College football

LSU leading the way in recruiting

Tigers have 20 commitments — and more top prospects are on the way

RECRUITING NOTEBOOK

By Jeremy Crabtree

updated 11:44 p.m. ET Dec. 16, 2008

While there was plenty of debate this season about the nation’s No. 1 football team, there is no debate about who has the best recruiting class. When the updated Rivals.com player rankings were released for December, LSU catapulted up the charts to No. 1.

The Tigers have 20 commitments — including newly minted five-star prospect Janzen Jackson — and narrowly lead USC in points, 2,343-2,336. But it’s also a narrow lead LSU might not give up because plenty of high-profile players are still on the Tigers’ board.

The biggest name is the nation’s No. 1 player, wide receiver Rueben Randle of Bastrop (La.) High. Randle told Rivals.com on Monday that he’s going to take official visits to LSU and Alabama; he already has visited Oklahoma.

He isn’t willing to tip his hand, but all signs point to a Tigers-Crimson Tide battle. The school that misses out on Randle likely will sign four-star receiver Kendall Kelly, of Gadsden (Ala.) Gadsden City. Kelly is the nation’s No. 120 player.

Another player who surely will help keep the Tigers near the top is Aldine (Texas) Eisenhower five-star safety Craig Loston. He has been widely rumored to be a silent LSU pledge.

The Tigers also appear to be in solid shape with five-star athlete Andre Debose of Sanford (Fla.) Seminole, and the Tigers also are holding out hope they can somehow steal five-star offensive lineman D.J. Fluker and five-star running back Trent Richardson away from the Tide.

Throw in four-star linebacker Barkevious Mingo from West Monroe (La.) High — and maybe four-star top 100 linebacker Jarvis Jones — and this Tigers class could rank as one of the best in recent history. For that to happen, all the dominoes would have to fall right. Still, even if they don’t, it’s going to be tough to stop Les Miles from having the nation’s best class on National Signing Day.

Crab Bowl coverage coming
Rivals.com will have three reporters covering the first Maryland Crab Bowl this week. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Eastern on Saturday at Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University, but teams will practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Rivals.com will have full coverage, including live updates, breaking recruiting news, in-depth analysis and photo galleries.

The biggest name playing in the event is five-star linebacker Jelani Jenkins, from Olney (Md.) Our Lady of Good Counsel.

Jenkins, the nation’s No. 3 player overall, leads a strong Washington, D.C., squad that is built on speed. Darrell Givens, Derrick Thomas, Lorne Goree, Jason Ankrah, Terrence Stephens and DeOnte Arnett are some of the other headliners for the D.C. team. The Baltimore team is headlined by Dunbar High teammates Tavon Austin and Sean Farr and four-star cornerback Dominic Clarke from Frederick (Md.) Tuscarora.
Making an impression
While it’s still early in the week at the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, one player who has caught the eye of Rivals.com recruiting analysts is tight end Asa Watson of Rock Hill (S.C.) High.

Watson is the brother of New England Patriot tight end Ben Watson.

Watson (6 feet 4/210 pounds) has a good frame to work with, and he believes he brings a lot of positives to the table.

“I would say my speed; it is around a 4.6, but I practice at full speed all the time,” he said. “If I’m being a critic, then I’d say I need to work on my blocking. I need to put weight on in order to have more power.”

While he’s only a two-star prospect, schools from the ACC and SEC have been working him hard.

“I have narrowed it down to three schools – Duke, NC State and Maryland,” Watson said. “They have all offered. I have January visits set up to NC State, and I’m working on a visit to Maryland. I already visited Duke on Dec. 5.”

Etc.

• Willoughby (Ohio) South three-star quarterback Patrick Nicely has backed away from his commitment to Bowling Green. Of the schools that have increased their recent interest, Nicely said he thinks Central Michigan and Kent State are closest to offering. Akron also has offered, and Nicely is planning an official visit there the weekend of Jan. 17.
• El Dorado (Kan.) Butler County C.C. three-star defensive end Zac Clark committed to Oregon on Monday night after taking an official visit to Eugene this past weekend. Clark recently was named most valuable defensive player in the Top of the Mountain Bowl, helping Butler County win the 2008 national championship.
• Dallas Adamson three-star linebacker Roderick Goodlow committed to Northwestern this past weekend, giving the Wildcats’ class a major boost. He also had taken visits to Notre Dame and Wisconsin, and had scholarship offers from Arkansas, Louisiana Tech, Tulsa, Nebraska, Colorado and Arizona.