Sting Factor: Aaron Anderson backs off his pledge to LSU
When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
Once Aaron Anderson landed his offer from LSU he committed. It was his dream school. It was the offer he was waiting for. And the four-star receiver from New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr was not going to waste time.
But in recent days Anderson backed off that pledge, mainly for two reasons: One, he is now torn between LSU and Alabama. The decision was also precipitated by the news that Tigers coach Ed Orgeron would finish out the 2021 season and not return next year.
There is still reason to believe LSU is not out of the picture in Anderson’s recruitment. He always did want to play for the Tigers, a new coaching regime is coming in that might excite him and in-state prospects regularly end up playing at LSU.
But Alabama does have a lot of interest in Anderson, and the four-star receiver who could be a star in the slot might not want to wait to see exactly how the LSU coaching situation plays out in the coming months.
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LOCAL REACTION
Seeing Anderson decommit is not really a big surprise considering he said just last week he was torn between the Tigers and the Tide. Add in LSU's decision to part ways with Orgeron and it was the perfect storm for the Karr wideout. LSU coaches and staffers have great ties to the Karr program and that will likely continue because the Cougars are such a perennial powerhouse in the city of New Orleans.
I would expect the next head coach at LSU to recruit Anderson or at least give him a look if there's enough time prior to whenever he signs. The one positive from the situation is that it's a position that LSU has plenty of young talent as we've seen from the freshmen receivers this fall. - Julie Boudwin, TigerDetails.com
Sting Factor: 5
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NATIONAL REACTION
There is a worthwhile argument that Anderson is one of the more underrated receivers in the 2022 class because he’s so fast and dynamic with the ball in his hands and so there are not many - if any - slot receivers who have his playmaking ability. That’s why this hurts LSU so much, and it’s an opening for other commits to possibly back off their pledges to reassess the situation in Baton Rouge.
If he flips to Alabama soon, then it hurts even more. But the New Orleans Edna Karr receiver always wanted to play at LSU and it was his dream school, so if the new coach comes in and makes him a priority it’s in the realm of possibility that he ends up back in this LSU recruiting class. - Adam Gorney, Rivals National Recruiting Director
Sting Factor: 7