OUR FINAL NATIONAL SIGNING DAY PICKS

by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

@LonnPhillips

After a strong recruiting weekend of visits from LSU's recruiting staff, there is growing confidence among the Tigers regarding some 2022 targets.

First off: just because a recruiting visit went well doesn't mean a player is going to that school; unless awful social faux pas or a complete disregard for the comfort of recruits and their families occurs (which is extremely rare nowadays), 99.9% of recruiting visits always go well on the surface.

But we look to solve the tough questions that make up a final recruiting decision:

What are players talking about with their parents?

What caught their eye most concerning LSU's new coaching staff?

Will NIL help or hurt LSU's cause down the stretch?

I must say, LSU's pair of 5 star targets could be a flip of the coin when it comes to National Signing Day:

Regardless of whether Kelly's Tigers secure Jacoby Mathews, Harold Perkins or neither, don't let your Tiger heart be troubled.....in spite of tremendous obstacles, LSU will still finish with one of the strongest classes in the country, given the circumstances.

It's actually pretty incredible....yes, LSU sadly lost the top 3 Louisiana WR prospects to Alabama (Preston, Law and Anderson), and still, Kelly's Tigers have a chance to finish with five 5 star talents, all hailing from the state of Louisiana (Walker, Will, Wiggins, Mathews and Perkins).

This is a staff who've been through everything you can experience on the blood and tears-soaked college football recruiting trail...

I don't expect Kelly's crew to miss much of anything, nor fail to close.....the only thing that can hurt this staff regarding our 2022 targets?

Lack of familiarity or time to forge a proper relationship.....something which could hurt LSU in 2022; but if our current staff stay on Mathews or Perkins (regardless of their final 2022 decision), then I wouldn't sleep on certain players finding their way back to LSU through the transfer portal later on.

As for 2022....let's jog the numbers:

There's 8 total scholarships left, but only 7 can be used for 2022; Kelly has room to work with, even training an eye ahead on transfers leaving later around Spring ball....

The Tigers are able to sign up to 32 players for the 2022 class, 13 high school signings from December, 12 transfers in from late December to January....

If you aren't subscribed, here's our 2021 NSD picks for you to see for yourself just what I've been getting up to around here.

Where do LSU stand with the Hightower receiver?

Regardless of how close Florida may be, I can say LSU are recruiting him harder than anyone out there.

Denbrock can see something special in Douglas, and visiting him for 2 in-home stays over the past 6 days, while also getting Caleb to campus this past weekend, will mean everything for a recruiting staff with aims of signing the lengthy receiver.

The Tigers circled Douglas as a prime talent for the future at LSU, and with some Tigers waiting to see how the program is doing in Spring before making a transfer decision, Kelly will need as much depth on roster as possible.

Still, I'm fearful of Florida's new WRs Coach Keary Colbert making every possible move here; Florida have far more roster space for Douglas to receive plenty of first team reps; meanwhile, LSU are locked and loaded with layer after layer of deep talent at WR.

If he wants to play in his first two seasons, I don't think it would be a smart move for Douglas to head to LSU, although I may be underestimating the Missouri native's competitive fires by suggesting he would shy away from battle....

OUR FINAL PICK: FLA

(HIS ANNOUNCEMENT) FLA

Jacoby is still deciding between LSU & Florida, though the staff are in as good of a position as they could possibly be, especially considering a transition, a new coaching staff, Corey Raymond moving from Louisiana to Florida....there was a big move made for him this weekend, as big of a grab for the 5 star as could be made....with some NIL partners coming to the fore.

Mathews is now weighing his options more seriously than ever before as the clock ticks closer and closer to NSD this coming month.....and after this weekend, I feel LSU are now ahead of Florida but just marginally.

For our last NSD piece, we had Jacoby trending for Napier's Gators.......now, after LSU's Louisiana-based staff gave it everything for a few days with Mathews, I'm told Jacoby is leaning on the side of becoming a Tiger.

Things are starting to come together here, but will it be enough?

Grabbing the final visit of his recruitment was an ultimate power grab, and I believe the Tigers made the most of their chance.

OUR FINAL PICK: A&M (changed pick from LSU at 10:30 am)

While nothing majorly changed (at first) since we last recapped Citizen here, it's obvious things are taking a swift turn:

Citizen is being recruited so vigorously by Florida's Billy Napier, hungry for a pinnacle running back, negatively recruiting LSU by pointing out their loaded 2022 RB stable (Emery Jr, Kiner, Goodwin, Cain and Williams), pushing the Gators' open pathway to the field over extra attrition in Baton Rouge.

OUR FINAL PICK: FLA

(HIS ANNOUNCEMENT) MIA

As we detailed in our article over the weekend, things went well for LSU's recruitment of Harold, except for two subtle, yet important elements: family and vibe.

It was hard to tell whether his parents were getting sick and tired of the lengthy recruiting process or were simply not feeling it at LSU on Saturday night, although Harold himself seemed to be excited by everything, from the tour, discussions with coaches (Wilson, Sheridan, Petzing, a talk with Kelly and a Zoom call with future LBs Coach Matt House) and the photoshoot he live streamed on his Instagram.

Laterrance Welch was recruiting Perkins just as hard as anyone, taking photos, showing Perkins around campus, himself....however, the parents were the focus for LSU's staff, and it appears the Tigers won over Harold's Mom & Dad.

What I heard from sources close to Harold's family:

"Kelly is more organized than Orgeron, not even the same program."

"I love how they want to use Harold."

"We were impressed the entire time."

"They answered every question, even ones he hadn't asked..."

My confidence is the same as it was during our trending NSD piece....at this point, I won't be shocked if he heads to either LSU or Florida, however due to his parents tipping the scales, LSU have a growing confidence concerning Harold.

But I must warn all of you: parents praising a school, let alone the school of their home state, isn't a surprise, neither is it a shock that Brian Kelly would be organized; what it will come down to? Comfort, fit and environment.

I feel without this visit, LSU wouldn't be able to sign Harold Perkins; now, there's every chance for Perkins to come home.

Based on my conversations with family members, their excitement, and my own talks with people close to the program's recruiting staff, I have to say I'm "nervously optimistic".

OUR FINAL PICK: LSU

Over the past few weeks before Lewis Jr's LSU visit, I felt the Westgate senior was inching away to Alabama, tiptoeing out of the state in the wake of their offer.

But after this past Wednesday's visit, and what I'm hearing from those close to Lewis Jr's family, I have to give the Tigers a renewed edge here....while not a massive lead, LSU are marginally pulling ahead.

Not only was Lewis recruited hard by Kelly, Polian & Mike Denbrock himself, Westgate legend Kayshon Boutte was on hand to show Lewis around campus, pushing back Alabama's pursuit with fervent force after the 2021 state champion began to dip a toe in Bama waters.

OUR FINAL PICK: LSU

(HIS ANNOUNCEMENT) ALABAMA (Wish we would've stayed with our earlier pick)

Offered last week by LSU's new DBs Coach Kerry Cooks, Jaelyn Davis-Robinson is a strong, silky smooth Texas cornerback possessing solid ball skills, innate tackling instincts and elite playmaking prowess all combined with his expert track speed, clocking in a 10.75 second 100 metre dash.

As a senior at Waxahachie, Jaelyn recorded 46 total tackles (36 solo and 7.7 per contest), 6 tackles for loss, 3 passes broken up, 2 sacks, 1 Fumble Recovery next to 1 receiving touchdown.

As a junior, JDR posted 29 stops, 3 passes broken up and an interception.

Holding offers from Oregon, Louisville, SMU, Boston College among 7 others, LSU joined the pursuit of Davis-Robinson with full fiery gusto. After this past weekend where JDR visited the Tigers' campus, Jaelyn is very close to a Tiger lock.

His family enjoyed their time mightily, not just as visiting parents given the 5 star treatment, but as husband and wife who feel comfortable sending their child to LSU.

OUR FINAL PICK: LSU

(HIS ANNOUNCEMENT) LSU

by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

@LonnPhillips

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