LSU Football: Analyst predicts Tigers will land elite 2022 tight end
By Zach Ragan
Four-star tight end Jake Johnson is one of the top 2022 recruits in the nation and he’s also one of LSU football‘s top recruiting targets.
Johnson, 6-foot-5/210 lbs from Bogart, GA (Oconee County), is ranked by 247Sports as the top tight end in the country and the No. 80 overall player in the 2022 recruiting cycle.
Landing Johnson is of special importance to the Tigers after losing tight end Arik Gilbert to the transfer portal this offseason. Gilbert announced in late January that he’s transferring to Florida to play for Dan Mullen and the Gators.
Fortunately for LSU, Shea Dixon, who covers the Tigers for 247Sports, predicted on Thursday that LSU will land Johnson.
“LSU needs to add an elite tight end in the 2022 class, and there’s not many better than Johnson,” wrote Dixon. “The size, talent and bloodlines are all there for Johnson, and the Tigers would love to reel him in.”
The one thing that could hurt LSU football in their pursuit of Jake Johnson
One of the main reasons that Dixon and other folks believe the Tigers will land Johnson is because of his older brother Max, who signed with LSU during the 2020 recruiting cycle.
Max Johnson is a former four-star recruit who played in six games for the Tigers last season, passing for 1,069 yards and eight touchdowns.
LSU has a lot of quarterback talent on the roster that’s going to be around for a couple of years with Johnson, TJ Finley, and incoming true freshman Garrett Nussmeier.
The Tigers also have a commitment from 2022 five-star quarterback Walker Howard.
With all of that talent in the quarterback room, it seems inevitable that at least one of those players (or more) will hit the transfer portal at some point.
If one of those players ends up being Johnson, then LSU’s chances of landing Jake Johnson drop dramatically.
Next. LSU's biggest remaining 2022 recruiting target. dark
For now, there’s no indication that Max Johnson is going anywhere. But this is certainly something worth keeping in mind while watching the Tigers’ pursuit of the top tight end in the nation.