Take Two: Does LSU have cause for concern at DT?

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

MORE TAKE TWO: Can Ohio State ink three of the top four 2020 WRs?

Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network.

LSU currently has the second-best recruiting class in the country behind only Alabama as the Tigers boast 10 commitments, led by five-star cornerback Elias Ricks from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. The SEC power already has six four-star pledges as the Tigers have had success dipping into Texas and the usual Southeast hotspots for talent.

LSU is hardly struggling on the recruiting trail.

But the expectation in Baton Rouge is to compete for conference titles and to get to the College Football Playoff and two recent decommitments hurt.

The Tigers lost a pledge from George County, Miss., recruit McKinnley Jackson, the only five-star defensive tackle in the class so far, and recently four-star Jaquelin Roy from Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab opened things up again. That’s two of the top-five interior defensive linemen backing off the same school - and that has to hurt.

There is still a long way to go until the early signing period and Jackson and Roy have made it no secret that LSU is still very much involved in their recruitment. This is far from finished, but coach Ed Orgeron had loaded up on the defensive line in this class - until he didn’t.

Can LSU get either of those two outstanding defensive tackles back in the class or is there something to be concerned about when it comes to recruiting that position for the Tigers in recent classes?

“When it comes to recruiting defensive linemen, I trust that Orgeron will get the job done. In his time at LSU, he’s helped the Tigers nab the top defensive linemen in Louisiana year after year. Rivals100 defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher bucked that trend in 2019 when he signed with Alabama in February. LSU seems poised to rebound in 2020, but it’s off to a tough start after losing Jackson last year and more recently, Roy.

“Still, the Tigers are in a great spot with both of those defensive tackles, as well as Rivals250 tackle Jacobian Guillory and three-star Jalen Lee, among others. While the momentum has cooled for Coach O’s team of late, there’s still ample time for LSU to make its move with its top priority targets along the defensive line in this 2020 class.”

“Defensive tackle has been a bit of a problem for LSU in recent years. Orgeron has a tremendous reputation as a great recruiter, but when he was the d-line coach there they struggled with interior linemen. Now that he’s the head coach, they’re struggling with interior linemen.

“That’s the one position on defense that they’ve struggled the most with in recent years because they can recruit every other position. If a kid wants to commit, you’re going to take it but it also doesn’t mean he’s committed. It just means you lead and you have to work even harder to keep him in the fold. Defensive tackle recruiting at LSU is something we need to keep an eye on.”