A mostly useless recruiting class projection (1/10/22 version)

I did this a while back and a few of you thought it was good, but of course the circumstances have changed a good bit since then. So I figured I'd update it based on what we've got to look at now.

Figure 32 recruits, and figure 15 of them already nailed down - the 13 high school signees, plus Miles Frazier and Slade Roy out of the transfer portal. That gives Kelly 17 spots he can fill.

And here's how I'd project those spots get filled as of today...

1. Greg Brooks, CB, Arkansas (Jr/portal) - Brooks has an LSU offer and today the CB's went out for him to commit here. Given that he's a plug and play starter at a position of massive need, I'd say he's the most likely addition of anybody on the board.

2. Mekhi Wingo, DT, Missouri (So/portal) - Wingo is a Freshman All-SEC pick who played for LSU DB's coach Robert Steeples at DeSmet Catholic High School in St. Louis, and he got an offer last week. He's not at a position of colossal need given reports Joe Evans is coming back to LSU but he'd be a good rotational guy who could play a quick penetrating nose guard at times to complement Jacobian Guillory.

3. Jacoby Matthews, SS, Ponchatoula - Matthews is the top remaining high school prospect on LSU's board and he's a potential Day One starter at safety. The addition of Jared Arcement to the recruiting staff reportedly does a lot to close off Texas A&M as a possibility for him, which leaves Florida as a key competitor - but I'll bet on Corey Raymond finishing second like he's usually done over the last five years.

4. Trevonte Citizen, RB, Lake Charles College Prep - Citizen's statements of late make it sound like he's headed to Auburn, but I don't buy it. When Frank Wilson wants a Louisiana kid, he usually gets one. I see Frank closing Citizen after he visits later this month. But if I'm wrong, Montrell Johnson from ULL could be next up.

5. Kyren Lacy, WR, UL-Lafayette (Jr/transfer) - Lacy probably makes more sense than any of the other wide receivers left on LSU's board; he's local, being from Thibodaux, and he's 6-3 and 210 pounds. There aren't enough big guys like that on the roster. Lacy's been reasonably productive in his first two years, catching 50 passes for 558 yards and 10 TD's at ULL, and he wouldn't come in with the expectation of being WR1 right away unlike some of the other big star receivers in the portal.

6. Michael Trigg, TE, USC (So/portal) - Call this one a big of a wishcast on my part, but LSU was at one time a player for Trigg out of high school. He's probably the most athletic of the tight ends in the portal and he's got some size and physicality to him to become the complete tight end that Kelly and Denbrock like. We will definitely take a tight end in the portal. I hope it's this guy.

7. West Weeks, LB, Virginia (So/portal) - LSU getting Arcement, who was on the recruiting staff at Virginia, makes me think the offer to Weeks was more than a shot in the dark. He was highly productive as a freshman and he can run, which you've got to have if you're going to play linebacker in the SEC. LSU is in absolute dire need at LB, and the fast playing time available here should make LSU hot for at least one of them.

8. Joe Foucha, FS, Arkansas (Sr/portal) - Foucha is a no-brainer of a take where it comes to productivity. He's made 230 tackles during his college career. Supposedly they aren't crazy about him because he's only got one more year to play, but at the end of the day LSU is in dire straits depth-wise in the secondary and having a productive safety who can play up in run support or back in center field does a lot to shore things up. He could be the key to moving Jay Ward back to corner, which depending on what happens with Dwight McGlothern might be a necessity.

9. O'Cyrus Torrance, OL, ULL (Jr/portal) - Torrance played his high school ball at St. Helena Central, so he's a local kid. He's an all-conference guy in the Sun Belt who can play guard or tackle, and he moves really well for 6-6, 330. Billy Napier is trying to drag him down to Florida but Torrance is set to visit LSU later this month and I wouldn't bet against Kelly and Brad Davis to get him. He should be a plug and play guy at one of the guards for us.

10. Zavion Thomas, WR, John Ehret - Thomas is a Mississippi State commitment who chose not to sign early after the coaching change at LSU, and the rumor has it he's waiting on an offer from Kelly. With Cortez Hankton likely to get the WR's coach job here next week, and with Thomas on the board in Hankton's core recruiting area I'm going to say LSU jumps on Thomas. He has the speed to play corner if necessary and he’s also a potential return man.

11. R Mason Thomas, LB FT. Lauderdale, FL Cardinal Gibbons - Jamar Cain is supposed to have a relationship with Thomas and the word is he's interested in visiting LSU later this month. If that's true, it could make Thomas a high priority for the staff. He's an Iowa State commitment but he's a lot better than Iowa State and LSU has playing time to offer in a razor-thin LB corps.

12. Leroy Paige, LB/DB, New Orleans Martin Luther King Prep - I'm putting Paige on here as I did in my first list simply because he's the type of guy LSU finds during transitional classes. He's 6-3 and 200 pounds and on film you can tell he's a good football player. Add 20 pounds in the weight room and he could turn into a Damone Clark type LB for us (though with not quite Clark's speed). If not Paige, you can plug in Miguel Mitchell, the safety from Oxford, Alabama that we offered a week or so ago.

13. John Rutledge, WR/DB, Highland Park, TX - Brian Polian offered Rutledge this week after he won the 200 meter at the Texas A&M indoor meet with a time of 21.47, which is pretty damned fast. He goes 6-2 and 170 pounds, and he was his district's offensive MVP (7-5A) after he caught 49 passes for 766 yards and 10 TD's this year. Watching him on film is like watching Cooper Kupp or Adam Thielen - good size, lots of speed, super technically proficient and tough. He's a little on the skinny side to switch to defense at present, but with a year in the weight room you could make this kid a safety if he didn't pan out at wide receiver. Plus getting a kid out of Dallas in this class is a good idea.

14. Eric Reed, CB, Auburn (RFr/portal) - Reed was a kid the previous staff should have recruited out of Calvary Baptist but didn't, and Kelly now has the ability to fix that. He redshirted at Auburn, which was pretty loaded at corner this year. Reed has nice size at 6-1, 197 and he was a 4-star recruit out of high school. He's an easy addition at a place LSU desperately needs bodies. Reed can also play safety.

15. Troy Brown, LB, Central Michigan (Sr/portal) - Brown is a two-time all-conference performer for CMU, and at 6-2 and 220 he's got SEC size. I'm standing him in for the fact that we're going to take a second linebacker from the portal, though I couldn't tell you who it'll be.

16. Danny Lewis, TE, Westgate - LSU hasn't offered Lewis yet, and I would have expected to see us do that by now - so perhaps we won't after all. But I'll still put him in here, because (1) we do need another tight end even after taking one from the portal, and (2) he's good enough to play here.

17. Ahmad Moten, DT, Ft. Lauderdale, FL Cardinal Gibbons - Moten is a high school teammate of Thomas', and Cain recruited him when he was at Oklahoma. At 6-3, 280, he's the top uncommitted defensive lineman left on LSU's board. I'm going to go with Moten here over J'Mari Monette from Alexandria Senior High, who's the top available defensive lineman in Louisiana, but either could work. But if there's late movement on a higher-ranked prospect on the offensive or defensive lines, then this spot can go to one of those guys.