What LSU football recruiting coordinator Brian Polian has learned about Louisiana recruiting
BATON ROUGE - Brian Polian is a foreigner to the south.
It's why the LSU special teams and recruiting coordinator has learned a lot about recruiting in Louisiana since he followed coach Brian Kelly from Notre Dame to Baton Rouge in December.
One of those valuable lessons has to deal with NIL, an area that LSU and the Baton Rouge area have expanded upon in recent months.
"I think anybody that believes NIL is not a factor in recruiting is not being realistic," Polian said. "I mean, that seems to be the thing with the same two or three institutions that we recruit against."
LSU has the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation, according to 247Sports Composite, after landing 15 of its 21 commitments from the Class of 2023 in the last two months. Eight of those commitments are from Louisiana.
The Tigers have been on a hot streak on the recruiting trail, but Polian notes that there is still plenty of work to be done. LSU's recruiting success in-state hasn't been perfect either, as four of the top six prospects in Louisiana are not committed to the Tigers.
"We still have plenty of room at the end and we're still working on a bunch of guys and we have to keep the guys that are verbally committed," Polian said. "Certainly in today's day and age, a verbal commitment just motivates other people it seems."
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Polian has also come to appreciate the amount of family involvement he's seen with recruits, even for unofficial visits. He's often seen parties of 12 sit through academic presentations that "want to see everything."
Another noticeable difference has been with summer camps. Polian at Notre Dame had been accustomed to the players who showed up to the camps as prospects who had "no chance" of earning a scholarship.
But since coming to LSU, his experience has been the opposite. Many of the top recruits in the state have attended their summer camps, while others have earned scholarships.
"As a staff, the fact that the guy would be willing to come work when he's got 25 other offers but he wants your place and he's willing to come to camp and earn it, that makes us like the kid from jump street," Polian said. "We had a case where a guy came back three times."
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 coordinator Brian Polian on Louisiana recruits
