Tag: Robert Steeples

LSU cornerback coach Robert Steeples named to AFCA 35 under 35 list

LSU’s Robert Steeples was named to the AFCA 35 Under 35 list

LSU cornerback coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag] was recognized this week as he was named to the AFCA 35 Under 35 list.

Steeples is in his second year with LSU after joining the staff in 2022. LSU was his first college coaching position, after spending his previous years at the high school level and in the NFL.

Steeples had plenty of success as a high school head coach at De Smet in the St. Louis area, which included winning a state championship in 2019. De Smet won 20 straight games under Steeples and garnered a top 10 national ranking.

As a player, Steeples played for Memphis before bouncing around a few NFL organizations, mostly as a practice squad member.

Some other Power Five assistants joining Steeples on the list are West Virginia’s Blaine Stewart, Nebraska’s Garrett McGuire, and Houston’s Michael Burchett.

Steeples’ cornerback room dealt with a plethora of injuries in 2023, but some of the young guys looked to improve down the stretch.

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LSU cornerback JK Johnson spotted in cast at practice on Monday

The Ohio State transfer will seemingly be unavailable for at least the near future.

LSU seems to be dealing with a potentially major issue in the secondary.

[autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag], a transfer addition from Ohio State this offseason, was spotted at Monday’s practice wearing a cast and using a scooter to move around. It’s unclear exactly how long Johnson will be unavailable.

In two seasons with the Buckeyes, Johnson appeared in five games and made five starts, all of which came last season. He finished the season with 20 tackles, and now the St. Louis native is reunited with his high school coach in LSU cornerbacks coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag].

If Johnson is unable to go by the start of the season, it would certainly impact the team’s depth in the secondary as he was expected to compete for a starting spot on the outside alongside fellow transfers [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag].

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Mekhi Wingo excited to face his former team in Missouri

Mekhi Wingo is ready to face his former team this October.

[autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag] became one of LSU’s best players last fall after transferring from Missouri.

This season, he’ll get head back to his home state to face his former team when LSU and Missouri face on Oct. 7.

When asked if the game had any extra meeting, Wingo said “definitely.”

“I love to come back and play in front of my home crowd,” Wingo said. “Just giving those family members an opportunity to come to a game they may not be able to make it down to in Baton Rouge. I’m definitely gonna need a lot of tickets for that game.”

Wingo said the relationship with his former teammates is still all love and he even got the chance to see some at media days with Missouri’s session later that day.

“It’s gonna be fun seeing my old teammates and my old coaches because I definitely still have that bond and connection with those guys,” he said.

For LSU cornerbacks coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag], who played a large role in recruiting Wingo, it’ll be a chance to coach in the state where he cut his teeth as a high school coach.

Missouri will have some LSU connections on their sideline too. Defensive coordinator [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag] was LSU’s linebackers coach in 2021.

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LSU makes progress with blue-chip receiver from St. Louis

LSU recently hosted a four-star receiver on campus and reportedly made a strong impression.

After a visit to LSU, four-star receiver Jeremiah McClellan is impressed.

According to On3, LSU is now near the top of McClellan’s list. McClellan told On3 he’s a fan of wide receivers coach [autotag]Cortez Hankton[/autotag] and his track record of development.

McClellan has four stars from all four major recruiting services. 247Sports is the highest on his ability, slating McClellan as the 17th-best wide receiver in the 2024 class and the fourth best in the state of Missouri.

LSU has competition. Ohio State is also recruiting the blue-chip receiver and the Buckeyes seldom miss when recruiting pass catchers.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and staff made it a point to recruit the St. Louis area when taking over at LSU.

Kelly, having spent a decade at Notre Dame, is familiar with the Midwest, and LSU cornerbacks coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag] is a fixture in the St. Louis high school football community.

Last cycle, LSU landed tight end [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag] from Missouri. LSU defensive tackle [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag] is also from the area and transferred to LSU after beginning his career at Missouri.

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Elite Louisiana prospect opens up committment

Ju’Juan Johnson has reopened his recruitment after the former Colorado commit took a visit to Boulder.

One of LSU’s top targets has reopened his commitment.

Four-star DB [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag] decommitted from Colorado following a visit over the weekend.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Johnson is the sixth-best prospect in Louisiana’s 2024 class. From Lafayette, Johnson has earned offers from many of the country’s top programs.

LSU was in hot pursuit before Johnson committed to Deion Sanders at Colorado. With the recruitment back open, LSU could hop right back in the race.

We’ve seen several LSU recruiting battles play out in a similar way before. A top prospect commits to go out of state before flipping to stay home later in the cycle.

[autotag]Ja’Marr Chase[/autotag] is one example. More recently, we saw it with QB [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] last year.

LSU has a strong connection with Johnson’s high school, Lafayette Christian Academy.

LCA’s head coach is [autotag]Trev Faulk[/autotag], a former LSU linebacker and cousin of LSU legend [autotag]Kevin Faulk[/autotag].

Current Tigers [autotag]Sage Ryan[/autotag], [autotag]Jordan Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Fitzgerald West[/autotag] were all LCA prospects.

It’ll take some time to get a feel for where LSU stands with Johnson, but the Tigers have as good a chance as anyone to keep the blue-chip prospect at home.

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LSU surges to the top of 2024 DB’s list after successful visit

The Tigers are trending for a rising 2024 prospect from Mississippi after a weekend visit.

The sweepstakes for 2024 three-star Clarksdale, Mississippi, cornerback [autotag]Patrick Broomfield[/autotag] is largely seen as an in-state battle between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. After an unofficial visit to LSU on April 1, a new contender has apparently entered the mix.

The 6-foot-2, 160-pound cornerback told On3 his visit with the Tigers went very well and he had one-on-one meetings with cornerbacks coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag], as well as defensive coordinator [autotag]Matt House[/autotag] and head coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag].

LSU seemingly made a strong impression. Broomfield said LSU is among the teams at the top of his list following the trip to Baton Rouge.

Broomfield holds one crystal ball projection from 247Sports in favor of Mississippi State, while the Rebels have a slim lead per the On3 recruiting prediction machine at 39.9%. The Bulldogs follow at 34.9%, while the Tigers are third at 10.6%.

However, LSU seems to be trending in the right direction for a rising player who still isn’t ranked by most of the major services but has recently picked up a few big-time offers, including from the Tigers and Oregon.

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Florida defensive back prospect planning LSU visit

Kensley Faustin had a busy visit schedule in January, and it’s only going to pick up during the spring.

Defensive back recruiting has been a strength so far, and LSU is hoping to add another to the 2024 class in Naples (Fla.) safety prospect [autotag]Kensley Faustin[/autotag].

A three-star prospect who ranks as the No. 368 player nationally, per the 247Sports Composite, Faustin has had a busy month of January. He’s taken trips to Florida, Miami and Texas A&M, and he has a long list of additional schools he’d like to check out.

Per On3’s Billy Embody (subscription required), one of those schools is LSU, which Faustin said he currently intends to visit at some point in April. Faustin told Embody that LSU’s track record with defensive backs has caught his attention, and he’s been in heavy contact with cornerbacks coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag], safeties coach [autotag]Kerry Cooks[/autotag] and defensive coordinator [autotag]Matt House[/autotag].

Faustin will have a hectic spring ahead of him as he still wants to visit several schools, but he said he’d like to have a decision made this summer ahead of his senior year. He currently has no Crystal Ball projections, but Miami is a 36.8% favorite per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

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LSU seems to be closing the gap with 5-star Alabama cornerback commit

The Tigers made some progress with Jaylen Mbakwe after hosting him on campus this weekend.

Going head-to-head with the Crimson Tide for talent is never a walk in the park, but that’s a battle coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] hasn’t shied away from since arriving in Baton Rouge. Now, LSU seems to be in a position to try and flip away an uber-talented defensive back.

The Tigers hosted 2024 Alabama cornerback commit [autotag]Jaylen Mbakwe[/autotag] on campus this weekend, and the five-star prospect from Clay-Chalkville (Pinson, Ala.) had positive things to say about the experience, praising everything from the facilities (both football and track) to Mike the Tiger.

He also had high praise for cornerbacks coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag], who has been his primary contact, he told 247Sports Steve Wiltfong (subscription required).

Mbakwe is rated as the No. 14 prospect nationally by the On3 Consensus, and he’s the No. 1 prospect in the state of Alabama. He’s been committed to the in-state Crimson Tide since July, and while LSU still seemingly has some ground to make up here, it’s off to a good start.

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LSU expected to add former blue-chip Ohio State corner JK Johnson

Johnson changed his bio on Twitter to include LSU on Sunday.

LSU has been aggressive in addressing the secondary ā€” and the cornerback position, specifically ā€” so far this offseason. It seems the program is poised to add yet another through the portal.

Ohio State cornerback transfer [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] is expected to transfer to LSU. Johnson posted photos from his Baton Rouge visit this weekend, and though he didn’t explicitly commit, he did update his Twitter bio to include the Tigers.

This would be another huge pickup for LSU, which also added Syracuse transfer [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag] on Friday and had already landed a pair of corner transfers in [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag].

The DeSmet, Missouri, native is a former top 50 prospect, and he appeared in 15 games, totaling 22 tackles in two years. Johnson appeared in all 13 games this season, starting five of them.

His decision to transfer to LSU makes quite a bit of sense. Tigers cornerbacks coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag] was Johnson’s head coach in high school at DeSmet Jesuit, and now the pair have reunited on the bayou.

With the departures of [autotag]Jarrick Bernard-Converse[/autotag], [autotag]Mekhi Garner[/autotag] and others, it was important that LSU land instant impact players in the portal. Johnson would certainly be one.

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LSU analyst to join Bret Bielema’s staff at Illinois

Antonio Fenelus will be reuniting with his former coach.

An LSU analyst is off to the Big Ten.

[autotag]Antonio Fenelus[/autotag] will be joining Bret Bielema’s staff at Illinois as the defensive backs coach. Fenelus played at Wisconsin under Bielema, where he was an All-Big Ten First Team selection.

Fenelus has been at LSU for two years and was one of the few holdovers from the [autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag] regime. Fenelus worked with LSU’s defensive backs along with [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag] and [autotag]Kerry Cooks[/autotag].

In a statement released by Illinois, Bret Bielema said, “I have been waiting for the opportunity to hire Antonio here to Illinois since coming here.”

Fenelus will coach defensive backs at Illinois, a job that is only open because the previous coach in that role, Aaron Henry, was promoted to defensive coordinator after Ryan Walters left for Purdue ā€” who happens to be LSU’s bowl opponent.

LSU’s on-field staff has yet to see any changes, but Fenelus joins a few support staffers who have left for promotions at other schools.

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