LSU trending for some key recruits in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine
LSU is off to a torrid recruiting start in the 2024 class, notching 16 commitments on their board before the calendar turns to June. The Tigers currently sit at No. 11 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings but have a real shot a second consecutive top-five class if their chips fall in the right direction.
A laundry list of major official visitors will be in and out of Baton Rouge this summer as Brian Kelly and Co. look to lock down the top prospects inside The Boot and out of it. LSU either has a commitment from or is trending in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for each of the state’s top 10 prospects and a few more outside of the state.
“The focus for the LSU coaching staff and Brian Kelly has been to put a fence around the state of Louisiana,” On3 national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman said. “In this 2024 recruiting cycle, which is loaded with talent, LSU is capitalizing. The Tigers already have a commitment from five of the state’s top 10 recruits, and they’re also trending for the rest of the players in On3’s Louisiana top 10.”
5-star DL Dominick McKinley
School: Lafayette (La.) Acadiana
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 20
On3 RPM: LSU 82.5%, Texas A&M 4.8%, Texas 4.1%, Oklahoma 3.4%
The Skinny: Dominick McKinley finished his junior season season with 86 tackles, 10 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, two interceptions and exploded onto the scene nationally as one of the country’s top recruits.
First-year LSU defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey hit the ground running with McKinley after doing so previously at South Carolina, and Tigers graduate assistant Gerald Chatman held steady until he arrived.
“They text me and call me, and yesterday (Monday) we were on the phone talking ball,” McKinley told On3’s Sam Spiegelman. “When he was at South Carolina he (Lindsey) was on me pretty hard. Now that he’s closer, he wanted to see me as soon as he got here.”
McKinley has four official visits scheduled this summer to Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, but the Tigers are expected to get the last shot at him.
4-star CB Wardell Mack
School: Marrero (La.) John Ehret
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 75
On3 RPM: LSU 95.4%, Florida State 1.5%, Texas 1.3%
The Skinny: Wardell Mack’s first three official visits are on the books, and a fourth is likely to take place in December. The On3 top-30 prospect has been in Baton Rouge more than anywhere else, and defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks is on him about keeping him local.
After hitting three major contenders out of state, Mack was at LSU spring game in April. He’s set to officially visit in December.
“They’re always gonna come after me whenever I step out of state lines,” Mack said. “Their approach is that the best in Louisiana stay in Louisiana, and they’ve been emphasizing that this is where it’s at.”
4-star LB Tylen Singleton
School: Many (La.)
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 138
On3 RPM: LSU 83.7%, Arkansas 5.0%, Tennessee 4.3%
The Skinny: After losing out on four-star linebacker Tackett Curtis last fall, LSU is going hard after Many star Tylen Singleton. He told On3’s Sam Spiegelman that the in-state Tigers will also be receiving an official visit — likely in July — before he reveals his commitment ahead of his senior season at Many (La.) High School. That visit is still in the process of being hammered out.
He was back at LSU in April and has been a top priority for DC Matt House since he arrived in Baton Rouge.
“We didn’t even talk about football; we talked about life, life after football,” Singleton said. “We looked at film, at my plays where I did great and plays where I could’ve been better. I like playing the nickel. And I feel that he can bring out the best of my abilities at the next level.”
4-star WR Jelani Watkins
School: Houston (Texas) Klein Forest
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 185
On3 RPM: LSU 96.3%, Texas A&M 2.1%
The Skinny: Dynamic playmaking wide receiver Jelani Watkins is one of the Tigers’ top offensive targets this cycle, and LSU is battling Texas A&M at the top of his recruitment.
“Right now, they’re at the top. They’re up there,” Watkins told TheBengalTiger.com earlier this month. “It’s been them, LSU that’s been consistently contacting me. A&M was the longest cause they were my first offer. I like the coaches. They’re cool. I haven’t been around the players yet so next time I go there. I’ll probably hang around with the players to see how they operate and get along with each other.”
He plans to have a decision at the end of the summer and will officially visit the Tigers the weekend of June 23.
4-star safety Joel Rogers
School: St. Francisville (La.) West Feliciana
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 350
On3 RPM: LSU 97.9%
The Skinny: On300 safety Joel Rogers has a trio of visits locked in for June, heading to LSU (June 2-4), Alabama (June 9-11) and TCU (June 16-18). Cooks has taken a leading role in courting Rogers to LSU, but it’s been a staff-wide approach that’s caught his eye.
“It’s the whole LSU family, everybody, the whole staff wants me there,” Rogers told Spiegelman. “I talk to everybody every week … it’s just crazy. They are making sure they keep the best in-state talent home.”