With the addition of Gunner Kiel (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East), the No. 2 ranked QB in the nation, LSU has jumped up the rankings in many recruiting polls. The former Indiana commit is the fifth ESPNU 150 prospect to commit to coach Les Miles.
Recruiting season has heated up as Alabama and LSU are vying for several of the top undecided prospects. Tiger fans will want to watch the Under Armour game this Thursday Jan. 5, 2012, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Several future Tigers will be playing in the game including OL Vadal Alexander, WR Avery Johnson, OLB Ronnie Feist, and the top long snapper in the country Reid Ferguson.The new trend in college sports is for kids to announce their college commitment at these All-Star games to much fanfare. A recruit will have 3 or more hats surrounding him along with throngs of media and select the hat for the school of their choice.
LSU fans will be hoping that Landon Collins chooses the purple and gold hat on Thursday night. Collins is a safety out of Dutchtown, La and the top recruit in the state. As the recruiting process has dragged on, Collins has narrowed his choices to LSU and Alabama. If Collins signs with the Crimson Tide, it would give Nick Saban the signature of the top 2 recruits in the state of Louisiana ( the other being #2 recruit Denzell Devall, Bastrop,La).
This would not make LSU fans happy.
Either way LSU has a great recruiting class coming in, and I have learned not to get to wrapped up in the # of stars by a kid or the ranking of the recruiting class.
Jacob Hester was a 2 star (who got bumped up to a 3), Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne were not 5 star studs coming out of high school. Remember Jai Eugene? He was a 5 star recruit coming out of high school who decommited from Michigan to sign with LSU. Eugene rarely saw the field as a Tiger.
On the flip side, Patrick Peterson was a bonafide 5 star stud who lived up to the hype, so I am not adverse to signing the big name guys either .The bottom line is don’t get to worked up over recruiting. Les Miles and company are doing a great job of of not only recruiting players, but developing their talent and finding the right position for them.
Each recruiting year has surprises, so it will still be exciting to see who joins the program at Baton Rouge. Stay Tuned.
The rosters for the Under Armour game are below with their school of choice.
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | School | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | RB | 5-9 | 174 | Miami Norland (Fla.) | Miami |
| 1 | Terry Richardson | CB | 5-9 | 160 | Cass Technical (Mich.) | Michigan |
| 2 | Landon Collins | S | 6-0 | 202 | Dutchtown (La.) | Undecided |
| 3 | Nelson Agholor | ATH | 6-1 | 180 | Berkeley Prep (Fla.) | Undecided |
| 3 | Deion Sanders Jr. | ATH | 5-8 | 170 | Marcus (Texas) | Undecided |
| 4 | Cayleb Jones | WR | 6-2 | 189 | S.F. Austin (Texas) | Texas |
| 5 | Joshua Holsey | CB | 5-10 | 175 | Creekside (Ga.) | Auburn |
| 5 | Angelo Jean-Louis | WR | 6-0 | 185 | Palm Beach Central (Fla.) | Miami |
| 6 | Ricardo Louis | ATH | 6-1 | 200 | Miami Beach Senior (Fla.) | Auburn |
| 7 | Connor Brewer | QB | 6-2 | 190 | Chaparral (Ariz.) | Texas |
| 7 | Ifeadi Odenigbo | DE | 6-3 | 212 | Centerville (Ohio) | Undecided |
| 8 | Thomas Johnson | WR | 6-0 | 180 | Skyline (Texas) | Texas |
| 9 | Noah Spence | DE | 6-4 | 245 | Bishop McDevitt (Pa.) | Ohio State |
| 10 | Noor Davis | LB | 6-3 | 225 | Leesburg (Fla.) | Stanford |
| 11 | Preston Dewey | QB | 6-2 | 200 | St. Andrews (Texas) | Miami |
| 12 | Chad Kelly | QB | 6-2 | 205 | St. Joseph’s (N.Y.) | Clemson |
| 14 | Sterling Shepard | WR | 5-10 | 185 | Heritage Hall (Okla.) | Oklahoma |
| 15 | Chaz Elder | S | 6-2 | 185 | Banneker (Ga.) | Undecided |
| 16 | Trae Elston | S | 6-0 | 175 | Oxford (Ala.) | Undecided |
| 17 | Kwon Alexander | LB | 6-2 | 215 | Oxford (Ala.) | Undecided |
| 18 | Devonte Fields | DE | 6-3 | 225 | Martin (Texas) | TCU |
| 19 | Peter Jinkens | OLB | 6-1 | 210 | Skyline (Texas) | Texas |
| 20 | Bryson Echols | CB | 5-9 | 165 | DeSoto (Texas) | Texas |
| 21 | Davonte Neal | ATH | 5-10 | 170 | Chaparral (Ariz.) | Undecided |
| 22 | Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick | TE | 6-4 | 261 | Whitney (Calif.) | USC |
| 23 | Ross Martin | K/P | 5-10 | 185 | Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) | Duke |
| 27 | Joe Bolden | LB | 6-2 | 225 | Colerain (Ohio) | Michigan |
| 32 | Johnathan Gray | RB | 5-10 | 190 | Aledo (Texas) | Texas |
| 44 | Dalton Santos | LB | 6-2 | 240 | Van (Texas) | Tennessee |
| 54 | Zach Hirth | LS | 6-3 | 200 | Eureka (Mo.) | Undecided |
| 56 | Avery Young | OT | 6-5 | 270 | Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) | Undecided |
| 57 | Jay Guillermo | C | 6-3 | 287 | Maryville (Tenn.) | Clemson |
| 58 | Eddie Goldman | DT | 6-4 | 310 | Collegiate Academy (D.C.) | Undecided |
| 60 | Joey O’Connor | OT | 6-4 | 280 | Windsor (Colo.) | Undecided |
| 70 | Leonard Williams | DT | 6-4 | 265 | Mainland (Fla.) | Undecided |
| 71 | Patrick Destefano | OT | 6-5 | 275 | Dorman (S.C.) | Clemson |
| 72 | Curtis Riser | OG | 6-4 | 290 | DeSoto (Texas) | Texas |
| 74 | Alex Norman | DT | 6-3 | 280 | Bishop Dunne (Texas) | Texas |
| 75 | Andrus Peat | OT | 6-6 | 280 | Corona Del Sol (Ariz.) | Undecided |
| 76 | Michael Flint | OG | 6-3 | 305 | Oxford (Ala.) | Undecided |
| 77 | Evan Boehm | OG | 6-3 | 290 | Lee’s Summit West (Mo.) | Missouri |
| 78 | Kennedy Estelle | OT | 6-6 | 300 | Glenda Dawson (Texas) | Texas |
| 86 | Justin Meredith | TE | 6-5 | 220 | T.L. Hanna (S.C.) | Tennessee |
| 90 | Malcom Brown | DT | 6-2 | 280 | Brenham (Texas) | Texas |
| 92 | Jordan Jenkins | DE | 6-3 | 228 | Harris County (Ga.) | Undecided |
| Name | Position | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Herm Edwards | Head coach | Former NFL head coach, current ESPN analyst. |
| Larry Kennan | Offensive coordinator | Former NFL coach. |
| George Dyer | Defensive coordinator | Former NFL coach. |
| Carl Mauck | OL | Former NFL coach. |
| Bob Milloy | RB | Coaches at Good Counsel HS in Maryland. |
| Clarence Inscore | CB | Coaches at Millbrook HS in North Carolina. |
| Joey Florence | S | Coaches at Denton Ryan HS in Texas. |
| Mario Edwards Sr. | CB assistant | Coaches at Denton Ryan HS in Texas. |
| Matt Scott | WR/TE | Coaches at Hueytown HS in Alabama. |
| Rodney Gray | RB | Coaches at Ely HS in Florida. |
| Thadd McNeal | QB | Coaches at Carlsbad HS in California. |
| Scott Earley | DL | Coaches at Lexington HS in South Carolina. |
| Jess Simpson | LB | Coaches at Buford HS in Georgia. |
| Kale Ane | LB | Coaches at Punahou HS in Hawaii. |
| Josh Niblett | WR/TE | Coaches at Hoover HS in Alabama. |
| Al Luginbill | Operations | Former college coach. |
| Dave Ohton | ST | Former college coach. |
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | School | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avery Johnson | WR | 6-1 | 185 | Ely (Fla.) | LSU |
| 2 | Shaq Roland | ATH | 6-1 | 180 | Lexington (S.C.) | South Carolina |
| 3 | Lucas Thompson | S | 6-1 | 190 | West Orange (Fla.) | Undecided |
| 3 | Trey Griffey | WR | 6-2 | 184 | Dr. Phillips (Fla.) | Undecided |
| 4 | Keith Marshall | RB | 5-11 | 185 | Millbrook (N.C.) | Georgia |
| 5 | Cyrus Jones | ATH | 5-10 | 180 | Gilman School (Md.) | Undecided |
| 5 | Zach Kline | QB | 6-1 | 195 | San Ramon Valley (Calif.) | Cal |
| 6 | Dante Fowler Jr. | DE | 6-3 | 236 | Lakewood Senior (Fla.) | Florida State |
| 6 | Alton Howard | WR | 5-9 | 175 | Edgewater (Fla.) | Tennessee |
| 7 | Eddie Williams | ATH | 6-3 | 205 | Arnold (Fla.) | Alabama |
| 8 | Jameis Winston | QB | 6-3 | 190 | Hueytown (Ala.) | Florida State |
| 9 | Ronnie Feist | OLB | 6-1 | 215 | West Saint John (La.) | LSU |
| 10 | De’Vante Harris | CB | 5-10 | 160 | Horn (Texas) | Oklahoma |
| 10 | Darius Powe | WR | 6-2 | 190 | Lakewood (Calif.) | Cal |
| 11 | Tanner Mangum | QB | 6-2 | 190 | Eagle (Idaho) | BYU |
| 11 | Channing Ward | DE | 6-3 | 230 | Aberdeen (Miss.) | Undecided |
| 12 | Chris Black | WR | 5-11 | 165 | First Coast (Fla.) | Alabama |
| 13 | LaTroy Pittman | WR | 6-0 | 195 | North Marion (Fla.) | Florida |
| 14 | P.J. Williams | S | 6-0 | 180 | Vanguard (Fla.) | Florida State |
| 15 | Marvin Bracy | ATH | 5-9 | 168 | Boone (Fla.) | Florida State |
| 16 | Austin Hardin | K | 5-11 | 200 | Marist (Ga.) | Florida |
| 17 | Mario Edwards | DE | 6-4 | 250 | Billy Ryan (Texas) | Florida State |
| 18 | Marcus Maye | S | 6-0 | 195 | Holy Trinity (Fla.) | Florida |
| 19 | Reggie Ragland | ILB | 6-3 | 245 | Bob Jones (Ala.) | Alabama |
| 21 | Chris Casher | ATH | 6-4 | 225 | Davidson (Ala.) | Florida State |
| 21 | Sean Price | TE | 6-4 | 215 | North Marion (Fla.) | South Florida |
| 22 | Amari Cooper | WR | 6-1 | 185 | Miami Northwestern (Fla.) | Alabama |
| 24 | Brian Poole | CB | 5-10 | 192 | Southeast (Fla.) | Florida |
| 25 | Ronald Darby | ATH | 5-11 | 176 | Potomac (Md.) | Notre Dame |
| 26 | Wes Brown | RB | 6-0 | 200 | Our Lady of Good Counsel (Md.) | Undecided |
| 28 | Alex Ross | RB | 6-1 | 205 | Jenks (Okla.) | Oklahoma |
| 30 | Michael Rose | LB | 6-0 | 220 | Rockhurst (Mo.) | Nebraska |
| 44 | Dakota Ball | DT | 6-2 | 290 | Pepperell (Ga.) | Alabama |
| 45 | Donald Hopkins | DT | 6-2 | 275 | Lago Vista (Texas) | Missouri |
| 53 | Jonathan Taylor | DT | 6-3 | 315 | Jenkins County (Ga.) | Georgia |
| 56 | Isaac Seumalo | OG | 6-3 | 275 | Corvallis (Ore.) | Oregon State |
| 58 | Brandon Greene | OT | 6-5 | 290 | Cedar Grove (Ga.) | Alabama |
| 62 | Devon Desper | C | 6-4 | 295 | Madison (Miss.) | Mississippi St. |
| 64 | Reid Ferguson | LS | 6-2 | 235 | Buford (Ga.) | LSU |
| 65 | Brock Stadnik | OT | 6-5 | 290 | Western Guilford (N.C.) | South Carolina |
| 72 | Mike Madaras | OT | 6-5 | 286 | Our Lady of Good Counsel (Md.) | Maryland |
| 74 | Vadal Alexander | OT | 6-5 | 320 | Buford (Ga.) | LSU |
| 75 | Jessamen Dunker | OT | 6-6 | 315 | Boynton Beach (Fla.) | Florida |
| 77 | John Atkins | OG | 6-3 | 305 | Thomson (Ga.) | Georgia |
| 78 | Josh Garnett | OT | 6-5 | 275 | Puyallup (Wash.) | Undecided |
| 84 | Colin Thompson | TE | 6-4 | 255 | Archbishop Wood (Pa.) | Florida |
| 85 | Korren Kirven | DT | 6-3 | 270 | Brookville (Va.) | Undecided |
| 99 | Issac Gross | DE | 6-2 | 265 | South Panola (Miss.) | Ole Miss |
| Name | Position | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Steve Mariucci | Head coach | Former NFL head coach, current NFL Network analyst. |
| Ted Tollner | Offensive coordinator | Former NFL coach. |
| John Levra | Defensive coordinator | Former NFL coach. |
| Dave Levy | OL | Former NFL coach. |
| Aazaar Abdul-Rahim | CB | Coaches at Collegiate Academy in Washington D.C. |
| Charlie Ragle | LB | Coaches at Chaparral HS in Arizona. |
| Dave Huffine | WR/TE | Coaches at Chaparral HS in Arizona. |
| Claude Mathis | CB | Coaches at DeSoto HS in Texas. |
| Jeff Weachter | WR/TE | Coaches at Bish McDevitt HS in Pennsylvania. |
| John Grass | QB | Coaches at Oxford HS in Alabama. |
| L.D. Williams | RB | Coaches at Austin HS in Texas. |
| Robert Jones | LB assistant | Former NFL player. |
| Thomas Wilcher | RB | Coaches at Cass Technical HS in Michigan. |
| Tim Buchanan | DL | Coaches at Aledo HS in Texas. |
| Joey McGuire | S | Coaches at Cedar Hill HS in Texas. |
| Reggie Torres | S assistant | Coaches at Kahuku HS in Hawaii. |
| Al Luginbill | Operations | Former college coach. |
| Dave Ohton | ST | Former college coach. |
