LSU Football Recruiting Updates: Tigers Add Pocic

For more on Tigers football, visit LSU blog And The Valley Shook, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

Les Miles played to his strong suits in 2013, recruiting tons of local players and tons of elite defensive prospects for another strong recruiting class.

Beckwith projects as a linebacker or defensive end at the college level, and he is considered the No. 92 overall prospect in the class of 2013 by Rivals. He is rated as the seventh-best outside linebacker prospect and the No. 67 overall recruit by 247 Sports.

LSU has several linebacker commits in its 2013 class, and SB Nation’s And The Valley Shook believes there is a good chance that Beckwith ends up playing defensive end for the Tigers. Whether he plays linebacker or defensive end in Baton Rouge, he’ll be joining one of the best defenses in the country. The Tigers ranked eighth nationally in total defense in 2012, ninth in rushing defense and 11th in pass efficiency defense.

Pocic’s size is hard to come by, now listed at 6’7, 285 pounds, with the ability to grow bigger. He’s a consensus four-star recruit, as Rivals and Scout have him as the No. 4 offensive tackle in the country, while ESPN isn’t much further behind, putting him at No. 6. Rivals also considers him the No. 50 player overall, whereas ESPN puts him in the top 100 as well, down at No. 94. Here’s what SB Nation’s Bud Elliott had to say about Pocic after the big tackle committed to LSU back in May:

Twitter: Pocic tweets at @EPocic77.

Considering the talent they’ve had recently, it’s no surprise that Les Miles can reel in another elite defensive end, and they have one in five-star Frank Herron. He’s officially signed to the Tigers after briefly being 50-50 with Texas.

Some services have Herron as a five-star, others a four-star, but all agree that Herron is an elite defensive end recruit in a class full of them. He’s 6’5, 260 pounds, and has run the 40 in a shade over five seconds -- not a common combination. Rivals is most enthusiastic, naming him the No. 3 player at the position in the class, as well as the No. 23 prospect in the nation. Scout agrees, putting the Army All-American slightly behind at No. 5 among defensive ends.

National Signing Day is kicking off, but Hayden Rettig has already made the trek from the West Coast to the SEC. Rettig enrolled a LSU a few weeks ago and is already set to compete in spring camp for the Tigers’ starting quarterback position.

In terms of athleticism, Rettig is definitely one of the more polished prospects out there in this class. Rettig has an ability to not just uncork the football but recognize where to go depending on the coverage. He shows the early signs of a capable collegiate pro-style quarterback.

UCLA commit Priest Willis could still be an option for LSU, as the safety reportedly told members of Les Miles’ coaching staff that he wouldn’t be signing with any school on Wednesday.

The vast majority of college football players will send signed letters of intent on National Signing Day Wednesday, but Willis won’t do that until Friday, according to James Smith of NOLA.com. He’s reportedly still choosing, despite his pledge to UCLA.

A visit that some believed was off will apparently now happen for top national recruit Robert Nkemdiche, who tweeted that he’ll be visiting the LSU Tigers over the weekend.

More on this tomorrow on SB Nation Recruiting.

Year after year, Les Miles and the coaching staff at LSU bring in highly rated recruiting classes. 2013 appears to be no different, as the Tigers have a consensus top 10 class as currently constituted. As usual, LSU will see an infusion of talented defensive linemen and defensive backs, which is good considering the recent exodus of talent from Baton Rouge to the NFL.

The Tigers currently have 25 commits in their 2013 class, so there isn’t much wiggle room unless they lose a few commitments. Here’s a closer look at some of LSU’s biggest commits:

LSU’s advantage is that it is the hometown school, and it has recruited the four-star Beckwith the longest. Relationships are very important in recruiting, and LSU recruits as well as any team in the country.

Beckwith is much better rushing the passer and playing the run than he is defending the pass. He looks like a player who could get quite big. Many recruiting experts wonder if Beckwith will need to move to defensive end. If he does, he should fit quite nicely with LSU’s defense, which has shown a willingness to play smaller defensive ends.

Kendell Beckwith is set to commit during the Under Armour All-America game Friday night on ESPN. The 6’3, 225-pound linebacker from Jackson (La.) East Feliciana High School will be picking between two fierce SEC West rivals in Alabama and LSU. Beckwith has visited both schools recently, and the decision process was not easy for the big backer.

LSU’s advantage is that it is the hometown school, and it has recruited the four-star Beckwith the longest.

That was quick.

Not so fast, however, say several LSU recruiting media.

McNeil claims to have “decommitted” from Alabama, but the truth here is that Alabama’s offer may not have been valid after McNeil was unable to enroll for the January semester due to his academic standing.

Out of New Berlin (N.Y.) Milford Academy, but originally from North Carolina, McNeil has more than 20 offers, including several from top SEC schools.

The atmosphere in Tiger Stadium was electric Saturday, and even though LSU lost to Alabama, it showed itself as an elite program. And with loads of recruits in attendance, that was a very good thing indeed.

The big commitment came in the form of defensive end Christian Lacouture, who had recently decommitted from Nebraska. Lacouture is an excellent prospect with the size to play inside, but who may also have the ability to stick at defensive end, depending on how LSU plans to use him.

LSU will be trying to pull the upset of No. 1 Alabama this weekend in Baton Rogue. The electric crowd of Tiger Stadium will help the Tigers on the field, but it will also be sure to impress the big group of talented recruits in attendance for the Tigers.

In addition to the majority of LSU’s excellent recruiting class, the majority of which is local and should be in attendance, here are some top uncommitted players LSU will be looking to bring in.

Manning will visit Oklahoma for the Red River Shootout.

Also in town will be Kendell Beckwith, a star athlete out of Jackson (La.) East Feliciana High School. Beckwith plays both linebacker and quarterback for his school, but profiles as an outside rusher at the next level, either at linebacker or defensive end. His 6-2 1/2, 225-pound frame makes him a bit of a ‘tweener.’

LSU extended an offer Tuesday. To an eight-grader. Not a kid who will start high school in two months, mind you, but rather a kid (literally) who just finished the seventh grade. His name is Dylan Moses. He stands 6’0, weighs 218 pounds ... and reportedly ran a sub-4.5 40-yard dash.

This seems difficult to believe, but here are two accounts from recruiting analysts who verify this actually happened.

Jefferson is the younger brother of former LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson. He is extremely athletic and rates as a consensus four-star recruit. He is one of the top 150 recruits nationally regardless of position.

And it is the position that makes this commitment interesting. Most recruiting services list Jefferson as a receiver or athlete. According to Dixon, however, LSU accepted him as a cornerback after working him out at the position during several summer camps.

Don’t look now, but LSU has figured out that it is also allowed to recruit players from outside Louisiana. Joking, of course, as LSU has recruited prospects from outside its borders in previous years, but the Tigers now have commitments from California, Illinois and Tennessee stars. The rest of the SEC cannot exactly be thrilled with LSU’s expanded footprint.

The most recent of which is Frank Herron, a stud defensive end recruit out of Memphis (TN) Central High School, who committed to the Tigers Friday afternoon. Herron has a ridiculous offer list, as you would expect given that LSU doesn’t usually need to leave the state for defensive linemen. Some of the top offers include Arkansas, Auburn, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Southern Cal. Herron is a consensus four-star recruit and is widely considered one of the top ten defensive ends in the country.