Despite Entering the Process Late, LSU Football Firmly in the Mix for 2021 Recruit Owen Prentice

Owen Prentice doesn't carry much SEC weight in terms of offers and interest, so when the Tigers came calling earlier this year expressing interest in his abilities, Prentice was a little stunned.

LSU officially offered the 6-foot-3, 295-pound guard from Seattle, Washington back on May 7. Prentice has been in communication with the LSU staff for a few months now and was scheduled to visit back in March, but the trip was put on hold because of the dead period caused by the coronavirus.

"I was extremely excited obviously with them winning the national championship and having all these guys drafted so it was huge to get an offer from them," Prentice said.

The offer from the Tigers resonated with Prentice so much that he immediately added LSU to his top list of schools, a list that also includes Washington, Stanford, California, USC, UCLA and Arizona State.

Prentice said it wasn't a particularly hard decision after the success the LSU offense and the offensive line had in 2019, winning a national championship and the Joe Moore Award as the premier offensive line in college football.

"It's not only what LSU has done as a football team which is incredible but also the accomplishments of the coaching staff," Prentice said. "I think it's a major credit to the coaching staff for the type of players that they're able to develop. That resonates with me."

Because LSU came in relatively late to the recruitment process, Prentice said he hasn't been able to get a good look at the campus via virtual tour but that he knows the weather is a lot nicer than it is up in Seattle.

Prentice has primarily dealt with offensive line coach James Cregg and now that the offer has come through, the plan is to remain in relatively consistent contact with the coaching staff.

"He pretty much told me how much they like me as a person and then he also likes my overall game," Prentice said. "I have the ability to move well for my size and that I have the ability to drive people back, which is a big part of playing on the offensive line."

Coach Ed Orgeron and passing game coordinator Scott Linehan have also spoken with Prentice with the primary point of conversation revolved around trying to get him down for a visit. Prentice would ideally like to get down to Baton Rouge before making any final decisions but as of this moment has no official plans to do so.

Instead, the last few weeks and months have been about trying to find ways to stay in shape in one of the more shut down parts of the country. The Seattle area was one of the first to be severely hit with the coronavirus outbreak and is still under heavy restrictions from its state government.

"I've just been going down to the field at my neighborhood high school and running some sprints over there and then some lineman work as well," Prentice said. "Luckily enough in our basement we've got a good amount of weights so it's a sufficient enough to get a good workout in."

Because his school is primarily a run first offense, one area Prentice said he'd like to improve on before heading off to college is his pass block. Prentice estimates the Odea High School offense is probably 90% run so it's important to get in those pass block reps in the offseason.

"Just for the lack of repetition you have to work on it and then I also want to work on becoming a better leader for my team," Prentice said. "Those are the kind of things I want to work on and are skills that translate to the next level."

With LSU moving to a pass heavy offense last fall, Prentice does think it's an offense he would have to adjust to but has complete faith in the coaching staff to get him prepared for that style of play.

"I think I'd be able to become a pretty good pass blocker for sure, especially with the coaching support that is there," Prentice said. "You always see them [LSU] everywhere growing up, even in Washington. Along with the Alabama's, the Florida's, the Georiga's, I've been watching all of those SEC schools since I was young and would consider it a great opportunity to play down there one day."