re: "Only LA guys"...I don’t understand this approach at all

Its not "only LA guys", Its only guys we have an in with so we don't waste our time and resources.

Will Wade used this approach in basketball and it works well. If you don't have an in or connection to a player, you move on. Its better to land the #5 player at a position than to flirt with the #1 player and watch him sign elsewhere.

Naturally, we will have an in more often with players that have Louisiana ties than players that don't. That doesn't mean we don't recruit anyone outside of Louisiana, but we don't chase and spin our wheels unless something is there like with Underwood.

Not to mention that Louisiana has a plethora of talent and having local kids be the bulk of your classes allows for more stability. Its much easier for a kid from the DMV to decide that he isn't playing enough and leave than it is for a kid from New Iberia to do the same. The local kid grew up an LSU fan (most likely) and has an emotional connection that an out of state kid just doesn't have. The local kid also would have to leave their family behind to transfer out while and OOS kid already did that.

It makes a ton of sense to prioritize guys with Louisiana ties so long as they are of a high enough caliber to play in the SEC. Then you supplement with a few OOS top prospects and plug holes with transfers and you will have good teams with the occasional great team.

If we show consistency over a longer period of time, then you are able to attract bigger prospects and take less Louisiana kids but right now, the Louisiana base is a good strategy.