LSU Football battling SEC rival for elite in-state defensive back

2022 four-star defensive back Jacoby Mathews is a player that LSU football absolutely needs to land.

Mathews, 6-foot-1/204 lbs from Ponchatoula, LA (Ponchatoula), is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 6 safety in the nation and the No. 4 player in the state of Louisiana.

He’s also rated as the No. 74 overall 2022 recruit in the nation.

The Tigers can’t afford to miss on an elite in-state defensive back, but they’re going to have their work cut out for them if they’re going to land a commitment from Mathews.

LSU football will have to battle an SEC rival for Jacoby Mathews

A likely assumption is that LSU is the heavy favorite to land Mathews.

But it might be premature to suggest that.

Mathews recently spoke with 247Sports about his recruitment and he says that Florida is impressing him the most right now.

The Louisiana native also noted that he’s having regular conversations with Gators coaches Dan Mullen, Keiwan Ratliff, and Wesley McGriff.

Mathews is a tremendous athlete who also plays basketball and quarterback for his high school.

Ed Orgeron and his staff can’t let Florida sneak into Louisiana and steal this kid. The Tigers are “DBU” — this is the type of recruit that LSU can’t let leave the state. Because if he does, the Tigers will absolutely regret it.

There’s still plenty of time for LSU to catch up in this battle, though. Hopefully, the NCAA will lift the recruiting dead period this spring.

One that happens, I have a feeling we’ll see LSU surge to the front of several recruiting battles.