Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is ranking the 10 best states when it comes to star power in the 2022 and 2023 classes. Coming in at No. 6 is Louisiana.
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RANKING THE STATES: No. 10 Pennsylvania | No. 9 Virginia | No. 8 Ohio | No. 7 Tennessee
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series
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OVERVIEW
The state of Louisiana is routinely loaded with outstanding talent, but this could be a special year as two five-stars lead the way in 2022 in Ponchatoula safety Jacoby Mathews and LSU quarterback pledge Walker Howard out of Lafayette St. Thomas More.
But after those two there are 15 four-stars, and some of those players have a shot at five-star status. The 2023 class is also incredibly special, with No. 1 overall QB Arch Manning leading the way and then 13 four-stars, including Texas A&M QB pledge Eli Holstein, among the group.
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RECRUITING
We’ve written this numerous times, but the last time the No. 1 prospect in the state of Louisiana did not pick LSU was Landon Collins a decade ago. Former LSU pledge Jacoby Mathews could be in that same boat unless he re-commits to the Tigers, as Texas A&M is also in his top two. Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma and Florida State are on the fringe, but this feels like a two-team race and nobody would be surprised if he ended up back in Baton Rouge.
When talking about the state of Louisiana, we cannot get too in-depth until Arch Manning is discussed because he’s going to command so much attention over the next few years. Not only because he comes from the Manning family quarterback lineage but also because he’s uber-talented and still has a long list of schools involved, including Clemson, Texas, Georgia, LSU and so many others.
Back to the 2022 class, there is a decent chance LSU could have a clean sweep among top recruits in the state with Mathews, four-star defensive end Quency Wiggins, four-star receiver Shazz Preston, four-star all-purpose back Trevor Etienne (who might be the biggest stretch at this point), four-star safety Austin Ausberry, former Alabama running back pledge Le’Veon Moss and four-star defensive end J’Mond Tapp in the top 10 of the state rankings. That would be an incredible haul by coach Ed Orgeron and his staff, but it's certainly not out of the question.
As for the 2023 class, LSU and Texas A&M are battling it out for four-star receiver Shelton Sampson. The Tigers, Aggies, Florida and Ohio State are battling for four-star outside linebacker Jaiden Ausberry, while schools across the country are in it for four-star linebacker Tackett Curtis. LSU looks good early for New Iberia (La.) Westgate four-star safety Derek Williams to round out the top five.
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SOME THOUGHTS
I don’t think the top of the 2022 state rankings is settled. Quency Wiggins is someone who could really emerge through his senior season - and especially at the all-star events - to take over that No. 1 spot, but that’s no guarantee. The Baton Rouge Madison Prep Academy standout looked great at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge this summer, but he did lose reps as he is still getting used to national competition and what that entails. Still, there are not many physical specimens like him in this class.
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LSU received a commitment from four-star running back TreVonte’ Citizen and that was definitely big because he’s incredibly talented and should be a perfect fit in the Tigers’ offense. If LSU could also land Le’Veon Moss, who recently de-committed from Alabama, then the Tigers could have a two-headed attack that could be one of the best in college football. Others are battling for him, but LSU has to like its chances.
