LSU Football: Why the Tigers are down a recruiter right now

New LSU football head coach Brian Kelly put the finishing touches on his coaching staff over the weekend by hiring Cortez Hankton to serve as the Tigers’ wide receivers coach.

Hankton was previously the wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator for the Georgia Bulldogs.

With the entire staff in place, that means it’s full-steam ahead for the new LSU regime.

Right?

Well, not quite.

The recruiting dead period ended this past weekend, but the Tigers are actually down a key recruiter.

Why LSU football is down a key recruiter right now

New LSU defensive coordinator Matt House isn’t currently recruiting for the Tigers.

House is still serving in his role as the Kansas City Chiefs linebackers coach. The Chiefs are still playing in the NFL playoffs after taking down the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.

And House isn’t going to abandon his role as an assistant for Kansas City. Nor is he doing to divert attention away from his job. He’s going to see it through, then join the Tigers.

Now, how does this impact LSU?

I’m sure the Tigers are using an off-the-field staffer to recruit in House’s place. But it’s still not the same as having your actual defensive coordinator out there recruiting.

Fortunately for LSU, it doesn’t appear that House’s absence on the recruiting trail has had an adverse effect on the program.

The Tigers still managed to land Arkansas transfer Greg Brooks recently, despite him not being able to talk to House.

Brooks told 247Sports recently that he wasn’t able to speak to House, but he built solid relationships with safeties coach Kerry Cooks and quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan.

“I like coach Cooks a lot,” said Brooks to 247Sports. “He’s really down to earth and a good guy to be around.”

I’m sure recruits understand why they can’t talk to House right now. It shouldn’t be a huge deal, but it’s still a small speed bump that Kelly has to overcome for at least another week.