LSU holds on to DJ Pickett, flips Solomon Thomas
The Early Signing Period for college football began this Wednesday and while the window runs through today, the majority of players across the country signed their letters of intent with their respective universities.
Barring any last minute additions, LSU officially signed 23 players on Wednesday and as it stands currently, the Tigers have the No. 8 class in the country. Not bad considering the sky was falling a few weeks ago when Bryce Underwood and Kade Phillips flipped.
Despite all the smoke that DJ Pickett was going to flip to Miami or Oregon or insert college program here, the No. 1 cornerback in the country held firm to his LSU pledge and is the highest ranked Tiger in the class. There was no drama whatsoever when it came to signing five-star running back Harlem Berry, but LSU was able to go 50/50 on two five-star line of scrimmage targets.
Defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart did indeed spurn LSU for USC, but the Tigers broke even with the late flip of interior offensive lineman Solomon Thomas out of Florida. Thomas is the No. 32 overall prospect in the class of 2025 and ranks second at his position. Thomas is listed as an IOL on recruiting services, but on LSU’s website he’s listed as a tackle so it’ll be interesting to see where he ultimately ends up playing.
LSU and Brad Davis specifically have done a good job recruiting offensive line the past few seasons. Between Thomas and four-star guard Carius Curne, LSU signed two of the top-four IOL in the class. If you count Tyler Miller, another four-star guard, that gives LSU three of the top-11 interior linemen in this cycle.
LSU’s 2025 signing class is as follows. Players are ordered by their On3 composite ranking:
- DJ Pickett, five-star CB
- Harlem Berry, five-star RB
- Solomon Thomas, five-star IOL
- Carius Curne, four-star IOL
- Charle Ross, four-star LB
- Jaiden Baker, four-star LB
- Damien Shanklin, four-star EDGE
- JT Lindsey, four-star RB
- Tyler Miller, four-star IOL
- Aidan Anding, four-star CB
- TaRon Francis, four-star WR
- Jacob Bradford, four-star S
- Zion Williams, four-star DL
- Jhase Thomas, four-star S
- Zach Weeks, four-star LB
- Phillip Wright, four-star WR
- Keylan Moses, four-star LB
- JD LaFleur, four-star TE
- CJ Jimcoily, four-star S
- Brandon Brown, three-star DL
- Walter Mathis Jr., three-star DL
- Dilan Battle, three-star DL
- Brett Bordelon, three-star DL
Brian Kelly met with the media on Wednesday to recap the day, but the most interesting thing Kelly did was try and rally more support to LSU’s NIL collective.
“It’s no longer just about your brand,” Kelly said. “The brand has to be backed up with dollars. If you want to be able to close some of these, you have to have active participation from your donor base. It can’t just be one or two guys.”
Our friends at AYS Sports have done a good job getting people to participate with Bayou Traditions, LSU’s collective, and I’m going to try and do the same. If you feel so inclined to donate, the link to Bayou Traditions can be found here.