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Recruiting Roundup; LSU Expecting Visitors

What's going on with LSU Recruiting?

By Kris Brauner
Sonic and KeKe's success has impressed recruits
Sonic and KeKe's success has impressed recruits
Wesley Hitt

Even though LSU hasn't secured any commitments over the past couple of weeks, a number of current commitments and targets have been busy taking visits and participating in camps.

LSU's most recent commitment, Florida outside linebacker Sharrief Rhaheed, was recently offered by Alabama. To some, that will validate him a bit as a "take" for LSU. Others believe that Alabama likes to screw with LSU's commitments and targets by feigning interest and making LSU's staff work harder.

Rhaheed maintains that he is solid to LSU.

Mobile defensive end Justin Thornton has long maintained that Florida is his leader, but a recent visit to LSU brought the Tigers much closer. On Tuesday night, Thornton released a new Top 5 via Twitter:

I've made it no secret that I love Thornton as a prospect. He's a beast and a perfect fit in LSU's scheme. He'd be a tremendous pick-up for LSU if they can make it happen. Word has leaked out recently that Thornton may have some academic issues to deal with, so that's something to consider. But the fact that LSU has passed Florida as Thornton's favorite is significant.

Sticking with defensive ends, it looks like Georgia's Andrew Williams has significant interest in LSU after recently picking up an offer. Williams is a pretty similar player to Thornton, listed at 6'4" 230 and a very speedy, explosive pass rusher. Some schools want Williams as an outside linebacker, but he wants to play defensive ends and is really impressed by what LSU was able to do with Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo, guys with similar builds as him. He plans on visiting LSU later this summer before making a decision.

Bossier Parkway quarterback Brandon Harris has seen his stock rise over the last couple of months and holds offers from schools such as Arkansas and Nebraska. There was some chatter on Monday night that LSU had offered Harris:

However, it seems that offer may not be the "commitable" kind and that LSU wants to see him in camp first. Harris is planning on visiting LSU this weekend to take in LSU's scrimmage and meet with the coaches.

I'm sure that LSU will have some other visitors this weekend for the scrimmage, though it's not clear who. I suspect a number of the in-state guys will make it in, especially those from the New Orleans area.

Five star defensive back Jabrill Peppers is planning on visiting LSU all the way from New Jersey. His initial plan was to visit for LSU's spring game on April 20, but now that visit may take place this weekend. Peppers is an elite prospect, ranked the #9 overall player in the nation by 247 Sports and #2 overall by Rivals. LSU's recent success with defensive backs has his attention. Most think Peppers will stay up north for college but with a good visit to LSU, who knows?

Nike hosted a NIke Football Training Camp (NFTC) event in Allen, Texas over the weekend and a number of LSU commitments and targets attended.

Defensive back commitments Chris Hardeman and Ed Paris were both in attendance and both shined. Texas cornerback Tony Brown, a top target for LSU, was also one of the top performers at the event.

John Curtis receiver Malachi Dupre attended and was singled out as one of the top receivers in attendance. In fact, Paris, Brown and Dupre all earned invitations to The Opening which is Nike's premier camp event, held in Oregon at the end of the summer. From the few videos from the camp that I've seen, Dupre really looks the part of the big, physical receiver that LSU needs in this class.

Brandon Harris was also at the event and while he was a bit inconsistent, he also showed off the talent that has plenty of college coaches calling.