Recruiting Roundup: Big Visitors on Hand for Spring Practice

With the December signing period now a part of the college football recruiting landscape, the timeline has shifted a bit, meaning more visits in the spring — including some officials later on in the semester. And with LSU opening practices on Sunday, there’s already a host of names making their way to The Ponderosa.

Notably, LSU will, per SEC Country, welcome five-star defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele out of Hawaii. The 6-4, 299-pounder from St. Louis High School in Honolulu is considered a USC lean, but is also considering Oregon, Alabama and LSU. Bringing in a kid from the islands seems like a long-shot, but with fellow Honolulu native Breiden Fehoko on hand, LSU may be able to sell Tuitele on a pipeline.

Additionally, five-star offensive tackle Kenyon Green will be on hand as well. Green, from the Houston area, is a one-time commit. LSU will almost certainly battle Texas A&M over the rest of his recruitment.

Our man Sam Spiegs had a list of some of the names that were on hand on Sunday:

2019 prospects

Derek Stingley Jr., 5-star CB, Baton Rouge, La.

Ishmael Sopsher, 5-star DT, Amite, La.

Kardell Thomas, 5-star OL, Baton Rouge, La. (LSU commit)

Tyrion Davis, 4-star RB, Baton Rouge, La. (LSU commit)

Donte’ Starks, 4-star LB, Marrero, La.

Christian Harris, 4-star ATH, Baton Rouge, La.

Trey Palmer, 4-star WR, Kentwood, La.

Devonta Lee, 4-star WR, Amite, La.

Chester Kimbrough, 4-star CB, New Orleans

Quinton Torbor, 4-star WR, Destrehan, La.

Jordan Clark, 3-star DB, Baton Rouge, La.

Michael Hollins, 3-star RB, Baton Rouge, La.

Greg Brooks Jr., 3-star DB, Harvey, La.

Donald Clay Jr., 3-star DB, New Orleans

Za’bein Wilson, 3-star ATH, New Orleans

Chandler Fields, 3-star QB, New Orleans

Chris Akporoghene, 3-star OL, Bradenton, Fla.

Sam Saxton, QB, Austin, Texas

2020 prospects

Koy Moore, 4-star WR, New Orleans

Trenton Grow, ATH, Edgard, La.

2018 signees

Ja’Marr Chase, 4-star WR, New Orleans

Cameron Wire, 3-star OT, Gonzales, La.

Kenan Jones, 4-star WR, Berwick, La.

Damone Clark, 4-star LB, Baton Rouge, La.

Jaray Jenkins, 3-star WR, Jena, La.

Key headliners include the trio of stars LSU is hot and heavy after from the Florida Parishes — receivers Trey Palmer and Devonta Lee, and five-star, top-five overall prospect Ishmael Sopsher. Those three will all be the subject of a heated recruitment, particularly Lee and Sopsher, with Alabama fighting tooth and nail.

Stingley, the five-star cornerback and former LSU commit, recently named the Tigers as one of his six finalists:

Stingley has also named the Tigers as his leader in the last month. Look for a battle with Stanford, however.

Four-star cornerback Devin Bush out of New Orleans also recently put the Tigers in his top five:

The U-High group — athlete Christian Harris, running back Michael Hollis and cornerback Jordan Clark (son of former Tiger great Ryan Clark) were also on hand. Harris notably picked up his offer from LSU last week, and Hollis recently garnered some interest from Alabama — with five-stars like Stingley and Kardell Thomas in Baton Rouge, schools are going to push hard to try and create a grouping. With four-star commit Tyrion Davis, and other top prospects on the hook like John Emery and Noah Cain, it will be interesting to see if the Tigers seriously pursue Hollis.

In other news, cornerback Marquez Beason announced his commitment to Illinois this weekend, which was something of a surprise after a week or two of speculation that he was strongly considering LSU. Look for this recruitment to continue heavily, with A&M involved as well.