There were no hats on a table or parachuting out of an airplane; not even a press conference to bask in the moment.
Instead, with a drama-free stroke of a keyboard, the best high school player in American announced he was staying home.
Consensus five-star cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. committed to LSU via a tweet on Wednesday afternoon and will be shutting down his recruitment for good. The Dunham School standout celebrated his 17th birthday by choosing the Tigers over finalists Florida and Texas.
“Once a Tiger, always a Tiger,” Stingley Jr. said in his video announcement.
The Baton Rouge native was previously committed to LSU but re-opened his recruitment to weigh other options. He visited LSU, Florida and Texas in recent months before settling on a decision that he says is final.
Next up: signing a National Letter of Intent in December en route to being a mid-year enrollee, per Stingley’s previous social media posts.
Stingley is both polished (11 interceptions and 64 tackles during his junior season) and an athletic freak (4.30 40-yard dash and 42-inch vertical leap at 16 years old), so he profiles as an instant-impact defensive back for LSU and potentially a day-one starter, particularly if Greedy Williams leaves for the NFL Draft.
Ed Orgeron and Co. caught a lot of flak for losing out of Patrick Surtain Jr., the top cornerback in the 2018 cycle, to Alabama on National Signing Day.
That was certainly a setback, but LSU now has two five-star prospects locked up in Stingley and offensive lineman Kardell Thomas to headline a 2019 class that is trending toward being one of the best in the country.
With the addition of Stingley, LSU now has three cornerbacks committed for 2019 after failing to sign one last spring. He’s joined by four-star Maurice Hampton out of Memphis and Marcus Banks from Houston.
Here’s the video announcement Stingley released via twitter:
I know I can’t please everyone.. In my heart I truly feel this is the right place for me. I’m all in! 100% committed! Please respect my decision. pic.twitter.com/CX7exqfMww
— Derek Stingley Jr. (@JrStingley) June 20, 2018
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