Recruiting Home Stretch Begins: Who's Left On the Board

LSU has seen a lot of good news this recruiting quiet period.  Hauled in two wide receivers in Stephen Sullivan (again) and Drake Davis, a monster of a running back in Devin White and brought together the fan masses with a successful defensive coordinator hire in David Aranda.  Things are good in Baton Rouge football-wise and things are just now heating up.

With 20 commitments currently and the SEC limit at 25 (although their are exceptions which allow teams to go over that limit, which LSU can likely do), spots are getting limited.  However, there's not much left for this class to bring in to make this a nicely well-rounded group.  So who is left out there?  Well, c'mon in.

Quarterback

The Skinny: Oh the QB position.  We all wonder if Feleipe Franks will get the Gunner Kiel treatment and join him the ranks of the "No Chest" club.  The now Florida commit left the cupboard bare for the time being, but there's a number of quality options that will get the heat pressed on once the quiet period comes to an end.

Dwayne Haskins: The Maryland commit (for the time being) has opened things up a bit and it will be a mad rush for teams once the quiet period comes to an end.  LSU will likely battle the likes of Ohio State and Texas A&M, among other teams, and Maryland trying to retain him, to get his signature come February. Rumor has it that Haskins will come in on an official visit this weekend, but we haven't had hard confirmation yet.

Anthony Russo: A Rutgers commit, Russo was an Elite 11 competitor before the season and is probably the biggest of the QB options size-wise.  Russo will likely have to wait to see what happens with Haskins before LSU cranks the heat up on him.

Thomas MacVittie: The most recent name to come around gathering LSU interest, the Pittsburgh commit hasn't been playing quarterback long, but has shown off this season to even sneak into the top 100 on one recruiting service.  Will be interesting to see where he stands on the board and how he will be pursued.

Nick Starkel: Another new name on the board, LSU has shown interest but the recent UCLA commit will likely be Texas A&M bound after the Aggies made it on his four finalists (along with UCLA, Yale and North Texas) and recently hired UCLA's offensive coordinator.

Running Back

The Skinny: With the commitment of Devin White, Frank Wilson got his guy and the only running back the staff was going after. Consider this position closed shop until next year.

Wide Receiver

The Skinny: With the re-commitment of Stephen Sullivan and picking up Drake Davis at the Under Armour Game, the wide receiver board is closed down as well. Da'Monte Coxie recently received an Alabama offer so they will still have to make sure he stays on board.

Tight End

The Skinny: With Jamal Pettigrew on board, Stephen Ensminger is done recruiting his position.  His challenge now becomes holding off the likes of Texas from nabbing Pettigrew from the Tigers.  If he does go to Texas, you could expect a name like Nick Eubanks, a guy Cameron has on his radar, come back up.

Offensive Line

The Skinny: LSU missed on snagging Jean Delance, who went to Texas, at the Under Armour game, but it appears anything outside of Willie Allen is just icing on the cake.

Willie Allen: Grimes has his eyes set on Allen being the main uncommitted target out there.  While it seemed Allen was flipping around on favorites throughout the season, it appears LSU.

John Simpson: While Simpson says all his favorites are even in Clemson, South Carolina, Florida, LSU and Alabama, the South Carolina product will likely stay in state with the other Tigers seeming to have a lead.

Jauan Williams: The Washington D.C. product, Williams seems to be very open, although may be a slight lean to Florida State, and will be visiting LSU on January 22nd.

Scott Lashley: Probably the lowest on the board of o-line targets, Lashley will still get some looks from Grimes up until signing day.

Defensive Line

The Skinny: After ensuring that Orgeron is going nowhere and currently working on a new contract, likely coming with a nice pay bump, maybe Oregeron will come out with an even larger fire and close out this class with a surprise or two.

Rashard Lawrence: Probably the biggest target left for this class, it seems all the momentum is coming LSU's way and it seems the Tigers have gained a larger lead over Alabama for his signature. Visits this coming weekend.

Rashan Gary: While it appears Michigan and Ole Miss are the final two, this is one that Orgeron will not let go without a fight until that pen meets paper in February.

Raekwon Davis: An Alabama commit, Davis has become the main massive run-stuffing tackle of this class, especially after Ross Blacklock committed to TCU at the Army All-American game.

D'Andre Christmas-Giles: One of the latest to receive an offer, a solid senior season earned him the offer, and despite having a top 10, LSU is the very likely leader in the clubhouse.

Stephon Taylor: One of the more quiet recruits this class, it seems Taylor has dropped down the board over the months and is likely even behind Christmas-Giles.  Texas could have the lead for Taylor.

Sci Martin: A TCU commitment in December, Martin's senior season caught the attention of a lot of coaches, including Orgeron, who will get an official visit from Martin on January 22nd.

Travez Moore: If it was just based off on-field production, Moore would be an LSU commit already.  Unfortunately, he is a big-time grade risk and will be one that will go down to the wire.  He may be a guy you hear about two years from now after a JuCo stop.

Linebacker

The Skinny: New defensive coordinator David Aranda's two biggest recruiting jobs doesn't even involve uncommitted recruits. The new coordinator would love to have Kendell Beckwith back and will need to do his part to retain him.  While LSU commit Erick Fowler is being pulled by everyone to Texas except for himself.  It will be part on Aranda to get Erick to stick to his guns and stay with his commitment.  There's still targets out there, but it's unsure who Aranda will go after or if new offers will come out once the dead period ends.

Dontavious Jackson: It appears that the Texas product will stay in state for college, but LSU will get a visit in January, giving Aranda a chance.

Jeffrey McCulloch: Like Jackson, it appears McCulloch will stay in-state, but the Texas product has visited LSU a number of times and could catch Aranda's eye with his athleticism.

Jaquan Yulee: A recent Alabama de-commit, Yulee received an offer from Aranda at Wisconsin, so maybe it will come full circle with LSU.

Note: I could have put other guys like Ben Davis, Lyndell Wilson, Jaleel Laguins and De'Jon Harris on here, but the first three were Steele targets and may not get the same attention from Aranda, and Harris remains without an offer. It remains to be seen if that changes with Aranda.

Cornerback

The Skinny: With Saivion Smith (who may wind up being a safety) and Greedy Williams already in, Corey Raymond has focused his sights on two primary targets.  However, there are backup plans in case one or both fall through.

Trayvon Mullen: In what will come down to a FSU-LSU battle, momentum has swung to both teams this season, but LSU has the ace in the hole with the last official visit on January 22nd.

Kristian Fulton: LSU has seemed to have the lead for some time now, but Florida has gained momentum recently and gets the benefit of having Fulton's last offer.  Fulton and his family will be in Baton Rouge for the Jan. 15 weekend though.

Jared Mayden: A recent Oregon de-commit, the Texas product will be heavily pursued by Florida State and LSU. This one may turn into whomever doesn't get Mullen will snag Mayden instead.

Nigel Knott: Corey Raymond has recently increased the heat on Knott, who appears to still seem pretty open in the process.  However, Oregon leads in his Crystal Ball predictions and recently lost Mayden, which really opens the door for the Mississippi product.

Safety

The Skinny: Despite the de-commitment from Clifford Chattman earlier in the season, Corey Raymond still has his two stud safeties in Eric Monroe and Cameron Lewis, along with the possibility of Saivion moving back there.  But that hasn't stopped Raymond out on the road, especially with Lewis getting a lot of attention from TCU.

Deontay Anderson: The biggest safety target of Corey Raymond, while LSU will still get a visit from Anderson, it appears that Ole Miss holds the lead for the Texas product.

Jamel Cook: A Florida State commit, Cook received LSU's latest offer and has a scheduled visit for January 29th, the last possible weekend to visit.  However, he has no official set for the Seminoles, so it will be a challenge to hold onto that final visit.  If LSU does, Raymond may pull off one solid surprise.

Nigel Warrior: Raymond has continued his pressure on Warrior, putting LSU in his final four along with Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.  The Tigers will get a visit from Warrior on the January 15th weekend, but the son of former Saint and Tennessee Volunteer Dale Carter, it will be tough to surpass dad's alma mater.

There's still a ton of talent left to be had for the Tigers, and with the staff of recruiters in Baton Rouge, you may want to buckle up for this last month of recruiting.  With the top class in the nation, LSU will look to hold onto that accolade by adding a few more key pieces to this class and definitely have the names to do it.