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Clifton Garrett is a Tiger!

The 5-star linebacker out of Illinois made it official today, and for those looking for someone to potentially take over the MLB spot from D.J. Welter, look no further

By Corey Poche
Photo by Tom Hauck.


In something that pretty much every recruiting follower saw coming, Clifton Garrett finally made the decision to attend LSU for his college tenure.  The Tigers had created an insurmountable lead on Garrett's unofficial visit way back on April 20th.  That visit cemented LSU as the far-ahead front-runner to obtain Clifton's services.  An official visit to see the A&M game on November 23rd was just icing on the cake.  The rest of his visits to other schools were just semantics and to enjoy the process because no other team really had a shot at knocking the big dog off the hill.

So exactly what will this 6'2" 228 lb. beast of a linebacker bring to Baton Rouge?  Let's find out:

Clifton Garrett 2014 LB (jr. highlights) Plainfield, IL (via 247SportsStudio)

He also has senior highlights over on Hudl if you want to check those out as well.  If you don't get hyped watching this footage, then I don't know how I can help you.  It really is hard to find a flaw on this guy.  I guess if you had to, you could say he could be a little faster.  Outside of that, this guy will be a terror for years to come.

Garrett has a propensity to see the gap where a running play may be going, attack it with ferocity and put an end to the run.  And when he does put an end to the run, those opponents know exactly who hit him because he lays the wood.  He's unrelenting as well, never giving up on a play to chase down the ball carrier down field or chasing down a quarterback running for his life.  You don't see much of him in coverage albeit a few plays, but LSU has never really put their middle linebackers out in pass coverage and they should never have to with the speed at the outside linebacker positions.

When you look at immediate difference makers in this potentially massive 2014 class, Garrett is atop that list.  If this guy is not a starter in Houston on August 30th of next year, I would like an investigation into what sort of blackmail D.J. Welter has on the coaching staff.  Unless he gets hurt beforehand, there is absolutely no reasoning behind this guy not being a day 1 starter.  He has everything that you look for in a high-caliber middle linebacker with his instincts, his tackling ability and his vision to make plays.

This class continues to get better as we aim at setting the mark for possibly the best recruiting class in the history of LSU.  Garrett definitely helps the cause and will be an impact player from the first time he steps on the field.