LSU Football: Latest commit could help Tigers land 2022 5-star DL
By Zach Ragan
LSU football’s latest commit could pay off in more ways than one.
LSU football was happy to receive a commitment from 2021 three-star tight end Jalen Shead mostly because of his potential.
Shead, 6-foot-4/240 lbs from Olive Branch, MS, is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 50 tight end in the nation. He’s an athletic kid who also plays basketball, which fits the Tigers’ “new view” of their tight ends (LSU head coach Ed Orgeron recently said the team now views its tight ends more as pass catchers than blockers).
The athleticism that Shead provides isn’t the only benefit for LSU.
In fact, he could end up helping the Tigers off-the-field as much as he helps on the field.
Newest LSU football commit has close to ties to elite 2022 defensive lineman
We’ve said it a lot, but it’s always worth repeating — recruiting is all about relationships.
And it’s not just the relationships between coaches and recruits. It’s also the relationships between players, commits, and recruits. Sometimes an existing relationship between a commit and a recruit can be the difference in a commitment.
LSU is hoping that will be the case with Shead and 2022 five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen.
Nolen, 6-foot-4/300 lbs from Cordova, TN, is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 1 overall 2022 recruit in the nation.
The Tennessee native currently plays St. Benedict at Auburndale (Memphis area). But before Nolen transferred to St Benedict, he played at Olive Branch with Shead (Nolen was briefly at IMG Academy in Florida, too).
It’s unclear what kind of relationship Shead and Nolen have together, but we least know they were teammates at one point.
Will that be enough to sway Nolen to Baton Rouge?
Probably not. It’s going to take more than a former teammate being on the Tigers’ roster to bring the top 2022 player in the nation to LSU.
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But it should at least help Ed Orgeron and the Tigers’ efforts to land the elite defensive lineman. It certainly can’t hurt.