BATON ROUGE, La. -- Capitalizing on one of the largest collections of premium in-state talent in recent memory, LSU wrapped up a dramatic national signing day by jumping to second in ESPN's class rankings.
Among the four previously uncommitted prospects who announced Wednesday that they would join the Tigers was Malachi Dupre, ESPN's top-rated wide receiver and the No. 17 overall prospect in the ESPN 300. He joins class headliner and No. 1 overall prospect, tailback Leonard Fournette, among 15 ESPN 300 honorees in the Tigers' class of 22 total players.
“I think you'll like this group,” LSU coach Les Miles said at an afternoon news conference where he first discussed the 2014 class. “I think there's a number of elite players and guys that are good students. They're a very, very talented group and a very quality character group. So if you look at this class like I do, we ought to compete for a national title – or several.”
The class could grow by one should ESPN 300 defensive end Deondre Clark hold to his verbal commitment to the Tigers. LSU received Clark's signing paperwork on Wednesday afternoon, but has not officially announced his signing.
The Tigers still had a shot at the top three uncommitted players in the ESPN 300 -- cornerback Adoree' Jackson, defensive end Lorenzo Carter and Dupre -- as signing day approached, but Carter picked Georgia and Jackson USC on Wednesday.
Dupre flirted with multiple schools over the last few weeks, but he picked the home-state Tigers to become the third LSU signee who ranks first nationally at his position. LSU signed Fournette and No. 1 offensive guard Garrett Brumfield, plus inside linebacker Clifton Garrett, safety Jamal Adams and dual-threat quarterback Brandon Harris – all of whom rank second at their respective positions.
“All the schools that I had it down to, I had a good relationship with all the coaching staffs,” Dupre said on ESPNU's live broadcast of his announcement. “I just felt it was right to stay home and play football for the state of Louisiana and try to bring a national championship back to the state.”
His addition helped LSU claim its second-best class ranking since ESPN entered the recruiting business in 2006, trailing only the 2009 class that finished first nationally. The Tigers' class might have ranked even higher had it landed Carter, Jackson or any assortment of the top in-state prospects who signed with other programs, but LSU still made a splash on signing day with a number of late additions:
• Travonte Valentine, the No. 164 overall prospect and No. 11 defensive tackle, picked LSU over home-state Miami.
• Four-star defensive tackle Trey Lealaimatafao signed with LSU over Oregon.
• Three-star defensive end Sione Teuhema flipped from Texas after making a surprise visit to LSU last weekend. Teuhema's signing could make an even bigger impact, since his brother Maea, the No. 38 overall prospect and No. 2 offensive guard on the ESPN Junior 300, has long maintained that he will sign next year with the program Sione picked.
“When an opportunity allowed itself for us to continue to pursue them, we seized the moment. We're very fortunate to get that defensive end, Sione Teuhema, who's an outstanding prospect. And coincidentally there may be some other guys that may come,” LSU recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson said on the signing-day special that aired on LSU's website, humorously acknowledging that he is unable to publicly comment on Maea Teuhema's new commitment for 2015.
His signing in 2015 would be good timing for the Tigers with three seniors potentially starting on LSU's offensive line this fall -- perhaps one reason Miles said Wednesday that “we're going to have to have a great class next year on the offensive line.”
LSU also held onto at least one commitment from an ESPN 300 defensive end who wavered late in the process. Davon Godchaux signed with the Tigers after considering offers from Ole Miss and other suitors, while Clark seemingly picked LSU over home-state Oklahoma although the school has yet to confirm his signing.
That series of positive signing-day developments helped LSU's 2014 class appear to rank among Miles' best even when LSU missed out on several of the headliners from the deepest group of in-state standouts in years.
Louisiana produced 18 players ranked in the ESPN 300 and LSU signed nine: Fournette, Dupre, Harris, Brumfield, Godchaux, No. 3 receiver Trey Quinn, tight end Jacory Washington, outside linebacker Donnie Alexander and receiver D.J. Chark. Meanwhile, Alabama signed three of the state's top nine prospects (No. 3 overall prospect and top offensive tackle Cameron Robinson, safety Laurence Jones and receiver Cameron Sims), all of whom rank among ESPN's top 50 national products.
Speaking to the quality of this class of prospects, the state of Louisiana never had more than seven players ranked among ESPN's top 150 between 2006 and 2013. This year it had 11, including nine who ranked in the top 50.
Miles acknowledged that there were at least two in-state prospects who landed elsewhere despite being “coveted” by his coaching staff. He also insisted that this class leaves very little to be desired, even if LSU didn't dominate within the boundaries of its own state.
“You would have to think that with so much right here in the background of this organization … that people of this state just want to stay. I think that that's happening more than not, but occasionally, somebody's just got to get away. I don't necessarily agree with that, but some of those decisions are being made that way,” Miles said.
“The question is is LSU attractive to people in really every state. I think absolutely that's true,” he added. “I think the success that's been had over time here has made our uniform more recognizable. … I think LSU is becoming it, and has always been, but is becoming more marketable if you will.”