By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
At least one commitment toward former LSU football coach Brian Kelly’s 2026 recruiting class is sticking to his guns.
Offensive lineman Jalan Chapman of Warren Easton High in New Orleans told Tiger Rag Monday he is still bound for LSU.
“You don’t go to LSU for the coach,” said Chapman, a three-star prospect who ranks as the No. 46 player in the state and the No. 121 interior offensive lineman in the country, according to 247sports.com. “You go to LSU because it’s LSU.”
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When Kelly was fired on Sunday, Chapman wasn’t surprised.
“My initial thoughts were, that’s kind of what happens when you fail, or you don’t keep the culture, and you’re not keeping LSU fans happy,” he said in a phone interview. “I personally had a feeling it was bound to happen, if not during the season, right after the season.”
Kelly, who turned 64 on Saturday, was fired eight games into the season with his team at 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference after a 49-25 loss to No. 3 Texas A&M Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
“But, I mean, they just pulled the trigger a little earlier in the situation, which in some cases, it could help out other recruits who were committed to LSU for Brian Kelly,” Chapman said. “Like I said, if you fail to make LSU fans happy, things like that are going to happen.”
Chapman’s loyalty to LSU stems from his love for the program and relationships with Kelly’s remaining staff members.
“We never had like a real, personal one-on-one relationship,” he said of Kelly. “Of course, we’ve had our conversations and our fair share of greetings and whatnot. So, I mean it wasn’t really like a big hit on me. But, also at the end of the day, that was supposed to be my head coach next year.”
LSU offensive line coach Brad Davis recruited Chapman. Davis may or may not be at LSU under the new coach after interim coach Frank Wilson finishes this season.
“I would love if they retain him, but like I said, at the end of the day, LSU is going to be LSU with or without him,” Chapman said. “He and coach Frank (Wilson) did play big parts in my recruitment and the reasons I did commit to LSU, but I’m a Louisiana boy. I wouldn’t go nowhere else.”
As LSU looks for its 35th head coach in program history, Chapman is hoping for a coach that brings back the swagger LSU once had in 2019 when the Tigers won the national championship.
“I’m looking for a coach who’s going to bring that fire and spark back to LSU,” he said. “Like we’ve all seen as players, recruits, bystanders, fans, we’ve known over the past couple years of BK (Brian Kelly), you just don’t feel that fire when you’re at LSU.”
Chapman said people don’t see LSU as they once did.
“I feel like there’s been a lot of disrespect added to the name of LSU,” Chapman said. “Other teams don’t say, ‘Ooh. I got to play LSU this week.’ They just think, ‘Oh, it’s LSU, let’s get it done.’”
In the future, Chapman says LSU needs to prioritize players who bleed purple and gold, rather than focus on players, who are solely focused on their Name, Image & Likeness money.
“They need to focus on the guys that want to be here to play,” Chapman said. “Not just to get paid.”
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