LSU Country

Nation's No. 1 Athlete, Five-Star LSU Football Commit Recruiting Ohio State Safety

Brian Kelly and Co. recently landed a pledge from the top-ranked Louisiana prospect, assisting LSU on recruiting trail.
Zack Nagy|
Courtesy of Lamar Brown's Instagram.

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Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers landed a commitment from Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab five-star prospect Lamar Brown on July 10 after going public with a decision.

Brown, the top-ranked recruit in Louisiana, pledged to the hometown Tigers over the likes of the Texas A&M Aggies, Texas Longhorns and Miami Hurricanes down the stretch of his process.

For the 6-foot-4, 285-pounder, the opportunity to represent his home state and lace up his cleats in Tiger Stadium was the difference-maker as decision day neared in early July.

"It just feels good to play for my state and city. Not just for three or four years but for years after football life. I'm just blessed to be in this position and ready to play in Tiger Stadium," Brown said.

"Frank Wilson. He's been on me since the first day. The whole staff, I have a relationship with the whole staff, everybody on the staff that helped for this moment."

Now, with the No. 1 athlete in America pledged to the LSU Tigers in the 2026 Recruiting Cycle, Brown is making his voice heard on the recruiting scene.

The five-star prospect has been active on social media ever since committing to the Bayou Bengals as a critical recruiter for the LSU program.

Once he revealed a pledge to Brian Kelly's Tigers, Brown immediately took to X [Twitter] to begin his pursuit of fellow Baton Rouge (La.) native Blaine Bradford.

Bradford, the No. 2 rated prospect in Louisiana and the No. 2 safety in America, revealed a commitment to the Ohio State Buckeyes this offseason.

“It has been about consistency with Ohio State,” he told On3’s Chad Simmons prior to his commitment. “I have had a lot of good conversations with coach Ryan Day and I can talk about anything with coach G (Matt Guerierri).

"They won a national championship this season, they can put people into the NFL every year and they have great people around the program.”

But Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers continue keeping tabs on the five-star safety right in the program's backyard.

Bradford, a Baton Rouge native, has been surrounded by the Bayou Bengals his entire career with his brother now set to take the field in Tiger Stadium in 2025 as a true freshman.

Brown is voicing his thoughts on social media as he openly recruits Bradford to LSU, but there could be another piece that may work in the Tigers' favor.

This month, news broke that Ohio State Director of Player Personnel, Sam Petitto, will depart the Buckeyes and make his way to Baton Rouge as LSU Football’s Director of Scouting and Personnel Strategy.

It's a move that immediately sent shockwaves across college football with LSU adding one of the sport's most respected front office figures.

Petitto, a Louisiana native with an impressive track record, spent nearly a decade working under Alabama head coach Nick Saban prior to heading to Ohio State.

The Amite (La.) native has emerged as a weapon for program's on the recruiting scene where he also assisted in the Alabama Crimson Tide signing Heisman Trophy-winning wide receiver, DeVonta Smith, years ago.

Now, with the recent news of Petitto set to join the LSU personnel department, LSU's 2026 Recruiting Class has begun their push to flip Bradford from Ohio State.

Bradford has since taken to social media to silence flip rumors, but it's clear the LSU 2026 Recruiting Class will keep a foot on the gas to add the top-ranked safety.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Ohio State commit remains firm on his pledge to the Buckeyes, but the LSU Tigers will certainly be a program to monitor heading into the fall.

More LSU News:

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LSU Football Holds Commitments From a Pair of Top-10 Wide Receivers in America

Brian Kelly's Take: LSU Football Searching for Ideal Starting Offensive Line Rotation

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU Tigers.

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Zack Nagy
ZACK NAGY

Zack Nagy is the Managing Editor and Publisher of LSU Country, a Sports Illustrated Publication. Nagy has covered Tiger Football, Basketball, Baseball and Recruiting, looking to keep readers updated on anything and everything involving LSU athletics. 

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