LSU Football: Tigers lose LB commitment in Monty Rice

Oct 1, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers interim head coach Ed Orgeron before a game against the Missouri Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers interim head coach Ed Orgeron before a game against the Missouri Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The current LSU Football team may be riding high from their Citrus Bowl win, but the Tigers recruiting class took a major hit Monday morning.

Three-star linebacker Monty Rice was set to enroll early at LSU this month, but flipped his commitment from LSU to UGA just days before heading to Baton Rouge.

The move is not a major surprise though, as Rice was silently committed to the Bulldogs before deciding to join the Tigers’ recruiting class. LSU’s ability to “hold that tiger” was most certainly in question when it came to Rice’s commitment to the program.

Rice said his decision to leave the Bulldogs for the Tigers was due to the fact that LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda had waited at an Alabama airport to hear his final decision.

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The 6-foot-1, 227 pound inside linebacker was the second to join the Tigers’ 2017 recruiting class. The position is one that LSU needs to load with talent, considering that so many senior defensive stars are heading into the NFL Draft this year.

With Rice’s decommitment, the Tigers are left with just one LB commit for the 2017 class in 4-star Livonia (La.) athlete Patrick Queen.

LSU will continue to evaluate their other potential choices to fill the gap at the position, as Rice is just one of many talented LBs currently in their recruitment process.

The LSU Football program has been in contact with 4-star Oklahoma commit Jacob Phillips and 4-star Alabama commit Christopher Allen. To flip the commitment of either would be great for the LSU defense.

The LSU recruiting class now stands at 19 players, and will enroll six players next month.