The recruit that LSU football must lock down for their 2024 class

The 2024 LSU football recruiting class currently ranks 11th with 12 total commitments. Either way, one recruit is a ‘must get’ for Brian Kelly.

Significant edge-rushing prospects headlined Brian Kelly’s first pair of LSU football recruiting classes. Such includes Harold Perkins in 2022 and Dashawn Womack in 2023. However, for 2024, LSU football must lock down Colin Simmons’ commitment.

Colin Simmons is a college football recruiting class headliner. Gaining his commitment will spring the 2024 LSU class back into the top 10 rankings. LSU football’s 2024 class (91.324) trails Oregon (91.448) in composite scores. However, we anticipate Simmons’ commitment will jump the Tigers’ class to a 91.458 score.

More importantly, Simmons offers the LSU Tigers continuity in the pipeline of athletic, dynamic edge rushers out of high school.

Colin Simmons is a consensus five-star recruit at Duncanville (TX) High School. On3 ranks him as the third-best national prospect and top edge rusher. Moreover, he’s the top college football recruit in Texas.

Simmons is among the highest-graded recruits (98.63) to come to LSU should he choose the Death Valley route. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine lists the Tigers as favorites to gain Simmons at 44.1%. The Texas Longhorns (23.7%) and Georgia Bulldogs (15.1%) aren’t far behind.

According to Simmons’ recruiting profile, he’s a sack machine that’s fast off the edge and highly disruptive. Of course, such description is tacked onto all highly-touted and recruited edge rushers. But what stands Simmons apart is his high school football program.

Indeed, the Duncanville Panthers are 6A Texas high school football juggernauts. The Panthers finished capped off their 2022 season with a 2nd state championship and 15-0 record. Running back Barry Foster and defensive back Ray Crockett are a pair of notable Duncanville alumni.

Jamar Cain was the primary recruiter responsible for LSU’s attempts to gain Colin Simmons’ commitment. However, the defensive assistant recently left Baton Rouge for a similar role with the Denver Broncos. Nevertheless, LSU’s defensive coordinator Matt House remains actively engaged with Simmons’ recruitment.