LSU Football: Tigers battling 2 rival programs for elite in-state recruit

LSU football should be the program to beat for 2022 four-star running back TreVonte’ Citizen.

And while I still think that will be the case, it won’t be a slam dunk for the Tigers.

That’s because there are two rival SEC programs that are among the three frontrunners (along with LSU) for the talented running back.

And there’s still a long way to go before Citizen makes his college decision.

Will LSU football land TreVonte’ Citizen?

Citizen, 6-foot/217 lbs from Lake Charles, LA (Lake Charles College Prep), is ranked in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 11 running back in the country and the No. 9 player in Louisiana. He’s also rated as the No. 138 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class.

According to Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney, LSU is battling two rival SEC West programs for Citizen.

Auburn and Texas A&M, according to Gorney, are the two other programs strongly in the mix to land the stud running back.

“Texas A&M and Auburn are still within striking distance,” said Gorney this week. “Citizen does not plan to commit anytime soon and could take visits during the season before making his choice.”

LSU doesn’t currently have any running backs committed to its 2022 recruiting class.

The Tigers missed on Louisiana native Le’veon Moss, a four-star running back from Baton Rouge who committed to Alabama in early June.

LSU is obviously still pursuing Moss, but the presence of Citizen and other elite 2022 running backs — such as four-star running back Trevor Etienne (the younger brother of former Clemson running back Travis Etienne) — means that Moss isn’t a “must-land” player for the Tigers.

Regardless of how this battle plays out, I expect LSU to land a couple of quality running backs in the 2022 recruiting class.