LSU Football: The Tigers have the most effective recruiting tool in the nation
By Zach Ragan
LSU football has one of the best recruiting tools in college football.
LSU football is in a unique position when it comes to recruiting.
Louisiana is a hot bed for recruiting. An incredible amount of elite talent has come from the Creole state over the years.
And LSU doesn’t face much in-state competition for in-state recruits, unlike programs in other states known for having a plethora of elite talent (California, Florida, Texas and even Georgia, who routinely loses top talent to Clemson, Tennessee and other nearby programs).
As a result, there aren’t many players from Louisiana that LSU misses on. Sure, there’s a few every now and then that choose to leave the state (safety Landon Collins for example). But for the most part, the Tigers have built a large fence around Louisiana.
While that’s obviously a huge recruiting tool for Ed Orgeron and his staff, it’s not their only recruiting tool. And it’s not their most effective recruiting tool, either.
LSU also recruits elite out-of-state players. Especially from Florida and Texas.
The way the Tigers land those players?
LSU’s NFL reputation.
LSU and the NFL just go together
If a player is torn over where to go to college, there’s a good chance that LSU’s reputation for sending players to the NFL could be the tie breaker.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley recently wrote “If you’re going to take a chance on a player early in the draft, it’s best to do it with an LSU defender”.
Hensley noted that eight LSU defensive players that have been selected over the last 10 years have reached the Pro-Bowl (tied with Alabama for the most).
Playing at LSU could be the difference in being a first round selection instead of a second or third round selection (which is a big different in contract value).
Take former Tigers linebacker Patrick Queen for example.
Queen was selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens (No. 28 overall) despite limited starting experience at LSU (Queen didn’t lock down a starting spot for the Tigers in 2019 until the fourth week of the season).
The Ravens obviously saw a lot of potential in Queen. But they also knew he played at LSU, and that’s one of the main reasons he was selected in the first round.
“LSU has put out outstanding defensive talent in the NFL over last 10 years. That’s something we don’t take for granted,” said Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta.
“It’s something we look at very closely. We think Patrick is going to be the next great LSU defensive player,” added DeCosta.
Elite recruits are typically already thinking about the NFL.
And no one gets players to the NFL more efficiently than LSU.
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It’s easy to see why the Tigers are able to dominate the recruiting trail.