LSU Football Lands Commitment from 2021 Offensive Tackle Garrett Dellinger
Another major domino fell into place for LSU’s 2021 recruiting class when offensive tackle Garrett Dellinger announced his commitment to the Tigers on Wednesday.
The Clarkston, Michigan product is currently a four-star, top-100 player on 247Sports and becomes the first offensive lineman of the class for LSU. Dellinger chose LSU over Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State, all schools that are within a day’s drive of his hometown.
“I want to play teams like Alabama, Georgia and Auburn everyday. I don’t just want to watch them, I want to play them and that’s a challenge I want to take on. I just had a different feeling around them,” Dellinger said in a recruitment video.
Also, it was revealed in his video that Dellinger plans to graduate early and enroll for spring practices next year. Dellinger said offensive line coach James Cregg played a big part in his decision to commit to LSU.
“When I was on the visit, just seeing how he interacted with the players, how he interacted with me and my family, I could just tell he was the coach I wanted to play for,” Dellinger said. “Coach O, when I was talking to him, his energy made me want to go play right then and there.”
The Tigers 2021 class continues to take form as receiver and the defensive line are the primary groups that have been displayed in the class thus far.
With Dellinger on board, the Tigers now have 12 commitments, headlined by linebacker Raesjon Davis, receivers JoJo Earle and Deion Smith and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who are all top-100 players.
LSU has been on a roll really since the end of April, receiving commitments from defensive end Landon Jackson, linebacker Zavier Carter, safety Khari Gee, running back Corey Kiner and defensive tackle Saivion Jones, all of whom are four-star prospects according to 247Sports.
The 6-foot-6, 280-pound Dellinger is a great way to kick off the Tigers offensive line recruitment as the team will lose senior right tackle Austin Deculus after 2020 and possibly guard Ed Ingram as well. Because of his athleticism on the outside, Dellinger very well could play tackle for the Tigers but his physical frame is more than big enough to play inside at guard.
Long-term, Dellinger would be a good player for changing his position, depending on what the Tigers need for a particular season or game. LSU will have some youth up front for the foreseeable future as tackle Marcus Dumervil and guards Marlon Martinez and Xavier Hill are all just beginning their freshman seasons.
Redshirt freshmen Kardell Thomas, Joseph Evans and Anthony Bradford as well as redshirt sophomore Chasen Hines will all be back in 2021. Dellinger's addition will be a strength to an offensive line that could be much improved after a full season together.
