Lane Kiffin promises shift in recruiting philosophy at LSU: 'At Ole Miss, no significant players on offense were from Mississippi'

LSU head coach Lane Kiffin was in attendance for Saturday night’s Texas Bowl matchup between the Tigers and No. 21 ranked Houston. Although he wasn’t coaching, Kiffin strolled the sidelines in support of his new team and interim head coach Frank Wilson.

Early in the second quarter, the always boisterous Kiffin joined ESPN’s Tom Hart and Cole Cubelic in the broadcast booth. This segment marked Kiffin’s first real television interview since departing Ole Miss for the LSU opening in late November.

Cubelic asked whether or not Kiffin’s recruiting philosophy would change due to being in the state of Louisiana, which boasts one of the strongest high school football player pools in the entire country. Along with confirming the question, he threw a small shot at the state of Mississippi.

“Yeah, it definitely does,” Kiffin said. “I think you have an individual plan for wherever you’re at. LSU being LSU in the state of Louisiana. You got so many great in-state players in Louisiana, like (Nick) Saban said. It has more per capita than any other state when it comes to NFL players. So to keep those guys home is a huge priority, to build through high school and add through the portal. Different than what we had to do in the state of Mississippi.”

Louisiana boasts one of the strongest high school talent pools in nation

In this past recruiting cycle, for example, Ole Miss hauled in five of the top-12 recruits from the state of Mississippi. The national ranking for those five players were No. 39 (WR Caleb Cunningham), No. 134 (CB Maison Dunn), No. 208 (DL Andrew Maddox), No. 323 (S Cortez Thomas) and No. 361 (LB Jarcoby Hopson).

This recruiting cycle, however, LSU has hauled in five of the top-seven recruits from the state of Louisiana. The national ranking for those five players were No. 1 (ATH Lamar Brown), No. 24 (DL Richard Anderson), No. 97 (OT Brysten Martinez), No. 139 (WR Jabari Mack), and No. 196 (S Aiden Hall). The talent level from the state of Louisiana is just on a different level, and Kiffin knows that.

Lane Kiffin was aware of LSU’s roster when he decided to accept the job

Kiffin was then asked whether or not he was aware of the players on LSU‘s roster when he took the job. The Tigers were certainly talented although they compiled a 7-5 record this season. They opened the year ranked No. 9 in the Preseason AP Poll and rose as high as No. 3 following its season-opening win over No. 4 Clemson.

“We were aware of it,” Kiffin continued. “We played it the last few years. So we knew a lot about it, but we’re also now in a world of portal and free agency where a lot of the rosters change now every year. Then, you add people. At Ole Miss, no significant players on that offense — which is probably the best offense in college football — are from Mississippi. All those guys came in to be part of what we’re doing. So we need to keep the high school players here and then add players like we did before and then sky’s the limit.”

Keeping defensive coordinator Blake Baker on board will certainly help keeping talented players from exploring options elsewhere. If Kiffin is able to bring in the best high school players from the state, as well as winning big in the Transfer Portal, LSU could certainly return to the top of the college football world in no time.