RECRUITING NEWS: Jonah Austin commits

| | | |

St. Augustine OL pledges to LSU (UPDATE: Micah Eugene, too)

By BEN LOVE
Tiger Rag Editor

Jonah Austin, a 6-7, 355-pound offensive tackle from St. Augustine High School, officially committed to Les Miles and the LSU Tigers late Saturday night.

This latest update on the Class of 2011, to be finalized Feb. 2 on National Signing Day, was first reported by TigerSportsDigest.com (TSD).

TSD managing editor Shea Dixon broke the two-fold news: First, that Austin was decommitting from the University of Houston (where he’d been on-board since late-July). Second, that the New Orleans-area native would be wearing purple and gold.

According to Dixon, Austin, an offensive line mate of fellow LSU ‘11 commit Trai Turner (a guard listed by TSD as 6-4, 330 pounds), dropped in on the Tigers’ Saturday afternoon practice and accepted LSU’s offer upon returning home to confer with his mother.

His phone calls, reported Dixon, went first to Houston, to thank the Cougars for their interest and support, and then to Baton Rouge, to give the good news to Miles and recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson.

Austin’s addition now gives LSU 18 verbal commitments in the Class of ‘11.

Here is that class as it stands Monday morning:

OL Jonah Austin (St. Augustine HS, New Orleans)
K Dalton Botts (Moorpark Community College, CA)
DB Jalen Collins (Olive Branch HS, Olive Branch, MS)
OL La’el Collins (Redemptorist HS, Baton Rouge)
RB Kenny Hilliard (Patterson HS, Patterson)
DB David Jenkins (Hebron HS, Carrollton, TX)
DT Anthony Johnson (O.P. Walker HS, New Orleans)
WR Jarvis Landry (Lutcher HS, Lutcher)
WR Alonzo Lewis (St. James HS, St. James)
ATH Terrance Magee (Franklinton HS, Franklinton)
DB Ronald Martin (White Castle HS, White Castle)
QB Zach Mettenberger (Butler Community College, KS)
LB Trevon Randle (Clear Springs HS, League City, TX)
QB Stephen Rivers (Athens HS, Athens, AL)
DE Quentin Thomas (Breaux Bridge HS, Breaux Bridge)
ATH Paul Turner (West Monroe HS, Monroe)
OL Trai Turner (St. Augustine HS, New Orleans)
OL Corey White (Capitol HS, Baton Rouge)

Both Austin and Turner were high school teammates a season ago with current Tiger freshman Tryann Mathieu (voted by the SEC coaches as a freshman all-conference performer earlier this month).

Wilson, originally from the New Orleans area, continues to demonstrate the Midas touch when going after players from that still talent-rich area.

Aside from the St. Aug triumverate - which includes Mathieu - LSU has also nabbed DT Anthony “Freak” Johnson (O. Perry Walker HS) in this class and reeled in top talents Ronnie Vinson (DB, Isidore Newman HS), Armand Williams (WR, Slidell HS) and James Wright (WR, Belle Chasse HS) from last year’s Class of 2010. All of the aforementioned players hail from the New Orleans region.

UPDATE (9:20 a.m.): It’s being reported by a different recruiting service, TigerBait.com (LSU’s Rivals site), that LSU picked up a second verbal commitment this weekend in the form of Acadiana’s Micah Eugene, a stud running back for the Rams who projects as a defensive back at the collegiate level. A source inside the LSU football program confirmed this recent development, saying LSU and Coach Miles have accepted the commitment from the recent state-championship winner.

Eugene makes it 19 commits for the ‘11 Class, which will be capped at 23 players as announced last week by LSU, due to self-imposed restrictions dating back to improprieties committed by then-wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy.

–

Editor Ben Love covers LSU football and basketball for Tiger Rag. Reach him at ben@tigerrag.com.