It’s Friday and that means it’s
time for another edition of the Tiger Wrap. This week Sonny will give you the
latest on Ryan Perrilloux, Reggie Youngblood, Aaron Brown, Trindon
Holliday, Josh McNeil, D.J. Hord, Paul Duncan, Dave McClain, Bryan Evans, Lucas Taylor, Christian Ducre, Luthur Brown and more. He will also give you the
visitors for this huge weekend in recruiting and an updated version of his Wish
List along with the updated national rankings.
This is going to be one of the
biggest recruiting weekends in recent memory for LSU based on the caliber of
talent scheduled to be in Baton
Rouge. Here are the prospects that I have confirmed for
official visits: Reginald Youngblood,
Patrick Turner, Chris Scott, Nic Harris, Bryan Evans, Anthony Felder, Jon Demps,
Kevin Myers, DeMarcus Granger, Calvin Wilson, Ryan Perrilloux and Luthur
Brown. Nick Saban would love to come out of the weekend with a couple of
commitments out of this group but chances are none of these guys will make a
decision because they have other official visits to take. If anyone out of this
group would pull the trigger then it would probably be Nic Harris but the last
time I spoke to him he said he wanted to take the
Nebraska trip before making a
decision.
There have been all kind of rumors
flying around about Ryan Perrilloux
de-committing to Texas but he said
none of those rumors are true. He will be taking his official visit to LSU this
weekend and then he will follow that up with his official to
Texas. I have said all alone that
LSU is not out of it with Perrilloux but a month ago I did not feel good at all
about the chances of luring him away from the ‘Horns. Well, now I have a much
better feeling and for a couple of reasons. Over the past couple of weeks he has
increased the chances of him signing with LSU from 25 percent to 35 percent. I
don’t read a whole lot into that because he is a 17 year-old kid and how many
kids at that age know what they want to do. Perrilloux’s mom was adamant about
him leaving the state a few months ago but now I can sense that leaving home and
picking up their roots is becoming an issue. His mother plans on following him
wherever he goes but they have a lot of family and friends in South
Louisiana. Perhaps the biggest thing that has helped LSU’s chances
is the quarterback situation. Perrilloux feels that he could go in and have a
chance to win the starting job because JaMarcus Russell never seemed to take
control like many felt he would.
Nick Saban would like to sign at
least two more offensive linemen in this class and possibly three. There are
several high-profile prospects that are on the list and at the top is Reggie Youngblood. I interviewed
Youngblood early in the week and I think LSU has a tough road ahead for luring
him away from Texas,
Oklahoma or
Miami. He was very high on the
Tigers back during the spring and almost committed but things have changed a lot
since then. The one thing that I took as a positive out of the interview was
when I asked him if there was a chance he could see something on his visit that
could put LSU even with his three favorites and he said, “I believe
so.”
While I did not get a real positive
vibe from Youngblood I did get one from Paul Duncan. The big offensive tackle
said on Nov. 30 he was leaning to Notre Dame but my how things change quickly in
just a matter of a couple of days. With Tyrone Willingham getting the axe at
Notre Dame that has definitely been a positive for LSU and its chances with
Duncan.
Duncan said Notre Dame is still in
the mix but his official visit scheduled for this weekend was cancelled and it
may be rescheduled for January. However, I have a feeling that he could make a
decision before then because he said he would like to have his mind made up by
Christmas. When asked if all of this helps LSU, he replied, “It does because the
new coach at Notre Dame may not want me. All of this definitely puts LSU up
there a little more. I really like the coaches at LSU and that is important.” He
went on to say that Duke is also in the mix but the feeling here is that LSU is
now the team to beat for a couple of reasons. First and foremost is the
relationship he has with the coaches and then the academic center and the
support it gives to the athletes. Academics are another important factor with
Duncan and that support center is a
great asset for LSU.
Another big O-lineman making his
official this weekend is Calvin
Wilson. Will Muschamp was in Hattiesburg,
Miss. on Tuesday checking up on
Wilson and the big man had nothing
but good things to say about the Tigers’ defensive coordinator.
Wilson said
Auburn (12/17),
Mississippi
State (1/14) and Ole Miss (undecided)
will get his other visits and that all four of his favorites are even. Wilson,
Duncan and Chris Scott appear to be
the leading candidates for one of the remaining slots for O-linemen with Josh McNeil the top man for the other
spot.
Speaking of McNeil, he received a
visit from Nick Saban on Thursday and said he would like to make a decision
after this weekend when he returns from his visit to
Tennessee. This will be his final
visit and I expect him to make a decision in the next week or so. I believe
McNeil will be a Tiger after giving
Mississippi
State a lot of consideration but in
the end he follows his heart to Baton
Rouge.
I also caught up with Dave McClain during the week and he did
not get an offer when he made his unofficial visit for the Ole Miss game. He is
a player to keep an eye but if Saban is going to give him an offer then it will
have to come in the next week or so because McClain was adamant about taking an
official before he commits. He will be a mid-term graduate so something will
happen with him real soon one way or the other. For now, he is sitting on the
back burner.
Derek Dooley spent the last couple
of days in California lining up Luthur Brown’s official visit this
weekend and he also stopped by to see DeSean Jackson.
Jackson lists USC and
California as his top two followed
by LSU and he seems destined to play his college ball in the Pac 10. The Tigers
have a much better chance with Brown but Pete Carroll and USC are going to put
up a stiff fight.
Bryan Evans entertained coaches from
LSU, Maryland and
Georgia over the
last seven days. Kirby Smart visited with Evans and his family on Sunday and
from the conversation I had with Evans he and Smart have a real good
relationship together. He also loves the fact that Nick Saban spends so much
time with the defensive backs. This will likely come down to an LSU/Georgia
battle with LSU coming out on top.
D.J. Hord is one of the top receivers
Saban would like to bring in and this is shaping up to be an LSU/Kansas State
battle on his front. Hord recently dropped Notre Dame and
Missouri from his visit list and
tried to move up his official to LSU for this weekend but it was too late. It’s
hard to get a good feel for Hord right now but if signing day was tomorrow I
thin he would opt for Kansas
State. If Urban Meyer takes over at
Notre Dame then the Irish could be a major player in his decision.
At one time it looked like Christian Ducre was close to getting an
offer but he is not getting much attention from the Tigers at this time. He said
it’s been about three weeks since he talked to anyone on the staff and when
asked if he wanted to set up an official with LSU he hesitated and then said
probably in January. He has offers from
Memphis, Southern Miss,
Michigan
State, Tulane and
Indiana.
Lucas Taylor told an analyst with
Scout.com that he was close to making a decision on his future and it would
likely come down to Auburn, South Carolina or Tennessee. However, after probing
a little deeper into his remarks he said he is in the process of setting up an
official visit with LSU in January. Even if
Taylor commits elsewhere if LSU
offers he will jump on it. I think that is one of the reasons LSU has not
offered yet but as the out-of-state guys fall off the board Taylor will inch
closer to getting an offer.
Another
Louisiana receiver LSU is still
recruiting is Aaron Brown. Brown is
rehabbing from a knee injury and would love to sign with the Tigers. Like
Taylor, the Tigers are taking a wait
and see approach with him. He is perfect “grey shirt” material but he does not
want to wait. His teammate Trindon
Holliday has already said he will take a “grey shirt” and enroll at LSU in
January 2006 but no word on Brown yet.
Be sure to check Tiger Rag out on
the web on Sunday and all of next week for updates on the big recruiting weekend
along with the latest news on recruits.
Here is an updated version of my
Wish List. The Players are listed according to their national ranking at each
position and I have included what I feel are the chances of each prospect
committing to the Tigers. Players will be added, removed and updated each week.
Rankings are provided by Scout.com.