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Sunday evening news came through that 2015 Franklinton OL Adrian Magee gave his verbal pledge. Magee is a composite 3-star recruit, but ranked a 4-star, No. 228 overall by 247 Sports. Oklahoma State and Louisiana Tech are his only other reported offers at this time. At 6'5", 315 pounds, he's got college-ready size, though his body will need some re-work, as he's quite soft in the middle. Magee becomes the 10th commitment in the 2015 class, and the second OL, along with Maea Teuhema. It's little surprise Magee would commit, considering Franklinton is a long-standing LSU stronghold. It's unclear what, if any, his relation to current LSU RB Terrence, is.
Adding bodies along the OL is a major point of impetus for this signing class, and the handy work of Jeff Grimes can already be seen. Historically, Grimes seems to prefer leaner, athletic types that need to add bulk. Neither Teuhema nor Magee fit that profile, both topping 300 pounds. While their pure body types may differ from what Grimes seems to like, both prospects are pretty athletic and nimble for heavy guys. Check out Magee's tape:
What immediately stands out is that Magee plays with a mean streak. He's constantly hunting for someone to lay a hit on, often burying them upon contact. You might expect Magee to be a lumbering, run blocking specialist, but there are examples of him playing on both the right and left side, flashing really nice footwork in pass pro. He's got long arms, which he does a good job using to keep defenders at bay, but also keeps his base underneath him to maintain winning position in protection. He shows good natural strength, latching onto targets and not letting up. There are multiple instances of him peeling off of one block to engage another defender, which indicates some promise for his overall athleticism.
That said, there's a reason Magee is outside the top 100 at this time. In pass pro, he often lets his upper body get out in front of his lower body, something more athletic edge rushers will take advantage of. Reforming his body may help in this regard. He doesn't have a great initial punch. When he pulls and gets moving in space, he lays fools out, but his initial strike isn't powerful, especially not juxtaposed to someone like Maea Teuhema, who crushes souls from the snap.
At this point, I'm not sure if Magee projects inside, or has the athleticism to remain outside. He reminds me a bit of Trai Turner, though I don't find him as impressive on tape. If he puts in the time, he's likely a player that can start for us in the future.
2016 DT Edwin Alexander De-Commits
The other major bit of news that broke as we headed into last weekend is that stud 2016 DT Edwin Alexander re-opened his recruiting process. It's super, duper early in the process, but on tape Alexander looks like one of the very top prospects in the class of 2016. He's currently 6'3", 315 pounds, and really well put together:
My two gamechangers for 2016 6'3 315 6'4 325. Both DT's @ed_easports @Big_Geezy97 #Roux-Ga-Roux #Big Foot pic.twitter.com/UZwl8J66Mq
— george r. tucker (@deaconroxie) April 26, 2014
No reason to fret at this stage of the game, and I still think Alexander will wind up signing with LSU, but it's good for the young man they call Roux Ga Roux to take a step back and consider his many options. He's a Glenn Dorsey/Anthony Johnson level prospect.
Catholic High in the News
The other major bit of news from this weekend is that Catholic-Baton Rouge stud running back and LSU recruit Derrius Guice has been suspended indefinitely for "undisclosed reasons." Head coach Dale Weiner stated he could be re-instated by Fall "if he proves himself to me." No telling the coach's rationale, but he's clearly sending a wake-up call to Guice.
Don't expect this story to end any time soon. Stories about Guice are popping up all over the internet, namely that he may be looking to transfer from Catholic High. I'm not sure if there are early warning signs here or just a young kid being a young kid, but I suspect this recruiting saga will be interesting, to say the least.
In related news, his teammate, Javahn Ferguson, a player hoping to earn an LSU offer this summer, already transferred from Catholic High. Ferguson currently has an offer from Southern Miss, who also hosted he and Guice a few weeks back and reportedly impressed. Ferguson is 6'1", 210 pounds and playing DE in HS. He's clearly a LB at the next level, so he'll need to prove he has that ability.