LSU 2023 August Class Projections: Julie Boudwin
Currently, the Tigers hold 17 commitments in the Class of 2023.
Notes on my projections...
Currently, I feel good about LSU’s 17 commitments. The Tigers sit at No. 12 overall in the Rivals rankings and we know they’ll continue to rise over the remainder of the recruitment period. The lone commitment that I'm currently watching for potentially a flip would be Ryan Yaites, who visited Oklahoma over the weekend with his high school teammate and Sooner QB commit Jackson Arnold. But, we’ll have to see how that plays out over the upcoming months in regards to official visits.
Moving on to a handful of the projections I went with, some are ambitious, but I’ve seen enough from this staff to believe they could pull it off.
- Nyckoles Harbor has an extremely close relationship with DL coach Jamar Cain that dates back to when he was on Oklahoma’s staff. Harbor has already locked in an official visit date on Oct. 8 for the Tennessee game. Also remember, Harbor is an elite track star and LSU’s track program is one of the best in the country. The Tigers are legitimately in the mix for the five-star athlete.
- Javien Toviano made the journey back to LSU for ‘Bayou Splash’ and although he’s a quiet kid who doesn’t do much recruiting interviews or talking, it’s about the moves he’s making. He decided to take his second visit to LSU this weekend instead of going to Texas or Texas A&M. Robert Steeples has being leading the way in this recruitment and perhaps the Tigers might just be able to pull it off in the end.
- If you read Jimmy’s early Sunday morning notes, then you know he dropped four names he’s expecting to end up in LSU’s 2023 class, and I agree: Shelton Sampson, who announces on Aug. 6, Kylin Jackson, who announces on Aug. 8, Khai Prean and Zalance Heard. I’ll go ahead and add one more in-state prospect and it’s an important one: quarterback Rickie Collins, who was on campus this past weekend. The new staff, especially Joe Sloan, has really turned up the heat in the last months on Collins after missing on a few other prospects. Collins is extremely familiar with the campus and has been back several times since spring. He’s currently committed to Purdue, but the visit this past weekend could have been just what he wanted and needed to see to flip.
- I also anticipate Georgia guard DJ Chester to be landing in this class.
- I picked a total of 25, but just know there will be additional names and numbers but it’s hard to say exactly just yet. I did not include a defensive tackle in this group of 25 but sources tell me the definitely want to add a DT to the group, but it could come from the transfer portal if Cain doesn’t find a high schooler.
- Other players I’m also watching to potentially fit this 2023 class: Harvey Broussard, Marquez "Macho" Stevenson, Jordan Matthews, Ayden Williams, A’mauri Washington, Edric Hill, Jordan Hall, Lafayette Kaiuway and Jayvon Thomas. I also anticipate a few new names popping this fall and the transfer portal ultimately being used to fill a spot or two if they don't close on targets.
