Today is a lot like Christmas morning for LSU recruiting fans. The day is finally here to find out how many gifts (National Letters of Intent) are under the tree.
“It’s the unofficial start of the 2011 season,” said Derek Ponamsky, publisher and recruiting analyst for BayouBengalsInsider.com. “It’s a unique situation here in Baton Rouge. For as much as people care about Alabama football, they don’t have thousands of people together in one place to celebrate recruiting.”
The Bayou Bash at the Baton Rouge River Center will be the hub of the revelry today as the 2011 class is announced.
The Tigers’ class, which sits at 22 commitments, is ranked No. 4 in the country by Rivals.com and ninth-best by Scout.com.
Offensive lineman Cameron Fordham’s grayshirt from last year stretches the class to 23 pledges, but LSU could sign up to 26 players on National Signing Day.
While LSU could sign 26 recruits, only 23 can be on scholarship by the start of fall camp, two less than usual because of the self-reported violations regarding former LSU player Akiem Hicks and wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy.
“The 2011 class is legendary, and they haven’t even stepped on campus yet,” Ponamsky said.
The gems of this year’s group are junior college quarterback Zach Mettenberger, the former quarterback at Georgia, along with offensive tackle La’el Collins (Redemptorist High School), defensive tackle Anthony Johnson (O. Perry Walker High School) and wide receiver Jarvis Landry (Lutcher High School).
“The biggest thing about this class is that there are quality players in positions of need,” Ponamsky said. “You brought in franchise guys at those spots.”
Sixteen commitments are from Louisiana, including seven Scout four- or five-star recruits.
Johnson, who already signed a letter of intent and will participate in spring practices, is ranked as the best defensive lineman in the country by Scout and Rivals.
“He’ll play early because LSU’s defensive line lost some people, and you don’t have many guys to step up,” said Rene Nadeau, college football analyst for ESPN and TigerVision.
LSU could add a couple more blue-chip defensive linemen on National Signing Day, according to Shea Dixon, managing editor for TigerSportsDigest.com.
Jermauria Rasco, a Scout five-star recruit from Shreveport, has been quiet about the recruiting process, but LSU is one of his finalists, according to Dixon.
Tim Jernigan, the Scout No. 4 defensive tackle in the nation from Lake City, Fla., has also been silent throughout his recruitment.
Dixon said he predicts Rasco and Jernigan will stay in their home states.
“I feel very confident about Rasco,” Dixon said. “I feel like he’s going to stay with LSU. Jernigan’s probably going to stay at home and go to Florida State.”
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the unanimous No. 1 recruit in the nation, will wait to make his choice until his birthday, Feb. 14, but he could make a trip to LSU this weekend, according to Ponamsky.
Clowney, a 6-foot-5-inch, 235-pound prospect from South Carolina, is considering the Gamecocks as well as a number of other teams.
“I see him going to South Carolina,” Nadeau said. “He’s the kind of guy that South Carolina can’t afford to lose.”
Mystery has been surrounding the status of running back Jeremy Hill. The former Redemptorist High School recruit was arrested in January and charged with oral sexual battery of a 14-year-old girl.
Nadeau said Hill will either be a regular signing or will be grayshirted, meaning he will have to sit out a year and will count against next year’s recruiting class.
“If they [plan to] cut ties with him, that probably would have happened already,” Nadeau said.
Follow Michael Lambert on Twitter @TDR_Lambert.
 
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]