For the last few months, LSU has had their way on the recruiting trail landing elite player after elite player taking their recruiting class from 6th in the Country to 2nd in the Country. The Tigers were seemingly landing every recruit they pushed for from Tristen Keys to Jabari Mack and Havon Finney Jr quickly giving LSU a shot at ending the recruiting class with the Nation's top class.
While LSU was having a ton of success, there was still a ton of promise for the Tigers with hundreds of elite players still available and plenty of In-State talent to push for. On Friday, LSU hit its first road bump in a few months as the top cornerback in Louisiana Hayward Howard Jr committed elsewhere.
Edna Karr star Hayward Howard Jr picks Texas over LSU
On Friday Afternoon, Edna Karr's Hayward Howard Jr announced his commitment picking the Texas Longhorns over LSU.
The commitment stings and it'll sting for LSU fans but, the news shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. During his live commitment, Hayward Howard Jr spoke about the relationships he built with Texas and their staff and how important that was in his decision. LSU offered Howard Jr less than a month ago which made it difficult to make up enough ground in this recruitment.
On3's Industry Recruiting Rankings rank Howard as the 372nd ranked player in the class, the 35th ranked cornerback, and the 11th ranked player out of Louisiana.
While LSU doesn't land the initial commitment there's nearly half a year until National Signing Day which gives LSU plenty of time to make a move. LSU planned on getting Howard on campus for an official visit and if they can along with getting him to campus for a game in the fall it would help significantly. The Tigers also hold commitments from his teammates Richard Anderson and Aiden Hall which gives LSU two recruiters who will be with Howard everyday.
It's often said in College Football recruiting that it's not over until pen hits paper and this is the rare case where LSU can chase a team down rather than being the hunted.