Transfers, Injuries Causing Many of LSU Football's Highly Touted Recruits to be Absent on Field
BATON ROUGE - When things fall apart, sometimes it’s just a total mess. When it comes to LSU and its five-star recruits from the class of 2019, 2020, and 2021, the return on investment has been minimal, and that’s especially true this season.
Here’s an overview of the eight recruits that were tabbed as the best of the best as five-star recruits and yet are not even contributing for the Tigers right now. An incredible string of injuries and transfers, this list helps to place into perspective why LSU has struggled on the gridiron for much of the 2021 season.
More specifically, none of the following players participated when the Tigers traveled to Tuscaloosa to play the Crimson Tide. Here’s the list:
2019 Recruiting Class
Marcel Brooks, S - We barely knew you. After recording eight tackles during his freshman season, Brooks left and transferred to TCU. He’s originally from Fort Worth (Texas) Marcus.
John Emery, RB - Has not played this season for the Tigers due to off the field issues, but did rush for 566 yards and seven touchdowns during his first two seasons in Baton Rouge.
Derek Stingley, Jr., CB - Immediate starter on LSU’s 2019 National Championship team. One of the most talented cornerbacks to ever don a Tigers’ uniform, which is saying a lot. Stingley produced six interceptions and 15 passes broken up as a freshman, but he only contributed five pass breakups in 2020 with zero interceptions, and in 2021 Stingley did not record a pass broken up or an interception. He only played in three games this year.
2020 Recruiting Class
Kayshon Boutte, WR - By the end of the 2020 season, Boutte was a dominant player. He finished the 2020 season with three consecutive games that were excellent. 111 yards versus Alabama, 108 yards and one touchdown versus Florida, and finished with an incredible 308 yards and three touchdowns versus Ole Miss.
Boutte started hot this season as well, but a major knee injury sidelined him. Through six games, he accrued 38 receptions for 508 yards and nine touchdowns, making him the odds-on favorite for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the top wide receiver in college football each season.
Arik Gilbert, TE - Playing eight games during his freshman season in 2020, Gilbert was an immediate starter. Before sitting out the final portion of the 2020 season, Gilbert had 35 receptions for 368 yards and two touchdowns to his credit. In the offseason, Gilbert transferred to Georgia but has not made an impact in Athens, Ga.
Elias Ricks, CB - One of the nation’s top recruits regardless of class coming out of the famed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Ricks recorded four interceptions, two going for touchdowns, as well as five passes broken up. He was an impactful freshman, but that did not really carry over to the 2021 season.
Ricks picked off one pass and broke up one pass during six games. He’s since gone through surgery to repair a shoulder injury that he sustained while in high school. He should be able to play again next season.
2021 Recruiting Class
Sage Ryan, S - After being highly sought after by the likes of Texas A&M, Alabama, LSU and many other top programs, Ryan decided to join the purple and gold. The versatile safety could have helped the Tigers as a nickelback or patrolled the deep secondary, but an injury has kept him from playing at all during the 2021 season.
Maason Smith, DT - Arguably the nation’s top recruit last year, Smith came to LSU and was consistently playing with the first team this season. He’s the rare interior defensive lineman that’s capable of utilizing multiple pass rush moves and applying pressure on the quarterback. Most defensive tackles simply cannot move like Smith moves, nor do they possess his quick hands to fend off blockers.
He played through the first eight games, recording four sacks, five tackles for loss and 19 total tackles. Smith’s future is indeed bright, but he did miss the Alabama game due to a lower body injury.
What Happened?
Transfers are one thing, but six big-time players having injuries at the same time is quite another. Maybe it truly is just rotten luck. LSU has been snake bitten this season as far as injuries go, and it’s not just the five-star recruits. With that stated, no team is going to consistently winning with that much attrition to top players, especially when one of them is arguably the most talented player in all of college football, and that would be Mr. Stingley.
Will LSU bounce back against Arkansas and/or versus Texas A&M? It’s possible. Nobody picked the Tigers to steamroll Florida either. No predictions were headed the Tigers way when they were about to play Alabama, and LSU came oh so close to winning on the road against its biggest rival.
This 4-5 football team would likely be sitting with a much different record if injuries had not interrupted the LSU season. It’s a part of football, and LSU must find a way to move forward with or without its top recruits from the past three recruiting classes.
