Going into the 2021 campaign, the LSU Tigers were tied for the fifth-most blue-chip players on their roster. Essentially the number of players that were made up of four and five-star players. The Bayou Bengals were tied with the Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma Sooners, and Florida Gators at 66%.
Ironically enough, three of the four schools mentioned here had changed their head coach this cycle and Texas is going into year two with Steve Sarkisian. Brian Kelly had plenty of work to do to salvage the 2022 cycle after being named head coach just a couple of weeks prior to the early signing period.
Looking back at the 2022 class, Kelly was able to secure a class that ranked in the top 12, and top six once you factor in the litany of college transfers. A total of 28 players with 15 coming by way of high schools. All told, the Tigers added 47% blue-chip players of the 15 signed. The class is led by former Texas A&M pledge Harold Perkins.
What 247Sports Says…
The Tigers signed 15 prospects on National Signing Day, and seven are blue-chips. The top signee is five-star linebacker Harold Perkins, who 247Sports’ Gabe Brooks compared to Myles Jack athletically. Keeping QB Walker Howard in the fold was also big. LSU did not choose to load up on high school prospects in the short time that new coach Brian Kelly has been on campus, a strategy I agree with. Attacking the portal heavily and saving scholarships for the 2023 class makes a lot of sense.
In the transfer portal, LSU added several blue-chip transfers. Jarrick Bernard-Converse (Oklahoma State), Mekhi Wingo (Missouri), Greg Brooks Jr (Arkansas), and Miles Frazier (Florida International). New running back Noah Cain was rated as a four-star running back coming out of high school but downgraded to a three-star transfer in the cycle.
Cain didn’t necessarily lose a step but injuries did slow him down a bit with the Penn State Nittany Lions. He will have ample opportunities to get back to that level with LSU. Cain will likely serve as RB2 to the returning John Emery Jr.
Overall, if you factor in the blue-chip transfers, it would give LSU a ratio of 39.2%. Not exactly a fantastic number but as we all know, recruiting rankings aren’t the gospel but more of a guide. Players develop and sometimes you just flat out miss on evaluation.
For Brian Kelly and this staff, the 2022 cycle was a good building block. They just need to hammer it home in the 2023 cycle.