BLOG: National Signing Day from the Bayou Bash

LSU inks 27 players in highly-touted 2013 recruiting class

By CODY WORSHAM
Tiger Rag Editor

The sun rose this morning, only to be greeted by a thick fog rolling in over the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge.

But by the time it sets this evening, the recruiting picture at LSU will be clear as a cloudless day.

Good morning, and welcome to National Signing Day. We’re down at the Baton Rouge River Center for the 18th annual Bayou Bash. If you are planning on making your way downtown for today’s festivities, stop by our booth and say hello.

If you’re stuck at work, however, we’ll have all the latest news coming out of the biggest day in recruiting every year.

Already this morning, the biggest story of the day has broken, as No. 1 national prospect Robert Nkemdiche shrugged off a late push from LSU and selected Ole Miss at 6:30 a.m. CST from high school in Georgia.

But there’s still plenty of excitement to come. LSU has a host of commits to ink today, in what promises to be one of the top classes in the country.

Stay tuned to Tiger Rag for updates, or follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Noon update

Bain’s letter is in, so LSU is officially done signing prospects for the 2013 class. All that’s left is the pomp and circumstance. Les Miles will meet with media this afternoon to give an overview of the class, and Tiger Rag associate editor Richard Fischer will be there with all the coverage. Come back to TigerRag.com this afternoon for that. Now, we’re off to enjoy the remaining events today at the Bayou Bash.

11:05 a.m. update

It’s almost done and dusted here at Bayou Bash in terms of signees. Contrary to a previous update, LSU is awaiting one final signature from Maquedius Bain. Word is he has signed, but that signature has yet to arrive via fax. When that arrives, all 27 commits will have become LSU Tigers officially. It’s a really nice class that’s considered top five by most services and improved with the signature of Bower. It’s quite strong along the offensive and defensive lines, and there are key pickups at QB, WR, and DB. Another job well done for the Tiger staff.

10:26 a.m. update

Since we’ve gone to air on Tiger Rag Radio, two of the final three remaining pieces to LSU’s 2013 recruiting class have signed: Maquedius Bain and Rashard Robinson. Only Bower remains to sign, but he appears to be all LSU at this point.

10:00 a.m. update

More and more reports are coming out that Priest Willis, probably the best unsigned safety/corner in this class, will indeed stick with his commitment to UCLA. LSU spoke with him this weekend, and whatever the conversation contained, it caused Willis to back off from signing today on NSD. But word is from several recruiting analysts that he is still firm to UCLA, and he has been photographed wearing a Bruin t-shirt today.

9:49 a.m. update

LSU is now awaiting just three NLIs, after receiving 16 today, plus the eight early enrollees. Those three are Maquedius Bain, Rashard Robinson, and surprise commit Tashawn Bower, who just committed to LSU this morning. Stay tuned.

9:44 a.m. update

We’re just 15 minutes out from our live radio show from the Bayou Bash. Jeff Palermo and I will be keeping you up to date on all the goings-on of today’s hectic signing day.

You can listen at 10 a.m. until noon by clicking here. Make sure you are using your Internet Explorer browser.

9:20 a.m. update

The first surprise of the day is (almost) in, and it’s looking good for LSU.

Four-star DE Tashawn Bower, long thought to be an Auburn/Florida race, has reportedly signed with LSU. His papers haven’t come in, but reports from several outlets say he has in fact inked his name to play at LSU next year. That helps alleviate the loss on Nkemdiche and adds a potential starter to next year’s DE crop.

Other signees in:

In White, LSU is getting a real stud. The kid is a five-star at corner and the best player in the state by most accounts. He’ll compete for playing time immediately at corner, and with he and the two Jalens on the outside, LSU’s pass defense looks bright for the future.

Jefferson, obviously, is the brother of former QB Jordan Jefferson. He’s a more outgoing personality than his brother, and he’ll likely end up at safety for LSU. He could be right in the mix to partner Craig Loston next year, though it’s more probable he’ll be in the second unit and being prepped for a possible starting spot in 2014.

9:05 a.m. update

As is typical of signing day, it’s been a busy last 30 minutes. Breakfast has been served, and so have a plate of several more top recruits. Three more players — none surprises — inked their LOIs to LSU during by 9 a.m.

Of these three, Beckwith and Brazil have the best chance of playing early. Heck, they have as good a chance as any of the signees. Brazil is an explosive athlete who will feature on returns as a freshman, and he could get some work as a ball-carrier. The coaches expect him to play DB at LSU, but he’s an athlete that they may want to give some touches to, as well.

Beckwith is considered by many as the best prospect in the state. A high school QB, he actually projects as a speed rusher at DE for LSU. He could fill the Barkevious Mingo role. He lacks Mingo’s length, but he’s every bit as explosive.

Jones is a linebacker with John Chavis’ finger prints all over him. He’s fast, like most Chavis products, but he’s bigger, too, and could be a future Kevin Minter type of player. He won’t play much next year, if I were to guess, but he’ll wait his time like Minter did and develop nicely, if all goes according to plan.

8:42 a.m. update

One big receiver follows another. Minutes after Quantavius Leslie’s LOI rolled in, so too did Kevin Spears. While Leslie projects to play from day one at LSU — assuming he makes the grades to get on campus in the fall — Spears is a project. The 6′3 target out of Holy Cross has just two years of competitive football under his belt, but he had an explosive senior season. He could be the favorite target of an Anthony Jennings or Hayden Rettig in the coming years.

8:35 a.m. update

It’s already been an active morning for LSU. So far, these are the Tigers who have signed today:

For info on these guys, check out the front page of Bayou Bengals Insider, where you’ll find some great bios of these players. I’ll begin linking them here as soon as they are active on that site, so you can get the full scoop on the signees.

Written by tigerrag · Filed Under Cody Worsham, Football Recruiting, Home Page

Comments

4 Responses to “BLOG: National Signing Day from the Bayou Bash”

Jim Talbot on February 6th, 2013 1:55 pm

Good Job! Thanks.
Jim Talbot
TigerGumbo on February 6th, 2013 2:14 pm

http://www.nola.com/recruiting/index.ssf/2013/02/jeryl_brazils_world-class_spee.html
Recruiting analyst James Smith on Jeryl Brazil

Strengths: Brazil is the fastest high school player that will ever suit up at LSU. He possesses world-class speed, but there is a lot more to his game. His ball skills, lateral quickness and strength are also very good. When he is on offense and the ball is in his hands, his vision, burst and speed make him a threat at all times. He runs with good balance and possesses good natural vision. This dual-threat athlete has also shown a lot of promise at cornerback as well, although he is very raw at the position. When in press coverage, he does a good job shooting his hands and using his upper-body strength to battle on the line of scrimmage.

Breakdown: The first time Brazil steps on the field at LSU will likely be as a return man because his speed and ability to take it to the house is literally second to none. Regardless what position he plays, his speed and explosiveness will allow him to get on the field and make an impact early and often for the Tigers.
and
LSU gets National Signing Day surprise as Tashawn Bower chooses Tigers;
Maybe Les don’t need to know much more?
AEK on February 6th, 2013 2:29 pm

Good class. Fills some needs. Too bad that the DB from AZ stuck with decision to go to UCLA.
Mark Rumfello on February 7th, 2013 12:00 am

I’m just curious, does anyone know what the attendance numbers were for the bash?

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BLOG: National Signing Day from the Bayou Bash

LSU inks 27 players in highly-touted 2013 recruiting class

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