LSU a winner on the recruiting trail in the month of July

After a slow start to the summer, LSU kicked things into high gear during July.

As the calendar turns to August and LSU prepares to begin fall camp ahead of the 2024 season, it has quite a bit of momentum on the recruiting trail.

After a slow start to the summer that saw the Tigers lose a couple of top-100 commitments, it was a big July as coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and staff landed a handful of top targets headlined by five-star cornerback [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag], five-star receiver [autotag]Derek Meadows[/autotag] and top-100 EDGE [autotag]Damien Shanklin[/autotag].

It also ended the month with a flip on Wednesday, landing former South Carolina linebacker commit [autotag]Jaiden Braker[/autotag].

On3 broke down its recruiting winners from the month of July, and it should be no surprise that LSU found itself on the list.

Brian Kelly and his staff again proved their recruiting chops, beating out the longtime perceived favorites for a number of key additions. None were bigger than Five-Star Plus+ cornerback DJ Pickett — thought to be headed to Oregon until the 11th hour. A top-five prospect nationally, Pickett is a monstrous addition for the Tigers’ secondary group going forward.

Three days after that, the Bayou Bengals beat out Notre Dame for elite wide receiver Derek Meadows, adding a huge piece for Five-Star Plus+ QB Bryce Underwood on offense. Those two were the headliners, but Kelly and Co. rounded things out with top-100 EDGE, Damien Shanklin, On3 top-100 defensive lineman Zion Williams, four-star DL Brandon Brown, On300 safety Jhase Thomas, and three-star linebacker Jaiden Braker.

LSU’s class currently ranks third nationally, and it could push for an even higher spot as it’s still in the mix for some top prospects such as five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag], who it is currently trending for.

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4-star LSU safety target commits to Auburn

LSU lost a four-star safety target to Auburn on Monday.

One of LSU’s top remaining targets came off the board Monday evening when four-star safety [autotag]Anquon Fegans[/autotag] committed to Auburn. Fegans is fresh off a visit to LSU, but it wasn’t enough to sway the Alabama native out of his home state,

All four major recruiting services consider Fegans a top 10 safety in the class with ESPN placing him No. 2 at his position. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, he’s the No. 57 overall recruit in 2025. That makes him the second highest-ranked recruit in Auburn’s class.

Hugh Freeze and Auburn have been on a recruiting heater. Earlier in the day, Auburn received a commitment from ATH Derrick Smith, the top-ranked recruit in Auburn’s class.

Auburn’s class now sits at No. 6 overall in the On3 Industry Rankings while LSU hangs tight at No. 3.

As far as safeties go, LSU will keep its attention on five-star [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag]. LSU’s chasing the No. 1 overall class title and landing Williams would certainly put the Tigers in that discussion.

Fegans pledge to Auburn was no surprise with the On3 Prediction Machine giving the Tigers a 92.3% chance of entering the day. LSU was considered a long shot, but Brian Kelly and staff were in the mix.

LSU also remains involved with three-star safety [autotag]CJ Jimcoily[/autotag] out of Tennessee, though Stanford is a contender there.

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Trio of Oklahoma Sooners recruiting targets among ESPN’s top 25 prospects

The Oklahoma Sooners are in pursuit of three of the best prospects in the nation regardless of recruiting class.

The Oklahoma Sooners [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] is nearly complete. They have 22 players committed to the class but are working to earn commitments from three more targets this cycle.

Five-star offensive tackles [autotag]Michael Fasusi[/autotag] and [autotag]Andrew Babalola[/autotag], five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag], and four-star linebacker [autotag]Christian Jones[/autotag] are the top remaining targets. Fasusi and Williams are considered two of the top prospects in the country regardless of recruiting class.

ESPN’s Billy Tucker ranked the top 25 (ESPN+) prospects regardless of recruiting class, with Williams coming in at No. 16 and Fasusi landing at No. 20.

At one point, the Sooners were considered the leaders for Williams. His recruitment has taken a number of twists and turns. After Oklahoma, Texas A&M became the perceived leader. Texas and Oregon have also had their time as the leaders for Williams. This feels like a recruitment that nobody truly knows where it’s headed except for Williams. He set a top five that left out the Sooners, but don’t sleep on [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his staff to find their way back into the race for one of 2025’s very best players.

Williams, a safety who is listed as an outside linebacker, can be a versatile player with his combination of size and speed. He’s already 6-3, 205 pounds with length and will continue to fill out and grow into the linebacker role. He makes an impact regardless of alignment and shows flashes reminiscent of 2019 ESPN 300 safety and former Notre Dame standout Kyle Hamilton. Williams has elite range to both match up in coverage and act as a sideline-to-sideline presence. He displays excellent ball skills, and his length and leaping ability allow him to win contested matchups. In addition to playmaking tools, Williams also shows good toughness. He can be a physical, wrap-up tackler and brings ball carriers down in space. The transition to linebacker should be a smooth one in college as he continues to add size. – Tucker, ESPN

The Sooners are in a good spot with Fasusi. They’ll have to contend with Texas and Texas A&M for his commitment. He’s been on campus several times and even called Bill Bedenbaugh the GOAT (greatest of all time) on social media.

Fasusi has all the tools to be an elite offensive tackle at both the collegiate and NFL levels.

Fasusi certainly looks the part. He stands 6-6, 295 pounds with an 83.3-inch wingspan and a 1.77 10-yard split, creating an unparalleled length and agility combination. As one might expect, he plays with good initial quickness and explosive power. He has worked to add to his wiry frame as he has gotten older and now plays with excellent strength in the run game. Fasusi gets great hand placement, pops his hips and drives defenders off the ball with his physicality. His improved functional strength could allow him to star at guard if he never develops elite pass protection skills at tackle, but he has the length and athleticism to handle either tackle position with further technical development. Fasusi presents a captivating ball of clay for an elite program to continue molding. – Tucker, ESPN

In addition to Williams and Fasusi, the Sooners are also in pursuit of 2026 athlete [autotag]Brandon Arrington[/autotag]. He comes in at No. 23 in the nation.

Arrington may be a better track athlete than football player at this stage, but he has elite sprinter speed. The 6-3, 180-pounder broke California’s sophomore state record with a 20.55 200-meter dash this spring and won the state’s Gatorade Track and Field Player of the Year award. On the football field, Arrington has clocked a max speed north of 21 mph. The wide receiver can flip the field on offense in the blink of an eye and has great length and closing speed to project at corner. Now he needs to continue to refine his game. The top-ranked athlete in his class has elite upside and more than 20 FBS offers. – Tucker ESPN

Arrington is an elite athlete that has a chance to be a difference maker on both sides of the ball like Colorado’s Travis Hunter and the speed to create big plays on special teams as a return man.

The Sooners also have offers out to offensive tackle [autotag]Immanuel Iheanacho[/autotag] (No. 17), offensive tackle [autotag]Jackson Cantwell[/autotag] (No. 13), tight end [autotag]Kendre Harrison[/autotag] (No. 10), and defensive lineman [autotag]Elijah Griffin[/autotag] (No. 8). There is varied interest in Oklahoma, but the Sooners will have their opportunity to move the needle on the recruiting trail.

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LSU jumps up to No. 3 in ESPN’s 2025 recruiting rankings

The Tigers have the potential to land an elite 2025 recruiting class.

After getting off to a red-hot start in the 2025 cycle with several consensus five-star pledges, things cooled off a bit for LSU in May and June, when it lost a pair of top commitments.

But that momentum has returned in July with LSU landing several of its top targets, headlined by No. 1 cornerback [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag], five-star receiver [autotag]Derek Meadows[/autotag] and top-100 EDGE [autotag]Damien Shanklin[/autotag].

The Tigers’ class already ranked highly before those pickups, but after recent additions, LSU’s 2025 group has moved up from No. 5 to No. 3, according to ESPN’s team recruiting rankings.

Here’s what ESPN had to say about the 2025 group, which is headlined by No. 1 overall prospect [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag].

Few programs protect their home turf like the Tigers, and they’re taking advantage of Louisiana’s strong talent in 2025. LSU landed commitments from several of the state’s top prospects, including the top-rated offensive player. Running back Harlem Berry, the No. 1 player in Louisiana, has quick feet and home run speed and can be a playmaker with the ball in his hands. Fellow in-state ESPN 300 RB J.T. Lindsey adds more talent to the position and brings a nice blend of speed and power and rushed for over 1,700 yards as a junior.

The Tigers went out of state as well to land Underwood. A rangy five-star quarterback, Underwood has good mobility and natural arm strength while being a poised, decisive passer. He threw for over 3,100 yards with 40 touchdowns to only two interceptions as a junior. When you land one of the premier passers in the class, you also need to make sure you can protect him, and LSU has added several OL prospects to help do that, including ESPN 300 big men Carius Curne, Devin Harper and Tyler Miller. They also are adding some potential future big-play targets, including Derek Meadows. A player bursting with potential, he is a lengthy target at 6-foot-6 with excellent body control. The Tigers won a big battle on the recruiting trail, edging out Oregon and in-state Miami to land five-star athlete Pickett, a rangy and smooth player that could play on either side of the ball but projects to the secondary.

LSU is still trying to close things out with a few of its top targets, and if it could land a player like No. 1 safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag] or five-star receiver [autotag]Jaime Ffrench[/autotag], both of which visited over the weekend, it could find itself ranked even higher in the next update.

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LSU picks up a crystal ball projection for 3-star visiting tight end

Mike Tyler is visiting this weekend, and LSU could be poised to take a tight end from South Carolina’s backyard.

LSU has quite a cast of visitors in town on Friday including two uncommitted five-stars in top safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag] and receiver [autotag]Jaime Ffrench[/autotag].

The Tigers will hope for an impactful recruiting weekend, but they already find themselves in a strong position for one of Friday’s visitors as they look to steal a three-star tight end from South Carolina’s backyard.

LSU is playing host to [autotag]Mike Tyler[/autotag], a Columbia, South Carolina, native. Ahead of Tyler’s visit on Thursday, 247Sports LSU insider Sonny Shipp placed a crystal ball for the Tigers to land him. The Gamecocks previously held the lone crystal ball projection, which was placed back in April.

The 6-foot-4 prospect ranks No. 661 nationally and as the No. 32 tight end in the class, according to the 247Sports composite. LSU already has one tight end commitment from legacy [autotag]JD LaFleur[/autotag], and it looks like it could be in a position to add another.

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5-star LSU safety target sets commitment date

LSU is trending for Jonah Williams, who is set to make his decision next month.

One of the top safeties in the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] has announced his commitment date. Five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag] will announce his commitment on Aug. 24.

Williams will decide between LSU, Texas A&M, USC, Oregon and Texas. At this time, Texas A&M has received three crystal ball projections to land him per 247Sports. According to On3, the Oregon Ducks are a 50% favorite to land him.

LSU’s 2025 recruiting class is currently ranked as the No. 4 overall class in the country by 247Sports. The Tigers class currently has three five-star commitments. [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag], [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag], and [autotag]Derek Meadows[/autotag] are the three five-star commits right now. Underwood plays quarterback, Pickett is a cornerback, and Meadows is a wide receiver. Williams could join that list and elevate the LSU class even further up the board.

There is currently one safety commit in this class, [autotag]Jhase Thomas[/autotag], a three-star safety from Destrehan, Louisiana. Hopefully, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] can bring another top-10 recruiting class to the Bayou.

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Is LSU the new favorite for 5-star safety Jonah Williams?

LSU is continuing to make waves on the recruiting trail this summer.

LSU landed the nation’s top corner earlier this month, picking up a commitment from [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag]. Is LSU on its way to adding the top safety too? On Wednesday, On3’s Billy Embody logged a prediction for LSU to land five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag].

In a rare consensus agreement, all four major recruiting sites rank Williams as the No. 1 safety in the 2025 class. Overall, Williams rates highest at 247Sports, where he’s the No. 7 player in the country.

Williams would be the fourth industry five-star to join LSU’s 2025 class and the Tigers’ third top 10 overall recruit, joining Pickett and QB [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag].

LSU has stiff competition. Oregon was considered the favorite not too long ago while Texas and Texas A&M are making noise as well. LSU appears to be capitalizing on recent recruiting momentum along with a more organized NIL effort.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] is counting on the 2025 class to restock the defense with talent after firing and replacing the entire defensive staff. Among the new but familiar faces are defensive line coach [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] and secondary coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag]. Both are renowned for their ability on the recruiting trail and we’ve seen it pay off this summer.

If LSU manages to land Williams and Pickett, the Tigers have two five-stars that can propel LSU back to DBU status and put an end to the inconsistency LSU’s seen on the backend during the Kelly era.

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USC football five-star target Jonah Williams sets commitment date

USC is in play for a dynamic, versatile defensive athlete.

On Wednesday, five-star linebacker-safety hybrid Jonah Williams announced his commitment date will be August 24. The five finalists are USC football, LSU, Oregon, Texas and Texas A&M.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound safety from Ball (Texas) is currently positioned as the 7th-ranked prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, the No. 1-ranked linebacker prospect, and the 3rd-ranked prospect in Texas. That might seem confusing, but there is a belief that Williams can play both linebacker and safety. Some programs are recruiting him as a safety, but the recruiting services have evaluated him as a linebacker prospect.
Here’s what 247Sports had to say about Williams as a prospect:

“One of the freakiest athletes in the 2025 recruiting cycle, and has a legitimate chance to develop into an early-round selection in either the MLB or NFL Draft. Two-way star at wide receiver and defensive back for historic TXHSFB program Galveston Ball, leading the Tors to their best two-year stretch since the 1990s.

Verified around 6-foot-2.5, 205 pounds with encouraging length and an athletic frame that should offer the potential to add more weight at the next level. Currently projected to play linebacker long-term, but owns an elite combine testing profile which could allow him to stick in the defensive backfield at safety or nickel.

Excellent reactionary athlete who can flip his hips to cover space against the pass or plant his foot in the ground to trigger in the run game before striking opponents.”

During his junior season in 2023, Williams played wide receiver on offense and safety/linebacker on defense, showcasing his dual-threat ability while recording 474 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, 58 tackles, four interceptions (three returned for touchdowns), four tackles for loss, and four punt return touchdowns on special teams.

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