5-star OL Kardell Thomas emerging as leader of LSU’s 2019 class

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The blue-chip lineman has been committed to the Tigers for 16 months, but schools such as Florida, Texas, Alabama and Georgia continue to pursue a flip. That puts Thomas in the limelight more often than not, so when coach Ed Orgeron brought the 5-star prospect in for a closed-door meeting, he made it known that he’s the right person to lead this 2019 group.

Since then, Thomas has accepted the responsibility and, quietly, ran with it.

“Once I had committed and then I went to the U.S. Army Combine, people saw that I was the real deal,” Thomas told SEC Country. “After that, a lot of colleges started to reach out and I got more offers and more exposure. When Coach O called me in for a meeting, he showed me that PowerPoint and made me look at the board of who they wanted and who they don’t. He said: ‘You’re our leader. You’re the biggest person in our class. You have to lead this team to a national championship and I’ve held that role ever since.’

“It’s not really pressure, but yeah, it’s pressure, knowing you have to come in and be ready to go. You have to come in ready, which I will be, taking on a role like that. It’s something that I’ve got to get ready for and something I know I’ve got to do.”

So, what exactly does the job entail?

Thomas is partly responsible for recruiting some other area prospects to Baton Rouge and also to keep the 2019 recruiting class — which ranks No. 4 in the nation — intact. So far, it’s going better than expected.

“I ain’t going to lie, there are a lot of people who are committed to other places that actually do want to take a look at LSU. Everybody does,” Thomas smiled. “Some people … I wouldn’t say they want to de-commit and come to LSU, but you know, they’re iffy about it. I know some guys that really want to come to LSU, or take a look at LSU.”

“I’m not just the recruiter,” he added, “I’m the person that basically keeps the class together.”

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