Sting Factor: Kris Draine backs off of LSU commitment

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Every time 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, regional and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from 1-10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.

Kris Draine committed to the LSU Tigers in April 2018, and he was the first 2020 prospect to commit to Ed Orgeron. He stayed commitmented for almost a full year before backing off his pledge and re-opening his recruitment last week.

At first, Draine felt a connection with the LSU staff, and the two parties were in constant contact. That relationship seemed to fizzle some over the last few months and that is what led Draine to his decision.

The Alabama wide receiver has always listed his offers, he has taken other visits, he has remained in contact with other schools, so although he was committed, his recruitment always seemed to be somewhat open.

Visits to Georgia Tech and Tennessee have taken place the last couple of months, and he is in talks with Auburn about a visit to the Plains. Arkansas and Oregon are two other programs he is in regular contact with that he is hoping to visit soon. Now, with his recruitment back open, Draine plans to remain uncommitted until much later in the process, maybe even up to the Early Signing Period in December.

"LSU has a history of producing top level receivers, with the vast majority of them being Louisiana natives. While Draine is a quality prospect from Alabama, the 2020 in-state receiver class features some worthy replacements and the Tigers have the interest of high-caliber receivers from coast-to-coast.

"This is a need position for the Tigers this recruiting cycle, therefore it is not great news that a solid prospect decommitted, but they should be able to fill that hole fairly easily with so much time left and an array of prospects showing strong interest." - Jimmy Smith, TigerDetails.com

Sting Factor: 3

"This may have been a surprise to some, but with the communication coming to somewhat of a halt in recent months, it appears that LSU has decided to go in another direction. Draine is a talented athlete, and many schools will turn up the heat with him being back open, but the loss for LSU does not seem too severe." - Chad Simmons, Southeast Recruiting Analyst

Sting Factor: 2

"He has talent, but he’s not an in-state kid and he lacks great size. LSU can get a slot receiver like him at home or in Texas pretty easily the way they are recruiting." - Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director

Sting Factor: 4

Draine is not completely hitting the reset button, but he does plan to really take a slower approach. Tennessee is a school that has moved up his list and he will be back in Knoxville this weekend for the spring game. Keep an eye on Oregon too. He knows he wants to take an official visit to Eugene and that could happen in the spring or the fall. Draine plans to sit back, evaluate his options and take his recruitment to at least late 2019, if not into 2020.