Some of the telling indicators of the recruiting pull that LSU has over in-state prospects is the truth that a Class of 2026 recruit introduced on Monday — lower than 24 hours after head coach Brian Kelly was fired — that he was committing to the Tigers.
Kervin Johnson Jr., a three-star receiver from Tioga, La., who was beforehand dedicated to Louisiana Tech, introduced late Monday morning he was flipping to the purple and gold.
Commited!! pic.twitter.com/NlpUc7I0Sk
— Kervin Johnson Jr ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@JrKjkool) October 27, 2025
Regardless of the way it seems to be on the floor, it wasn’t precisely a post-firing dedication. Johnson obtained his scholarship supply from LSU earlier than kickoff of Saturday night time’s loss to Texas A&M and dedicated on Sunday morning, hours earlier than Kelly was formally ousted, in response to 247Sports.
However it nonetheless underscores the facility an LSU supply possesses with gamers who develop up in Louisiana, the place the Tigers are king with no actual in-state peer. And it’s why, as LSU embarks on its search, recruiting doesn’t should be the brand new coach’s major ability.
What LSU’s subsequent coach wants greater than something is authenticity.
The Tigers have built-in benefits that the majority packages throughout the nation don’t. LSU is the most important soccer model in Louisiana, one of the fertile recruiting states within the nation.
In accordance with knowledge from SportSource Analytics, Louisiana has produced 757 three-, four- and five-star recruits over the past 10 years, the seventh-highest complete within the nation. On a per capita foundation, the state ranks fourth. Because the 2016 recruiting class, Louisiana has produced 68 NFL Draft picks, the fifth-highest complete nationally behind Texas (192), Florida (163), Georgia (140) and California (118).
All these different states are supplying expertise to a number of Energy 4 packages. Louisiana serves only one: LSU. It’s why the Tigers have, historically, needed to be conscious of after they prolonged scholarship gives to in-state recruits. The workers must be very selective.
“When LSU gives a Louisiana child, it’s nearly (an) computerized (dedication),” mentioned a former LSU recruiting staffer. “That program doesn’t historically supply in-state with out the intention of it being a take. As a result of they know after they supply a Louisiana child, 90 % of the time, that child needs to go there or it’s that child’s dream faculty.”
That’s a big a part of what makes the LSU job so enticing. Proximity to prime expertise and the feasibility of buying it make it a lot simpler to contend for SEC and nationwide titles. LSU has had 4 head coaches this century, and three of them — Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron — have received a nationwide championship. Kelly was fired as a result of he got here up effectively in need of that and didn’t look like getting nearer.
Kelly didn’t botch in-state recruiting, no less than not currently. LSU landed commitments from the highest in-state recruit within the 2024, 2025 and 2026 lessons. In 2024, the Tigers dominated the state, signing 13 of the highest 17 prospects, together with the highest 4, in response to the Rivals Trade Rankings. In 2025, they signed 5 of the highest 10, and in 2026, they’ve commitments from six of the highest seven.
However it took him time to acclimate to his environment, and a few surprise if Kelly actually cared to take action. The thought of a tradition match will be overrated in teaching hires as a result of profitable results in acceptance. However Kelly didn’t win sufficient.
His indifferent, impersonal administration model — a former starter for Kelly informed The Athletic final yr that the coach by no means actually acquired to know him — would possibly make sense theoretically in a sport that’s changing into extra professionalized by the day. Income sharing and NIL compensation are sometimes a dealbreaker in recruiting selections, and the switch portal has made participant motion simpler than ever.
However faculty soccer continues to be about teaching 18-to-23-year-olds who need to know the coach they’re taking part in for has their again. Relationships nonetheless matter. And in recruiting, dad and mom need to know that the coach they’re turning their son over to will probably be cared for, and that kind of private contact by no means appeared to be Kelly’s robust go well with.
The following LSU coach doesn’t should be born and bred within the bayou or know the state just like the again of his hand. Neither Saban nor Miles was from the area or had coached within the South previous to arriving at LSU, but each succeeded. The following coach may very well be a recruiter, or play caller, a motivator or a CEO-type. LSU athletic director Scott Woodward — if he’s nonetheless in place to make the rent — is more likely to swing for the fences like he often does. Recruiting capacity is usually a secondary ability, particularly if common supervisor Austin Thomas, an completed personnel director, and the scouting workers keep on board.
In the end, Woodward should discover somebody who’s unapologetically genuine and reveals he cares. The remainder will deal with itself.
