Three LSU Prospects Who Should Be the Priority Ahead of 2022 National Signing Day

With early signing day in the rearview mirror for LSU, this Tigers staff has shifted focus to filling out the rest of this 2022 recruiting class with immediate impact players.

Brian Kelly put his recruiting cap on the day he touched down in Baton Rouge, assembling a talent-rich group in the early signing period, but now it’s time to lock in more star-studded prospects.

Here are a few prospects that are key to taking this class to the next level:

JaCoby Mathews

The five-star safety out of Ponchatoula, La. has been a high priority recruit for the Tigers for quite some time now. Once committed to LSU, Mathews backed off his pledge and reopened his recruitment to explore other options earlier this year.

Mathews has been linked to Texas A&M over the last few months with many thinking he would sign with them during the early period, but now pushing his commitment date back into 2022, it’s opened up the chance he commits back to Death Valley.

Mathews is a hard-hitting, electrifying defensive back who plays well above his age. With a college body already and the closing speed to back up his play style, Mathews is an elite prospect the Tigers need in their secondary.

Losing Elias Ricks to the transfer portal and the assumption Derek Stingley Jr. enters the 2022 NFL Draft, this secondary is thin, so the addition of Mathews for the next few years is key to the success of this program.

Harold Perkins

When you think of pure athletes on the gridiron, Harold Perkins has to be at the top of the list of players. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound linebacker out of Texas is one of the most exciting recruits in all of high school football.

A true blue-chip recruit, Perkins has a myriad of schools calling his name, but after trimming his list to just three in early December, LSU made the cut along with Texas and Texas A&M. With an announcement set for January 2nd, LSU has made Perkins’ recruitment of the highest priority.

LSU and Texas A&M are the two schools heating up for Perkins right now. He’s hinted at the chance of returning back to Louisiana, where he was raised, on numerous occasions through social media, but A&M is starting to get hot with his recruitment.

Perkins has the makings of being a generational talent at the linebacker position. As hard-hitting as they come and the ability to play sideline-to-sideline, his speed is unmatched at his position, and adding his strength into the equation, Perkins is an immediate impact player for whichever program he chooses to take his talent to.

TreVonte Citizen

A Lake Charles product and four-star running back, TreVonteCitizen, is of the highest priority for the Tigers. An LSU pledge just a few months back, Citizen backed off of his commitment in late November after the Tigers parted ways with Ed Orgeron.

Citizen has seen his recruitment heat up significantly since reopening it up just a few weeks back, reeling in offers from a handful of schools. It’s his sheer power at the running back position that has him so highly touted by top-tier schools.

His ability to change pace at the flip a switch and incredible strength has all the makings of being a program changer for any school he chooses, which is why LSU is pushing so hard to get him back. After evaluating who the Tigers brought in during the early signing period, Citizen has the chance to add to a talented class Brian Kelly has brought in so far.

There is tremendous optimism Citizen commits back to Baton Rouge after so much positive change has been made. The addition of Citizen into this class could bolster this Tigers 2022 group to elite status.