Coach's Corner: LSU commitment Kolaj Cobbins
This past week, the LSU football staff landed a commitment from Destrehan High linebacker Kolaj Cobbins.
Cobbins is a four-star prospect on the On3 Industry Rankings, checking in as a Top 300 recruit, a Top 20 linebacker in the 2024 class and the No. 6 prospect in the state of Louisiana.
This past season, Cobbins was a key piece on a Destrehan team that took home a state title with a win over Ruston.
Between December’s state championship game win and Cobbins’ commitment to play for LSU, Destrehan head coach Marcus Scott is all smiles for one of his program’s leaders.
“As a coach, we want them first and foremost to be productive citizens and leaders,” Scott said. “Kolaj is not only an outstanding athlete, but he is a first-class human being with high character.
“He is the total package when you look at what he can do athletically and in the classroom. He’s in the Beta Club, he’s on Honor Roll, he does all kinds of stuff on campus, and he was the only underclassmen voted as a team captain this past season.”
With LSU head coach Brian Kelly leaning on his mantra of “Graduating Champions”, Cobbins fits the bill when it comes to players the staff is trying to build the program around moving forward.
As for his talents on the field, the 6-foot-2.5, 200-pound linebacker was used in a variety of ways for Destrehan this past season, a proven versatility that Scott said the LSU staff loves about Cobbins as a prospect.
“LSU views him in the mold of Harold Perkins, because you can do a lot of things with him,” Scott said. “We tried to move him around a bit this year. We tried to make people account for him and not just keep him on one side of the field. He seemed to enjoy the variety. We will continue to do that next year.
“His first step is exceptional. His motor is very high. This year we dropped him into coverage some, and he has been able to add that to his repertoire. He’s not just a pass-rush guy. He can blitz the quarterback from depth and he can drop into coverage and make tackles in the open field.”
Cobbins, who had offers from Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Michigan and more, will now follow in the footsteps of a long list of Destrehan High graduates who continued their football careers at LSU.
“We are excited for him,” Scott said. “Him and his family made a decision that was right for them, and of course we support them 100-percent. Any time you have a kid who gets to stay in-state, that’s always a plus. We have kids that play all over the country, but when they are able to stay home it makes it easier for us all to go and see them. And we are excited about watching him at LSU.”
