LSU football recruiting: A group chat, hashtags and how the Tigers have kept commitments

BATON ROUGE - It all started in the group chat.

LSU football's Class of 2023 group text, to be specific. Set up by LSU recruiting specialist Sherman Wilson, it's where the Tigers' group of incoming commitments can convene and communicate with Wilson.

It's also where LSU's hashtag phenomenon began, as LSU players, commits and fans tweeted out hashtags over the summer directly appealing to several four-star recruits: wide receiver Shelton Sampson Jr., quarterback Rickie Collins, safety Kylin Jackson, offensive tackle Zalance Heard, and others.

"He (would) hit us up like three days before we do the hashtag thing and be like, '(We're) really trying to get this guy, go text him immediately and go see what he's feeling," said Class of 2023 tight end Mac Markway, another four-star commitment.

"We'll all text him and he'll get like 25 texts in a day and then we'll wait, die down, wait for his responses and stuff and kind of communicate with him and (Wilson) will be like, 'Let's brainstorm some ideas for a hashtag ... 'and then he'll be like, 'This is the one, let's post it at 1 o'clock.' "

The hashtags worked, as Sampson, Collins, Jackson and Heard's numbers are now in the chat.

"We got Sampson (and) Rickie just off the hashtags," Markway said. "And they loved them. They really felt loved."

Recruiting never stops. But as No. 20 LSU has an open week before its matchup next Saturday in Death Valley against No. 6 Alabama, the Tigers' recruiting efforts are back at the forefront. This week, coaches will travel around Louisiana and the country to meet with current and potential commitments.

With over a month and a half still left before the early signing period in December, LSU has built a deeper recruiting class than a year ago. The Tigers have 23 commitments, 11 players within the top 200 of the player rankings and the No. 7 class in the nation, according to 247Sports Composite.

But, just as important as adding commitments, LSU has been able to keep them. The Tigers have lost just one commitment from the 2023 class in four-star wide receiver Omarion Miller, who committed to LSU when Ed Orgeron was still coach.

Four-star safety Ryan Yaites recently announced that he was shutting down his recruitment. Since Markway committed to the Tigers in March, he's politely declined approaches from programs intent on flipping his pledge.

Three-star cornerback and LSU commit Jeremiah Hughes also isn't planning on changing his mind anytime soon, nor does he think any of his potential future teammates will break away to other schools either.

"It's really the coaches, the coaches really want us and they show they want us and they know you have to build a good family behind that," Hughes said. "We just have one big family.

"So it's like, nobody is doing their own thing. Everyone is just communicating with each other."

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LSU's ability this cycle to maintain its commitments isn't a guarantee. This summer, four-star Zachary quarterback Eli Holstein decommitted from Texas A&M and made his pledge to Alabama; Collins was originally committed to Purdue before choosing LSU.

As recently as Monday, four-star offensive lineman Roderick Kearney flipped his commitment from Florida State to Florida. And on Wednesday, LSU added four-star linebacker Christian Brathwaite of Cypress, Texas, who had been committed to Baylor since January.

"Certainly in today's day and age, a verbal commitment just motivates other people, it seems," LSU special teams and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian said in August.

All of this chaos, and yet, so far, LSU has kept its ducks in order. In Lafayette Christian coach and former LSU linebacker Trev Faulk's eyes, he believes that the Tigers' success has come from their individualized recruiting approach and ability to maintain relationships with each prospect.

"Knowing the kid, knowing what appeals to him and being able to highlight the things that you do well (as a staff)," Faulk said. "A lot of these things are kind of playing out, unfolding before our eyes in terms of seeing the staff at work, seeing the product that they're putting on the field.

"So I think at the end of the day, it's all about relationships."

Relationships are what build confidence. And confidence is what Markway and his father, Matt, had and still have in Kelly and his staff, even prior to LSU's recent run of impressive victories over Florida and Ole Miss.

"To be honest, it's like the icing on the cake, how successful they are," Matt Markway said. "But we chose them and Mac chose them because we knew they would be successful. I never doubted it."

LSU has already garnered seven more commitments than signees it had in last year's small but impactful class. And although this week is important in maintaining that class, it doesn't mean the Tigers won't look to add more names to the group chat in the coming weeks and months.

"We have a few guys that are going to make the move," Mac Markway said. "I'd say almost for sure, at least two or three."

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: How Tigers have kept Class of 2023 commits