Five takeaways from LSU’s early signing day

Despite the term “early signing day,” make no mistake about it — this is where the bulk of the work is done.

Classes aren’t final and transfers will still come and go, but the majority of major high school prospects sign in December. Unless a school is going through a coaching transition, it should have a pretty good idea about how its class is shaping up by now.

Schools will receive letters of intent and commitments become official.

Brian Kelly and LSU have to like where they sit. It’s a top 10 class at worst and top five at best. It’s a well-rounded group, with players from Louisiana and around the country, filling multiple needs for the Tigers.

Here are five takeaways from LSU’s early signing day.

Jalen Brown makes it official

[autotag]Jalen Brown[/autotag] committed to LSU in the summer. He’s part of a wide receiver class that includes [autotag]Shelton Sampson Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Kyle Parker[/autotag] and [autotag]Khai Prean[/autotag].

Brown’s a native of the highly recruited area of South Florida and other schools tried to flip the speedster well after his commitment. He visited Florida State in late July and took an official to Texas A&M in September.

But [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has been building a relationship with Brown since his time at Notre Dame and Brown held firm in his pledge to LSU.

LSU’s wide receiver room will be filled with veteran talent next fall, so playing time for the talented youngsters isn’t guaranteed, but LSU needed a solid group of wideouts in this class.

LSU didn’t sign a lot last year and could be losing [autotag]Kayshon Boutte[/autotag], [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Thomas[/autotag] in the spring of 2024.

The timing should line up just right for Brown, Sampson and Parker to assume bigger roles as LSU’s current plethora exits.

Daylen Austin flips to Oregon

Oregon had about as good a signing day as you could ask for and one of those commitments came at LSU’s expense with the flipping of four-star corner [autotag]Daylen Austin[/autotag].

It’s clear Dan Lanning and the Ducks have a good sales pitch. On signing day alone, along with Austin, Oregon flipped a top-10 quarterback and received commitments from blue-chip defenders Matayo Uiagalelei and Peyton Bowen.

Austin had been committed to LSU since May, but the California native remained a priority target for a number of programs. LSU is still well positioned at defensive back, but losing a player of Austin’s caliber still stings.

Rickie Collins stays home

Collins’ commitment to LSU was firm, and there was never much talk about a flip, but his path, along with LSU’s quarterback recruitment this cycle, was far from straightforward.

On LSU’s end, the Tigers spent time chasing some of the class’ top names. [autotag]Arch Manning[/autotag], [autotag]Dante Moore[/autotag], [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], and [autotag]Eli Holstein[/autotag] were all LSU targets at one point or another.

When LSU was busy with those guys, Collins was pledged to Purdue. The Tigers eventually turned up the heat on the Woodlawn QB and Baton Rouge native, and Collins backed off his Purdue commitment and committed to LSU.

LSU didn’t need a QB this class, but Collins is a big get. Between the transfer portal and NFL Draft, quarterback rooms are unpredictable. The way to get around that is by adding talent year in and year out.

LSU continues its offensive line rebuild

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Kelly’s first recruiting class saw the additions of [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Emery Jones[/autotag], two guys that would go on to be LSU’s starting tackles as true freshmen.

The offensive line hot streak continued on Wednesday. LSU received papers from [autotag]Lance Heard[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyree Adams[/autotag], two blue-chip tackles from the state of Louisiana.

Joining Heard and Adams from out of state is four-star tackle [autotag]DJ Chester[/autotag]. Heard is ranked as the top player in LSU’s class and was the only 247 Composite five-star to sign with the Tigers on Wednesday.

He’ll give LSU even more flexibility up front and has the chance to develop into a star tackle as he progresses.

Adams and Chester don’t rank quite as high and could both be more of a project. That said, they’re both top 15 at their position according to the composite rankings.

LSU will have more young talent in its offensive line room next fall than its had in quite some time. Kelly’s decision to hang onto OL coach [autotag]Brad Davis[/autotag] is looking like one of his smarter moves.

This class is well-rounded

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Top classes, despite having loads of talent, can have holes at some spots.

It’s hard to poke holes in LSU’s class. Some recent losses on the defensive line have made that area weaker than it once was, but the Tigers did a good job making up for it in the transfer portal.

At the high school level, we’ve discussed what LSU has done at quarterback, wide receiver, and offensive line, but it’s also bringing in several tight ends and running backs.

On defense, Jamar Cain landed two top edge rushers in [autotag]Da’Shawn Womack[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaxon Howard[/autotag]. On the back end, the class includes three four-star safeties and LSU is well-positioned at cornerback.

LSU didn’t get everyone it wanted, but Kelly and the staff proved they know how to organize a class with this well-rounded group.

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Story originally appeared on LSU Tigers Wire