GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
With another player or two expected Wednesday night or over the next two days, LSU football coach Brian Kelly did not hold back when discussing his Class of 2025 Wednesday afternoon at the LSU facility.
“Overall, this is the finest class that I have signed,” Kelly said of his third signing class at LSU and second in which he had a year or more to recruit after 12 years at Notre Dame. “It speaks to the work that the entire staff has done over the past 18 months.”
LSU OPENS NATIONAL SIGNING DAY WITH A FLURRY
TIGERS ADD No. 1 AND No. 8 TAILBACKS IN THE NATION FROM LOUISIANA
Kelly closed strong just as his scheduled 2 p.m. press conference started at 2:05 p.m. He was watching the signing press conference of Rivals.com’s No. 1-ranked cornerback and LSU commitment DJ Pickett of Zephyrhills, Florida, near Tampa on TV, and saw that he indeed picked LSU.
“We had his paperwork,” Kelly said. “Wanted to make sure.”
LSU just added No. 4 CB DJ Pickett (6-4, 178) of Zephyrhills, Fla., to its class at No.22. 2 or 3 more to go. pic.twitter.com/RG7RsExbnQ
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) December 4, 2024
Miami made a late push for Pickett, who is taller than most cornerbacks at 6-foot-4 and 184 pounds.
“He’s 6-4,” Kelly said, knowing that heights are often exaggerated in the recruiting world.
“I was surprised by his length,” he said of his first time seeing him. “I don’t even know if there is an argument about his ranking. We believe he is the number one cornerback in the country.”
On3.com had Pickett as the nation’s No. 2 cornerback while 247Sports.com had him ranked fourth.
“I’ve never believed if there is such a thing as a ‘shut-down corner.’ But if there’s someone close to a lock-down corner in the country, it’s DJ Pickett,” Kelly said. “This is an elite player.”
Then just before 5 p.m., Kelly landed another doozy in No. 2-ranked guard/center Solomon Thomas (6-4, 315) of Raines High in Jacksonville, Florida. Thomas flipped from Florida State, where he had been a commitment since Dec. 22, 2023, until Wednesday. He is the No. 24 prospect in the nation overall, by 247Sports.com, and the No. 4 player in Florida.
Pickett and Thomas were LSU’s 22nd and 23rd signings of the day and gave LSU five top 10 national prospect. LSU previously signed No. 1 tailback Harlem Berry (5-11, 185) of St. Martin’s High in Metairie, No. 2 linebacker Charles Ross (6-1, 195) of Northshore High in Houston and No. 8 tailback JT Lindsey (5-11, 185) of Alexandria Senior High in Alexandria.
“There is still more that we think is going to be added to this class in terms of freshmen,” Kelly said. “And regardless of what happened over the last week, all these guys wanted to be here at LSU.”
Kelly was referencing two previous LSU commitments – No. 1-ranked prep quarterback Bryce Underwood of Detroit and No. 7 cornerback Kade Phillips of Missouri City, Texas – who each flipped to Michigan and Texas, respectively over the last week. Those two departures knocked LSU from No. 6 to its current No. 9 by Sports247.com. On3.com has LSU at No. 6.
Michigan finished No. 1, according to Sports247.com, followed by Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Ohio State in the top five. Auburn, Michigan and Texas A&M were at six through eight before LSU.
LSU added four other signees before finishing with Pickett and Thomas. Those were No. 77 defensive tackle Zion Williams of Lufkin, Texas, No. 73 wide receiver Phillip Wright III of Destrehan, No 41 safety Jhase Thomas of Destrehan and No. 28 linebacker Keylan Moses of University High on the LSU campus.
LSU lost only one flip on Wednesday as commitment Mike Tyler, the No. 28 tight end in the nation and a 3-star prospect from Hammond School in Columbia, S.C., decommitted from LSU and signed with his hometown South Carolina. But LSU flipped back with Thomas.
LSU’s SIGNING CLASS OF 2025 SO FAR
LSU’s 23-member Class of 2025 so far follows in order of their signing on Wednesday:
-No. 2 LB Charles Ross, 6-1, 195, Northshore High, Houston, Texas.
-No. 65 OT Carius Curne, 6-4, 301, Marion, Arkansas.
-No. 11 LB Jaiden Braker, 6-3, 212, South Gwinnett High, Snellville, Georgia.
-No. 15 CB Jacob Bradford, 5-11, 190, Catholic High, Baton Rouge.
-No. 21 Edge Damien Shanklin, 6-4, 230, Warren Central High, Indianapolis.
-No. 41 LB Zach Weeks, 6-2, 215, Oconee County High, Watkinsville, Georgia.
-No. 38 DL Brandon Brown, 6-2, 286, Eau Gallie High, Melbourne, Florida.
-No. 24 TE John David LaFleur, 6-6, 220, Sulphur High, Sulphur.
-No. 95 DL Dilan Battle, 6-2, 315, Mansfield Timberview, Arlington, Texas.
-No. 50 OT Brett Bordelon, 6-4, 260, Newman High, New Orleans.
-No. 87 DL Walter Mathis, 6-3, 285, Calvary High, Savannah, Georgia.
-No. 1 RB Harlem Berry, 5-11, 175, St. Martin’s High, Metairie.
-No. 8 RB JT Lindsey, 5-11, 185, Alexandria Senior High, Alexandria.
-No. 18 CB Aidan Anding, 5-11, 165, Ruston High, Ruston.
-No. 21 C/G Tyler Miller, 6-5, 315, Laurel High, Laurel, Mississippi.
-No. 25 WR TaRon Francis, 6-2, 200, Karr High, New Orleans.
-No. 37 S CJ Jimcoily, 6-3, 205, Lipscomb Academy, Nashville, Tennessee.
-No. 77 DT Zion Williams (6-4, 295), Lufkin High, Lufkin, Texas.
-No. 73 WR Phillip Wright III (5-11, 175), Destrehan High, Destrehan.
-No. 41 S Jhase Thomas (6-1, 183), Destrehan High, Destrehan.
-No. 28 LB Keylan Moses (6-2, 210), University High, Baton Rouge.
-No. 1 CB DJ Pickett (6-4, 184), Zephyrhills High, Zephyrhills, Florida.
-No. 2 G-C Solomon Thomas (6-4, 315), Raines High, Jacksonville, Florida.
Be the first to comment