LSU Players Want to Leave Lasting Legacies While Helping Program Build for the Future in the Process
It was a moment many fans probably missed instantly after the game but saw as they scrolled through social media Saturday night.
Moments after beating No. 4 Alabama, LSU players, namely safety Grant Delpit, linebacker Marcel Brooks and tight end Thaddeus Moss, jogged over to the section where a number of Crimson Tide recruits stood watching.
Their message, according to Moss?
"Y'all need to rethink where y'all going," Moss said. "Hopefully we put on a good show for y'all."
It was a very spur of the moment decision according to Moss, who said it was a collective effort to show recruits what their future could look like as Tigers. Moss remembers when he was a recruit and went on an official visit to watch Alabama take on Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel.
Before Saturday afternoon's 46-41 win, that A&M team was the last to beat Nick Saban and the Tide at home in 2015.
"Big wins like that, it sticks in your mind and Texas A&M was always in my head, I always remembered that game," Moss said. "I knew nothing about that school before the game and then after the game I was like who's A&M, who's Johnny football."
Junior inside linebacker Patrick Queen remembers the 2016 Alabama-LSU game in Death Valley as a recruit, a game that was scoreless heading into the fourth quarter before freshman Jalen Hurts was able to put up 10 points in the final frame to seal the win.
Queen remembers the elite defense being played on both sidelines and wanted to be a part of a team like that.
"Even though they lost, just how they played really caught my eye," Queen said. "There were two plays in that game that could've been called back that weren't called back and it could've created a different ballgame."
Senior defensive end Rashard Lawrence was recruited heavily by both Alabama and LSU as a high school five-star defender. Getting a win over a team that has had the Tigers' number the last eight years was a significant step in the right direction, according to Lawrence.
"In order to win games like this you have to bring in the best players," Lawrence said. "LSU-Alabama is such a big recruiting battle and I think me personally, we've lost a couple of recruits because we haven't beat them. Now, hopefully guys will be coming to LSU. Anytime you can beat a team of that caliber it does wonders not only on the field but off it as well."
Moss, Queen, Lawrence and all in the LSU program are hoping Saturday's win over Alabama will have a similar affect on the recruits that were in attendance. After all, not only does leaving their own legacies mean a lot to this Tigers team, but also helping mold the future of the program.
"I didn't have the energy to run down there," Lawrence said of the LSU players that ran over to the recruits after the win. "I'm glad they did and it was pretty cool to see that."
The recruiting trail is red hot for the Tigers at the moment, as the team picked up its 25th commitment in the 2020 class on Sunday with four-star defensive Jacobian Guillory.
And more could be on the horizon, Orgeron believes. The Tigers currently hold the No. 2 ranked recruiting class according to 247Sports and are predicted to land five-star running back Zachary Evans, four-star linebacker Phillip Webb and four-star offensive tackle Marcus Dumervil, according to the 247 recruiting experts.
If all of that comes to fruition, Orgeron and the LSU staff will have to make some decisions, as there would be too many commits and not enough spots, a very good problem to have.
"Recruiting is going very well right now. Our coaching staff and our support staff have done a phenomenal job," Orgeron said. "There's a lot of guys that want to come to LSU right now, we're going to have the best players coming to LSU. Also the 2021 class had a lot of players at that game and there will be a lot of players this week at the game. Guys are coming more and more to watch us play and like what they see. It's been a great response on the phone."
With momentum surging in a positive direction for the program, taking every opportunity to talk up their experience at LSU to young high school players is something guys like Moss take great pride in.
"We're doing a good job building depth, Coach O is doing what he does in recruiting and it's probably just getting going now," Moss said.
