Take Two: Should LSU be concerned with decommitments?

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 of team sites or a regional analyst.

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

CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals100 | Position | Team | State

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THE STORYLINE

LSU is No. 1 in the team recruiting rankings and was No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings until it dropped a spot on Tuesday night.

Yet this past week the Tigers endured two decommitments.

Four-star defensive end Alec Bryant from Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek backed off his LSU pledge as Oklahoma and others pursue, but the bigger surprise was when four-star defensive tackle Jalen Lee decommitted in recent days.

Rated as the No. 16 defensive tackle nationally and a Rivals250 prospect, Lee is from Watson (La.) Live Oak, which is fewer than 20 miles from LSU’s campus. He had been in LSU’s class since the summer and has closely watched the Tigers dominate college football this season.

But now another SEC school could benefit from Lee’s decision as LSU looks to fill out its class, possibly with even higher-rated prospects. Five-star running back Zachary Evans is a top target. High four-star McKinnley Jackson remains very much in the mix. There’s an outside shot at five-star Jordan Burch and others.

Elite prospects should come flocking to LSU.

Were the recent decommitments, especially that of Lee, a concern for this Tigers’ recruiting class or was room needed for even more high-end prospects as LSU works toward its first team recruiting title since 2003?

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FIRST TAKE: SAM SPIEGELMAN, TEXAS & LOUISIANA ANALYST

“You can look at it from both sides. LSU has to make room for some of its final targets, but the Tigers were extremely high on Lee. He lives just a couple minutes from campus, but Lee wanted to further investigate his other options as well. It works out for both sides.

"The benefactor is Florida. He’s already scheduled his official visit there. Defensive line coach David Turner has continued to recruit him despite his commitment to LSU over the summer and the opportunity for Florida to load up on D-linemen in 2020 benefits Lee, so this looks like a match waiting to be made.”

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SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR

“When you get into a situation that a lot of people didn’t expect you to get into, which means the No. 1 class in the country and the No. 1 team in the country (until Tuesday night), you get more kids contacting you. I’m not saying LSU dropped them, but it could be something that helps the Tigers down the line.

“LSU will not have a problem filling that scholarship. Florida is the team that’s going to take advantage of this with Lee, but it’s not a big loss at all. LSU will use that scholarship to get somebody equally as good or even better or even pocket it for the transfer portal.”

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