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Ryan Bartow over at 247 Sports dropped big news in the wee hours of the morning, that current LSU defensive backs coach agreed to a contract extension that will keep him in Baton Rouge for the foreseeable future. The contract, of course, comes with a nice raise, which is well earned.
The on-field results of the defensive backs have been oscillated a bit during his tenure. His first season, in 2013, the Tigers struggled early before falling into place. In 2014, LSU fielded one of the very best pass defenses in the nation, while a similar unit regressed this season. How much blame falls the feet of Raymond for this performance is a very fair question to ask.
The off-field results, however, have been nothing short of remarkable. Take a look at the players Raymond has served as primary recruiter for in his tenure:
Rashard Robinson
Davon Godchaux
Jamal Adams
Saivion Smith
Kevin Toliver II
Going into Florida and pulling 5-star DBs that are coveted by in-state powerhouses is a remarkable feat in itself. When LSU was able to pull Patrick Peterson, many considered it the greatest recruiting coup in LSU history. Raymond's done the equivalent twice. In back to back years. And he's also got a consensus top 50 DB from Florida already committed for the next cycle as well. Even Dave Aranda, in his introductory press conference, discussed that Raymond stockpiled talent for the Utah State secondary.
Some light rumors began that the University of Miami may be in pursuit of Raymond. It's hard to know how substantial those talks were, but it's nice to see that LSU ponied up to keep around one of their elite recruiters that excels in pulling talent from one of America's top talent producing states.
How the defensive staff shapes up remains somewhat in question. Perhaps less so the staff members as their roles and responsibilities under Aranda. Aranda himself coached ILBs at Wisconsin, but did mention in interviews he found value in having a separate OLB coach. If he intends on moving LSU to a 3-4, would he want a similar staff shakeup? If so, is that OLB coach Peveto? Orgeron? Someone new?
We don't know yet. But what we do know is that Corey Raymond will be staying home as LSU DB coach.