Just in time for the holidays, Les Miles has wrapped up a stable of top juniors from the Class of 2011. With each big commitment, the Tigers’ continue to maintain their recruiting inertia, providing their fans with gifts that will keep on giving.
The latest additions to LSU’s class are all in-state products and include Patterson running back Kenny Hilliard, Baton Rouge Capitol offensive lineman Corey White and New Orleans O. Perry Walker defensive tackle Anthony Johnson.
Add that trio to La’El Collins and Jeremy Hill, both from Baton Rouge’s Redemptorist and both committed to the Tigers, and LSU has the makings of an epic recruiting haul.
While other top programs like Alabama and Florida have to fend off in-state competitors like Auburn and Florida State, respectively, LSU benefits from residing in a talent-laden state without a natural competitor for Division I recruits.
Last year, Louisiana produced 49 Division I FBS recruits, eighth among all states despite the fact that Louisiana’s total population ranks 25th.
“I think because of LSU being the state school and the most recognizable school in football in Louisiana, you always kind of want to look at LSU before you go out of state,” said Emmanuel Powell, who coaches Johnson at O. Perry Walker.
Johnson, who was named Louisiana’s 4A defensive player of the year, initially committed to Lane Kiffin and the Tennessee Vols back in May. He reconsidered his decision and decided he wanted to play closer to home, according to Powell.
“He’s comfortable with LSU and the staff,” Powell said. “And he’d like to be a little closer to home, so his family can come to the games.”
Johnson finished with 79 tackles, 16 sacks, and three forced fumbles this season.
For Hilliard, comfort and familiarity were also crucial in his decision.
“LSU is the flagship school of the state, no doubt," said Hilliard’s head coach, Tommy Minton. “He always felt like LSU was where he wanted to be.”
Hilliard has been a star since the moment he set foot at Patterson. As a freshman, he was an all-state selection. His sophomore season, he was named the 3A offensive player of the year. This season, Hilliard was selected as Gatorade’s player of the year for Louisiana.
Despite the national recognition and recruiting attention, Hilliard, who had offers from Alabama, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Miami among others, chose to stay home.
“A lot of these kids grow up in Louisiana with state pride,” Minton said. “(They grow up) seeing Death Valley, seeing 92,000 people, and they want to come out of that tunnel and play for LSU.”
While not having an instate rival certainly benefits the Tigers, nothing has been more vital to their recruiting success than their on-the-field victories. LSU won BCS National Championships in 2003 and 2007.
“They’re winning. They’re in the hunt every year,” Powell said. “That means a lot, that you don’t have to go out of state to get those things.”
For White, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound Baton Rouge native who was a 2A all-state selection, the journey to LSU won’t involve leaving the city. Collins and Hill are also Baton Rouge products who have bright futures for the Tigers.
Both were named to the MaxPreps Class of 2011 Top 100 Watch List at the start of the season. They each joined Hilliard on the 3A all-state team.
Jermauria Rasco, a defensive end from Shreveport’s Evangel Christian Academy, also figures in LSU’s potentially epic recruiting class. The 6-4, 230-pound defensive end could also wind up in Baton Rouge, lining up alongside Johnson in what would comprise one loaded defensive front.
If Miles can land Jarvis Landry, a wide receiver from Lutcher, it would probably be a clean sweep of top instate talent for the Tigers. Landry caught 62 passes for 1,158 yards and 12 touchdowns this season and is one of the most dynamic junior wide outs in the country.
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“In Louisiana, it’s LSU or you’re going out of state,” said Coby Minton, an assistant coach at Hilliard.
So far, for top juniors from the Bayou State, it certainly has been the former.
