LSU Football misses on elite safety, but Tigers are still in the mix

LSU football recently missed on one of their top in-state prospects.

2021 four-star defensive back Kaine Williams is one of LSU football’s top in-state targets.

Which is why it was a bit surprising to see Williams commit to Alabama late last week.

Williams, 6-foot-2/205 lbs, is from Marrero, LA (across the Mississippi River from New Orleans) and the Tigers don’t typically miss on elite in-state talent.

The dynamic defensive back, who is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 5 safety in the nation, told Rivals that he committed to Alabama because he didn’t feel as much love from the other schools as he did from the Crimson Tide.

“Every time I had the chance to go up there, the coach were all showing a lot of love and you can see that with how they interacted with their players and staff,” said Williams.

The Louisiana native added “It’s the right move also because this is a good school to develop me at my position”.

Williams sounds like he’s pretty solid to Alabama at the moment, but it’s only May. A lot can change in the coming months. All it will take is one visit to Baton Rouge and Williams’ recruitment could suddenly look entirely different.

Rivals noted that Williams nearly committed to LSU in March, so it’s clear that the Tigers have been on his mind.

I would expect Ed Orgeron and his staff — especially defensive coordinator Bo Pelini (who Williams reportedly likes a lot) — to continue strongly pursuing Williams.

And I wouldn’t be shocked if LSU manages to flip the elite defensive back late in the recruiting cycle .

The Tigers haven’t landed a lot of in-state players in the their 2021 recruiting class. But those commitments will eventually start rolling in. And when Williams sees some of his in-state peers heading to LSU, it could have a ripple effect on his recruitment.