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Stranger things: LSU and Kansas locked in recruiting war of sorts

Corione Harris
Corione Harris (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

And so the unlikeliest of rivalries was born.

Kansas and LSU, not sworn enemies or even traditional foes by any stretch, find themselves locked into a cold war of sorts on the recruiting trail.

Today’s development was the promotion of Kansas running backs coach Tony Hull to associate head coach, a move apparently based on the work he’s done recruiting New Orleans – work punctuated by landing the commitments of Devonta Jason and Corione Harris, a pair of Rivals100 prospects formerly committed to LSU.

So when Rivals250 wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, also from New Orleans, joined the Jayhawk fold hours after Jason and Harris, a strange recruiting rivalry was born and Hull got himself a shiny new title.

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The situation runs deeper than the three players, however. New Orleans product and current Jayhawks star Mike Lee seems to be a large part of the situation, as he is close with both Jason and Harris. Pipelines have to start somewhere, however, and Lee seems like the genesis of this one.

Then, there are rumors of New Orleans high school coaches boycott of LSU, which Rivals.com could not independently confirm with coaches willing to speak of such a plan on the record. Still, if there is truth to such buzz it would feel into the reasoning behind Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron’s recent decision to hire Louisiana Tech running back’s coach Mickey Joseph, coach with deep ties to the New Orleans area, to fill an open position on his staff.

And while a possible LSU “boycott” in New Orleans is largely based on whispers and rumor, the fact that Kansas, which has won just eight total games over the course of the last four seasons, is at least momentarily outgunning the Tigers in their own back yard is certainly worth noting with boldface type.

LSU is coming off a 8-4 season in the SEC, while Kansas finished last in the Big 12 a year ago with an overall record of 2-10.

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