LSU Football: Tigers a factor for 4-star DB from Iowa

LSU football is one of the programs that’s a factor for a 2022 four-star defensive back from Iowa.

Xavier Nwankpa, 6-foot-2/190 lbs from Altoona, IA (Southeast Polk), is ranked in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 5 safety in the country and the No. 1 player in Iowa. He’s also rated as the No. 71 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class.

The Iowa native recently revealed a top seven of Clemson, Iowa, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Arizona State.

So who is the favorite to land the talented defensive back?

Could LSU football steal a stud recruit out of Iowa?

Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney recently “ranked the contenders” for Nwankpa and LSU is not at the top of the list.

Gorney has Ohio State as the most likely program to land the stud safety. He has the Tigers as the No. 5 most likely program to land Nwankpa, ahead of Clemson and Arizona State.

While this may not seem like good news for LSU, it’s not like the Tigers are completely out of the picture. This is going to be a tight battle. There’s not a lot of separation between Ohio State and Arizona State in the race for Nwankpa.

“Nwankpa has a little more love for the Tigers than some other programs especially since they’ve done such a great job over the years developing players all over the secondary,” wrote Gorney. “That is going to play a big role in Nwankpa’s thinking.”

Visits will be key in Nwankpa’s eventual decision. He doesn’t currently have an official visit scheduled to LSU, but that could certainly change in the coming weeks.