While most of college football has been put on hold, recruiting marches on. The class of 2021 has seen a wave of commitments since the start of April, and the team rankings have adjusted to reflect growing classes. We are taking a snapshot of each class in their order of the Rivals Team Rankings and continue with the LSU Tigers.
LSU
Current rank: No. 12
Number of commits: 10
Top commits: Four-star OLB Raesjon Davis (No. 50 overall), QB Garrett Nussmeier (No. 88 overall), four-star RB Corey Kiner (No. 118 overall), four-star WR Deion Smith (No. 125 overall).
Top targets: Five-star QB Caleb Williams (No. 3 overall); five-star DT Maason Smith (No. 6); five-star RB Camar Wheaton (No. 7); five-star OG Bryce Foster (No. 9); five-star OT Tommy Brockermeyer (No. 10)
LOCAL REACTION
"LSU isn’t off to a fast start with commitments like Ohio State, Florida, Tennessee or Miami, but the Tigers have a solid group of pledges, including seven four-stars, led by Davis. The defending national champions have most of their top targets remaining on the board, so it’s completely feasible that LSU could end up in the top five of the team rankings when it’s all said and done. The Tigers built a lot of momentum with their championship run last season and don’t expect Ed Orgeron's program to slow down their national recruiting efforts in 2021."
– Julie Boudwin, TigerDetails.com
NATIONAL REACTION
"Orgeron took the LSU brand to the national level in 2020, landing highly-rated recruits from around the country, including the fertile region encompassing Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi -- in addition to Florida, California, Georgia and even Colorado.
"A national championship has certainly helped Orgeron to continue his cause in 2021 with early pledges from Louisiana, Texas, Florida and California. LSU had one major recruiting weekend before the coronavirus pandemic and was bracing for a big out-of-state junior day right when the stay-at-home orders were given.
"Still, the pandemic has not slowed down the LSU coaches on the recruiting trail during the pandemic. Rivals250 prospects JoJo Earle and Landon Jackson gave surprise commitments and the Tigers picked up a pledge from a top-100 prospect in Nussmeier.
"While LSU has made some noise of late, the team is still in pursuit of several key targets. Some of the team's top remaining targets, unsurprisingly, hail from in-state with Maason Smith, four-star cornerback Sage Ryan and four-stars receivers Brian Thomas and Chris Hilton headlining the group. A successful run there should catapult the Tigers inside the top 10 for a third consecutive year."
– Sam Spiegelman, South Central recruiting analyst
