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Statistics show that Louisiana is the football capital of the world.
According to a study conducted by The Sporting News this past fall, the Pelican State produces more professional football players per capita than any other state in America – one in every 73,119 Louisianans reach the top level of gridiron competition.
That’s usually good news for LSU’s recruiting efforts, as the Tigers annually pluck the top prep players in the state and dress them in purple and gold.
If they keep that trend alive this year, LSU’s future may be filled with victories and conference championships.
Louisiana is loaded top-to-bottom this year with elite talent – some of the best players in the country. A total of 15 players in the state are ranked as Rivals.com four-star players or higher.
Of those players, eight are currently among the Top 100 players in America, according to Rivals’ listings.
“It’s a great year,” TigerBait.com recruiting analyst Mike Scarborough said. “The depth of talent in the state is rich. And I think it’s one of, if not the best year, for this state in my time doing this. Up and down the lists, there are just so many players in Louisiana that are getting big-time attention from big-time programs.”
But with big talent comes big decisions.
And a lot of LSU fans are nervous because a slew of the top prospects in the state are uncommitted as National Signing Day draws closer.
But according to LSU247 Recruiting Analyst Sonny Shipp, the Tigers are in the leaders in the clubhouse for most of the uncommitted players left on the board, including St. Augustine halfback Leonard Fournette, Karr High School standouts Gerald Willis and Speedy Noil and John Curtis receiver Malachi Dupre.
“Fans will be nervous until the scholarship is faxed or until students are physically enrolled on campus for the first day of school,” Shipp said. “But I think this coaching staff has worked really hard and has put itself in a great position with these kids. I think the Tigers are ready to make a really strong finish.”
“I think most of the players left on the board are LSU-leans,” Scarborough added in agreement. “I think LSU can finish big.”
Arguably the biggest fish swimming around the Pelican State prep football pond is Fournette – a consensus five-star player.
A New Orleans native, Fournette punishes opposing defenses at the high school level with his size, agility and physical running style.
Rated as the No. 6 player in America, according to Rivals.com, analysts sang the praises of the “must-get” player that the Tigers have coveted for several seasons.
LSU didn’t sign a halfback in their last recruiting class – a move most said was to show loyalty to Fournette.
“He’s a franchise player,” Scarborough said. “You use that term in the NFL, but you can use it in college, too. He’s that kid. He’s the franchise player. Louisiana has a history of producing high-quality running backs. Jeremy Hill is a good example. And Leonard Fournette is in a similar mold. You’d have to go back to Kevin Faulk to find a guy that is this big of a national recruit at that position in LSU. He’s a must-get. LSU has to have him.”
Shipp agreed with Scarborough and added that the Blue Chip halfback compares favorable to NFL star Adrian Peterson.
“That’s a comparison that you hear so often, but that’s because it fits,” Shipp said. “On the field, they are similar. But off the field, by all accounts, you hear that Adrian Peterson is a true class act. Leonard is a similar type of person. He’s a guy that I think fans can be comfortable with, meaning that I don’t think they need to worry about him getting in trouble or anything while on campus.
“That’s a trait that fans often take for granted. But if you look around the country and think of some of the things going on around college football, to have a kid like Leonard on campus would be a big plus.”
Willis, Noil and Dupre are all big-time names, too.
The Karr High School duo, Willis and Noil were a huge part in establishing the Cougars as one of the top prep football programs in the country.
The players have not said publicly that they will be a package deal, but many analysts expect them to sign together.
LSU and Texas A&M are on each player’s list.
Getting Willis, a defensive lineman, would be a double-boost for LSU, as it would also cover the Tigers’ need for interior linemen.
“I think when you watch the LSU and Alabama game, that was the difference – the play at the line of scrimmage,” Scarborough said. “LSU really needs to sure itself up in the trenches and get Willis and some of those other guys to close that gap and make up some ground there.”
Dupre is a lanky wide receiver that will likely have an immediate impact, according to most.
“He’s a monster,” Shipp said. “You can just see him coming in and making plays. He’s so athletic, and it really looks like he’s going to be a big-time impact player.”
As a squad, LSU’s current recruiting efforts sit somewhere in the teens nationally, according to Shipp and Scarborough.
But if LSU fans have their way and the uncommitted chips fall in LSU’s favor, who knows how high they might shoot up?
Scarborough and Shipp tout that this could be an amazing year.
“It’d be top three for sure if they got everyone left,” Scarborough said. “That’d be a class that would easily be among the best in the country. They would shoot way up and catch a lot of headlines.”
“I think it’d be No. 1,” Shipp added. “And I’d go so far as to say that it’d be one of, if not the best class they’d have signed in my time doing this. That would be a class loaded with talent, because this is a truly great year in Louisiana.
“That usually is a major benefit to the Tigers. Usually, we see LSU mop up and bring in the lion’s share of those players and put them in their program.”
