LSU football in 'good position' with five-star pass rusher Colin Simmons entering summer

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“One of the most explosive edge rushers in the country, heading into the summer I still like where LSU stands,” Wiltfong said. “With a chance to get back to Baton Rouge for the Tigers spring game, talking to him in the past, talking to his family, I think they feel very at home at LSU. They love the coaching staff, they’re very familiar with that campus and that program.

“Their last visit there was a lot of star power around LSU’s campus from Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase, Angel Reese is a rockstar and they got to hang out with her and spent some time with faces of the LSU community. With each visit to LSU it makes them feel very comfortable and again the word that I get from the Simmons camp is it feels like home.

“It’s a recruitment that will go into the summer, he’ll take other visits. Some schools that I think are marked for official visits, you have Texas, Oregon, Miami. Alabama, Texas A&M, Tennessee some of the other contenders for Colin Simmons but love LSU’s position as Brian Kelly and the Tigers push for a top five class this cycle, nobody higher on their board than Mr. Simmons.”

This sounds nothing but positive from the purple and gold’s perspective heading into a summer where recruiting visits and camps will really take off. It wouldn’t be a bit surprising to see LSU host Simmons and his family again at some point, whether it’s later this summer or in the fall for a game to really sell that vision of Baton Rouge.

That word “home” is something that always translates when talking about a program’s ability to recruit an elite level prospect like Simmons. The fact that he’s just one state over in Texas is close enough for friends and family to come see him play and the fact that LSU is in on a number of his teammates like running back Caden Durham and safety Ka’Davion Dotson at Duncanville doesn’t hurt either.

On the field, LSU could use a young, ascending pass rusher to go opposite with a player like DaShawn Womack, a five star edge who spent time with Simmons and his family at the spring game as well. That could be a lethal 1-2 punch as soon as the 2024 season and when you consider the fact that another five-star in Quency Wiggins and Harold Perkins could also be in the mix next year, that’s a devastating front seven core to think about.

How new defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey is able to build a connection with Simmons is also important but it’s also worth noting that Simmons didn’t seem fazed by the Tigers not having a d-line coach in place while on his visit in late April. Now that one’s in place, the relationship can only get better with how Matt House, Lindsey and this defense can potentially work Simmons into the defense.

LSU has to close this recruitment out but the Tigers have to like where they sit with Simmons entering a critical next several months.

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