The lack of contributions from LSU’s 2023 recruits is hurting the team this season

This season, LSU's struggles are in part because of the talent or the lack thereof on this roster. A ton of the veterans on this team that have been issues on this team are still starting part because the Tigers don't have anyone pushing them out of their starting roles. When you look at the roster, there's a glaring issue as the 2023 recruiting class is hardly making an impact for the team despite it being the 5th ranked class in the country that cycle.

The Tigers signed five top 100 recruits in the 2023 recruiting cycle according to On3's Industry Recruiting Rankings. Among those five, Zalance Heard transferred to Tennessee, Dashawn Womack has been a rotational piece, Javien Toviano has been buried on the depth chart, Jalen Brown transferred to Florida State and hasn't played much, and Shelton Sampson Jr hasn't recorded his first catch at LSU yet.

LSU then landed seven players ranked between 100th and 200th bringing even more top end talent to campus. Among those players the only two players earning solid playing time are Whit Weeks and DJ Chester who's started every game but, has been the weak link on the offensive line. Tyree Adams, Ka'Morreun Pimpton, Kylin Jackson, and Kaleb Jackson are all still waiting to make an impact. The highest ranked player of the group Jaxson Howard transferred back home to Minnesota this offseason.

The Tigers landed six additional four-star recruits in this class ranked outside the top 200 recruits. Mac Markway, Christian Brathwaite, and Ryan Yaites transferred out of LSU before the season despite playing as True Freshmen. Wide Receiver Kyle Parker was making an impact but, an injury derailed his 2024 season. Trey Holly has been away from the team this year as he deals with off the field issues. Quarterback Rickie Collins has played some snaps but, he may not make a big impact based on the outlook of the quarterback room.

The Tigers finished off their fifth ranked recruiting class by signing eight three-star recruits. Out of the eight three-star recruits, five have transferred out of LSU. Dylan Carpenter hasn't made an impact yet, while Paul Mubenga has started to play in place of the injured Garrett Dellinger. The biggest success story from the three-stars has been cornerback Ashton Stamps who has started and played well this season.

This was a fifth ranked recruiting class and a class that was mostly all built by Brian Kelly. When you land a class that ranks as well as this one did Nationally the expectation is that by their Sophomore season the players are becoming key pieces of the team. Instead, LSU has hardly gotten contributions from the younger players which has left LSU relying on some of the older players that you hoped LSU could've replaced.

The next two weeks may give us a verdict on this class

The final two weeks of the season will be intriguing to watch as we may see some new faces on the field. A bunch of these players have already left the program and the players who haven't played yet, may enter the transfer portal this offseason. It's likely that LSU may not be able to keep some of these players due to the outlook of the roster but, there are a few players that can certainly give this team meaningful snaps going forward.

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