LSU Football: Tigers may be the team to beat for nation’s top 2022 recruit
By Zach Ragan
LSU football could be the team to beat for the nation’s top-rated 2022 recruit.
2022 five-star defensive end Shemar Stewart is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 recruit in the nation, and LSU football may be the team to beat for the elite Florida native.
Stewart, 6-foot-5/236 lbs from Opa Locka, FL (Monsignor Pace), is a dynamic two-sport athlete who compiled 15 sacks in 2019 as a sophomore.
247Sports director of scouting Barton Simmons describes Stewart as a player who “controls and sheds blocks effectively against the run”.
Simmons also notes that Stewart is an “impact Power Five starter with the potential to be a first round NFL Draft pick and a candidate to be a future No. 1 overall pick”.
The NFL comparison for Stewart, according to Simmons, is Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones.
Why is LSU football the perceived leader?
Andrew Ivins, a Miami insider for 247Sports, recently made a “crystal ball” prediction for Stewart to LSU.
Ivins wrote that “some connected to the recruitment believe that Ed Orgeron’s program might hold the inside track to eventually landing Stewart’s signature”.
Georgia and Ohio State appear to be the other programs strongly in the mix for Stewart, who recently took a “virtual visit to LSU” (he’s yet to physically visit Baton Rouge).
There’s still over a year to go in Stewart’s recruitment, so a lot of will change in the coming months. The visits will be key.
Though I still expect LSU to continue to be one of the favorites for the elite defensive end.
No one develops defensive lineman quite like Coach O and the Tigers. If Stewart’s focus is on development and getting to the NFL, there likely isn’t a better choice than LSU.
Next. LSU will have the best WR trio in the nation in 2020. dark
The Tigers currently have four players committed to their 2022 recruiting class.