Inside Garrett Dellinger’s Decision Process to Commit to LSU Football, What’s Next for the Talented Tackle?
Garrett Dellinger knew a few weeks back that LSU was the school for him. After a successful visit last fall for the LSU-Arkansas game, followed by various zoom meetings and Facetime calls with offensive line coach James Cregg and coach Ed Orgeron, Dellinger talked it over with his parents and made the decision final.
The 6-foot-6, 290-pound tackle officially committed to the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon. Dellinger was not only the first offensive line commit of the 2021 class but one of the highest ranked o-line prospects LSU has landed in recent memory.
Dellinger told LSUCountry on Thursday that Cregg was a big part of his decision as he knew from the first time he met and interacted with Cregg, he was the coach for him.
"Just talking to him, not just about football but about personal stuff to, that's how I got a good feel of him," Dellinger said. "I really feel like he's just a great person and somebody I want to be coached by. When we talk about football, it's a lot of the various schemes and drills he suggests for me to study and to work on."
About an hour and a half before his commencement video was released, Dellinger Facetimed Orgeron and the entire coaching staff. There was plenty of high fives and screaming to go around as the various coaches filed in during Dellinger's call.
"When I told him, I just saw him light up, he jumped up and all of the coaches were coming in and screaming so it was an awesome moment," Dellinger said.
Coming from a military family, Dellinger has moved from place to place his entire life. He's spent his high school days in Michigan but has also lived in Maryland and Alabama.
"Moving for me has never been the biggest issue," Dellinger said. "I've moved around so I'm not too worried about the change in environment just because I'm ok with change. I thought about that but I know I'll get used to that environment very easily."
LSU views Dellinger as a future starting offensive tackle, possibly as early as his freshman season. The Tigers are losing senior Austin Deculus after 2020 and with not a ton of depth behind him, Dellinger could have a real shot at earning that spot.
The rising senior said that he plans to graduate early and enroll in the spring so he can get that extra practice time in with the program and really learn the offense.
"We kind of decided to go that route because we've been hearing about other kids that have been doing it and how it's improved and helped them," Dellinger said. "It's given them a better chance to play earlier and just kind of get acclimated to school and football. It'll help me also get that jump start in the weight room with the coaches and the techniques I have to learn before the season."
Getting down to Baton Rouge for the Arkansas game was another eye-opening experience for Dellinger, who said he's never seen or heard a crowd as loud as that one. The game, if LSU fans can remember, was a blowout as the Tigers used a 28-6 halftime lead to propel them to a 56-20 win over the Razorbacks.
"Talking with coaches, they said that wasn't a very big game but the atmosphere at the stadium was still better than any other game I've ever been to," Dellinger said. "And it wasn't even one of their bigger games so that was incredible to witness."
Since the end of his junior season, Dellinger has put a lot of work in the offseason trying to add strength and athleticism, two traits the Clarkston, Michigan product is already pretty well known for.
"I've really just been tweaking some little things like my foot speed, aggression, my hand placement so that when I do learn new techniques that comes easier," Dellinger said. "I feel like I really just want to keep on showing the athleticism that I have. I want to show people that I'm not just a big offensive lineman but that I can move and have some versatility in my game."
Now that he's all in on the program, the next steps for Dellinger will be to help out on the recruiting trail in any way he can. It's something that fellow Tiger commit Garrett Nussmeier has been doing as well, including reaching out to Dellinger a few times.
The two have been texting back and forth for a few months now and when Dellinger made his commitment official, Nussmeier was pretty fired up.
With his decision now final, Dellinger can't wait to get down to Baton Rouge but admits he doesn't know when or if that will be possible in the fall.
"I've felt wanted since the start of this process and really felt like I was the No. 1 guy for them," Dellinger said. "That helped me become even more comfortable and played a big part in my decision. I just can't wait to get started."
