The contact period’s open, let’s go crootin’
With the 2024 college football season complete and the December early signing period rendering the “official” signing day, February 5, pretty much useless, now seems like a good time to look ahead to the 2026 recruiting cycle.
Even by Louisiana’s standards, the state has an absurdly talented class waiting for their chance to be wooed by top programs, sign in December, and enroll on campus early. Louisiana is always going to be LSU’s base, and as it stands right now the state has six players ranked in the top-78 overall prospects according to On3.
Louisiana’s 2026 class is highlighted by a pair of five-star prospects right here in Baton Rouge: Lamar Brown, from U-High, and Blaine Bradford from Catholic. Brown is listed as the No. 11 overall player and No. 1 interior offensive linemen, while Bradford is viewed as the nation’s best safety and No. 15 overall player. On3 gives LSU a 99 percent chance of signing both players and in Bradford’s case, his older brother Jacob signed with the Tigers’ 2025 class.
Louisiana currently has two five-stars; there’s a very good chance that the state sees two more reach that status, and they’re both in the form of current high school teammates/LSU commitments: defensive tackle Richard Anderson and safety Aiden Hall both of whom are prepping at New Orleans power Edna Karr.
Anderson’s stock has really exploded lately and is just outside five-star status, ranking as the No. 34 overall player in the country. For context, when he committed to LSU in June he was the No. 131 player in the country. Hall, who committed to LSU in August, is right behind Anderson as the No. 38 overall player.
Over in Gonzales, Brysten Martinez is a fringe top-50 prospect, as the four-star tackle is the No. 52 player in the country. Jabari Mack, younger brother of former LSU target/current Texas Longhorn Wardell Mack is the No. 78 overall player and plays receiver at Destrehan. Both are projected to pick LSU.
If Bo Davis wants to keep the defensive line cupboard full he won’t have to travel too far inside the state to keep it stocked. Dylan Beryman and Darryus McKinley, younger brother of current Tiger Dom McKinley, are both four-star defensive tackles and both are inside the top-250 nationally.
The biggest fish outside of Louisiana that LSU is in on is Zion Elee from the Baltimore area. Elee, the No. 3 overall player in the class of 2026, is currently committed to Maryland but received an LSU offer a few days ago. On the surface, LSU going into Maryland and plucking one of the very best players in the country seems unlikely, but Elee attends St. Frances Academy, the same school attended by former Tigers Jordan Toles, Greg Penn, and Dashawn Womack. Toles, a 2020 signee, and Womack, signing in 2023, both spent their first two seasons in Baton Rouge before transferring, while Penn spent all four years with the Tigers after signing in 2021 and of course wore the coveted No. 18 jersey this past season. Can that pipeline pay off again for LSU?
It’s obviously very early in the process, but as it stands right now LSU has the No. 5 overall class in the country behind Oregon, USC, Auburn, and Texas A&M. If you want an encouraging sign, LSU’s got a top-five class with only six players committed. Oregon and A&M each have 10, while USC has eight. LSU’s got quality over quantity working in their favor, and if they can keep the best in Louisiana home, they ought to have another elite class come December.