LSU football lands a much-needed Top 100 recruit for 2024

On Thursday, a pair of top 100 recruits announced where they will play college football in 2024. LSU football came out as winners with a new running back.

Two top high school players in the 2024 recruiting class announced their college choices today. 5-star EDGE Colin Simmons and 4-star running back Caden Durham received a ton of fanfare while announcing their commitments live on YouTube.

LSU football was in the top three choices for both players. Durham announced his pledge first: to play football in Baton Rouge.

Adding Caden Durham is a significant gain for Kelly and the Tigers. Durham is a highly talented player and fills the running back void in the 2024 LSU recruiting class. Kelly needed a running back to remain ahead of attrition. Indeed, we anticipate upper-classmen like Noah Cain, Josh Williams, and John Emery Jr. will play their final seasons in Baton Rouge in 2023.

Colin Simmons’ commitment followed Durham. Unfortunately, he passed up the LSU cap and committed to the Texas Longhorns.

Brian Kelly and his staff have prioritized Colin Simmons’ recruitment for several months. The 6-2 and 225-pound defender is the prospect LSU craved as a 2024 class headliner. Not long ago, we compared Simmons’ impact to Harold Perkins’s atop the 2022 LSU football recruiting class.

Simmons and Durham attended LSU’s Bayou Splash recruiting event at the end of July. The Duncanville (Tx.) prospects then posted photos of themselves in purple and gold uniforms in the LSU football facility. Suffice it to say that we were excited at the potential of both players to commit to Death Valley.

LSU emerged as the heavy favorite to land Durham’s commitment following the Bayou Splash. The Tigers also tilted the scales regarding Simmons’ commitment but lost ground to Texas over the last ten days.

https://twitter.com/On3Recruits/status/1689723626407264256?s=20

Tigers’ fans have every right to get excited about Kelly’s 2024 class as it continues to increase in the consensus rankings. However, we must caution that nothing is official until a prospect sends their letter of intent (LOI) on National Signing Day (NSD).

The early NSD is in mid-December. Recruits, regardless of their commitments, will make official visits to some campuses before then. Such include Simmons, with an official visit to Baton Rouge scheduled for November 11th.

Ultimately, no player is locked into a recruiting class until the school receives their LOI. Thus, we must prepare ourselves for the flip season.