LSU Tigers

At the Shrine Bowl, Miller Safrit talks with LSU commits Greg Gilmore and Lewis Neal to discuss their respective futures in Baton Rouge.

If there were concerns about LSU's defensive tackle depth, Greg Gilmore (Hope Mills, N.C./South View) put them to rest Thursday evening.

The Tigers landed their latest ESPN 150 prospect when Gilmore, the No. 104 player in the country, publicly pledged LSU's 2013 recruiting class live on “ESPN RecruitingNation” on ESPNU.

Gilmore's commitment gives LSU four commitments in the ESPN 150 and 12 commitments in the ESPN 300. The 6-foot-4, 285-pounder, who’s the nation’s No. 9 defensive tackle, is also the Tigers' second defensive line commitment in less than a week after three-star DT Christian LaCouture (Lincoln, Neb./Southwest) joined the class last Friday.

"I'm going to school at Louisiana State," Gilmore said. "I called every coach last night, and it was hard -- it was hard. It was really between LSU and Florida in my opinion."

Defensive tackle was one of the last big concerns for LSU -- which now boasts 25 commitments after Gilmore's decision. The Tigers will lose senior defensive tackle Josh Downs after the 2012 season, and junior Bennie Logan is a likely loss to early entry in the 2013 NFL draft. That leaves Anthony Johnson and Ego Ferguson as the only battle-tested defensive tackles on the roster for next season.

"With LSU, I liked how they're losing six guys on the front," Gilmore said. "I think I can go in there and I can play early. I don't know how you could not play in Tiger Stadium. I went down there for the Alabama game and it was rocking. I had so much fun down there."

Gilmore chose LSU over Florida and Oklahoma. The consensus opinion since this past summer had been that the Gators and Tigers were the top two contenders for his signature. The final decision came after a busy month that saw Gilmore travel to Gainesville, Fla., on Sept. 22 for Florida's game against Kentucky and an Oct. 27 trip to Norman, Okla., to watch Oklahoma play Notre Dame.

Gilmore concluded the whirlwind tour with an official visit to LSU this past weekend to watch the Tigers' tilt with Alabama.

Interestingly enough, Gilmore's name adds to a surprisingly stocked haul of out-of-state commits for LSU. The Tigers rely heavily on Louisiana talent in recruiting. But Gilmore is LSU's 12th out-of-state commit for 2013. He joins LaCouture and defensive ends Frank Herron (Memphis, Tenn./Memphis Central) and Lewis Neal (Wilson, N.C./James B. Hunt) as LSU defensive line commits from outside Louisiana.

In Death Valley and beyond, ESPN RecruitingNation reporters tracked down the prospects who witnessed Alabama's win Saturday night at LSU. Here's a recap of the players' reactions so far :

• RB Scarborough solid to Bama after LSU hurdles: 2014's Bo Scarborough, a Crimson Tide commit, ran into logistical problems during his visit to Death Valley.

• WR Quinn: Mettenberger looked like NFL QB: Louisiana's leading prep receiver from Lake Charles, La./Barbe and a member of the ESPN Watch List for the 2014 signing class also enjoyed meeting a former Tigers standout.

• CB Tony Brown applauds Bama, LSU: The ESPN Watch List cornerback called Saturday’s clash of SEC powers "one of the best games I’ve ever been to."

• RB Fournette surprised by Bama's play call: Two of Leonard Fournette's top schools, Alabama and LSU, came down to the final minute -- and a a screen play executed to perfection by the Crimson Tide.

• Desean Smith liked Nic Jacobs' wrinkle: "I got to talk to [LSU tight ends coach Steve Ensminger] at the end and I told him I liked the way they used the tight ends," Smith said.

• Watch List WR Dupre excited by LSU: The 6-foot-3 target couldn't help noticing Zach Mettenberger's explosion for 298 yards and a touchdown with a 68 percent completion rate.

• QB commit Rettig: LSU is 'right place': While the Tigers took Saturday's setback hard, Rettig was feeling the emotions with them during his visit.

• DT Rod Crayton narrows list to four: The three-star prospect said his top schools currently include Arkansas, LSU, Penn State and Tennessee.

• Kendell Beckwith likes 'crazy' Death Valley: "I never thought it could get much crazier at night in Tiger Stadium than it was for South Carolina. ... I thought I had seen it as bad as it could get as far as the fans go, but this game, man. They were crazy as far as hollering. Just all night. I see why it's hard for teams to come in there and win."

• ESPN 300 prospects Neal, Herron love visits: Both are commits; Herron, a DL, emailed: "It was great. That was my first game and I feel that I can play right away."

• DL Tim Williams: 'It was Alabama loud': The target says Death Valley's game atmosphere is why people want to play for the Tigers.

• LB Tre Williams talks Bama-LSU: The 2014 target says he knew LSU had the ability to give Alabama a game if they proved mentally ready.

• DT LaCouture pledges to LSU during visit: Formerly committed to his hometown Nebraska Cornhuskers, LaCouture became LSU's 24th commit while in Baton Rouge with his mother.

Players who didn't make it to the game still had opinions to share as well:

• Watch List CB Hardeman happy with LSU: "The secondary played ball out there. Jalen Mills is a true freshman, but he’s been playing real well. From top to bottom, the guys stepped up."

• Race of 3 for DL Justin Manning?: Manning, a 6-foot-2, 275-pound lineman, has been considered an Oklahoma lean for months, as his brother, DeMarcus Granger, played defensive tackle for the Sooners from 2006 to 2009.

• Four-star S Tahaan Goodman stays patient: It pained Goodman to postpone the trip, but that, "Me and Priest Willis (Tempe, Ariz./Marcos de Niza) are still going to head out to Louisiana, but just on a different weekend."