This is going to be a long one so bare with us.
We took our time in putting this notebook together and waited until the entire weekend was complete before we really started putting out info, and as I said earlier today, from all indications this weekend could not have gone any better for Brian Kelly and LSU.
Kelly and his staff hosted 16 2022 recruits on campus over the weekend, nine commits and seven targets. It was the last opportunity to get face to face time with players before the dead period begins Monday.
The Tigers had most of their commitments and families in Baton Rouge, although, Tygee Hill was at Tulane and JaDarian Rhym was at Auburn — it’s safe to assume that either of those guys could flip moving forward. We’ll work on getting solid intel on both prior to Wednesday but without Corey Raymond on staff and Rhym at the other Tigers, almost seems like the writing is on the wall. With Hill, he was just visited this past week by Frank Wilson so we’ll have to monitor that one.
Let’s start with the commitments I’m confident will sign with LSU Wednesday: Walker Howard, Will Campbell, Emery Jones, Bo Bordelon, Fitzgerald West, Nathan Dibert and I still believe Laterrance Welch, who is being heavily pursued by Arkansas and now Raymond at Florida, ends up sticking with his commitment due to the close proximity to home, dream of playing for DBU at LSU and plenty of close friends on the team and in this close. -- Julie
I mentioned we’ll be monitoring Rhym and Hill but also keeping eyes on DeMario Tolan and Mason Taylor over the next few days. A source told me earlier this week that Tolan is in as long as Blake Baker is sticking around and while things surely look like that could be a possibility, nothing has been set in stone either way with Baker. But for now, all signs point to Tolan signing Wednesday, which would be huge because LSU needs LBs in this cycle. -- Julie
As far as targets I’m feeling are trending in the right way with LSU … Jordan Allen waited a long time to earn his offer and with guys like Sage Ryan, Malik Nabers, Jack Bech already in Baton Rouge plus his teammate Fitzgerald West signing, I have a FutureCast in on him to pick the Tigers. -- Julie
Mandeville wide receiver Landon Ibieta made the visit on short notice after receiving an offer from the Tigers on Thursday night. The Miami commit is looking around after a coaching change took place. That change put everyone on a level playing field and the LSU visit put the Tigers in a strong position, but Ibieta is still mulling things over. Just last week it appeared that Ibieta would be a February signee, so things would have to move extremely fast for LSU to end up with a December signature from the explosive receiver. But it is possible and one we will be keeping a close eye on. -- Jimmy
Following his new offer from LSU, Ibieta told TigerDetails: "It felt good because it's the school I grew up watching. It's been a dream to play there ever since I was little. It was really exciting. My favorite player growing up was Patrick Peterson."
LSU had two big defensive line visitors this weekend in Quency Wiggins (Madison Prep, BR) and D.J. Wesolak (Missouri). Early signs are that things went really well with both -- enough for both of us to drop a FutureCast on Wesolak.
Wiggins is one of if not THE top target in-state and LSU is putting on the full court press. Kelly and numerous staffers spent time with Wiggins, according to sources, and everyone seems to feel fairly good about where things stand. There has been conflicting info on where Alabama stands with Wiggins at the moment, which I began viewing as troubling signs a few years ago. Alabama does a tremendous job clouding the air when it comes to Louisiana targets in an attempt to keep LSU on its heels. I am not saying that is what is happening here, but I am going to be cautious until the air clears a bit. With all of that said, I do get the feeling that LSU now leads for both prospects, which would be huge for this class. Wesolak was being recruited by Kelly and Polian earlier this year at Notre Dame. Up until his recent offer from LSU, many believed he would stay home and sign with Missouri but all signs point to LSU being in a really good spot to land him too. -- Jimmy
Wesolak recently told Rivals: “Coach (Brian) Kelly being at LSU helps them because he is a great coach and I know LSU will compete for a natty asap. Also, players like Walker Howard and Will Campbell reaching out in the past days helps feel the love."
Next, let’s talk about the transfer OL Miles Frazier who had a crazy, busy weekend that started with a visit to NC State Friday, his brother’s graduation Saturday morning then he and his family arrived into Baton Rouge Saturday evening. Frazier is literally one of the hottest names in the transfer portal with nearly 30 offers since entering his name just a few weeks ago. He picked up an offer from Ohio State on Saturday while getting ready to head to Louisiana. It’s expected that he takes his time before ultimately deciding where he wants his next spot to be but one source I spoke to felt confident in saying he thought the Tigers would land everyone or almost everyone who visited this weekend, including Frazier, who would absolutely be a starter for LSU next season. -- Julie
Lastly, I have not heard back yet from either Austin Ausberry or Kendrick Law yet for quotes or their take on the visit, but sources at LSU feel confident about both. For a while, Ausberry seemed to be leaning Florida prior to their coaching change, lately there’s been some talk regarding Auburn and their depth chart which is favorable for him getting on the field and Auburn recently visited him twice in the last two weeks making him a priority, but this weekend was key to Ausberry getting to know the new LSU staff and seeing what Kelly, Polian and Kerry Cooks would have to say. Ausberry originally said he was committing on Monday, the 13th, and we’re waiting to see if that’s still his plan. -- Julie
Update: Ausberry is still planning on announcing tomorrow, I'm told, at 12:45 p.m.
Law received a ton of attention from Kelly and staff this weekend. Wilson spent some time with him on Saturday and is with him early again Sunday morning. Kelly and staff have been all in with Law. The versatile athlete prefers the offensive side of the ball, and LSU is open to it, but Cooks made it known to Law that he thinks he could play safety on Sundays as well. This has been an ongoing discussion among staffs and Law, so it will be interesting to see where his head is on all of it this evening into Monday. He is a smart, unimpressionable kid that is equally concerned with chasing his engineering degree as he is football. Kelly appears to have made quite the impression on everyone I have talked to so far and he has spent ample time with Law, so we will see how it plays out. -- Jimmy
One of the more interesting lines I have heard repeatedly from this weekend relates to the character and personalities on hand. Multiple parents and kids have mentioned the good vibes and good nature of the staff, while the staff shared their views on the amount of high character kids on the trip. This group sounds like a great building block for Kelly, who appears determined to build the program to his liking. And LSU is paying him 95-million dollars to do just that. -- Jimmy
As for Kelly, the common sentiment is that he is a fun guy whose personality and ability to relate surprised many in attendance. He mixed it up with the kids at Top Golf, and evidently coach can golf a bit. Sounds like Ibieta and Wesolak can crush the 360-dimple balls as well. I have yet to hear one bad thing about the weekend, which is somewhat odd. Typically, you hear of situations that developed or moments that didn't play out well, but that isn't the case this go-around. -- Jimmy
Additional stuff I wanted to share...
-- Walker Howard is signing at 1pm Wednesday; Emery Jones at 12:30p; Will Campbell at 8:45a; Quency Wiggins at 9a; Fitzgerald West at 2:30p; Nathan Dibert at 7:01a with 4p ceremony at school; Bo Bordelon at 4:30 ... I'll post more once I have confirmed times.
-- "I liked (Coach Kelly) a lot. I thought it would've been weird, but not at all." - Fitzgerald West
-- Cincinnati TE Danny Lewis told Sam he would be taking a visit to LSU on Saturday, but that never happened, per Lewis, who told me "they didn’t call me down." Waiting to hear back on if Lewis intends on signing this week or holding off until February, which could give LSU time to get involved if they wanted. Lewis balled out in the 4A title game, winning MVP. He had six catches for 179 yards and a touchdown.
We took our time in putting this notebook together and waited until the entire weekend was complete before we really started putting out info, and as I said earlier today, from all indications this weekend could not have gone any better for Brian Kelly and LSU.
Kelly and his staff hosted 16 2022 recruits on campus over the weekend, nine commits and seven targets. It was the last opportunity to get face to face time with players before the dead period begins Monday.
The Tigers had most of their commitments and families in Baton Rouge, although, Tygee Hill was at Tulane and JaDarian Rhym was at Auburn — it’s safe to assume that either of those guys could flip moving forward. We’ll work on getting solid intel on both prior to Wednesday but without Corey Raymond on staff and Rhym at the other Tigers, almost seems like the writing is on the wall. With Hill, he was just visited this past week by Frank Wilson so we’ll have to monitor that one.
Let’s start with the commitments I’m confident will sign with LSU Wednesday: Walker Howard, Will Campbell, Emery Jones, Bo Bordelon, Fitzgerald West, Nathan Dibert and I still believe Laterrance Welch, who is being heavily pursued by Arkansas and now Raymond at Florida, ends up sticking with his commitment due to the close proximity to home, dream of playing for DBU at LSU and plenty of close friends on the team and in this close. -- Julie
I mentioned we’ll be monitoring Rhym and Hill but also keeping eyes on DeMario Tolan and Mason Taylor over the next few days. A source told me earlier this week that Tolan is in as long as Blake Baker is sticking around and while things surely look like that could be a possibility, nothing has been set in stone either way with Baker. But for now, all signs point to Tolan signing Wednesday, which would be huge because LSU needs LBs in this cycle. -- Julie
As far as targets I’m feeling are trending in the right way with LSU … Jordan Allen waited a long time to earn his offer and with guys like Sage Ryan, Malik Nabers, Jack Bech already in Baton Rouge plus his teammate Fitzgerald West signing, I have a FutureCast in on him to pick the Tigers. -- Julie
Mandeville wide receiver Landon Ibieta made the visit on short notice after receiving an offer from the Tigers on Thursday night. The Miami commit is looking around after a coaching change took place. That change put everyone on a level playing field and the LSU visit put the Tigers in a strong position, but Ibieta is still mulling things over. Just last week it appeared that Ibieta would be a February signee, so things would have to move extremely fast for LSU to end up with a December signature from the explosive receiver. But it is possible and one we will be keeping a close eye on. -- Jimmy
Following his new offer from LSU, Ibieta told TigerDetails: "It felt good because it's the school I grew up watching. It's been a dream to play there ever since I was little. It was really exciting. My favorite player growing up was Patrick Peterson."
LSU had two big defensive line visitors this weekend in Quency Wiggins (Madison Prep, BR) and D.J. Wesolak (Missouri). Early signs are that things went really well with both -- enough for both of us to drop a FutureCast on Wesolak.
Wiggins is one of if not THE top target in-state and LSU is putting on the full court press. Kelly and numerous staffers spent time with Wiggins, according to sources, and everyone seems to feel fairly good about where things stand. There has been conflicting info on where Alabama stands with Wiggins at the moment, which I began viewing as troubling signs a few years ago. Alabama does a tremendous job clouding the air when it comes to Louisiana targets in an attempt to keep LSU on its heels. I am not saying that is what is happening here, but I am going to be cautious until the air clears a bit. With all of that said, I do get the feeling that LSU now leads for both prospects, which would be huge for this class. Wesolak was being recruited by Kelly and Polian earlier this year at Notre Dame. Up until his recent offer from LSU, many believed he would stay home and sign with Missouri but all signs point to LSU being in a really good spot to land him too. -- Jimmy
Wesolak recently told Rivals: “Coach (Brian) Kelly being at LSU helps them because he is a great coach and I know LSU will compete for a natty asap. Also, players like Walker Howard and Will Campbell reaching out in the past days helps feel the love."
Next, let’s talk about the transfer OL Miles Frazier who had a crazy, busy weekend that started with a visit to NC State Friday, his brother’s graduation Saturday morning then he and his family arrived into Baton Rouge Saturday evening. Frazier is literally one of the hottest names in the transfer portal with nearly 30 offers since entering his name just a few weeks ago. He picked up an offer from Ohio State on Saturday while getting ready to head to Louisiana. It’s expected that he takes his time before ultimately deciding where he wants his next spot to be but one source I spoke to felt confident in saying he thought the Tigers would land everyone or almost everyone who visited this weekend, including Frazier, who would absolutely be a starter for LSU next season. -- Julie
Lastly, I have not heard back yet from either Austin Ausberry or Kendrick Law yet for quotes or their take on the visit, but sources at LSU feel confident about both. For a while, Ausberry seemed to be leaning Florida prior to their coaching change, lately there’s been some talk regarding Auburn and their depth chart which is favorable for him getting on the field and Auburn recently visited him twice in the last two weeks making him a priority, but this weekend was key to Ausberry getting to know the new LSU staff and seeing what Kelly, Polian and Kerry Cooks would have to say. Ausberry originally said he was committing on Monday, the 13th, and we’re waiting to see if that’s still his plan. -- Julie
Update: Ausberry is still planning on announcing tomorrow, I'm told, at 12:45 p.m.
Law received a ton of attention from Kelly and staff this weekend. Wilson spent some time with him on Saturday and is with him early again Sunday morning. Kelly and staff have been all in with Law. The versatile athlete prefers the offensive side of the ball, and LSU is open to it, but Cooks made it known to Law that he thinks he could play safety on Sundays as well. This has been an ongoing discussion among staffs and Law, so it will be interesting to see where his head is on all of it this evening into Monday. He is a smart, unimpressionable kid that is equally concerned with chasing his engineering degree as he is football. Kelly appears to have made quite the impression on everyone I have talked to so far and he has spent ample time with Law, so we will see how it plays out. -- Jimmy
One of the more interesting lines I have heard repeatedly from this weekend relates to the character and personalities on hand. Multiple parents and kids have mentioned the good vibes and good nature of the staff, while the staff shared their views on the amount of high character kids on the trip. This group sounds like a great building block for Kelly, who appears determined to build the program to his liking. And LSU is paying him 95-million dollars to do just that. -- Jimmy
As for Kelly, the common sentiment is that he is a fun guy whose personality and ability to relate surprised many in attendance. He mixed it up with the kids at Top Golf, and evidently coach can golf a bit. Sounds like Ibieta and Wesolak can crush the 360-dimple balls as well. I have yet to hear one bad thing about the weekend, which is somewhat odd. Typically, you hear of situations that developed or moments that didn't play out well, but that isn't the case this go-around. -- Jimmy
Additional stuff I wanted to share...
-- Walker Howard is signing at 1pm Wednesday; Emery Jones at 12:30p; Will Campbell at 8:45a; Quency Wiggins at 9a; Fitzgerald West at 2:30p; Nathan Dibert at 7:01a with 4p ceremony at school; Bo Bordelon at 4:30 ... I'll post more once I have confirmed times.
-- "I liked (Coach Kelly) a lot. I thought it would've been weird, but not at all." - Fitzgerald West
-- Cincinnati TE Danny Lewis told Sam he would be taking a visit to LSU on Saturday, but that never happened, per Lewis, who told me "they didn’t call me down." Waiting to hear back on if Lewis intends on signing this week or holding off until February, which could give LSU time to get involved if they wanted. Lewis balled out in the 4A title game, winning MVP. He had six catches for 179 yards and a touchdown.
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