 pounds) would add strength and quickness to the LSU defense. The Barbe High School product benches 270 pounds and runs a 4.43 40-yard dash.Defensive end/linebacker Jarvis Jones (Columbus, Ga.) is one of the remaining recruits LSU still hopes to sign. Jones, a four-star recruit, visited LSU this weekend, according to Ken Trahan, president and general manager of Neworleans.com Sports.Wide receiver Rueben Randle, the Rivals No. 2 player from Bastrop High School, could have an immediate impact at LSU. Randle (6-foot-3, 195 pounds) had 1,058 yards and 11 touchdowns as a receiver his junior season. He played quarterback his senior season and passed for 2,461 yards and 20 touchdowns.   Trahan said LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma are Randle’s final choices. Randle plans to commit Wednesday on National Signing Day, when recruits can first sign their letters of intent.Wide receiver DeAngelo Benton committed to LSU in 2007 but played at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia after failing to be academically eligible. Benton is also considering Auburn, according to Trahan.Linebacker Barkevious Mingo visited Connecticut this weekend, but LSU still hopes to sign the West Monroe native.—Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]