LSU football recruiting class 2023: Meet the Tigers' early signees for Brian Kelly
BATON ROUGE – Brian Kelly's first full recruiting class with LSU football is here.
Well, mostly.
The Tigers announced official commitments from 25 high school prospects for their 2023 class on Wednesday, 10 more than it had during the 2022 cycle. LSU finished the day with the No. 6 class in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite.
This will be Kelly's first class fully recruited by him and his staff, after the 2022 class was primarily lured by coach Ed Orgeron and the previous regime before Kelly was hired in November 2021.
Heading into the early signing period, LSU had 25 commitments and the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation, according to 247Sports Composite. LSU lost one commitment – four-star cornerback Daylen Austin flipped his pledge to Oregon – but gained another as four-star tight end Ka'Morreun Pimpton changed his commitment from Vanderbilt to LSU.
The Tigers have 10 recruits from Louisiana but have put together a mostly national class, with four recruits from both Georgia and Texas leading the way among non-Louisiana states. The group projects to be stronger than last year's recruiting class, which was the No. 12 class in the nation in 2022 and only included 15 signees.
In Kelly's first season, LSU shot past expectations with nine wins, an SEC West championship and a dramatic win over Alabama. But with depth concerns and holes on the roster at cornerback, safety, defensive line and tight end, LSU still had plenty of question marks it needed to answer on Wednesday.
And the Tigers may not be done. LSU is the favorite to add five-star cornerback Desmond Ricks, the No. 2 cornerback and No. 23 prospect in the nation, when he commits on Thursday, according to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports and Chad Simmons of On3 Sports.
Here's who LSU football signed during the early signing period on Wednesday.
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WR Shelton Sampson Jr.
Hometown/School: Baton Rouge (Catholic)
Vitals: 6-3, 187 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 43; position ranking: No. 8
RB Kaleb Jackson
Hometown/School: Baton Rouge (Liberty Magnet)
Vitals: 5-11, 222 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 174; position ranking: No. 10
OT Paul Mubenga
Hometown/School: Buford, Georgia (Buford)
Vitals: 6-4, 291 pounds
247Sports Composite: Three stars; national ranking: No. 545; position ranking: No. 42
CB Jeremiah Hughes
Hometown/School: North Las Vegas, Nevada (Bishop Gorman)
Vitals: 6-0, 176 pounds
247Sports Composite: Three stars; national ranking: No. 517; position ranking: No. 53
LB Christian Brathwaite
Hometown/School: Cypress, Texas (Cypress Ranch)
Vitals: 6-1, 213 pounds
247Sports Composite: Three stars; national ranking: No. 480; position ranking: No. 39
DE Jaxon Howard
Hometown/School: Crystal, Minnesota (Robbinsdale Cooper)
Vitals: 6-4, 243 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 120; position ranking: No. 18
TE Ka'Morreun Pimpton
Hometown/School: Fort Worth, Texas (North Crowley)
Vitals: 6-6, 227 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 297; position ranking: No. 16
CB Ashton Stamps
Hometown/School: Harvey (Archbishop Rummel)
Vitals: 6-0, 167 pounds
247Sports Composite: Three stars; national ranking: No. 614; position ranking: No. 61
CB Javien Toviano
Hometown/School: Arlington, Texas (Martin)
Vitals: 6-0, 186 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 58; position ranking: No. 6
S Kylin Jackson
Hometown/School: Clinton (Zachary)
Vitals: 6-2, 196 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 185; position ranking: No. 12
DE Dashawn Womack
Hometown/School: Parkville, Md. (St. Frances Academy)
Vitals: 6-4, 240 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 37; position ranking: No. 7
OT Tyree Adams
Hometown/School: Marrero (St. Augustine)
Vitals: 6-6, 282 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 192; position ranking: No. 17
RB Trey Holly
Hometown/School: Farmerville, La. (Union Parish)
Vitals: 5-7, 189 pounds
247Sports Composite: four-stars; national ranking: No. 226; position ranking: No. 14
S Ryan Yaites
Hometown/School: Denton, Texas (John H. Guyer)
Vitals: 6-0, 193 pounds
247Sports Composite: four-stars; national ranking: No. 249; position ranking: No. 21
TE Jackson McGohan
Hometown/School: Miamisburg, Ohio (Miamisburg)
Vitals: 6-3, 213 pounds
247Sports Composite: three-stars; national ranking: No. 544; position ranking: No. 25
LB Whit Weeks
Hometown/School: Watkinsville, Georgia (Oconee County)
Vitals: 6-3, 200 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 304; position ranking: No. 24
WR Kyle Parker
Hometown/School: Allen, Texas (Lovejoy)
Vitals: 5-11, 182 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 397; position ranking: No. 57
OT Zalance Heard
Hometown/School: Monroe (Neville)
Vitals: 6-5, 310 pounds
247Sports Composite: Five stars; national ranking: No. 28; position ranking: No. 4
ATH Khai Prean
Hometown/School: Belle Rose (St. James)
Vitals: 6-0, 193 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 397; position ranking: No. 23
TE Mac Markway
Hometown/School: St. Louis, Missouri (DeSmet Jesuit)
Vitals: 6-3, 243 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 231; position ranking: No. 12
OT DJ Chester
Hometown/School: Conyers, Georgia (Eagle's Landing Christian Academy)
Vitals: 6-4, 315 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars: national ranking: No. 139; position ranking: No. 12
WR Jalen Brown
Hometown/School: Miami, Fla. (Gulliver Prep)
Vitals: 6-0, 165 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 83; position ranking: No. 13
DE Dylan Carpenter
Hometown/School: St. Amant (St. Amant)
Vitals: 6-4, 234 pounds
247Sports Composite: Three stars; national ranking: No. 568; position ranking; No. 54
QB Rickie Collins
Hometown/School: Baton Rouge (Woodlawn)
Vitals: 6-2, 185 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 233; position ranking; No. 16
S Michael Daugherty
Hometown/School: Lawrenceville, Georgia (Grayson)
Vitals: 6-0, 171 pounds
247Sports Composite: Four stars; national ranking: No. 397; position ranking: No. 38
LSU football 2022 early signing day live updates
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football recruiting class 2023: Brian Kelly's early Tigers signees
