Making sense of LSU football's first National Signing Day wins — and losses — under Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly was trying to learn how to do "The Griddy."

"The Griddy" is a dance, something Kelly had been accustomed to doing in recent months. He was unnaturally tapping his feet, rigidly swaying back and forth with his hands up to his face in the shape of a zero, connecting his index finger with his thumb to make the shape.

But Kelly isn't a dancer, he's LSU football's new coach, dancing in an attempt to woo some of the nation's top high school recruits to join him in Baton Rouge. The Tigers need the talent boost after posting an 11-12 record over the past two seasons following a national championship in 2019.

Kelly's dancing resulted in a wild National Signing Day for the Tigers. LSU on Wednesday secured a commitment from five-star linebacker Harold Perkins (the top unsigned player in the nation) and three-star recruit Jaelyn Davis-Robinson.

But Kelly and his staff missed out on adding four-star running back TreVonte' Citizen, who signed with Miami, and four-star safety Jacoby Mathews, who committed to Texas A&M.

Adding Perkins, a Texas recruit, and plucking him from the Aggies (where he was committed until last week) was the kind of recruiting victory Kelly needed to build optimism within LSU's fanbase. The Tigers also brought in Davis-Robinson, who brings more depth and stability to a cornerbacks corps that's lost several players in recent months.

Here are some takeaways from LSU's recruiting haul Wednesday:

More: LSU football signing class 2022: What to expect from Brian Kelly's new signings

More: LSU football adds Jaelyn Davis-Robinson, a three-star cornerback from Texas

More: LSU football 2022 national signing day: Live updates from the February signing window

The Harold Perkins heist

Perkins was already committed to a school.

The nation's No. 2 linebacker and No. 8 prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite, made his pledge to Texas A&M during the Under Armour All-American Game last month. But last week, Perkins decommitted and visited LSU this past weekend — his final official visit prior to Wednesday.

The visit must have worked. By landing Perkins, he becomes LSU's highest-rated recruit and its only five-star prospect. He also immediately becomes the Tigers' linebacker of the future, with starter Micah Baskerville in his final season.

LSU showed its worth on the recruiting trail by prying Perkins from his home state of Texas — although his family moved from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. And by beating the Aggies, the Tigers also proved they can hang with a program that's accumulated the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation.

Mathews, the safety who got away

Of all the Louisiana recruits who left the state for other SEC schools, losing Mathews was arguably the worst one to lose.

A four-star recruit, Mathews is the No. 38 prospect in the nation, the No. 2 safety and the No. 3 player in Louisiana. He was committed to LSU before decommitting in July, taking visits to A&M, Texas and Florida.

As a result of Mathews' decision, LSU was unable to land seven of the top 10 recruits in Louisiana. And even besides that, he would have helped fill a big hole in LSU's secondary.

The Tigers added four players in the secondary from the transfer portal but all of them are entering their final year of eligibility. LSU has freshman and former five-star Sage Ryan and redshirt freshman Major Burns but doesn't have many other viable long-term options in the secondary.

Kelly and his staff also signed three cornerbacks during the recruiting cycle, Laterrance Welch (a four-star recruit), Jordan Allen (three-star) and Jaelyn Davis-Robinson (three-star). But none of those three make the type of long-term impact that Mathews would have made to the back end.

Citizen loss creates ripple effect at running back

Citizen picked up all four hats on the table Wednesday. He was about to commit to a school — either LSU, Florida, Miami or Auburn — and wanted to give the crowd on hand for his announcement a thrill ride.

He eventually revealed a fifth hat from underneath the announcement table. It was white hat with a green and orange "U" in the middle.

Citizen had surprised the experts, committing to Miami.

LSU, Florida and Auburn were the apparent favorites for the Lake Charles Prep running back. 247Sports even predicted Tuesday he would commit to Florida.

The decision puts LSU in a bind at running back. Citizen was likely their last hope of signing a running back for the 2022 class, after four-star Louisiana running backs Trevor Etienne and Le'Veon Moss signed with Florida and Texas A&M, respectively.

LSU does have depth at the position. Four running backs return in 2022, plus former five-star recruit and junior John Emery Jr. is expected to come back after he was academically ineligible this past season. LSU also added Penn State junior Noah Cain from the portal.

But with Citizen's decision, the future of LSU's running back room just got rockier.

LSU's uneven three-star day

LSU's first signing came before 10 a.m. when three-star cornerback Jaelyn Davis-Robinson made his decision to join the Tigers.

Davis-Robinson was a late addition to LSU's radar, as he wasn't offered by the Tigers until last week. The Waxahachie High prospect is the No. 47 cornerback in the nation and the No. 71 recruit in Texas.

"You can't coach the kind of speed Jaelyn brings to our secondary. His upside is tremendous. Welcome to DBU, @jaelyndrobinson," Kelly tweeted.

But after Citizen's decision, LSU missed out on Lewis, who signed with Alabama, and Douglas, who signed with Florida.

Lewis was a particularly tough loss who could have helped fill a position of need at tight end. He also had a relationship with Tigers offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who recruited him when he was made his initial commitment to Cincinnati when Denbrock was the Bearcats' offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.

But despite that, and Lewis posting a video of him dancing with Kelly that got over 8 million views, the rich got richer and Alabama secured his commitment.

Douglas visited LSU this past week but it wasn't enough to sway the Texas recruit and the nation's No. 67 wide receiver away from the Gators.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Making sense of LSU football signing day wins, losses for Brian Kelly