Football Recruiting: 10 LSU commits to watch this fall

BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8

The 2023 summer has just about come to a close, and the 2024 LSU Football recruiting class has shaped up to be one of the best in the country thus far.

Not only have the Tigers reached into other states to grab some elite talent, but they’ve also been able to lock down the state of Louisiana in order to keep some of the best recruits in the state home.

According to 247sports, LSU’s class of 2024 is ranked seventh in the recruiting class team rankings. The Tigers currently hold 23 commitments: 14 of those being from Louisi- ana. Since June 1, LSU landed 11 commitments.

With the 2023 summer in the books, here’s 10 LSU commits in the 2024 class that are expected to have a big senior season this fall.

All Rankings are via 247sports.

Four-star Running Back

Caden Durham No. 94 overall recruit in the country

Durham is LSU’s highest rated commit, according to the 247sports composite rankings.

Many consider him to be LSU’s biggest recruiting victory this year, as the running back from powerhouse Duncanville High School committed to the Ti- gers over Oklahoma and Texas A&M. He also held over 30 offers in his recruitment, and he is also being recruited for track at LSU as well.

Four-star Cornerback Cai Bates No. 106 overall recruit in the country Bates is arguably one of LSU’s biggest victories on the recruiting trail, as he held over 40 offers throughout his recruitment. He committed to LSU on July 26. In his junior season, he intercepted four passes and broke up another seven. On offense, he caught 17 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown.

Four-star Safety

Dashawn McBryde No. 115 overall recruit in the country

McBryde committed to the Tigers on April 22. In his junior season at Denham Springs, he finished with nine interceptions. He held offers from Ole Miss, Tennessee, Florida and more.

Four-star Wide Receiver

Kylan Billiot

No. 279 overall recruit in the country

Billiot had a stellar performance at LSU’s Elite Camp in June, which allowed the Tigers to extend him an offer. Just four days later, on June 14, he committed to LSU, and quickly became one of Louisiana’s top recruits.

Four-star Athlete Michael Turner No. 378 overall recruit in the country

LSU added speed with Turner’s commitment. After attending a camp this summer, where he ran a sub-4.3 second 40-yard dash, LSU was quick to extend an offer. He committed to the Tigers on June 23.

Four-star Safety Joel Rogers No. 281 overall recruit in the country Rogers was being heavily recruited by both LSU and Ala-

UP-AND-COMING, from page 9 bama, but the Tigers got him to stay home with a commitment on June 12.

Four-star Quarterback

Colin Hurley

No. 315 overall recruit in the country

Hurley reclassified to the Class of 2024 from the Class of 2025. The talent speaks for itself, as he was an Elite 11 finalist, and held 25 offers in his recruitment, which should technically only be heading into his junior season. He’ll be 16 years old when he starts college classes, so he is expected to redshirt as a true freshman.

Four-star Cornerback

Ondre Evans

No. 200 overall recruit in the country

Evans is another recruit LSU snagged from an opposing SEC state, and the talent is definitely there. After LSU offered Evans on June 2, it got him to commit on his official visit on June 15.

Three-star Linebacker

Davhon Keys

No. 435 overall recruit in the country

Keys’ commitment was a huge recruiting victory, espe - cially because of the area he comes from. The Dallas/Fort Worth region is arguably one of the most talented regions in the country for football, and LSU added a recruit that plays at what is run like a college program in Aledo High School.

Three-star EDGE Ahmad Breaux

No. 675 overall recruit in the country

Breaux committed to Duke on January 26. But after an unofficial visit to LSU on March 4, the Tigers extended him an offer. That’s all it took for Breaux to flip his commitment to LSU just a day later.

POTENTIAL, from page 9

What these additions do for the roster is add much-needed depth. It was noticeable that last year’s problems were depth in the secondary due to either injuries or inexperience. Adding players from the transfer portal who are not only talented but experienced as well, seals up those gaps in the secondary.

While injuries to Johnson and Sage Ryan have hurt that depth, when everyone is healthy, LSU is deep in the secondary.

These defensive backs brought through the transfer portal are full of talent whether it’s four and five-star recruits or players who made their respective all-conference teams. Something important when adding transfers to a roster and looking for an immediate impact is experience.

Alexander started the last season at Southeastern Louisiana. Chestnut was a two-year starter at Syracuse and has shown to separate himself from the others as a starting corner, being able to win reps against a talented receiver core at practice.

Sam the most notable of the transfers, started 48 games at McNeese State and Marshall in his career. He will be going into his sixth year of college football. Having that playing experience goes a long way with a unit that lost a lot.

BREAKDOWN, from page 9 concerns entering the season, and that continued despite Harris’ return. Sage Ryan ran with the first team at boundary corner, but left practice early with an apparent left arm injury. Ryan and Zy Alexander started with the first team during the scrimmage, with Duce Chestnut replacing the injured Ryan.

Ryan is now the second no - table injury in the secondary after JK Johnson’s foot injury earlier in camp. Freshman Ashton Stamps also rotated with the first team at corner, but spent most of the scrimmage with the second team.

The defensive backs struggled against LSU’s wide receivers during one-on-one drills, but forced more incompletions during the scrimmage. Greg Brooks Jr., Andre Sam and Ma- jor Burns all rotated with the first team at safety.

Offensive takeaways

The biggest takeaway of the scrimmage was the running back play, highlighted by freshman Kaleb Jackson. Jackson had two touchdowns, one of them being a screen pass that he took over 70 yards to the endzone. Jackson still might be towards the bottom of the rotation given his lack of experience, but he stood out more than any other running back Saturday.

The first-team offensive line continued to impress, and saw freshman Zalance Heard get reps with the first team Saturday. Heard rotated in at right tackle, replacing Miles Frazier and pushing Emery Jones to right guard.

The wide receivers continued to impress against LSU’s secondary, with Malik Nabers, Kyren Lacy, Chris Hilton Jr., Brian Thomas Jr., Aaron Anderson and tight end Mason Taylor all getting targets among others. Jayden Daniels took a more methodical approach when running the first team offense during the scrimmage, throwing more underneath routes than Garrett Nussmeier, who took a few deep shots, but couldn’t connect.

On top of that there are returners who played crucial roles in last year’s season such as Greg Brooks Jr., Major Burns and Ryan who can provide leadership. There are also players such as Laterrance Welch and Mathew Langlois who are looking to increase their roles this season.

Welch played exceptionally well during the spring game and has been building off that ever since. His confidence and skills have continued to improve. I like what Welch brings to the secondary with his excellent coverage skills and physicality. Even though he is only a sophomore, he is starting to perform like a player who has been starting for years.

Something that is being undervalued with this defensive back unit is the amount of versatility it has. Players like Burns, Ryan and Brooks are listed as safeties but have shown the ability to play man coverage and matchup with wide receivers and tight ends. This allows LSU to play more packages and not have to worry about mismatches.

There are only two weeks left before LSU has to play Florida State in the season opener in Orlando. There are still some questions that have to be answered, but these next two weeks will be crucial for these players who still need to develop.