2022 National Signing Day Openthread

The 2022 recruiting cycle has just about come to a close. As a commenter pointed out a few weeks ago—and forgive me for not remembering who said it—with this new era of the transfer portal does a particular year’s recruiting cycle ever actually end?

Maybe not but Wednesday marks the end (for now) of the high school side of things as whatever remaining football prospects that opted against signing during the early period will finally put pen to paper.

Considering how little time Brian Kelly had to work with, LSU sitting with a top-20 class is remarkable. A coach’s first recruiting class is almost always the worst one and yet LSU, the program, the brand, is still strong enough to yield one of the better classes across the country despite a coaching change and a 6-7 record.

LSU went into the early signing period with 13 commitments and signed all 13. They have since smartly added 12 transfers and currently rank second on 247’s team transfer rankings. Wednesday’s the day to add some serious booms.

The Tigers can sign up to seven more players to round out their 2022 recruiting class and there are six high school athletes that are all heavily considering LSU. Let’s get into who to watch for.

Harold Perkins: LB, Cypress, TX, No. 8 Overall, No. 2 LB, No. 2 in Texas

The biggest fish still out there in the 247 composite rankings, Perkins recently de-committed from Texas A&M and LSU scored the ever important final official weekend visit. Perkins is a New Orleans native, his family was forced to move because of Hurricane Katrina. Despite living in Texas most of his life, Perkins still describes himself as a Louisiana kid. His Twitter bio lists the 504 area code and he calls himself a “NOLA Boy.”

The recruiting pundits don’t seem to be especially sure where Perkins will end up. LSU’s made some noise lately, Texas A&M is still the favorite on 247, and Florida has seemingly come from nowhere to be a contender. Some recruiting message boards are also saying look out for Deion and Jackson State. It sounds crazy but they did just land Travis Hunter, the No. 1 overall player in the cycle.

Should Perkins sign, he’d leapfrog Will Campbell as LSU’s highest ranked recruit and fill a massive position of need. I don’t know if he’d be a day one starter with Micah Baskerville and Mike Jones (WHO) both back, but LSU is in desperate need of linebackers and if arguably the best linebacker in the country signs, the Tigers will find a way to get him on the field.

Announcement time: 1:15 P.M., can be seen on CBS Sports HQ

Jacoby Matthews: S, Ponchatoula, LA, No. 38 Overall, No. 2 S, No. 3 in Louisiana

Matthews was at one time committed to LSU but backed off his pledge. But keep in mind he backed off before it was announced Ed Orgeron wouldn’t be returning, not after. I’ve always felt Matthews would sign with LSU because throughout this whole process he never announced a commitment to any other school. And when you factor in Matthews was originally supposed to announce at the Under Armour All-American game in January but pushed it back to February allowing Brian Kelly and staff to make their pitch that’s given me even more confidence he’ll sign with the good guys.

Announcement time: 6:00 P.M., can be seen on CBS Sports HQ

Trevonte’ Citizen: RB, Lake Charles, LA, No. 107 Overall, No. 9 RB, No. 10 in Louisiana

Citizen, like Matthews, was at one time committed to LSU. Unlike Matthews, Citizen backed off in light of the coaching change and Auburn jumped on him hard and appeared to have been the favorite. That was until Frank Wilson was brought back on staff and Wilson singlehandedly has narrowed the gap, so much so that it looks like Citizen will jump back in the boat.

Announcement time: 11 A.M., can be seen on ESPN

Danny Lewis: TE, New Iberia LA, No. 760 Overall, No. 40 TE, No. 36 in Louisiana

The tweet seen round the world, 8.3 million views by last count, Lewis is getting a lot of attention from some of the bluest of blue blood football programs despite his modest 247 ranking. LSU, Alabama, and Florida all want Lewis and nobody who follows recruiting full-time seems to know for sure who Lewis will sign with on Wednesday.

Announcement time: 1:00 P.M.

Caleb Douglas: WR, Missouri City, Texas, No. 470 Overall, No. 67 WR, No. 68 in Texas

Jaelyn Davis-Robinson: CB, Waxahachie, Texas, No. 617 Overall, No. 55 CB, No. 90 in Texas

A pair of latecomers from Texas are on LSU’s radar in the form of Caleb Douglas and Jaelyn Davis-Robinson. Douglas, primarily being recruited by Cortez Hankton, got an offer on January 19 and officially visited last weekend, while Davis-Robinson got an offer from Robert Steeples on the 24th and was also on campus last weekend.

Douglas seems to be choosing between Florida and Baylor while LSU appears to be the favorite for Davis-Robinson.

Announcement times: Jaelyn Davis-Robinson 9:30 A.M., Caleb Douglas, 1:30 P.M.

Prediction:

Look I don’t actually know anything here. I try to do as much reading and listening to recruiting people’s interviews as much as the next guy but I feel like Wednesday will be a very good day for LSU. I’ll say LSU goes 5-6 and lands Perkins, Matthews, Citizen, Lewis, and Davis-Robinson.