LSU CLASS OF 2021: THE DEAD PERIOD'S BEHIND THE SCENES MOVEMENT

The 2021 Recruiting Class has been in a lull...a desolate dead period wherein there's been little to no movement, at least as far as big-time player moves.

However, that doesn't mean the action behind the scenes has slowed down....on the contrary, we've seen shifts being orchestrated, coaches getting silent commits...yet the biggest trend occurring?

Commits luring undecided recruits to follow their lead.

This new phenomenon was instigated by LSU's 2021 ambassadors Naquan Brown, Raesjon Davis and Chris Hilton, all three proving to be highly influential towards their fellow recruits.

Below we address some LSU's top targets, whether the influence of current Tigers has helped or hurt and where each kid currently lands on the Odyssey Predict-o-Meter.

Zachary High senior Chris Hilton, aka the #2 Wide Receiver in Louisiana, has already befriended his fellow ultimate 2021 WR, earmarking Walker High's Brian Thomas as a potential "WR partner in DB crime":

Hilton is looking to keep Thomas home, the #1 WR in Louisiana wedged between Orgeron or Saban, LSU or Alabama.

Such is Thomas's talent, I fear we cannot allow such a thoroughbred receiver to leave our state, lest we watch him potentially torch us for years down the road.

WR Coach Mickey Joseph has already built an incredible 2021 stable of guys, Jo Jo Earle, Deion Smith and Chris Hilton are a trio of dynamic talent, strident strength and gubernatorial speed...but the arrival of Brian Thomas takes this class above and beyond, stapling us to the top as the best WR class in the nation.

If we're still aiming for this high flying offense to become a long-term, automatic identity of LSU football, then we can't just be fine getting a group of receivers...we need to geaux for the best of the best every class, every season....when talking about the best, you can't get any better than Chris Hilton, Deion Smith, Jo Jo Earle topped off by the "Ja'Marr Chase II" caliber of Brian Thomas.

As much as we've been told time and time again "Thomas wants to do some more visits", he's also become a lot tighter with Hilton, both Hilton and Thomas families hanging out for a weekend together recently. Not only that, one of Thomas's best friends is a current LSU basketball player, all of which pulls him ever closer to Baton Rouge

The penalty for losing another colossal target, Tristan Leigh, is the same as Brian Thomas: face them once a year in the SEC West if we fail to bring them aboard the U.S.S LSU Orgeron.

Tristan Leigh is the most critical target for LSU's 2021 class at this juncture...as we watched Alabama steal J.C Latham and entice the Brockermeyer Brothers their way, strengthening their offensive line for the next four years, many forecasted Leigh's impending Tuscaloosa arrival.

The reason it doesn't make sense?

How is Tristan going to start for three seasons with all of these proven upperclassmen starters, NFL-ready talent to the brim surrounding him at every position along the line?

At Bama, it's one big clusterf**k....no plan, no rhyme or reason.

At LSU, there's always a plan:

Alongside Garrett Dellinger, Tristan Leigh would find a home with Coach James Cregg as the guy for the Tigers O-line, and though LSU has a bevy of top-tier young O-line talent for Leigh to compete against or alongside (Kardell Thomas, Anthony Bradford, Marcus Dumervil), Tristan's abilities will grow at LSU, he'll receive the nurturing care his skills deserve and he'd easily be considered one of the Tigers' most critical players.

At Alabama or Ohio State, their methodology is about stacking talent, regardless of the similarities in attributes or profile...they know one player will beat the other for the job and if there's anything that changes or happens, well there's another guy to take that spot, too.

That's all well and fine, but LSU takes far more care in their targeting and evaluation of talent.

LSU is about development and there's no better place for Tristan to grow as a young man, an O-line Bossmaster and a football player.

We expect this to get close but Leigh should definitely commit to the Tigers, not only due to the way we treated his family (without knowing who they were) or his tight relationship with Coach James Cregg, but because of the way the LSU fans have embraced him and his little brother Aidan so quickly.

As for Maason Smith and Korey Foreman, Tiger Details' Julie Boudwin has been killin' it lately with her groundbreaking reporting, showing the world how tight Smith and Foreman are as friends, proving how serious they are about their dual-commitment and revealing some tidbits about their upcoming announcements.

First off, either player looks bound to each other as seriously as we first reported here months and months ago, so losing Foreman or Smith means you lose the other.

Second, neither will announce prior to Early Signing Day in December, although we can never say never; and third, Korey is starting to really dig LSU.

To top that off, we have a Southern California source close to the Foreman family who's told us "Korey is pretty much done with Dabo and Clemson. He's not going back there. It's either USC to stay at home or LSU to go on an adventure with Maason, although Maason would probably come to USC just to be with Korey. Maason is the extrovert and Korey is the introvert, for sure, but I think Korey will be communicating his future intentions much more in the next months. At the same time, Maason really would like to stay home, but he's more beholden to Foreman than Louisiana."

It's either ride or die when it comes to sealing the deal on these two....either you're hero or you're zero....although I just cannot see Coach Ed Orgeron allowing such a through-and-through Bayou Bro like Maason to get away.

LET'S GEAUX KOREY AND MAASON.

Can LSU grab Kool-Aid?

Yes.

He doesn't see Alabama or Auburn as DBU....but he views LSU as the Gatekeeper of Defensive Back Prowess, turning more high school DBs into NFL superstars than any other school.

This will come down between an Auburn and LSU showdown: as much as Gus Malzahn and Bruce Pearl will try to keep the young man home, Kool-Aid has no fears of an adventure. Geauxing out of state to play with California-native Eli Ricks, fellow Bama-native Cor'dale Flott, Houston-native Dwight McGlothern or Georgia's Jay Ward would be exactly what Kool-Aid needs to grow as a player and as a future NFL or NBA star.

We understand that Kool-Aid loves his basketball as much as football...would Saban or Malzahn allow McKinstry to play basketball?

Even if they did, would he enjoy playing for such profligate programs?

LSU are the no-brainers here, not only for what Corey Raymond can show Kool-Aid.... this is about time, place and personality all meshing together beautifully:

Kool-Aid fits the vibe of a Tiger...through and through....more than that, tell me if LSU basketball's push to the final four under Will Wade isn't more tempting than Nate Oates' Bama program...ya can't say it...it's all about Will Wade.

We slightly worry about Bruce Pearl's exciting program at Auburn combining with Malzahn's consistent reliability, but this is a recruit LSU have all the tools, the energy and the goods to deliver.

Below we don't see too much movement with our projections and 2021 predictions, however we have replaced Derrick Davis Jr with Andrew Mukuba.

Not only do we feel that Davis is slipping towards Clemson or Penn State's grasp, we sense Mukuba's versatility, boundless athleticism and hybridized profile fit much better at Louisiana State.

Mukuba is not only a transcendental talent in the run stuffing game, he has incendiary ball skills, truly rare for a strong safety at this young of an age and with his attributes.

At Running Back, we were favoring Camar Wheaton recently, however now are sights are more firmly set on Ke'Travion Hargrove, a diamond in the rough.

Out of Ruston High, the 5'11, 188 lb running back clocked 1,537 yards and 20 TDs from 205 total rushes as a junior, but displayed multi-faceted danger out wide too, catching the ball 17 times for 460 additional yards.

We think the Hargrove operation is tailor-made for K-Feezy to come in, blow the doors off their hinges with his 3 Super Bowl rings and his SEC All-team yards records and say "I want to coach you at LSU...I want to show you my secrets..."

We think Ke'Travion's head could be turned due to that meeting....ours probably would, too.

Also at DB, expect Nathaniel Wiggins to make his commitment to LSU on August 28th. His relationship with Corey Raymond has only progressed over the last few months and the Georgia-native could very well become the second Georgia-located DB to join this DBU class.

These are guys LSU aren't just after...

These are guys who should form the establishment of the 2021 class...

These are guys LSU needs.

OT TRISTAN LEIGH: COMMITS TO LSU

OG DIEGO POUNDS: COMMITS TO LSU

CB / WR GA'QUINCY "KOOL-AID" MCKINSTRY: COMMITS TO LSU

WR BRIAN THOMAS JR: COMMITS TO LSU

DB / S / KR SAGE RYAN: COMMITS TO LSU

DB / CB NATHANIEL WIGGINS (Commits 8/28): COMMITS TO LSU

S / LB / WR / KR ANDREW MUKUBA: LEANING TO LSU BIG TIME

DT MAASON SMITH: COMMITS TO LSU

DE KOREY FOREMAN: COMMITS TO LSU WITH HIS BROTHER MAASON

LB PRINCE KOLLIE: TOSS UP, EITHER NOTRE DAME OR LSU

RB KE'TRAVION HARGROVE: COMMITTED TO LA TECH, BUT I SEE A K-FEEZY SPECIAL

S DERRICK DAVIS JR: CLEMSON, PENN STATE OR LSU
 RB CAMAR WHEATON: TOSS UP OKLAHOMA OR LSU, BUT FAULK CAN DO THIS

OG ROCCO SPINDLER: TOSS UP, EITHER LSU OR MICHIGAN

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