2023 Defensive End Derrick LeBlanc a Name To Remember, Talks Strong Connection With LSU Football Staff
Derrick LeBlanc received a message from LSU 2021 commit Naquan Brown completely out of the blue a few days ago. The message was simple but to the point.
"You know the move," LeBlanc said. "He really wants me to come to LSU. He just told me to join the family and that really stood out to me."
LeBlanc and Brown don't really know each other all that well but for Brown to reach out like that, just a few hours after he had committed to the Tigers program himself, meant a lot to the rising sophomore.
Back on June 27, LeBlanc was on a phone call of a similar nature, this time with LSU graduate assistant Christian LaCouture on the other line. The conversation was going great when LaCouture told Leblanc there was somebody that wanted to talk to him.
"It was coach O on the other end and he just said 'what's up man, I watched your film and you're going to be one of the best players I've seen in a while,'" LeBlanc recalled. "He said you're up there with Derrick Brown and that's when he offered me a full ride. I've gotten really close with coach O and coach [Bo] Pelini because they're really good people. They've told me I'm going to be really good but to just stay focused and committed to the process."
Drawing comparisons to Brown, who was one of the SEC's most dominant defensive linemen the last two years, is a mouthful in its own right. For LeBlanc, hearing those words come out of a big time college coaching staff like LSU is all the motivation he needs to continue to develop his game to the fullest.
At 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, the rising sophomore out of Kissimmee, Florida isn't just drawing the attention from LSU but from major programs across the country. LeBlanc has picked up offers from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Michigan, Penn State, Miami and Texas A&M, to name a few. The rising sophomore is closing in on 40 Division I offers after a stellar freshman season at Osceola High School.
The goal for LeBlanc is to not let the interest from all of these programs get to him and the best way to go about it in his mind is to continue to work on his game. One element of his game that LeBlanc feels sticks out above the rest is his pass rush skills. It’s a mission of his to continue to get bigger and add some strength to his already developed physical stature.
"I wanted to get bigger but I also didn't want to stay stiff and slow," LeBlanc said. "I always stretch, I started taking up yoga and it helped me so much. My 40-yard dash time went from a 4.9 to a 4.7 because I'm just so much more flexible now and that devotion to yoga really helped with my leg flexibility."
As for his pass rush technique, while LeBlanc considers it advanced, especially for someone his age, he's been working this offseason on adding some more variety in the way he attacks the quarterback.
"I've been working on more moves like my cross chop, my dip, my rip and then in the run game I've really tried improving in a lot of different areas," LeBlanc said. "Basically my get off and my punch have become much faster then what they were a year ago and I think I'm poised for an even better sophomore season."
LeBlanc has already started the research process of learning more about some of the schools he thinks he'll be considering. While he didn't go into any detail, LeBlanc did say he has started to whittle down some of the teams that stick out the most.
"I look for a lot in a school because I don't want to go anywhere just for the logo," LeBlanc said. "For me, I look for education, the environment, graduation rate, how many guys these programs develop to the NFL and my relationship with the coaching staffs and the strength coach. It's the little things that matter to me."
Though he's only a sophomore, LeBlanc has given thought to what he'd like to study in college, citing sports medicine as an area that really intrigues him.
"Obviously I have three years to decide so it could change but for right now I'm firm on sports medicine, I want to be an athletic trainer," LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc has found himself going to Youtube and rewatching some past college football games to study the defensive line and various pass rushers to find out what works at the next level. One of the games he tuned into was LSU vs Texas, a game that ended in a 43-37 victory for the Tigers.
Specifically, LeBlanc liked watching K'Lavon Chaisson and Breiden Fehoko from last year's team because of the variety in their games. LeBlanc wants to combine the finesse and speed of Chaisson and the power of Fehoko to hopefully make him the dominant prospect he aspires to be.
"I'm watching the d-line, what they do, how they use their hands and how they get off the line and strike people," LeBlanc said. "It was very impressive watching those guys play."
LeBlanc still has three years before he needs to decide on what his future looks like and a lot can change in that time span. But based off of the initial conversations and impressions with the LSU staff, the 2023 Osceola High School product has like what he's heard from the purple and gold.
"I love LSU and what they do with their program is really great," LeBlanc said. "It's going to be one of the first places I visit. They're really good people and they make sure you're a priority. There are 100 recruits out there they gotta talk to and yet they religiously text my coach and ask him to have me call them [LSU]. That really stands out to me for them to take the time out of their day to want to talk to me, that's real."
