LSU Football Being More Aggressive with 2022 In-State Recruiting

After a year that saw LSU go hard for out of state prospects, the Tigers are now trending towards recruiting more prospects within the friendly confines of Louisiana.

The grass is always greener on the other side. That’s the old saying. Well, in this case, you can sub out grass for prospects, as in out of state prospects. For the class of 2021, LSU really made an effort to recruit nationally as much or more than it ever did before. The times are changing.

The Tigers offered 14 in-state players within the 2021 recruiting cycle, and that number has swelled to 20 for the class of 2022, and it’s only February. That’s an entire year worth of time to evaluate even more local products.

To say the least, that’s a huge transition for LSU coach Ed Orgeron and his staff. So why the switch? Three reasons stand out.

More Local Talent

Louisiana has always been a hotbed of prep football talent. That’s not changing either. The 2022 class, however, is special. Quarterback, running back, wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, cornerback and safety, LSU has extended offers to every one of those positions within the borders of Louisiana.

More importantly, several of those young men are absolutely capable of playing very early in their college careers. Here are three prospects to watch, amongst a large number mind you, of Louisiana players LSU would love to sign.

Le’veon Moss, RB, 5-11, 185, Baton Rouge (Istrouma)

Shazz Preston, WR, 5-11, 180, St. James

Kendrick Law, WR/CB, 6-1, 185, Shreveport (Captain Shreve)

All three of the above players are national recruits, and that’s just a small sampling of the in-state talent. At minimum, there are 10 national recruits from Louisiana within the 2022 cycle. It’s truly a special class.

LSU Holds Better Chances with Louisiana Recruits

After a turbulent 2020 season, LSU needs to regroup. That’s not to say the Tigers will fail with outside the region recruiting, but then again, it’s going to be easier to reel in local prospects as opposed to players from California, Maryland, and Ohio, three states that LSU has signed players from within recent years.

After winning a national title, LSU was on top of the college football world. After a 5-5 campaign, it’s simply easier to knock out recruiting wins from within ‘the boot’ than it is taking a star prospect away from a state like South Carolina where Clemson resides, or Ohio, where Ohio State calls home. Those are just obvious patterns of recruiting.

LSU bringing in the local talent makes sense. Further, it’s such a difficult time with COVID-19 that it’s probably safer to recruit locally as well as financially responsible. Recruiting across the country can be quite expensive.

Local Evaluations Prove Much Easier

Speaking of safety and fiscal responsibility, local recruiting holds another advantage: logistics. Most of the coaching staffs in Louisiana hold at least a few LSU fans on the roster. The LSU coaching staff will be able to learn more about the local recruits because of the vast number of contacts that are amongst the numerous staffs.

Academics, personality, work ethic, program fit and position fit all come into play, and the Tigers coaching staff will be more likely to gain more knowledge with local recruits than say a player from Virginia or New Jersey.

Keep in mind, LSU and every other Division I program has not been on the road in over a year. That’s right, over a year. It’s incredible. All of those in-person evaluations are gone.

With in-state prospects, the Tigers will not truly need to see as many players. Again, it goes back to the contacts amongst the high school coaching staffs. There are just so many LSU fans throughout the state that finding out truly important yet difficult pieces of information about recruits is much easier with local talent; then there’s the pandemic added to the equation.

This is a great recruiting class for LSU to lean on its in-state base. COVID-19 just made it even easier for the Tigers coaching staff to stay local.

How many Louisiana players sign with LSU is hard to project, but anything under 10 should be considered a surprise. The Louisiana talent is loaded, the LSU staff knows the state well through numerous sources, and COVID-19 makes staying local even more logical.