I feel that Derrick Bryant often gets overlooked with all the other DB's we have. Everything I read about him makes him sound very motivated and sort of the guy who surprises everyone. It wouldn't surprise me at all for him to beat out some of our more highly recruited CBs from the past few years. I definitely think he is the most underrated.
Bryant is very physical, I could easily see him being a safety. He's got a lot of versatility, I know the coaches value that attribute.
I think Chase Clement is going to be a good DE in the SEC. He reminds me alot of Chase Pittman... a guy that is willing to make a play. Also, with 4.6-4.7 speed he'll be able to chase down the Kodi Burns' and Tebow's of the SEC. At the end of his 4 years he'll have a good shot to become a first round pick.
Overall: This is another stellar class. Rivals admittedly said they did a poor job in evaluating LA talent. I think a lot of our 3 star recruits are better than advertised. We went after a lot of these kids early, so obviously Les Miles and his staff think highly of them. Also, we have a very balanced class. We didn't get the RB we wanted, but the '09 class is loaded with plenty that LSU should be able to pick from. Jordan Jefferson will be just what LSU needs to keep up the all important QB position. Favorite recruit: Patrick Johnson hands down. You can still see the drool I left on some of the threads about him. Kid is dynamic, polished and smart. He is very physical and very fast. He could go down as possibly the best corner ever to play at LSU. That's how good he is. Impact Players: Patrick Johnson probably a starter at CB heading into SEC play. Others that should see fairly significant PT are Ryan Baker, Kellen Theriot and Deangelo Benton. Aghayere is good enough to play early but LSU won't waste him and will redshirt him. There is just too much quality depth already on the D-line. Most Underrated: OL Alex Hurst, ATH/WR Jhyryn Taylor and SS/FS Derrick Bryant (all 3 star rated). Fast forward to the 2011 season. LSU wins yet another national title in New Orleans with many of these players playing a huge part in the success of the team.
Sorry I am so late, boys. Overall: It was not a glamorous class, but it was very, very good. We got what we needed and did what we could with a weaker year in Louisiana. I wish LSU would have stole a few more in Texas, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Favorite Recruit: Jordan Jefferson. I watch this kid play a lot and I've said this before. I think he is as good as RP was in high school. Had he not been injured his junior season, he would be a 5-star player, because he wouldn't have started the season rated so low. Impact Players: There are a bunch: Clement will be a stud, PJ, Chauncey, Jefferson, Benton, Toliver, etc... Most underrated: Lavar Edwards and Tyler Edwards both are better than they're ranked. I like Tim Molton, too. I don't see a lot of "jersey-retiring" players in this class, but I see a ton of solid, solid players.
Didn't get to see much of RP in high school. JJ has, to my amateur eye, a really rough - but good enough :wink: - throwing motion that I'm sure will get a ton of work. RP (currently) looks like most top-notch QBs now. Was RP as "raw" as JJ appears to be? Not challenging. Just a'wonderin'. Are you from/near Destrehan? I tried three times to break away to see a game and I failed three times...
I just remember seeing RP playing the little bit he did as a RSFR and he looked really raw. Tons of improvement on zipping the ball from '06 to '07.
I've explained this a few times here. It's not that Perrilloux wasn't good. Perrilloux was amazing. He was a freak. His main offense was running around the pocket and breaking everyone's ankles until someone broke off a route and got open, or until he decided to run for 30 yds. He just did some stuff and relied on some stuff on HS that everyone knew wouldn't fly in college. Like running the defensive linemen around in circles before finally picking his target, etc... I just thought Destrehan used a more pro-style, college-style offense and were more "realistic" in how they used Jefferson. He did a lot more stuff you'd actually see in a college game. And yeah, I am from near that area. I saw them 3-4 times this year. Phenomenal team, man... One of the best HS teams in a long time in this area. :thumb:
The quickest impact player IMO won't be a 5 Star, 4 Star or even a 3 Star recruit but a 2 Star non scholarship walk on. Drew Alleman will be an immediate improvement in the kickoff game and a very adequate JIT replacement for the departing Patrick Fisher. The only disappointment I have is that LSU is not hitting the Houston, Beaumont area harder. LSU is pretty popular in the Houston area especially after Katrina. There is more population and more large schools in the Houston area alone than in the entire state of Louisiana. Mack Brown is a lazy recruiter in my opinion and Oklahoma has just about taken over the Dallas Area. Just would like to see LSU establish more of a presence in the Houston/Beaumont area, that's all. May be harder to do now with the new A&M coach coming from the Texans.
