I have always thought we recruited Texas fairly well, but it seems like it would be one or two great players every now and then. I don't think I realized how many, and how highly ranked our TX commits really are. According to Rivals, the TX rankings for our commits are: 2 Russell Shepard 15 Dexter Pratt 19 Stavion Lowe 21 Michael Brockers Add to that the very real possibility of: 1 Jamarkus McFarland 4 Craig Loston 8 Christine Michael - would be ours if we allowed him to commit. That is four, with a possibility of seven out of the Top 21 players in TX, in a year when the talent level is high. Add Seastrunk, Wood, and Carter next year and we have become the proverbial thorn in every Texas school's side. The longhorns seems to be doing fine, but who else does this effect? Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, etc. If you think UT hates us, what are those teams gonna do? :wave: I'm amazed that Miles/staff have done this well in Texas. Far exceeding anything I have ever seen in my years of following LSU.:thumb:
This year's Texas haul will be truly spectacular. To put it in perspective, last year we got a few good ones (one 4 star, three 3 stars) with the highest rated being the 16th best player in Texas. The year before that we had 5 Texas recruits (one 3 star, three 4 star, and one 5 star player), including the #2 player in Texas & #1 WR in the country. In '06, we signed 3 players from Texas, two 3 stars & a 4 star, and in '05 we signed 4 Texas players (three 3 stars & one 4 star). So, we've done fairly well in Texas the past few years, but they have been a subsidy - we weren't taking the cream of the crop from the state for the most part. This year is different; we are really cleaning up there & I hope we continue to recruit the state hard. LSU has a great presence in Texas - better than any other state, and it is paying off.
Part of it has been LSU's success but part of it is also Mack Brown has fallen asleep at the wheel so to speak for in state recruiting IMO. There is no way McFarland or Shepherd would be seriously in play (or committed to another school in Shep's case) if Pete Carroll or some other recruiter of that ilk was at UT right now.
I agree. You have to give Larry Porter a lot of credit and Peveto could match his numbers if he pulls in McFarland and Christine Michael.
We truly benefit from Texas recruiting like no other team. The fact that they pretty much decide who they want by mid February ends up biting them every year.
I think Cparso is dead on here. All indications are that Michael would like to come here, but the staff is passing on him. Either they are holding out for Richardson, or sticking with the two guys they already have. You may also consider the effect Seastrunk's visit will have on the following year. Two great backs in one year is plenty when we have four already producing, and a possibility of Dyer and Seastrunk the following year. Even with redshirts, and running back by committee, there are only so many carries in a game. Taking three backs in one year is an unusual event, and requires the three in question to be markedly different from one another. The longer this dance has gone on, the more I believe Michael will not be a part of this class. A&M will be thrilled.
We have a lot of early verbals this year too. I have worried that we could have some of the same issues. We were able to rectify one already when Williford stepped in as a replacement. The other risk when someone verbals early is that they could get seriously hurt and you already have given them a spot. Another factor is that there is just so much talent in Texas. Texas or Oklahoma may be deep at a position and unwilling to offer a kid because they have reached their quota and we can swoop in and get a great player.
I just went to rivals and looked at the last Longhorrn class and 19 out of 20 boys were from Texas. Oklahoma had 11 of 21 from Texas. Texas has 37 players ranked 4 stars or higher and LA has only 12. The biggest bonus in all of this is that the recruiting raid on Texas is not a two way street. Neither Texas or Oklahoma signed any Louisiana talent last year.
Maybe not last year, but Oklahoma has/had some big time contributors in Nic Harris, Chris Brown, and formerly Rufus Alexander from Louisiana. None of the above were offered by LSU, but still. edit: OU also got 3 out of Louisiana in 2007.
