LSU Football Can't Afford to Lose Out on Pair of In State Recruits

Tigers' pursuit of Jacoby Mathews, TreVonte Citizen will be a high priority

LSU has an important week coming up on the recruiting trail with the Under Armour All-American game just a few days away and a number of high profile prospects expected to make their college decision public. 

The Tigers are pursuing a number of players in the transfer portal and among the remaining talent in the 2022 class out of state but securing what's left of the Louisiana borders is imperative.

If there are two recruits LSU can't afford to let leave the state among the remaining talent left, it's safety Jacoby Mathews and running back TreVonte Citizen. These are not only two highly touted prospects but would fill positions of need for Brian Kelly and this staff that have yet to be fully addressed.  

Citizen hasn't given many indications on when he will commit and sign with a program while Mathews is scheduled to commit on Jan. 2 with a program. LSU should absolutely look at it as a win that both didn't sign during the early signing period, giving the program a few extra weeks to plead their case with the talented in state prospects.

Mathews, a safety out of Ponchatoula, will make his announcement during the Under Armour All-American game with LSU and Texas A&M squarely in the mix, as well as Alabama. The long time LSU commit lead his team to a state championship appearance but came up just short in a close loss to Zachary.

It's been well documented how much Mathews values the in state feel that LSU provides but with no defensive coordinator hire made just yet, it could be a potential block that stands in LSU's way of keeping him away from an SEC rival. However, the Tigers hire of Frank Wilson gives Brian Kelly a great selling point over the next few weeks as Wilson is the most highly respected recruiter in the state. 

Wilson should be able to connect with Mathews as well as Citizen, a running back who was one of Wilson's first visits upon earning the job with LSU. A talented runner with the strength and speed to be an impact player early in his LSU career, adding Citizen to a young core of Corey Kiner, Armoni Goodwin and Kevontre Bradford is a bonus to a talented group. 

Of course there are other plans LSU has with this class as landing linebacker Harold Perkins on Jan. 2 along with Mathews would be the ideal scenario for Kelly and company. The Aggies and Texas remain heavily involved in Perkins' recruitment so it'll be tough to sway him away.

LSU will surely be on the road and in pretty constant contact with a number of players over the holiday break but Mathews and Citizen should be at the forefront of its thoughts.