Tyler Lee vs. Lufkin the place to be

Attention football fans in East Texas: One of the nation’s marquee match-ups will take place this evening when the Tyler (Texas) Lee Red Raiders travel South to face the Lufkin Panthers in one of the most anticipated games in the early season.

The game will feature as many as 10 Division I recruits, and Lee three-star offensive guard Ciron Black is ready.

“I love playing in big games,” Black, who is 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, said. “You just feed off the energy. We always have three or four huge ones like this. Lufkin just really hates us, and I love it. They want to kill us. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. I know what it’s about since I went down there as a sophomore.

“I know that it’s going to be an all-out war. And we’ll be ready.”

Black is also excited because he hopes to lock horns with four-star and Rivals100 defensive end McKinner Dixon.

“He’s really good,” Black said. “He’s got really good eyes. He knows how to flow to the ball. He doesn’t always rush to the ball and looks for the screens and draws. But his specialty is stopping the run. He’s a real run-stopper. I’m just going to go in and try to spread my splits out and use my size on him.”

Black committed last month to LSU and despite the pledge he’s still been the center of recruiting attention – especially from Oklahoma State.

“They’ve been able to call, and I’ve been talking to them,” Black said. “I tell them that my commitment is strong, but I’m still looking out to make sure I made the right decision. But right now, LSU, that’s my school.”

But that hasn’t stopped OSU from pushing hard to get Black to take an official visit to Stillwater.

“Coach Monken is the main reason why I’m still looking at OSU,” Black said. “He’s real good. I love how he doesn’t beat around the bush. He tells you the truth whether you like it or not.”

But LSU hasn’t forgotten about their big-time o-line commitment.

“Coach Saban called, and I missed it,” he said. “But he left me a message saying that they’re going to set up my official visit when we talk next week. I’m really excited about it.”