LSU Football among top schools for 2021 4-star defensive tackle

LSU football is one of 10 teams in the mix to land one of the nation’s top 2021 recruits.

LSU football is among the top 10 schools for 2021 four-star defensive tackle Damon Payne.

Payne, 6-foot-4/297 lbs from Belleville, MI, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 player in the state of Michigan and the No. 4 defensive tackle in the nation.

Payne also listed Alabama, Arizona State, Kentucky, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Carolina in his top 10.

The Michigan native is described by 247Sports recruiting analyst Allen Trieu as a “strong, powerful kid who can drive blockers back into the backfield”. Trieu also noted that Payne is a “very good” offensive linemen and could possibly play on that side of the ball at the collegiate level.

Michigan seems like the logical choice to be the frontrunner for Payne, but that’s not necessarily the case.

Payne told Rivals last fall that Michigan “stands in the same place as the other schools”.

That sounds like Michigan won’t have an advantage for Payne, despite being only 30 minutes away from Payne’s hometown of Belleville.

Ohio State could actually be the biggest threat to land Payne, though there’s plenty of time for that to change before the early signing period in December (the earliest that Payne could sign).

Of course, LSU will be a threat to land any recruit in the country at this point. And if Ed Orgeron and his staff are serious about wanting Payne in their 2021 recruiting class (and I’m sure they are), then LSU will likely be in this until the end.

The Tigers currently have four players committed to their 2021 class.