I wouldn't say that picking up three commitments in a single weekend is a weird thing for LSU, but I think the circumstances here kind of fit the bill, as LSU picked up two more 2012 recruits and a pledge from a 2013 one as well over the weekend.
It all began on Friday as news leaked out that LSU had officially locked up class of 2012 junior college offensive line prospect Fehoko "Hoko" Fanaika. The 6-6, 340-pound Tongan (he is not actually Samoan, as reported -- think Meng of the Faces of Fear, not Big Manu Manu the Slender), will arrive in August with three years to play two. He was something of an under-the-radar guy out of the College of San Mateo in California, but had offers from Georgia and Florida. Per the recruiting analysts, the plan appears to be to redshirt him in 2012 if possible, and start him off at guard in 2013. It'll give LSU another big body with a little more experience than somebody like a Jonah Austin or a Corey White once 2013 gets here. Plus, as you can see from his highlights, the guy is a mauler. Faces of Fear is a great name for a center-guard trio anyway.
Saturday evening, news began to trickle in that a big weekend of class of 2013 recruiting visitors had yielded a somewhat surprising commitment from Neville High (Monroe) athlete John Diarse (pronounced Dee-arse). A quarterback and part-time receiver for the Class 4-A state champions, Diarse projects as one of the top five prospects in Louisiana for what should be a pretty good 2013 class, but was thought to be a heavy lean towards Alabama after making some disparaging remarks about LSU during the BCS title game, but new receivers coach Adam Henry hit the ground running with him and made a huge impression. Here's some highlights from Diarse's junior year.
I've seen his height/weight listed from anywhere between 6-foot and 6-2 and 190 and 210 pounds, and most figure that Diarse will either play safety or wide receiver. But most agree that he's the kind of vocal leader that most teams would like to have on board early in a recruiting cycle. Quoting a free story from BBI (h/t to WhoDatSaintsLSU):
"In the end it was really quite simple for me," Diarse said. "I was at the scrimmage today (in Baton Rouge) and I just felt like I should be here. LSU is home and this is where I want to be."
Sunday the Pacific Rim served up further bounty for the Tigers in 2012, as Australian punter Jamie Keehn signed on to join the team this summer. I'm not going to pretend to know much about this kid other than he's 6-4, 220 and, per BBI:
Keehn, from Melbourne will start classes at LSU this summer and likely redshirt next season. He is a 22 year old former national champion who has excelled in the decathalete, javelin and rowing in Australia.
Here's a video of the kid dropping some pretty nice chip shots.