Lane Kiffin Isn’t Just Chasing Stars — He’s Locking Down Louisiana

Everybody already knows the talent factories in Louisiana. Karr, St. Aug, Catholic, Neville, Rummel, Ruston, Acadiana. Those schools will always produce elite dudes and they are always going to command top dollar in NIL.

What I like about Kiffin’s early on is that he isn’t just chasing the obvious beef. He’s recruiting the salt of Louisiana. The smaller parishes, the smaller schools, the places where there’s always one under-the-radar kid who ends up at TCU or Houston and becomes a problem. That’s how you actually lock down a state.

I’m honestly surprised more staffs haven’t recruited Louisiana this way. This is how you find Tre’Davious White, Tyrann Mathieu, Justin Jefferson, Ar’Darius Washington, Amik Robertson or even Nate Sheppard. Guys who weren’t always treated like can’t miss prospects but turned into dogs.

And you don’t miss out on guys like Nate Sheppard. The kind of player who doesn’t light up every camp circuit but just flat-out produces when you turn on the film. Those are the kids that slip through when you recruit rankings instead of actually recruiting Louisiana.

Those five-star guys are always going to shop the market. But building real pipelines at these smaller programs gives you year-in, year-out depth. It creates loyalty. It creates development. It builds a roster on a Louisiana foundation.

That’s how you win the state for real. Not just on signing day.

Yes, I used AI. Sorry I'm lazy.