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Chris Allen grew up five minutes from LSU's campus and played football at Southern Lab High School, 10 miles north of Tiger Stadium.
Dylan Moses spent 11 years of his prep career on LSU's campus at University Lab High School.
The fact that LSU could potentially land a top 5 recruiting class is a victory in itself.
As kids, Allen and Moses dreamed of playing for the Tigers, and as each developed into blue-chip linebacker prospects their dreams were realized with scholarship offers to LSU.
And as fate would have it, linebacker emerged as a top priority for LSU's football program during Allen and Moses' senior seasons.
Allen, Moses and the LSU Tigers seemed like eHarmony matches in the college football dating circle known as recruiting.
Yet to the dismay of Tiger recruitniks, Allen and Moses, the state's top two linebacker prospects, swiped left on LSU's scholarship offers and opted instead for the arch-rival Crimson Tide.
And they are not the only Louisianans to cast their lot with Alabama.
On Tuesday Neville High School defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis spurned the Tigers for Alabama, joining fellow north Louisiana product, Isaiah Buggs of Ruston in the Crimson Tide's No. 1-ranked recruiting class. Mandeville kicker Joseph Bulovas also joined the class.
The five-man haul represents Alabama's largest pillage of Louisiana talent since Nick Saban became head coach in 2007. And that doesn't take into consideration Amite wide receiver Devonta Smith, Louisiana's top-ranked prospect, who is expected to choose between LSU, Alabama and Miami on Wednesday.
If Smith opts for the Tigers, it will mean Saban will have landed six of the eight Louisiana prospects he offered scholarships to this season, including three of NOLA.com's top four players in the state.
'Bama's 10-0 shutout hurt last November. But it pales in comparison to the beatdown the Crimson Tide is administering to the Tigers on National Signing Day.
Somehow, some way, Ed Orgeron must stem the Tide.
Now that he has retained defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and hired offensive coordinator Matt Canada to bolster his first-year staff, Orgeron's No. 1 objective as Tigers head coach is to stop the exodus of in-state talent to Tuscaloosa.
It might be unreasonable to expect Orgeron to completely shut down the Tide's advances. After all, Saban has built a Titanic in Tuscaloosa. The Tide routinely conduct similar raids in talent-rich territories like California, Florida and Texas. But Coach O must at least slow the outward migration from a rush to a trickle.
Otherwise, the talent chasm between the two programs will continue to widen and 'Bama's six-game winning streak in the series will extend indefinitely.
Orgeron knows this better than anyone. Recruiting is embedded in his DNA. During his 30-year career as an assistant coach, Coach O built a reputation as a tireless recruiter with a keen eye for football talent. His recruiting prowess was one of the main reasons LSU hired him.
Athletic director Joe Alleva called Orgeron "one of the finest recruiters in the country" at his introductory press conference in November. That same day Coach O laid down the gauntlet by declaring, "Now the real war's starting in recruiting, but we're ready to do it."
Since then, the Tide has won nearly every battle it has waged with the Tigers, including a handful of key engagements on Pelican State soil.
To be fair, Orgeron has operated at a competitive disadvantage from the outset. Because of LSU's mid-season coaching change, he was forced to play catch-up and wasn't able to make up enough ground with key recruits once his interim tag was removed in late November.
So Orgeron and his staff get a pass for this year. But that can't be an excuse going forward. He needs to build a wall around Louisiana and keep 'Bama out. Otherwise, he'll experience the same fate Les Miles did at the helm.
Winning in February is the key to winning in November. If Orgeron and LSU want to beat Alabama on the field, they must beat the Crimson Tide off it. And it starts with establishing a beachhead in Louisiana.
LSU must stem the Tide in Louisiana recruiting grounds
Dylan Moses spent 11 years of his prep career on LSU's campus at University Lab High School.
The fact that LSU could potentially land a top 5 recruiting class is a victory in itself.
As kids, Allen and Moses dreamed of playing for the Tigers, and as each developed into blue-chip linebacker prospects their dreams were realized with scholarship offers to LSU.
And as fate would have it, linebacker emerged as a top priority for LSU's football program during Allen and Moses' senior seasons.
Allen, Moses and the LSU Tigers seemed like eHarmony matches in the college football dating circle known as recruiting.
Yet to the dismay of Tiger recruitniks, Allen and Moses, the state's top two linebacker prospects, swiped left on LSU's scholarship offers and opted instead for the arch-rival Crimson Tide.
And they are not the only Louisianans to cast their lot with Alabama.
On Tuesday Neville High School defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis spurned the Tigers for Alabama, joining fellow north Louisiana product, Isaiah Buggs of Ruston in the Crimson Tide's No. 1-ranked recruiting class. Mandeville kicker Joseph Bulovas also joined the class.
The five-man haul represents Alabama's largest pillage of Louisiana talent since Nick Saban became head coach in 2007. And that doesn't take into consideration Amite wide receiver Devonta Smith, Louisiana's top-ranked prospect, who is expected to choose between LSU, Alabama and Miami on Wednesday.
If Smith opts for the Tigers, it will mean Saban will have landed six of the eight Louisiana prospects he offered scholarships to this season, including three of NOLA.com's top four players in the state.
'Bama's 10-0 shutout hurt last November. But it pales in comparison to the beatdown the Crimson Tide is administering to the Tigers on National Signing Day.
Somehow, some way, Ed Orgeron must stem the Tide.
Now that he has retained defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and hired offensive coordinator Matt Canada to bolster his first-year staff, Orgeron's No. 1 objective as Tigers head coach is to stop the exodus of in-state talent to Tuscaloosa.
It might be unreasonable to expect Orgeron to completely shut down the Tide's advances. After all, Saban has built a Titanic in Tuscaloosa. The Tide routinely conduct similar raids in talent-rich territories like California, Florida and Texas. But Coach O must at least slow the outward migration from a rush to a trickle.
Otherwise, the talent chasm between the two programs will continue to widen and 'Bama's six-game winning streak in the series will extend indefinitely.
Orgeron knows this better than anyone. Recruiting is embedded in his DNA. During his 30-year career as an assistant coach, Coach O built a reputation as a tireless recruiter with a keen eye for football talent. His recruiting prowess was one of the main reasons LSU hired him.
Athletic director Joe Alleva called Orgeron "one of the finest recruiters in the country" at his introductory press conference in November. That same day Coach O laid down the gauntlet by declaring, "Now the real war's starting in recruiting, but we're ready to do it."
Since then, the Tide has won nearly every battle it has waged with the Tigers, including a handful of key engagements on Pelican State soil.
To be fair, Orgeron has operated at a competitive disadvantage from the outset. Because of LSU's mid-season coaching change, he was forced to play catch-up and wasn't able to make up enough ground with key recruits once his interim tag was removed in late November.
So Orgeron and his staff get a pass for this year. But that can't be an excuse going forward. He needs to build a wall around Louisiana and keep 'Bama out. Otherwise, he'll experience the same fate Les Miles did at the helm.
Winning in February is the key to winning in November. If Orgeron and LSU want to beat Alabama on the field, they must beat the Crimson Tide off it. And it starts with establishing a beachhead in Louisiana.
LSU must stem the Tide in Louisiana recruiting grounds
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