SI All-American Reacts to the Hot Start of LSU Football's 2022 Recruiting Class

The month of June is expected to be an absolute rush of commitments, visits and overall chaos in the recruiting world. For the first time in over a year, recruiting restrictions will be lifted by the NCAA, allowing high school athletes to visit college campuses and participate in camps.

While some programs have not secured commitments from many prospects at this point in the process, that couldn't be further from the truth for LSU. The Tigers are tied for the most commitments in the 2022 class and aren't just filling spots, but filling spots with supreme talent at positions of need.

We recently caught up with SI All-American recruiting director John Garcia to pick his brain about the Tigers early success in the class. Here's what he had to say:

LSU has the biggest college football recruiting class of 2022 to date, in terms of verbal commitments, at 13 (Tied with Notre Dame). Part of the volume can be attributed to the 2019 College Football Playoff title run while more than most would realize has to do with Ed Orgeron rebuilding the Tiger coaching staff and in large part, reputation, following a less-than-satisfactory title defense. The state of Louisiana, where Coach O has been public and private about prioritizing like never before, is also responsible for the haul.

About two-thirds of the 13 verbal commitments hail from within state lines, including class headliner and St. Thomas More quarterback Walker Howard. Having the clear top arm in the state on board for nearly one year has paid tangible dividends, with two wide in-state receivers among those having committed since. Nine of the 13 prospects committed to the program hail from the state, not including legacy prospect Jake Johnson, younger brother of Tiger QB Max Johnson.

Howard was known as a national recruit before he popped for LSU and has showcased his talent on a national stage since and he will continue to do so at the Elite 11 Finals next month among the nation's top passers. It's not a surprise to see the offensive skill position wins to date and similar could be said on defense, with four secondary projections on board to one of the 'DBU' candidates. Two of the four are Louisianans and there could be more secondary targets in the mix like in-state stars Kendrick Law and Derek Williams along with Texas' Denver Harris and south Florida's Earl Little still among the undecided.

The momentum isn't expected to slow any time soon for LSU and the first weekend in June will reflect as much with elite talent in the trenches expected to make official visits to Baton Rouge in edge rusher Shemar Stewart and offensive tackles Julian Armella and Kelvin Banks, among others. Additional national recruits slated to see campus, likely for the first time, include Harris, Nick James and Omari Abor, among others.

While skill and in-state domination have been the theme for LSU's start, the stride of the 2022 class will be largely shaped in June with national prospects and an emphasis along the offensive and defensive front, where LSU has recruited among the nation's best for years.