LSU football recruiting's July hot streak: What happened and what's next for Brian Kelly

BATON ROUGE - Like a home run hitter finding his stroke in the middle of the season, LSU football has gone on a recruiting tear since the calendar flipped to July.

LSU secured commitments from 11 recruits, including nine from the Class of 2023. The Tigers have 15 commitments and hold the No. 8 2023 class in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite — after being in the 40s at the end of June — while also having the No. 5 class in 2024.

The headliner of the hot streak: five-star wide receiver Jalen Brown. He is the No. 29 recruit and No. 4 wideout in the country, as LSU swiped the Miami native from the Hurricanes' home turf. His recruitment isn't over — Brown insisted that his commitment doesn't shut the door on potentially changing his mind — but shows LSU has the muscle to make headlines.

"He's got run by you speed. He's an extremely explosive guy," Steve Wiltfong, the director of recruiting for 247Sports, told The Advertiser. "If he's got a crease, he's got a chance to erase angles and score. He's a three-year varsity guy on the high school level that's got over 2,000 yards receiving and 22 touchdowns, so he's been a productive player."

Here's a breakdown of what LSU has accomplished in recruiting this month, takeaways from the hot streak and what's next for the Tigers on the trail.

LSU football's July commitments

It all started in the trenches. Of the five commitments LSU got through July 4, four were on the defensive line.

First came four-star edge rusher Jaxon Howard, the No. 1 recruit in Minnesota and the No. 96 player in the class, who committed on July 1. Two days later, LSU added a commitment from another four-star edge rusher in Joshua Mickens — the No. 2 recruit in Indiana — and then secured pledges from a pair of four-star defensive linemen on July 4: Dashawn Womack, the No. 2 recruit in Maryland, and Georgia recruit Darron Reed, the No. 226 recruit in the nation.

JALEN BROWN COMMITS TO LSU: 2023 five-star WR Jalen Brown commits to LSU football

KALEB JACKSON TO LSU: Kaleb Jackson, 2023 Baton Rouge four-star running back, commits to LSU football

WHIT WEEKS COMMITS TO LSU FOOTBALL: Whit Weeks, three-star LB, commits to play for LSU football alongside brother West

The run on defensive linemen added depth to a position group that will likely lose some players to the NFL Draft next spring. And with this year's crop of defensive linemen in Louisiana not being as strong, it was critical for defensive line coach Jamar Cain to add recruits from out of state.

"Dashawn Womack, he's high on the list of several schools. That was a big recruiting win," Wiltfong said. "Jaxon Howard (is) one of the more heavily recruited players in the country."

After bolstering to the trenches, LSU's focus shifted to the secondary. On July 4, three-star Archbishop Rummel defensive back Ashton Stamps committed to the Tigers. And then Jeremiah Hughes, the No. 6 player in Nevada and another secondary recruit of the same star caliber, made his pledge on July 7.

Brown then committed on July 9 to place LSU in the top 10 of the recruiting rankings. The Tigers then secured a commitment from three-star linebacker Whit Weeks, the brother of LSU linebacker West Weeks, the next day.

"Whit Weeks, (he's) a 6-foot-2, 205-pound two-way standout (and had) almost 140 tackles as a junior," Wiltfong said. "He can make plays as a running back, can catch the football. He's just a natural football player."

Three days later, LSU brought in its second running back of the class, Kaleb Jackson, a four-star recruit and the No. 6 ball carrier in the nation from Liberty Magnet.

During that 12-day stretch, the Tigers also got started with building their 2024 class, securing commitments from three-star linebacker Xavier Atkins — the No. 6 player in Louisiana — and four-star athlete Joseph Stone, the No. 107 player in the nation.

Takeaways from LSU football's recruiting hot streak

Twelve of LSU's 15 commitments for 2023 are not from Louisiana. The Tigers have as many commitments from Georgia as Louisiana and have already added top recruits from Big Ten recruiting strongholds, like Indiana, Minnesota and Maryland.

Before coming to LSU, much of the Tigers' new staff had already built relationships with the recruits at their previous schools and worked at programs that needed to target out-of-state prospects. Cain came to LSU via Oklahoma, Kelly and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian were at Notre Dame and wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton was at Georgia.

Hankton — the primary recruiter in Brown's commitment — had a track record of landing top out-of-state recruits. He was the primary recruiter for five-star receiver George Pickens, four-star offensive guard Sedrick Van Pran and four-star safety Lewis Cine, all out-of-state prospects and players who were key to Georgia's national championship.

LSU's recruiting emphasis will likely shift more toward Louisiana and Texas, as it has under previous coaches. But until the coaching staff's local roots are better solidified, expect this trend of out-of-state commitments to continue heading into the early signing period in December.

"They're just trying to recruit a championship-level roster," Wiltfong said. "And these are guys that have a very experienced staff that's recruited nationally for years and so those guys are going to have inroads elsewhere."

What's next for LSU football in recruiting?

The flurry of recent activity for LSU doesn't mean that the Tigers' 2023 class is anywhere near completion. Only five of LSU's 15 commitments are on offense, none are quarterbacks or offensive linemen and very few are from Louisiana.

That will all change soon. LSU is the favorite, according to 247Sports, to land four-star offensive tackles Zalance Heard and Tyree Adams, both from Louisiana. The Tigers are also predicted to land three-star offensive tackle Paul Mubenga from Georgia.

Securing a pledge from a top quarterback will be difficult after five-star recruit Dante Moore's decision to commit to Oregon. The Tigers' best chances of securing one will be flipping four-star recruit Rickie Collins' commitment from Purdue or landing four-star Memphis recruit Brock Glenn.

Also, 247Sports predicts that LSU is the favorite to add five-star wide receiver Shelton Sampson Jr., the No. 2 player in Louisiana. And On3 Sports is bullish on its chances at bringing in four-star safety and Zachary recruit Kylin Jackson.

"They have a lot of good recruiters on the staff," Wiltfong said. "(There's) no surprise that they have a top-10 class right now."

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 rankings 2023 rise in July under Brian Kelly