Sting Factor: Raesjon Davis' decommitment from 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 1-10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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THE STORYLINE
Raesjon Davis had been committed to LSU for almost a year, but the four-star linebacker from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei backed off that pledge in recent days.
It was not a major shock though.
For some weeks, there were rumors that Davis was rethinking his decision, looking at USC, Ohio State and possibly other schools and there were a number of factors that played into his decision.
Davis had developed a great relationship with former defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, but then he left LSU to become Baylor’s coach. A relationship was built with new defensive coordinator Bo Pelini but then he was fired as well after the LSU defense was historically bad this past season.
The four-star linebacker still had a great bond with coach Ed Orgeron, he did a tremendous amount of recruiting for this LSU recruiting class and it would not have been surprising to see him stick with the Tigers.
But USC has made a huge run at the Mater Dei standout. He could be part of a big finish for the Trojans that could include five-star Korey Foreman, four-star Ceyair Wright and others.
LSU has plenty of talented players on defense that should grow into a much better defense heading into next season. But it does not look like Davis will be a part of the Tigers’ recruiting class any longer.
LOCAL REACTION
“LSU started 2020 with a commitment from four-star linebacker Raesjon Davis on Jan. 1. The California linebacker became a leader among the Tiger commitments and was even doing his part to recruit other prospects to join him in Baton Rouge. But by the end of 2020, Davis didn’t sign with LSU during the early signing period and he decommitted from the Tigers hours before news broke about Pelini parting ways with LSU. He’s also being heavily recruited by in-state USC and Ohio State.
“LSU wanted to sign a healthy number of linebackers in the 2021 class and they did that by inking signatures from Greg Penn III, JUCO LB Navonteque Strong and Zavier Carter, so perhaps the Tigers are okay without Davis in this class, but fans will likely miss his leadership abilities and outgoing personality.” — Julie Boudwin, TigerDetails.com
Sting factor: 6
NATIONAL REACTION
“This one hurts because of his talent and he’s a big name, but it’s not a local loss as he’s from California and they have some good linebackers in this class. He’ll probably be replaced with a lesser body or an addition in 2022 that will be more local. The way LSU is recruiting, I don’t worry too much.” — Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 5