LSU Football: Julian Armella hoping to get back to Baton Rouge

One of LSU football‘s top 2022 recruiting targets is 2022 four-star offensive tackle Julian Armella.

Armella, 6-foot-6/295 lbs from Fort Lauderdale, FL (St Aquinas), is ranked in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 12 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 17 player in Florida.

The talented recruit recently spoke to 247Sports about his recruitment. And he said he is hoping to get back to Baton Rouge this fall after taking an official visit to LSU in June.

One reason Armella wants to get back to LSU is because one of his former teammates — offensive lineman Marlon Martinez — signed with the Tigers during the 2020 recruiting cycle.

And one of Armella’s current teammates — tight end Mason Taylor — is currently committed to LSU.

Those connections, however, may not be enough for the Tigers to land Armella.

LSU football has stiff competition for Julian Armella

Despite the connections to LSU, the Tigers might not be the favorites to land Armella (even though a couple of recruiting analysts suggested otherwise last week).

That could be Florida State.

Armella is an FSU legacy — he’s the son of former Seminoles defensive lineman FSU Enzo Armella.

The Florida native told 247Sports this week that Florida State has been his favorite school since he was a little kid. Armella also noted that his relationship with the Seminoles is “different” than just a “legacy relationship.

LSU is definitely strongly in the mix, but it could be tough to beat Florida State after seeing these comments from Armella.

One thing going in LSU’s favor is that head coach Mike Norvell still has a lot to prove at Florida State. The Seminoles went 3-6 last year in Norvell’s first season leading the program. If he doesn’t improve much on that record in 2021, it could make Armella’s decision a bit easier.