Recapping an Encouraging 2021 Early Signing Period for LSU Football

Early Signing Period is in the books and LSU football walked away with a number of wins and a few losses as well. The class currently stands at 19 signees with a few more expected to sign in February.

LSU did a phenomenal job securing most of its previously committed prospects. But what the Tigers did better than most across the country was flip commits from other teams and add a few more talented uncommitted players as well.

In addition to the 14 already committed players who signed on Wednesday, the Tigers were able to flip Louisiana receiver Malik Nabers and JUCO linebacker Nevonteque Strong from Mississippi State. Former Auburn running back commit Armoni Goodwin also signed with the Tigers in addition to former Tennessee cornerback commit Damarius McGhee.

As for the uncommitted player who signed, LSU exploded when SI99 defensive lineman Maason Smith announced his decision. These were all tremendous wins, particularly after the program officially lost pass rusher Keanu Koht to Alabama and the program’s only cornerback commit in Nathaniel Wiggins to Clemson.

The strengths of this class after Wednesday's 19 total signees lie at receiver, defensive line and safety. With the addition of Nabers at receiver, the Tigers also signed Jack Bech, Deion Smith and Chris Hilton while losing longtime commit JoJo Earle to Alabama.

For a unit that will be depending heavily on Kayshon Boutte, Jaray Jenkins and Koy Moore next season, the addition of four [potentially five] new guys to the locker room will be extremely valuable to LSU's team. The loss of Earle stings but Brian Thomas still remains a possibility as he'll be signing in February.

As for the defensive line, keeping Landon Jackson and adding Maason Smith immediately gives the Tigers size for the middle of the defensive line and the speed of Jackson will help him compete on the outside as a pass rusher. Saivion Jones is expected to sign in February with some of his fellow teammates so that's the only lineman that is committed who is still unsigned.

The program will likely keep a spot open for California’s Korey Foreman. But even if Foreman doesn't sign, a formidable front four is being formed with Jaquelin Roy, Jacobian Guillory and BJ Ojuarli all just true freshmen as well.

At safety, LSU secured all three of its previous commits with Matthew Langlois, Derrick Davis and Sage Ryan all signing. It was a position that Ed Orgeron talked about wanting to improve weeks ago and went on to secure commitments from all three within a two week span.

As for positions the Tigers will likely want to fill up with its remaining six spots, offensive line is the biggie. LSU secured its lone commitment of the 2021 class in Garrett Dellinger but will likely look to add at least two or three more before all is said and done.

Orgeron has had success in the graduate transfer and JUCO market in recent seasons with Liam Shanahan and Damien Lewis. The Tigers will likely sniff around there and of course leave a spot open for Virginia tackle Tristan Leigh, who Smith said Wednesday he’ll be heavily recruiting.

Bro bro✊🏽 @therealmaasonn https://t.co/pQYWGd8pGe
— Tristan Leigh (@Leigh71Tristan) December 17, 2020

LSU has put forth a ton of effort in its pursuit of Leigh and with Savion Byrd signing with Oklahoma on Wednesday, one of LSU’s competitors for Leigh, it might give LSU an opening to sign him. Leigh was originally planning on signing during the Early Signing Period but will now officially sign in February after his Jan. 2 announcement.

Orgeron said Wednesday on his weekly coaches show that the program has tagged three or four o-linemen that the Tigers hope to land.

"We've built relationships. These guys saw last year one of the best teams to ever play in college football history, and they remember that. And they see all those guys going into the NFL and having a lot of success, and they see us having a young team," Orgeron said Monday. "Obviously we've struggled in some areas that we gotta get fixed. But they know that so it gives them an opportunity to play early. So they see the future looks bright."

So with 19 signings down, outside of offensive line, what will the focus be moving forward? The immediate attention will be put on adding more defensive linemen while also staying on the current commits who didn't sign and are waiting until February. Linebacker Raesjon Davis, Jones and safety Khari Gee all fall into that category.

It'll also be interesting to follow the recruitments of the offensive tackle Leigh and receiver Brian Thomas over the coming weeks. With Earle's flip to the Crimson Tide, it'll be interesting to see how that affects Thomas' plans as the Tigers and Crimson Tide figure to be two leaders for his services.

All in all this was a fantastic day for Orgeron and company. Heading into the week, Orgeron said he expected anywhere from 15-20 signings so to hit in the upper echelon of that mark is a positive. The program was also able to make quick pivots after decommitments to quickly fill areas of need.

The work is far from done but LSU has set itself up nicely for a strong finish come February.