Yep... He has been trending toward Ole Miss for some time now. Think he feels he has a better shot at early playing time.
Definitely not a numbers thing, as LSU likely won't get a DT in this class unless there is some surprise recruit out there we don't know about (Valentine isn't that guy). Willis is a tweener, he may end up playing DT. He would have to bulk up to 300 lbs, from his current 275. I think I'd rather see him stay at his weight and play the end position. Give us more girth, as we definitely got manhandled way too much this past season in the trenches. We were never hot on McDowell and I think he just got tired of not being loved enough by LSU. Plus the rumor we may have wanted him to play the fullback position.
Out of the 22 recruits rated either 4 or 5 star that are most likeliest to sign with LSU, 17 of them were invited to one of the two high school all star games.
Using the 247sports Recruiting Score Projection Calculator, if LSU landed it's top 6 targets (Noil, Fournette, Willis, Dupre, Adams, Brown) who are trending as the most likely to commit: LSU ends up with a 309.52 composite score. As a reference point the best classes have been: 2013 Alabama...... - 319.36 2012 Alabama...... - 310.89 2011 Alabama...... - 297.21 2010 Florida......... - 321.80 2009 LSU............. - 291.33 2008 Notre Dame. - 289.52 2007 Florida......... - 294.42 2006 USC............ - 294.42 Adding in a player like Hootie Jones, the score goes up to 314.78. If LSU were to steal a player like Adoree' Jackson OR Lorenzo Carter OR Malik McDowell, and then add in a Travonte Valentine, they would beat the record of 321.80.
There is a possibility that 17 of the top 50 recruits will either sign with LSU or Alabama. Throw in a long shot like Malik McDowell to LSU making it 18. Out of the top 50 recruits, 30 of them could end up in the SEC. Of the next 50, 20 have already committed to an SEC school and 5 more have keen interest in an SEC school. So there is a very distinct possibility that half of the top 100 will be in the SEC.
Hootie Jones dropped 50 spots in the 247rankings and therefore 16 spots overall in the composite ranking.
Targeting a few Juco OL but have higher hopes of getting the OL who decommitted from UK. Derrick Kelly out of FL. FSU seems to be the leader and Bama is also targeting him.
How many is Bama going to sign? They are the leader for about 3 more elite level players (likely to get them) and possibly a couple more like the one you just brought up. They will end up at 30 after it's all said and done. I do see us getting at least one more O-lineman.
