Shea : Can LSU land all of Louisiana's Top 10 recruits?

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And then there were two.

Acadiana defensive lineman Dominick McKinley and John Ehret defensive back Wardell Mack remain the lone Top 10 prospects in Louisiana who are still uncommitted.

McKinley, a five-star prospect and the No. 5 defensive lineman in the country, is ranked as Louisiana’s No. 1 overall prospect. He’s yet to set a decision date, but the rising senior made official visits to Ohio State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Texas in June.

LSU holds the lead on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, but there’s still work to be done. McKinley is slated to be in Baton Rouge on Friday for the program’s Bayou Splash recruiting event, and the Tigers still have an official visit in their back pocket.

With Mack, the state’s No. 2 overall prospect, a decision is expected ahead of his senior season.

Mack is slated to visit LSU on Friday for the Bayou Splash, and gearing up for a potential Florida visit on Saturday. The NCAA’s dead period ends on Tuesday, but begins again next week. That’s a seven-day window for prospects to visit college campuses, and plenty of schools are fighting to get Mack in for a visit.

LSU hosting the New Orleans four-star this week is key given a decision is expected in August, and like with McKinley, the Tigers still have an official visit weekend to come.

Entering the final week of July, LSU holds the On3 RPM lead, meaning the Tigers are still circled as the team to beat for both prospects.

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While the rankings are far from finalized, commitments from Mack and McKinley would give LSU all 10 of Louisiana’s Top 10 recruits on the On3 Industry Rankings.

Has it ever been done before?

In the modern recruiting era, which dates back to 2000, the answer is no. Still, the Tigers have come close.

In 2019, LSU signed 8 of the Top 10 prospects in Louisiana, but both Ishmael Sopsher and Christian Harris left the Bayou State and signed with Alabama.

In 2016, the Tigers signed all but two of Louisiana’s Top 13 prospects. That cycle, Shyheim Carter signed with Alabama, while Klyde Chriss signed with Texas A&M.

The closest LSU came to signing every recruit in Louisiana’s Top 10 came in 2006. That cycle, the lone recruit who left the state was Destrehan’s Chaz Washington. Washington, the No. 10 prospect in Louisiana that cycle, wasn’t offered by the Tigers.

There’s been a number of years when LSU didn’t offer every prospect who finished in Louisiana’s Top 10, but that won’t be the case during the current 2024 cycle.

And after six of Louisiana’s Top 10 recruits signed with out-of-state programs a year ago, it’s clear the Tigers are making a very concerted effort to put the fence back up around the state.

Now, that push could bring with it the first time LSU has swept Louisiana’s Top 10 in the modern recruiting era.

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