Kid's free until he signs the LOI, he got some leverage. After that, he lost his leverage. Transfer costs him a year. Dad would do good to let Les do his job.
Here is a break-down of this class by Bayou Bengal Blog titled "It's a Hell of a Class." The author says that an extensively-researched full report on this class is also available for his premium members. OFFENSE --WR-- Offensively, you've got the NFL first-round draft pick type at wide receiver in Rueben Randle; Randle reminds me so much of Michael Clayton I can't believe it. He's thicker than Clayton, and maybe a little faster, and I don't know if he's quite the fearless, physical player Clayton was here. But he's a go-to guy that every college team wanting to make a title run has to have in the passing game. The class might be a little slight on complementary receivers to go with Randle, but that won't be the case if Morris Claiborne successfully turns into the sleeper of the group. Claiborne had people in Shreveport telling me all year long that he was the best player in the northwest part of the state, and you can't discount a guy who accounted for 32 touchdowns in 11 games playing 4A ball in Louisiana. Had Claiborne played on a good team and had he played wide receiver instead of mostly quarterback I think folks might be a lot more excited about him. But Claiborne is one of those kids who become more impressive the more you find out about him; he just has the look of a guy who gets to LSU and becomes way better than you ever expect. [Note that, below, he says Drayton Calhoun could be used at slot receiver] --QB-- Russell Shepard and Chris Garrett give you just a terrific combination at quarterback. Garrett is a super kid who's all about winning, and he got his business taken care of early so he could enroll at LSU at midterm. He's going to redshirt this fall, but before he's done here he's going to be a terrific pocket passer at LSU. Garrett is tall at 6-4, he's a strong, athletic kid who can move a little, he's got a rocket for an arm and he's accurate, and he's a smart kid who will master LSU's offense quickly. I would not be surprised over the next couple years if Garrett becomes the guy in the film room who's practically coaching the other quarterbacks even though he's technically an understudy on the depth chart. You put that piece together with Shepard, who I think immediately becomes LSU's most dangerous offensive player and a guy who can score a touchdown with the ball in his hands any way imaginable, and it's just a great combination. The leadership LSU gets out of these two guys is the other thing; remember, both of them committed early and then worked their butts off together in helping to recruit this class. --OL-- The line prospects are excellent. Carneal Ainsworth coming in as a center is a terrific move; Ainsworth looks to me like a bigger version of Brett Helms. His film shows he's lightning-quick off the ball, though if there was a weakness with him it might have been with finishing blocks, and that makes him a perfect fit at center where you're almost never expected to pancake anybody. Ainsworth moves well, he's a workhorse and he's a super-smart kid. Put him with Josh Williford, who I think is a real find and a guy who Tommy Moffitt will turn into a load as an SEC lineman, and a pair of national blue-chip recruits in Chris Faulk and Stavion Lowe who have NFL futures and this might be the best group of linemen Miles has recruited. --RB/FB-- Michael Ford is a workhorse SEC running back and he's going to play in the NFL. I have no doubt about it. With all the babbling about Trent Richardson I never thought anybody was going to unseat Ford as LSU's running back of the future; to watch this guy carry the ball you'd think you're looking at Emmitt Smith. He never takes a clean hit, he's always moving forward, he's as technically perfect a runner as you'll ever see out of high school, he's got more than adequate speed, he can catch it out of the backfield and he finishes his runs. Ford's only drawback now is he'll fumble some, but Larry Porter is the perfect position coach to fix that because Porter's guys DO NOT fumble. Go check the stats the last three years. Then you add two guys nobody has paid any attention to. Drayton Calhoun is a four-star recruit and one of the top 10 players in Georgia, and he's already on LSU's campus, and nobody is giving him any credit. But if you watch this guy on film he's flat-out frightening in the open field. Calhoun has blazing speed, he's got terrific moves and he'll run with authority even though he's only listed at 175. My guess is he'll be 190 by fall camp after Moffitt has him for seven months, and this could be a return man, a slot receiver or a change of pace back quickly. I don't know if he plays this fall but he'll definitely play in 2010. Then you get Dominique Allen, who will definitely play this fall, and you're getting a guy who scored EIGHTY touchdowns in his high school career. I'm assuming since LSU zeroed in on Allen as soon as they thought they could pull him away from Tennessee that they see a guy who can approximate Quinn Johnson's contributions as a blocking fullback, but the thing is Allen is a lot better runner than QJ. He's a guy who can actually run away from people once he gets through the line. Think Ironhead Heyward or Jerome Bettis as a ballcarrier. You put a guy like that in some spread sets where the defense has to load up with defensive backs and then you start popping him through the middle on draws and so forth, and he's going to hurt people. DEFENSE But it's defensively where this class really improves LSU. The haul along the defensive line might be the best the Tigers have had in modern memory; with six players coming in, LSU is deeper and possesses more explosive potential that you can imagine. --DE-- Getting Sam Montgomery on signing day was a bigger pickup than anybody can imagine. Montgomery is the best defensive end prospect LSU has signed since Marcus Spears and Marquise Hill back in 2001, but even that's an apples-and-oranges comparison since Spears and Hill were both run-stopping, strongside type ends. Montgomery is a horse of a different color; he's a pure edge rusher, and LSU hasn't had a really good player along those lines since maybe Gabe Northern. In fact, I can't remember the last time LSU had a guy who fit the classic NFL description of an edge rusher the way Montgomery does. This is a guy who played two years of high school football and had 26 sacks. He's a guy who at 6-4 and 230 pounds or so can run under 4.5 in the 40. He has a wingspan of a guy 6-6 or 6-7. He comes off the ball so fast that even the bluest of the blue chips playing in the Under Armour game were basically helpless against him all week. And he'll run plays down on the other side of the field. Montgomery is going to play right away this fall; I wouldn't say he's going to start but I think it's a pretty safe bet that when it's third down and the offense is going to throw the ball, Montgomery is coming in to rush off the edge - and with him and Rahim Alem both coming off opposite sides to chase the quarterback, I think LSU is going to be able to drop seven guys in coverage more times than not without sacrificing a pass rush. It has been a long time since that's been the case; LSU has had some really good defensive lines the last few years, but few alarming pass rushers in the group. They've had to blitz to generate a rush for a long time, and I think Montgomery will contribute to that not necessarily being the case anymore. Then you add a pair of defensive ends more along the lines of what LSU has in Mike Brockers and Bennie Logan. Brockers stands 6-6, and he's a whole lot like Tyson Jackson. He's a giant guy with long arms who will stack up the other team's strong side on the line and stuff the run, and when they pass he's going to knock the ball down a lot. I don't know what kind of pass rusher Brockers is going to be; my guess is he'll be a bull-rush guy and he might get good at it. He's raw, though, and I expect he'll probably redshirt. But before they're done with this guy he's going to be 295 pounds and nobody will want to run to his side. Then you add Logan, who's the unsung guy of the group but he's a kid who basically raised himself while taking care of an aging grandmother and his little brother (who will be a superstar recruit in a couple years), did the whole after-school job thing to keep the lights on, makes good grades, has everybody at Red River High School simply in awe of him character-wise and oh-by-the-way he's 6-3 and 265 pounds and runs a 4.7. Logan was told at LSU's camp in the summer that he was a little on the small side for their tastes, so he went out and bulked up 25 pounds during the football season and proceeded to dominate that Sportsman's Paradise all-star game. LSU had no choice but to take him after that, as he had scholarship offers coming in from all over the country in January. --DT-- Then you add Josh Downs, who was by far the best defensive tackle playing in any of the national all-star games from what I saw (and all the ESPN recruiting gurus basically agree with me); I think Downs might very easily play this fall depending on whether Drake Nevis and Charles Alexander can stay healthy. Akiem Hicks is a JUCO guy, so he's likely to play and will probably get groomed to step in as a starter in 2010 with Alexander and Al Woods are both gone and LSU is looking for a 300-pound brick wall to play that two-gap defensive tackle John Chavis wants in the middle of the line. Chris Davenport, who has a bum knee and will probably need to redshirt while making sure it's 100 percent, is likely a guy they can put in the pipeline as a two-gap tackle as well. Davenport was the highest-rated guy of the three up until the all-star games; the thing about him is that if he doesn't make an impact as a defensive tackle you could flip him over to offense and you'll have an absolutely dominating run blocker at guard overnight. --LB-- Kevin Minter looks to me like a superstar linebacker. This is a guy who gets to LSU last month and has already gained eight pounds working in Moffitt's offseason program, so he's taking to the S&C work like a fish to water. As for football, you're talking about a guy who made 140 tackles in leading his team to the 5A state championship game in Georgia; his credentials speak for themselves. He's a relentless pursuer of the football, he has great lateral speed and he diagnoses plays well. I think he's going to be a bigger, stronger version of Darry Beckwith and the fact that Chavis will coach this guy for four years means you could be looking at a GREAT college linebacker who makes himself a good deal of money playing pro football. But Barkevious Mingo has more upside than Minter. Mingo is a guy who could eventually grow into the edge-rushing defensive end who plays opposite Montgomery when Alem is gone, or he could be the 6-5, 240-pound strong-side linebacker who flies from sideline to sideline dumping running backs, chases quarterbacks all over the field as a free-ranging blitzer or reaches out with long arms and picks off passes in coverage. Mingo is very raw as a football player since most of his athletic career he's been a basketball player, and he's going to need to transform his body (at 6-5 and 209 pounds he's got the look of a wide receiver) before making a big impact on LSU's depth chart, but the size, speed and athleticism of this guy dwarfs anything LSU has had that I can remember. And he can play, too. Mingo put up some pretty impressive numbers in 5A ball at West Monroe in the only two years he's played the game; you don't do that unless you've got some natural instincts for football. Then you throw in Lamin Barrow and Tahj Jones, who are prototypical John Chavis developmental linebackers, and in a couple years after Moffitt has worked with them they'll be 6-2 and 225 or 230 pounds with excellent speed, both of them racked up great numbers in high school and demonstrated an ability to find the ball and make plays and both will hit like trucks. They may not have been national blue chip players but the raw material is absolutely there; all they need is coaching and Chavis is the best linebackers coach in the country. --CB-- LSU didn't sign a cornerback unless Claiborne or Calhoun end up there, but after taking four of them last year that position really wasn't a priority and until Janzen Jackson and Lance Guidry pulled that low-rent move yesterday the plan was only to take one. --S-- The Tigers did take three safeties, though, assuming Josh Johns will be coming in as part of the 2009 class and not grayshirting. Craig Loston is a superstar, and to watch him play it's very clear LSU is getting a guy with the same kind of explosive athleticism, fierce attitude and instinct for the game that Laron Landry used to such great effect in his time here. Loston has the speed of a cornerback and nobody will throw it over his head, but what you're going to really notice out of him is his lightning break on the football. I can't say for sure that his ball skills are good enough to get lots of interceptions in college, but he'll be there when the ball arrives. That might translate into some violent hits on wide receivers and some real fear of going over the middle. Loston is also going to be one of those safeties who makes 100 tackles during the year because he'll identify the ball and fly up to crush a running back before anybody else can even get there. Make no mistake about it; this guy is as big a recruit for LSU on defense as Shepard and Randle are on offense. I'm not going to predict he starts right away at LSU, because I think with a new defensive scheme the Tigers can actually have a really nice pair of safeties this fall in Chad Jones and Danny McCray, but Loston should surprise NO ONE if he brushes the competition aside and ensconces himself as the starting free safety in a similar manner to Landry back in 2003. With Rockey Duplessis, LSU is getting an old-school tough guy as a safety, a heady kid who can't wait to lay a hit and who always seems to make plays. Duplessis isn't particularly big or fast, but he was the kind of guy in high school who was the consummate gym rat and he was good at everything he played. It will be interesting to see if he has enough athleticism to make an impact as a safety; my guess is he's going to play a good bit later in his career but in the meantime he'll redshirt this fall and then he'll spend a couple of years running down on kicks and terrorizing return men. If this sounds like Steve Rehage 25 years ago, it's supposed to. Meanwhile, I think Josh Johns is a guy who will be a lot better than anybody thinks. John has the perfect size you want for a strong safety at 6-2 and 210 pounds; he can play up close to the line and load the tackle box without giving the offense somebody easy to block, he plays a physical brand of football, he's a guy who can force and recover fumbles, he's got adequate if not great speed but he recognizes the ball extremely well and as such he gets to the play as quickly as somebody with a better 40 time and his ball skills are outstanding. A Johns-Loston duo at safety really gives you some quality; we're talking about two pure football players who complement each other really well and know the game. I don't think LSU gets caught out of position with these two quarterbacking the defense. SPECIAL TEAMS --P-- Of course, Derek Helton is LSU's punter for the next two years. Everything I've heard about Helton since he got to LSU in December is that he's got a leg like Chad Kessler used to have. http://www.bayoubengalblog.com/2009/02/its-hell-of-class-who-is-this-kiffin.html
It's been said before, but it bears repeating. The most important attribute of this class is character. Five early enrollees. A couple of emerging leaders. And only one or maybe two academic question marks. If the Tigers can continue to pull in top classes and then get them all to their senior years, we may not see another 5 loss season in a long, long time. Couple of comments. Shep - Even though I think Dude and Izzy are crowning him a bit early, I think he has the most potential for impact overall (see 24/7 leadership). He has to develop a passing game (and I'm positive he will). Other than being extremely tough to contain, he did not look impressive throwing the football in the all-star game. His long bomb to DeBose was underthrown quite a bit. And he threw a pretty poor interception. Barkley looked like a freakin' stud by comparison. Garrett - he looked better than Shep at QB overall in the all-star games. I know that's blasphemy. And I know they were playing in two different games. Garrett is more mobile than he gets credit for and he appears very poised. If Garrett played in Texas or CA, he'd be a much higher rated QB. Downs - He's my pick for biggest and quickest contribution on defense besides Loston. Stevan Ridley - yes, I know he's not even close to being in this class. But losing Pratt and not stealing TR has made Ridley a very important piece in the future. 2010 needs to be a HUGE year for Ridley. Randle - I'm sure he's all that. But I'm hoping he's an apple that has fallen very far from the tree. Worried about his attitude. No facts - just a hunch.
I didn't see Garrett play, but I agree some concern over Shep's arm. I'd like him in the slot. I agree on both Downs and Loston. I was VERY impressed with both of them. Downs looked thin for a d-line guy, but very aggressive.
I agree with you and Bandit. Shep's passing isn't ready and his arm is not strong. Downs looked great, but he needs to transform his body and gain some muscle. I'd like to see Garrett redshirt and perhaps he can take over as QB or share time with Shep down the road. I think we are all seeing the same thing.
:geaux:Was looking to see if anyone here can answer a question for me? Is Loston academically elgible? If not will he be?
Here's a long report on this class by Bob Heist -- the sports editor of Lafayette's Daily Advertiser http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009902080319 He's not thrilled with Ford or Davenport: "here's a few personal observations I'd like you to remember so we can revisit them in 2113: -Tahj Jones is just 6-2, 205 pounds and owns a 3-star rating. The linebacker from Sulphur, though, was a steal. He's a football player, as is Coushatta defensive end Bennie Logan and fullback Dominique Allen from Paris, Tenn., who are other 3-star signees for Miles. - When South Carolina DE Sam Montgomery grows out of his 6-4, 230 frame in two seasons - and throw West Monroe linebacker Barkevious Mingo at 6-5, 209 in that mix - watch out. These are 4-star prospects with huge upside. - Fans could grow very fond of 3-star quarterback Chris Garrett before the career of the Tupelo, Miss., native is over at LSU. Might be a better prospect at this age than Matt Flynn, which is saying something. That's the good side of the class. Now for the bad, or at least questionable: - Not sold on Leesville running back Michael Ford. A good-looking kid, but showed no burst at the Sportsman's Paradise Bowl. The next Keiland Williams? Not so fast, folks. - Davenport could be a bust at defensive tackle. There are rumors the LSU coaching staff is already considering a move to the offensive line." He also wrote that Shepard, Loston, and Randle have the look of kids that will be playing in the NFL one day.
I think he is wrong about Ford. By all accounts he is a good kid who trains hard and has produced over 3000 yds. on the field. What more can you ask? He runs very hard, especially for his size and shows good vision. He is fast enough, running the 100 dash in school and doing well. He runs with a good pad level and tends to fall forward for the extra yards. I don't know enough about Davenport to say. Perhaps the injury people allude to is what is holding him back. I agree, Downs looked better than him at the all-star game and Davenport didn't look quick or shed blocks very well. If we move him to OL and he produces like Barksdale, that is fine by me.
