One Rule Change That has Been a Difference Maker for LSU Football in Recruiting
Ed Orgeron and the LSU staff recently concluded a bust for two weeks on the recruiting trail by hosting seven camps over a 13 day period where thousands of prospects gathered to show off their skills in front of the Tigers and other Louisiana colleges.
These are important days for the program as almost every camp, Orgeron and his staff are able to see a recruit that really pops on the field and extend an offer to that player. It happened a couple of weeks ago with 2024 quarterback Mabrey Mettauer and Lafayette Christian tackle Fitzgerald West.
But with as many as 800 campers at once to get a look at, there are only so many that LSU can offer which is why it's important for neighboring schools to show up as well.
“There’s a lot of guys where we have 800 players and we can’t take everybody but all of the schools in Louisiana, guys are getting scholarship offers that they wouldn’t have gotten,” Orgeron said in an interview on Off the Bench Tuesday. “I tell all of the campers if you can get an education in the state of Louisiana and network, you can do anything you want.”
Outside of the camps, which certainly helped the program get a better feel for the up and coming talent in the high school ranks, official and unofficial visits have been in Baton Rouge as well. One of the newer rules that has benefitted the coaching staff has been allowed one hour workouts with recruits on unofficial visits.
It's another way for the program to evaluate talent as putting the high school senior through a workout regimen will help with determining athletic ability and fit. Orgeron said the Tigers have been averaging two or three unofficial visits per day since the start of June, some of whom have gone through the workout process with the coaching staff.
“Once you get about an hour workout you get a good feel and we made some decisions on some big guys yesterday. Focus on guys that we haven’t seen," Orgeron said. "It tells you a lot about the young man. If you put them through the specific drills to test the eyes, hands and feet, you see what you need to see and gives you another evaluation.”
With 11 commits in the 2022 class, the Tigers have plenty of room to address a number of areas and getting these recruits on campus to see the facilities and meet with coaches is a big part of the process.
