Brian Kelly Comments On His First LSU Signing Class

LSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

For Immediate Release - December 15, 2021

BRIAN KELLY’S FIRST LSU SIGNING CLASS FEATURES 10 PLAYERS FROM LOUISIANA

BATON ROUGE – Brian Kelly’s first signing class featured the top talent in Louisiana as the first-year LSU head coach signed 10 of the best players the state had to offer Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.

“I really like this class and it’s one that fills some immediate needs for us especially on the offensive line,” Kelly said. “Louisiana is so vital to our success as a program and we were able to bring the best players in our state to LSU.

“We want to recruit great players, but it’s also vital to our success to have high character young men in our program who value the great education LSU offers. We did that with this class. This is a group that will make LSU proud and lay the foundation for the championship program we are building.”

In addition to the 10 players from Louisiana, the Tigers signed two from Florida and one from Michigan. The 13-player class features four offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, a pair of cornerbacks, along with a quarterback, tight end, wide receiver, linebacker and placekicker.

LSU Football – Class of 2022 Early Signees

Jordan Allen CB 5-11 182 Lafayette, La. (Lafayette Christian Academy)

Bo Bordelon OL 6-5 269 Raceland, La. (Newman High School)

Will Campbell OL 6-6 286 Monroe, La. (Neville High School)

Nathan Dibert PK 5-11 195 Hartland, Mich. (Hartland High School)

Tygee Hill DT 6-2 283 New Orleans, La. (Edna Karr High School)

Walker Howard QB 6-1 183 Lafayette, La. (St. Thomas More High School)

Landon Ibieta WR 5-11 175 Mandeville, La. (Mandeville High School)

Emery Jones OL 6-4 330 Baton Rouge, La. (Catholic High School)

Mason Taylor TE 6-5 225 Plantation, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas High School)

DeMario Tolan LB 6-1 211 Orlando, Fla. (Dr. Phillips High School)

Laterrance Welch CB 6-1 178 Lafayette, La. (Acadiana High School)

Fitzgerald West Jr. OL 6-2 314 Lafayette, La. (Lafayette Christian Academy)

Quency Wiggins DE 6-5 265 Baton Rouge, La. (Madison Prep)

Jordan Allen
Cornerback
5-11 * 182 * Fr./HS
Lafayette, La. (Lafayette Christian Academy)

HIGH SCHOOL
Standout defensive back at Lafayette Christian Academy … Ranked as a three-star cornerback by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports … Helped LCA to a 10-1 record and a Division III state championship in 2020 where the Knights defeated St. Charles, 12-7 … Team advanced to Division III state title game in 2021 … Ranked No. 20 overall prospect from the state of Louisiana by 247Sports … Coached by former LSU standout linebacker Trev Faulk.

Bo Bordelon
Offensive Line
6-5 * 269 * Fr./HS
Raceland, La. (Newman High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
One of the top offensive linemen in the state of Louisiana for the Class of 2022 … Played final two seasons at Newman in New Orleans after transferring from E.D. White … Helped Newman to back-to-back appearances in the Louisiana Division III state semifinals in 2020 and 2021 … Team posted a 9-1 mark in 2020 … Rated a four-star prospect by ESPN and Rivals and three-stars by 247sports… No. 27 prospect state-wide and No. 45 in the nation by 247sports… Named to the 2022 Under Armour All-America game roster… Father, Ben Bordelon, was an All-SEC lineman for the Tigers in the 1990s and played professionally for the San Diego Chargers.

Will Campbell
Offensive Line
6-6 * 286 * Fr./HS
Monroe, La. (Neville High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
One of the nation’s top offensive tackle prospects for the Class of 2022 and the top rated high school player in the state of Louisiana … Four-year starter on the offensive line at Neville … Listed as the nation’s No. 4 overall prospect by ESPN … Rated as five-stars by 247Sports and four-stars by ESPN … Ranked No. 1 in the state, No. 5 at his position and No. 32 overall by 247sports … Four-star and No.4 prospect in the state per Rivals…Selected to participate in the 2022 Under Armour All-American Game…

Inserted into the lineup due to an injury to a starter as a freshman at right tackle and never left the field … Helped team to a 10-3 mark and start semifinal appearance as a sophomore … Team returned to the state semifinals as both a junior and senior.

Nathan Dibert
Placekicker
5-11 * 195 * Fr./HS
Hartland, Mich. (Hartland High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
One of the best kickers in the Class of 2022 out of Hartland, Michigan… Left-footed … Ranked the No. 6 kicker in the nation and No. 52 in Michigan per 247sports… The No. 2 kicker in the country according to Kohl's 2022 kicker rankings… Won Kohl's 2021 National Scholarship Camp kick-off charts… Can also punt … Tremendous leg strength and will be able to handle both kickoff and field goal duties for the Tigers.

Tygee Hill
Defensive Tackle
6-3 * 283 * Fr./HS
New Orleans, La. (Edna Karr High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
Dominant defensive lineman from Edna Karr Secondary School in New Orleans, La. … Ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the state by 247Sports for the class of 2022 … Ranked as the nation’s 24th-best defensive tackle prospect by Rivals … Started as a freshman for undefeated, 4A state champion Edna Karr … Helped Edna Karr to its fourth consecutive Louisiana 4A state championship in 2019.

Walker Howard
Quarterback
6-1 * 183 * Fr./HS
Lafayette, La. (St. Thomas More High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
One of the nation’s top quarterback prospects … Rated as the nation’s No. 1 dual-threat QB by ESPN and listed No. 5 by 247Sports … Overall, listed as the nation’s No. 27 overall prospect by ESPN and No. 34 by 247Sports … Prepped at St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, Louisiana where he led his team to back-to-back Division II state titles in 2019 and 2020 and a semifinals appearance in 2021 … Invited to the Under Armour All-American Game… Participated in the Elite 11 camp, finishing among the top 10 … Won the 2020 MaxPreps High School Football Player of the Year for Louisiana… 2020 Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year… Selected to the 2020 Louisiana High School Football All-State First-Team for Offense… Ranked as the No. 2 player in the state of Louisiana by 247Sports… Passed for 3,430 yards and 42 touchdowns as a junior … Dad, Jamie, played quarterback at LSU from 1992-95, helping the Tigers to an appearance in the Independence Bowl in 1995 … His dad capped his LSU career ranked in the Top 10 in school history for passing yards (6,158), passing TDs (34), and total offense (6,010).

Landon Ibieta
Wide Receiver
5-11 * 175 * Fr./HS
Mandeville, La. (Mandeville High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
Dynamic wide receiver from Mandeville High School … One of the top receivers in Louisiana for the Class of 2022 … Rated three-stars by 247sports, ESPN, and Rivals… Ranked the No. 31 wide receiver in Louisiana and No. 102 in the country by 247sports… Ranked the No. 22 in his position state-wide and No. 86 by Rivals… Helped Mandeville to an 8-2 record and a Louisiana 5A state quarterfinal appearance… As a junior, caught 34 passes for 729 yards and 11 TDs despite missing several games … Opened junior season by catching TD passes of 69, 65 and 37 yards in a winover Hannan in 2020 … Returned punts 76 and 79 yards for TDs in 2021 … Also plays basketball for Mandeville.

Emery Jones
Offensive Line
6-4 * 330 * Fr./HS
Baton Rouge, La. (Catholic High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
Another outstanding offensive line prospect from the state of Louisiana for the Class of 2022 … Prepped at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge where he helped his team to back-to-back Division I state titles in 2020 and 2021 … Cornerstone of a dominant Catholic offense that produced a 12-1 season in 2021 … 5A first team All-State in 2020 … First team all-district in 2020 and 2021 … In his four years at Catholic, team went a combined 44-7 and played in the Division I state title game four times … Invited to play in the Under Armour All-American Game… Ranked No. 226 in ESPN’s Top 300 list… Four-star prospect and ranked as the No. 12 player in the state of Louisiana by 247Sports… Also plays basketball at Catholic … Coached in high school by David Simoneaux Jr.

Mason Taylor
Tight End
6-5 * 225 * Fr./HS
Plantation, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
Versatile tight end that has tremendous pass-catching ability … Prepped at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in south Florida … Rated with four-stars and as the No. 7 ranked tight end in the nation by Rivals … Big frame that will allow him to also be effective in run blocking …. Caught 12 passes for 162 yards in the opening game of the 2021 season… Started at tight end for the 2020 7A Florida state champion team … Named to the Miami Herald All-Broward 8A-6A first-team… Father is Jason Taylor, 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who played for the majority of his professional career as a Miami Dolphin and tallied 139.5 sacks… Jason was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2017, which was his first year of eligibility… Uncle is Zach Thomas, another NFL player with an extensive history in the league, playing linebacker for 12 seasons on the Dolphins and one with the Dallas Cowboys.

DeMario Tolan
Linebacker
6-1 * 211 * Fr./HS
Orlando, Fla. (Dr. Phillips High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
Talented all-around standout linebacker from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida … Rated four-stars by 247Sports and ESPN … Listed No. 194 in the ESPN 300 for all of high school football … Ranked No. 22 nationally at his position and No. 25 in the state of Florida by ESPN … Three-year starter at linebacker in high school … As a sophomore, tallied 43 tackles and four sacks … Named to the Osceola News-Gazette’s All-County first-team… Named to the 2022 All-American Bowl roster and will play for the East team… Multi-sport athlete, playing on the basketball team and competing for the track team in the 110-meter hurdles.

Laterrance Welch
Cornerback
6-1 * 178 * Fr./HS
Lafayette, La. (Acadiana High School)

HIGH SCHOOL
Outstanding defensive back from Acadiana High School in Lafayette … Listed as the nation’s No. 101 prospect by ESPN … Ranked No. 12 nationally at his position and No. 7 overall in Louisiana by ESPN …

Three-year starter at Acadiana … Listed as a four-star cornerback by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals ... Ranked as the No. 9 player in Louisiana according to the 247Sports Composite ... Selected as a 2022 Under Armour All-American ... Contributed to two 5A State Titles in 2019 and 2020 ... Intercepted an attempted two-point conversion in the 2020 5A State Championship game to secure a 35-34 win for Acadiana ... Coached by Matt McCullough.

Fitzgerald West Jr.
Offensive Line
6-2 * 314 * Fr./HS
Lafayette, La. (Lafayette Christian Academy)

HIGH SCHOOL
Talented lineman that starred on both sides of the ball for Lafayette Christian Academy … Rated with three-stars from both 247Sports and Rivals … Ranked as the No. 6 defensive lineman in Louisiana for the Class of 2022 according to the 247Sports Composite ... Four-year starter at Lafayette Christian Academy ... Three-time Division III state champion … Voted 2A second team All-State in 2019 and first team All-State in 2020 ... Two-way player, able to play at the center and guard positions on offense ... Represented his track and field program in shot put, claiming the District 6-2A title and finishing runner-up in the state championship in 2021.

Quency Wiggins
Defensive End
6-5 * 265 * Fr./HS
Baton Rouge, La. (Madison Prep)

HIGH SCHOOL
Outstanding defensive line prospect from Madison Prep in Baton Rouge … Rated with four-stars and ranked No. 198 in ESPN’s Top 300 list … Ranked No. 11 overall in Louisiana and No. 18 nationally at his position by ESPN … Four-star prospect and ranked as the No. 7 player in the state of Louisiana by 247Sports… Invited to play in the Adidas All-American Bowl… Helped lead Madison Prep to its first-ever football state championship in 2020 as the Chargers won the 3A title and capped the year with an undefeated record … Also plays basketball for Madison Prep.