From LSU Sports
BATON ROUGE –
LSU landed the nation's No. 2 rated signing class on Wednesday led by the
consensus No. 1 prep player in America in running back Leonard Fournette along
with the top-ranked receiver in Malachi Dupre.
LSU's 2014
signing class was rated No. 2 by four recruiting services – ESPN.com, CBS
Sports/247sports.com, Yahoo/Rivals.com., and Scout.com. The LSU class included
three members of the prestigious Parade All-America Team (Fournette, Dupre, and
DB Devin Voorhies) along with three members of the USA Today All-America Team
(Fournette, Dupre, and WR Trey Quinn).
Fournette,
who is perhaps the most decorated prep player to sign with the Tigers, was the No.
1 rated player in America by ESPN.com, 247sports.com, and Scout.com. He was
also named the USA Today National Offensive Player of the Year after rushing
for 1,792 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in 2013.
Fournette
finished his record-setting prep career at St. Augustine High School in New
Orleans with 7,619 yards rushing and 88 touchdowns becoming one of the most
sought-after players in the history of Louisiana high school football.
Dupre comes
to LSU after a stellar prep career where he caught 73 passes for 1,479 yards
and 22 touchdowns in football and swept the high jump, long jump and triple
jump titles at the outdoor state championship track meet in 2013.
"Our 2014
class starts with what are our needs and replacing those needs with elite players
and I felt like we did that," LSU coach Les Miles said. "This class has a mix
of speed, size and strength. I think there's a number of elite players and guys
that are good students in this group. They're a very, very talented group and a
very quality character group."
Miles cited
that LSU has played a combined 30 true freshman over the past two years and
that the Tigers have lost 18 juniors who have declared for the NFL as a reason
this class was so critical.
"This class
is a must," Miles said. "It's an opportunity to replace guys that have
graduated from college and gone on to business or gone on to play professional
football. It's a class that will come in to replace those juniors who have gone
on to the NFL."
LSU's class
included 12 players from Louisiana, six from Texas, two from Florida and one
each from Mississippi and Illinois. LSU is expected to sign one final player on
Thursday, which will bring its total of 2014 signees to 23.
The Tigers
used the 2014 class to sign 10 players on both offense and defense, along with
one placekicker and one player (Russell Gage) listed as an athlete.
On defense,
the Tigers added four defensive linemen and four linebackers to go with a pair
of defensive backs. The headliners on defense include safety Jamal Adams, who
was rated No. 1 at his position by Scout.com and a five-star player, and
linebacker Clifton Garrett, who was named the player of the year in Illinois as
a senior.
Safety Ed
Paris, who is one of two early enrollees for LSU, is listed as the No. 3 safety
prospect by 247sports.com and participated in the U.S. Army All-America game.
On the
defensive line, the Tigers added standouts Davon Godchaux, Trey Lealaimatafao,
Sione Teuhema, and Travonte Valentine. Godchaux and Valentine both earned consensus
four-start status, while Lealaimatafao earned four stars from ESPN.com.
Linebacker
Donnie Alexander earned four stars from ESPN.com and was a member of the ESPN
300, while safety John Battle earned a spot on the Rivals 250 list as well as
being a four star recruit from Rivals.com and 247sports.com.
Safety
Voorhies was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Mississippi in 2013 as
well as being a consensus four-star recruit after shining on both sides of the
ball as a senior. Voorhies threw for 2,374 yards and 19 TDs and rushed for
2,207 yards and 15 scores at quarterback. On defense, he had 67 tackles and two
interceptions as a safety.
On offense,
the Tigers added four wide receivers, two running backs, two offensive linemen,
and a quarterback and tight end. Fournette and Dupre were considered the best
at their position in 2013, while Quinn comes to LSU after setting a national
record for receiving yards (6,566) during his four years at Barbe High
School.
Brandon
Harris, an early enrollee from Bossier City, La., was ranked as one of the top
three dual-threat quarterbacks after throwing for 3,172 yards and 34 touchdowns to with 1,048 rushing yards
and 15 TDs as a senior.
The LSU
offense line got a boost with the addition of the nation's top-rated guard in
Garrett Brumfield, who was a member of the USA Today Second Team All-America
squad. Offensive lineman William Clapp continued a family tradition by signing
with the Tigers, following in the footsteps of his father Tommy, who started on
defensive line for LSU in the 1980s.
Darrel
Williams joins Fournette as LSU's two running back signees. Williams enjoyed an
outstanding prep career at John Ehret High School in New Orleans, where he
rushed for 2,201 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior in 2013.
LSU bolstered
its wide receiving corps with the addition of two four-star recruits in D.J.
Chark and Tony Upchurch. Chark caught 48 passes for 554 yards and three
touchdowns in 2013, while Upchurch hauled in 62 receptions for 897 yards and
six scores.
Tight end
Jacory Washington brings an athletic pass catcher to the Tiger offense as he
won the Under Armour Skills Challenge in December. Listed as the No. 4 tight
end in the prep ranks in 2013, Washington caught 36 passes for 518 yards and
three TDs as a senior.
Gage, a
versatile playmaker who contributed on both offense and defense as a senior at
Redemptorist High School in 2013, and placekicker Cameron Gamble, round out the
LSU signing class. Gage threw for 740 yards and three TDs and ran for another
1,018 yards and 14 scores as a senior. Gamble was listed as one of the top
kickers in the nation at Flower Mound High School in 2013.
