Recapping LSU's National Signing Day, Where Do Tigers Go From Here?
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National signing day for the 2022 cycle is officially in the books and LSU can now set all of its sights on preparing for an important spring under first year coach Brian Kelly.
As is the case with every national signing day, there are always a few surprises and throughout the day it became clear just what kind of haul the Tigers would be getting. LSU opened the morning off with a signifiant addition of cornerback Jaelyn Davis-Robinson out of Texas, adding to its growing cornerback room that went through a near complete overhaul in the last month.
Later in the afternoon, the Tigers landed perhaps the biggest uncommitted prospect in the country in linebacker Harold Perkins, who's No. 16 in the country on the SI99 rankings. Perkins joins a linebacker core of potential veteran starters in Micah Baskerville and Mike Jones Jr., but is undoubtedly seen as one of the future faces of this defense.
With LSU light in numbers at a number of key positions, it wouldn't be a bit surprising to see Perkins squeeze his way into the rotation as a true freshman.
There was some disappointment to for the purple and gold as well, particularly with the in state group of players. Watching the Tigers land not one of running back TreVonte Citizen, tight end Danny Lewis or safety JaCoby Mathews certainly stings.
Citizen is off to Miami while Lewis and Mathews will start their collegiate journeys at SEC West rivals Alabama and Texas A&M respectively. Not landing one of the in state guys is a bitter pill to swallow but this staff has also only had a month to build relationships.
If this becomes a trend over the next few recruiting cycles then it's time to pause for concern but overall this group did about as much as it could with the time constraints.
The Mathews recruitment throughout the day took a number of twists and turns with Texas A&M seemingly having the edge early in the day. NIL has been linked to a number of these high ranking prospects and there were multiple reports, including from 104.5 ESPN's Matt Moscona, that said local business leaders linked to LSU cobbled up enough to make one last push for Mathews.
As the 6 p.m. announcement drew closer, the buzz around Mathews only grew stronger and it's just a representation of where college sports are and will be moving forward. In the end, Mathews landed in College Station with one of the most highly graded freshmen classes ever put together. Not making much of a statement in state during this national signing day stings but the Tigers will now get a full offseason with its new coaching staff to sink its teeth into another deep 2023 class in Louisiana.
The question now becomes where does LSU go from here? Adding a prospect like Perkins certainly lessens the blow of losing out on so many in state prospects this cycle.
Keep in mind there are 12 immensely talented transfers joining this 2022 class, with Penn State transfer running back Noah Cain being officially announced on Wednesday as well. But this team has five spots left to add through the transfer portal over the next several months and the spring is when the portal activity will really ramp up.
A little transfer quarterback by the name of Joe Burrow committed and signed with LSU during the 2018 offseason after spring ball so there's always a chance to find a few diamonds in the rough. As far positions of need, Kelly and company will likely want to address tight end, offensive line, cornerback and perhaps a transfer quarterback should they not feel great about the depth of the position.
LSU is relatively deep at receiver and running back but not landing Lewis out of Westgate leaves a hole at tight end next to Mason Taylor and Kole Taylor that deserves attention.
All in all for a staff that's come together in just over two months to pull off the signing of Perkins and the number of high quality transfers it has brought in as well, this should be considered a very successful first recruiting cycle.
