LSU Football: 4-star LB decides where to commit; waiting to reveal decision

LSU football is one of the programs strongly in the mix to land a four-star linebacker from Texas.

2021 four-star linebacker Clayton Smith has a top six that includes LSU football, along with Florida State, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas.

Smith, however, has already made his decision. He’s just waiting to announce it.

The Texas native recently told Rivals that he will wait until the All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January to announce his decision.

While Smith has a top six, there appears to be only three schools that have a legitimate chance to land the talented linebacker — LSU, Oklahoma and Texas.

And it looks like the Tigers might be the team to beat.

“LSU is one that’s it’s going to come down to in the end. They’ve got a top-tier program,” said Smith to Rivals.

This won’t be a runaway for the Tigers, though. The Sooners are pushing hard for Smith.

“Oklahoma is another one that’s gonna come down to the wire. I’ve talked with Coach (Lincoln) Riley on several occasions and he’s made it clear that I’m one of their top priorities,” explained Smith.

Smith, 6-foot-4/220 lbs from Texarkana, TX (Texas High), is rated by 247Sports as the No. 9 player in the state of Texas and the No. 6 outside linebacker in the nation. He’s also rated as the No. 61 overall 2021 recruit in the nation.

247Sports midland region recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks says Smith “possesses a great frame that could translate to hybrid edge role, while showing the athleticism to play traditional off-line linebacker spot”. Brooks also noted that that Smith has a “very high ceiling that could lead to multi-year Power Five starter status and early-round NFL Draft potential”.

LSU currently has nine commits to their 2021 recruiting class, including five-star outside linebacker Raesjon Davis.