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LSU Football: Good vibes in 2021 quickly end for Tigers

By Zach Ragan

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 28: Head coach Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers reacts on the sidelines during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 28: Head coach Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers reacts on the sidelines during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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LSU football had a tough Saturday to start the new year.

On Friday, I pointed out how LSU football had a great start to the new year.

The Tigers received a commitment from three-star offensive lineman Kimo Makaneole, a former Florida State commit, just after midnight on New Year’s Day.

Good way to start the year, right?

Unfortunately for LSU, the good vibes quickly faded.

A weekend LSU football would probably like to forget

Saturday wasn’t a great day for the Tigers.

For starters, stud true freshman tight end Arik Gilbert, a former five-star recruit who was rated as the No. 5 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class, announced he was officially entering the transfer portal.

This was expected, but because Gilbert hadn’t actually entered the portal prior to Saturday, there was some hope that maybe the Georgia native had a change of heart and would return to Baton Rouge in 2021. Gilbert could still return to LSU, but it now feels unlikely that he will.

To make matters worse, LSU also missed on one of their top 2021 recruiting targets on Saturday.

Five-star offensive lineman Tristan Leigh, the No. 11 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, announced his commitment to the Clemson Tigers at the All American Bowl: Declaration Day event.

This was quite a surprise. Most analysts felt like Leigh would be choosing between LSU and Oklahoma. And the prevailing thought was that LSU would end up landing Leigh.

Clemson was always in the picture, but they definitely weren’t one of the programs considered “strongly in the mix” to land Leigh.

I really felt like Leigh would be playing in Baton Rouge in 2021. This one hurts a bit because he’s a player that would’ve absolutely made Ed Orgeron’s squad better from day one.

dark. Next. Should LSU bring Kevin Steele back to Baton Rouge?

While this wasn’t the start to the new year that LSU likely envisioned, there’s still no reason to panic.

LSU had a strong finish to the 2020 season. And there’s plenty of talent returning next season. I’m not sure if the Tigers will compete for the SEC West title in 2021, but I think we’ll see a much better product on the field than we did this season.

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