LSU Football: Tigers a legit contender for 5-star DL

LSU football was recently included in five-star defensive lineman Walter Nolen’s top 10 schools.

Nolen, 6-foot-4/300 lbs from Cordova, TN (St. Benedict at Auburndale), is ranked in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 2 overall 2022 recruit in the country.

Landing in his top 10 is obviously a great sign for the Tigers’ chance of landing the dominant defensive lineman.

But we all know that top 10 lists are mostly just for show. There are usually only a few teams in a recruit’s top 10 that have a legitimate shot.

Does LSU football have a legit shot to land Nolen?

Nolen is going to be one of the most sought after recruits in the 2022 recruiting class — maybe the MOST sought after.

The dynamic defensive tackle is the type of player who can dominate the line of scrimmage.

“[Nolen] should become [a] impact high-major defensive lineman with high-round NFL Draft ceiling,” says 247Sports recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks.

So are the Tigers one of the teams that have a real shot at landing Nolen?

The answer is yes, according to Rivals recruiting analyst Mike Farrell.

“It is pretty clear that Alabama and LSU are two of the top contenders at this time for Nolen,” said Farrell (via Rivals). “These two programs have the early momentum and are expected to be in this race for the long haul.”

Farrell also believes that Clemson, Florida, Ohio State, and Tennessee could have a shot at landing Nolen. Farrell isn’t as optimistic about Auburn, Michigan, Oregon, and USC — teams in Nolen’s top 10 that Farrell deemed “pretenders”.

There’s ultimately a long way to go in this recruiting battle, but it certainly sounds like LSU is in a good position to land one of the nation’s top 2022 recruits.