Death Valley Insider - LSU coach Ed Orgeron reacts to top recruits' Baton Rouge visit
Coach hearing positive feedback on prospects' trip, but "still work to do."
lsu.rivals.com
Labor Day weekend marked a huge recruiting opportunity for LSU — even with the NCAA's extended dead period still intact through at least September.
Current commitments such as quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and defensive end Keanu Koht coordinated a trip with several of their top 2021 peers, including several notable uncommitted targets, to visit Baton Rouge.
And while coaches and university officials could not host the standouts in any official capacity, all indications are that the event went off quite successfully.
"We have some great leaders that are already committed to us, and we have some outstanding players that are thinking about coming here," coach Ed Orgeron said Tuesday. "And I guess they got tired of waiting, and they wanted to come to Baton Rouge, and they arranged it on their own.
"From what I'm hearing they had a tremendous weekend, they did a lot of great things together. I think it only brings our recruiting class closer. Because of COVID-19, that's the rule, but I wish the rule would've been different to where we could be with them and have a complete weekend and pay their way. But they did what they could."
Fellow commitments such as linebacker Raesjon Davis, defensive end Landon Jackson, wide receivers Chris Hilton Jr. and JoJo Earle
Notable uncommitted targets included defensive tackle Maason Smith, defensive end Korey Foreman, defensive back Sage Ryan, offensive linemen Tristan Leigh and Savion Byrd, tight end Michael Trigg and linebacker Terrence Cooks II.
Orgeron expressed some hesitation two weeks ago about the type of unofficial recruiting visits more prospects were beginning to plan, including larger group events at Georgia and Oklahoma.
"We have not done that," the coach said Aug. 25. "Obviously we want to follow the rules. I'm not gonna comment on the other stuff. Let's see how the NCAA handles it, but I think it's pushing the line a little bit. But we'll see."
Whether any further clarification or lines had been drawn between then and now is unclear.
"The other schools are doing it, so we went ahead and did it also," Orgeron said Tuesday. "Our recruits decided to do it."
But this past weekend appears to have positioned the Tigers well to add help other top prospects confirm decisions to join Nussmeier, Koht, Davis and company in the program's future.
"I think the person, to be honest with you, that was most impressed Savion Byrd," Nussmeier told Tiger Details on Monday. "He's in the car with me. I think he had an entirely different images of what he thought Baton Rouge was gonna be. So that was really eye-opening to him. Also, you know, Korey, I think, had a great time. I know he loved to see campus, but I think he had best time hanging out with us and building relationships with us. The selling point on this class is how close a group we are and how big of a family LSU is and how great they treat the players."
One of the currently uncommitted prospects said Friday he expected the group to look back on the weekend as a key moment that laid the foundation for the years to come.
Still, Orgeron cautioned that work remains to be done in securing any of those commitments, as LSU attempts to round out the final seven spots in its class.
"I thought it was beneficial from what I'm hearing," he said. "I'm talking to most of the recruits today and tomorrow and the parents. They really liked it. But it's not like an official visit where they get to meet the academics, they get to come to the game, they get to meet with the coaches. So there's still work to do."
The means and platform by which that work will be accomplished remains to be seen.
Several prospects continue to hold out hope that the dead period will be lifted and allow official visits to campuses to meet with coaches and even be among the limited spectators allowed at games.
But, as optimistic for such opportunities as most coaches and players remain, no definitive or official plan has been shared.
"Obviously it's still a dead period," Orgeron said. "Hopefully they let 'em come to our games. We don't know that yet. We haven't been told that yet. Right now, the Early Signing Period is still in December. We have 18 commitments now. We've got seven more to go. Hopefully most of 'em decide to sign in December.
"But, you know, some of 'em we haven't seen play. And hopefully we can go out and see them play. It's a different year. We have to trust our evaluation off of tape and trust that they see enough in the university to sign in December even if they can't come visit. It definitely is different."
