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The class keeps on growing. Tuesday night, Bay Minette, AL offensive tackle Jakori Savage gave his pledge to Jeff Grimes, Les Miles and LSU.
Savage is an interesting prospect, as he doesn't have much to show for offers at this point, with only 8, and his two best prior to LSU were South Carolina and Kentucky. As of yet, neither in-state Alabama nor Auburn have extended an offer. Grimes worked Savage out personally and obviously saw something he liked. At 6'6", 300 pounds he's definitely got a huge frame. Let's get to the tape and see what we can glean:
Strong is #50, the RT in the tape. The first thing you'll notice is that he operates exclusively out of a 2-point stance due to the confines of his offense. He's obviously huge. He towers above most of his competition and you can see how thickly built he is. He's got long arms, as well.
He looks like he moves around pretty decently for a 300 pounder. He can get to the second level and locate backers and defensive back, which is no easy chore. He shows a little bit of nasty, at times throwing guys to the ground at or near the whistle.
That said, I don't see a ton else here. He doesn't have a violent punch. He's not a powerful drive blocker, though he is working out of 2-point stance. He plays really vertically and I don't see great knee bend. It's disappointing to see a 300 pound guy get stood up by players much smaller than him.
To me, the intrigue here is frame and size. His arms are freakishly long and he's built like a tank. He doesn't look terribly sloppy. Knee bend, footwork and things of that nature would surely have been evaluated by Grimes in the recent camp.
Going off all I have, which is his junior season highlight tape, I'm really lukewarm on this pickup, especially considering the number of highly ranked prospects that remain interested. Savage's commitment brings LSU to no. 4 nationally and the top of the SEC in the 247 Composite Team Rankings. This brings the class to 13 total members, leaving at least 12 remaining spots, depending if and how many they are able to back count.