SI All-American Analyst Gives Reasoning Behind LSU Football 2021 Commits Being Named to SI99 List

On Monday, LSU 2021 commits Raesjon Davis, JoJo Earle and Landon Jackson were named to the inaugural SI99 rankings. The trio are three of the explosive young prospects for a class that currently has 16 commits overall.

We reached out to SI All-American recruiting director John Garcia to get his thoughts on why Davis, Earle and Jackson were named to the SI99. Here was Garica's thoughts on all three prospects who hope to be major contributors to the LSU program as freshmen:

LSU commitments were under high consideration at several positions within our individual rankings over the last month and a trio made the tougher cut as members of the inaugural SI99.

Raesjon Davis was the easiest to push higher on the list of all Tiger commitments because of how complete his game has become. In an era where three-down linebackers are a must, he is among the best nationally with the ability to rush the passer and/or play in coverage on third down. He is instinctive with effective fast-flow principles, can finish with force and proves athletic enough to play throughout the second level while facing arguably the top competition in arguably the toughest high school football league in the country -- the Trinity League.

Jojo Earle was one of the more fun prospects to debate at every stage of this process. When it came to positional rankings, just like with his game, we went back and forth on tabbing him as a slot receiver or running back. The Texan would have made the top 10 ranks at either spot but we went with running back in the end because of the nature of the game today. He is incredibly swift and makes plays with great vision. He’s best served with the ball in his hands out of the backfield, in the screen game, quick game or additional passing plays that live as extensions of the run game. I personally can't wait to see how many places he lines up at in Baton Rouge.

Landon Jackson is a part of an extremely deep edge rusher class that figures to wreak havoc on the college football world next year. It's so deep that even a prospect as long and disruptive as he is, didn't make the top-10 ranks at the position. Still, as evidenced at edge and quarterback most notably within the 99, these priority positions end up claiming more sports than initially anticipated. Jackson has such great primary traits off the edge, with true explosion off the snap and a foundation of moves to work tackles in pass protection all on a great frame. More balance to his game as a senior is our expectation, common in prospects within the SI99 with a higher ceiling and potentially a lack of polish.

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