LSU Tigers

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Around the nation, and to those who follow LSU from an arm's length, the news that trickled out from Nicholson Drive in the last week was alarming.

The Tigers lost nine, count them, nine underclassmen to the NFL draft over the weekend, leaving the defense in a rebuilding mode and their deep stable of running backs an injury away from being dangerously thin.

It was called a mass exodus. Best we can tell, it set the record for the number of underclassmen leaving one school early for the NFL. Before they left, LSU figured to have 10 defensive starters back. After the early exits, it was down to four.

But understand this: It didn't shock those close to the program.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU has lost nine juniors who have declared for the NFL draft, a total that is likely finished for this year, though there have been reports that left tackle Chris Faulk, who missed all but one game with a knee injury, is considering an early departure.

Assuming Faulk comes back to Baton Rouge, LSU won't lose underclassmen again until next year. Who are they likely to lose? Here are the leading candidates:

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Tashawn Bower has reason to consider his options. A coaching change at Auburn prompted as much. Fortunately for him, he has plenty of schools interested.

The defensive end will tour the South over the coming weeks. He will take his official visit to Florida State this weekend, followed by Florida on Jan. 18 and LSU on Jan. 25. He'll then take an official visit to Rutgers sometime thereafter.

Yet despite exploring other options, the ESPN 150 defensive end from Somerville (N.J.) Immaculata maintains he still has a strong relationship with Auburn. He committed to the school in June, long before former head coach Gene Chizik was fired and replaced by Gus Malzahn.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Reports and rumors circulated Tuesday that ESPN 150 defensive end Tim Williams (Baton Rouge, La./University Lab) would make an announcement Friday on local radio regarding where he was going to school.

Turns out, Williams had news Tuesday, but not the news that was circulating.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Less than a week after saying Alabama and Florida were still in contention for his commitment, No. 1 ESPN 150 prospect Robert Nkemdiche (Loganville, Ga./Grayson) admitted he was only going to consider two programs.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

LSU has failed to get double-digit first downs in its last two postseason games, both losses, which is a cause for concern for LSU's offensive future -- but not if the future offensive Tigers who played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl have any say.

Tight end Desean Smith and wide receiver John Diarse, two ESPN 300 performers committed to LSU, were on the West team at Saturday’s game played in San Antonio. They were two of four future LSU players on offense, along with offensive guard Josh Boutte and quarterback Hayden Rettig.

LSU was also well-represented on defense with commit Tre'Davious White playing cornerback for the West and defensive end Frank Herron, who had a sack in the game, playing defensive end for the East.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The future of the running back position seemed to be figured out for LSU.

All five backs in the Tigers' 2012 stable were underclassmen. Freshman Jeremy Hill led the group with 755 rushing yards, meaning none of the three juniors had done enough to warrant leaving early for the NFL.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Antonio Conner is willing to follow Melvin Smith to Auburn -- at least for an official visit.

Conner said he'll take a visit to see the Tigers on Jan. 18. Before Smith left Mississippi State, Conner had expressed no interest in Auburn. That changed when Smith accepted a position on Gus Malzahn's new coaching staff. Smith was Conner's primary recruiter for the Bulldogs. Coaches from Auburn were in Orlando on Friday to visit with Conner after the Under Armour All-America Game.

It's unclear which school Conner will drop from his NCAA-allowed five official visit list as his travel continues to come into focus. Last week, Conner said he will take his five official visits to Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU and Georgia. That plan has changed. Conner said he will not visit LSU and Georgia.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

BATON ROUGE, La. -- No LSU commit won MVP, nor scored a touchdown at the Under Armour All-American game.

Yet, it was a huge, huge game for LSU recruiting.

LSU landed its two biggest commits in its 25-man 2013 class at the Under Armor game as defensive tackle Maquedius Bain, ranked No. 43 in the ESPN 150, committed Wednesday. Kendell Beckwtih, ranked No. 19 by ESPN, then committed during the first quarter of the game Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

To gear up for 2013 national signing day, GeauxTigerNation's Gary Laney will break down every commitment in the Tigers' 2013 recruiting class.

Vitals: DT Maquedius Bain, Fort Lauderdale, Fla./University School of Nova South, 6-foot-5, 285 pounds

Committed: Jan. 2, 2013

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

BATON ROUGE, La. -- It looks like LSU will be starting over on the defensive line, as expected.

Sources told ESPN's Joe Schad that Tigers junior defensive linemen Sam Montgomery, Barkevious Mingo and Bennie Logan will all leave the Tigers a year early for the NFL draft. Their departures will increase LSU's growing list of defections to eight, but they are hardly the most surprising on the list.

All three have been projected as first-round picks since last spring, so the feeling for most of the 2012 season was that it would be the last for the trio of juniors. With senior Josh Downs holding down the fourth starting defensive line spot for most of the season at defensive tackle next to Logan, that means LSU will be looking to break in an entirely new starting defensive line next season.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Quarterback David Cornwell (Jones, Okla./Jones) came out of nowhere to have an exceptional junior season and is now unquestionably one of the top in-state prospects for the Class of 2014.

Problem is, though, neither Oklahoma nor in-state power Oklahoma State have shown much interest. Cornwell camped at OU and had good contact with former OSU quarterbacks coach Todd Monken.

With Monken’s departure to become the Southern Mississippi head coach combined with little interest from OU quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel thus far, right now it looks like one of the state’s best prospects will have to look elsewhere.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Despite an academic issue that caused him to part ways with Alabama, Josh McNeil is still a wanted man.

McNeil told ESPN that he met with coaches from Florida, LSU, Clemson, Miami and Auburn shortly after the Under Armour All-America Game on Friday. Obviously there's still interest in the ESPN 150 tight end from Durham (N.C.) Milford Academy.

McNeil was committed to the Crimson Tide since July but the two parties split because of a concern over a ninth-grade academic issue arose. McNeil has expressed strong interest in LSU but will need to clear up any academic concerns before he can commit. McNeil feels confident that will happen.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider