I edited my original post to include Jae Thaxton. Not likely, but you never know. LSU is still on his short list but there are 4 teams he is lookin at. James Bryant has yet to visit LSU. Again, a long shot but you never know.
Lucas will most likely do what Justin Vincent did. We are also resigning Tim Washington of Sugerland, TX (Dulles HS).
I have heard the same thing about Lucas. I have also heard that Jeremy Jones may also be in that category as well, although I don't know if grades or scholarship room is the issue with him. I think the punter from Carencro is also supposed to come to LSU on TOPS for a year and then get a football scholarship in 2005. Although I don't think we are finished with the 2004 class, we are already working on the 2005 class.
It will be great if Jones and Lucas go on to the 2005 class. Louisiana will be down in talent next year, and we will definitely be recruiting more out of state players than usual. It will be great to have two guys with that much talent already lined up and ready to go.
I don't believe that for a second ... this year was an exceptional year for a state with less than 5 million people. Count the scholarships of kids going to Division 1 programs after the April stats come out. Count 'em in 2005 again. You'll see this year may have been better, that's all. There are no "down" years in LA ... only down expectations that every year isn't amazing. I count almost 50 solid prospects in next years crop that LSU can choose from (how many will we sign ... 15-20), OT and another position or two looks light for top players, but the overall class will be very good again and in or near the Top 5 in the nation for states producing Div 1 scholarship signees.
There will be many D1 signess but not as many BIG time recruits ala Luke Sanders, Marlon Favorite, Early Doucet, Dorsey, etc. And when did I ever say we wont have a top 5 class? We will definitely have a top 5 class, but more than the usual out of state signees.
LSU will just sign all the big names in Louisiana and that will be enough to vault us into the top 3. There may not be as much quality depth in recruiting next year, but the cream of that crop will be excellent. There will be about the same balance of in-state and out-of-state as in all of the previous years Saban has been here.
Harry Coleman's and Pat White's commitments places LSU in first ahead of USC in rivals. We should be about 100 points ahead after they update their totals. This gives LSU 24 comiits. 27-28 is looking real likely as I stated in my original post in this thread. Herman Johnson and Jay Lucas are locks and that would give us 26. Tony Bell and Lavelle Hawkins would top it all off nicely.
Dandy is staring a list of La Top Talent for next year. Here are the top 5. He is pretty good at these projections. His list last year correlated with our commits and recruits. 1. Ryan Perrilloux (QB, 6'4", 220) from East ST John. Ryan Perrilloux reminds college scouts of LSU redshirt freshman quarterback JaMarcuss Russell. Perrilloux's arm strength is comparable to J. Russell, but Perrilloux has better foot speed and is a better runner. It appears to be a battle between LSU and Miami for Perrilloux's signature. 2. Lucas Taylor (ATH/QB, 6'1", 190, 4.4) from Carencro. Lucas Taylor reminds me of Skyler Green with his speed, quickness and balance. I believe Taylor will play wide receiver in college, but he could play quarterback at a school like Nebraska who's offense features running quarterbacks. I like LSU's chances of signing Lucas Taylor. 3. Antonio Robinson (RB, 6'1", 210, 4.5) from Winnfield. Antonio Robinson is big, strong and fast. Robinson reminds me of Anthony Thomas who played at Winnfield several years ago and has had a great pro career with the Chicago Bears. 4. Brian Babin (QB, 6'3", 190) from ST Amant. Babin is a very smart quarterback with a strong arm and good foot speed. Babin is also a great baseball prospect. 5. Ernest Jones (OL, 6'5", 335) from ST Augustine, N.O. Ernest Jones will be one of five super offensive linemen prospects in the state next season. Jones has great potential, but needs to get stronger in his upper body. Jones' playing weight will probably be 350-360 in college.
