Daub says hes a Tiger

It was a shot in the dark rising junior linebacker Kain Daub thought was worth taking.

With Daub having finished taking part in a USA Football camp in Austin, Texas the Nease High standout and his family were on their way home to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. just outside of Jacksonville when they decided to stop in New Orleans to sample the city and culinary offerings.

"The only reason we stopped was to see Bourbon Street and eat some of that food," Daub said.

After getting their fill of the unique city and its food Daub decided to call the LSU football office in the hopes of setting an impromptu official visit.

Daub's first call went awry while his second to LSU defensive line coach Brick Haley was answered and two hours later an unofficial visit was arranged. That led to an overnight stay and a day later after being on campus the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder became the first commitment for the Tigers in the Class of 2014.

"It wasn't my intent at all," Daub said of his commitment to LSU. "If no one would have answered we would have gone straight to Alabama."

Then credit Haley with kick-starting LSU's early recruiting efforts with a pledge from Daub, whom some observers believe to be one Florida's top prospects and one of the region's top linebacker prospects.

Daub has already collected 13 scholarships, including the big three in home state with Florida, Florida State and Miami, to go along with overtures from Arkansas, Auburn and South Carolina of the Southeastern Conference.

Daub, who chose LSU over Alabama and Florida State, said after an appearance at the prestigious Top Gun Camp in Florida that his recruiting process officially ended in Baton Rouge.

"After the Top Gun camp I'm shutting it down," Daub said. "My recruiting will be over and it's not going to be difficult at all. LSU and Alabama were my two biggest schools. There's really no other school that can offer me something to shake me up to make me change my mind."

Daub, who was homeschooled this past year but plans to attend Nease in the fall, played his sophomore season for the same program that produced former Florida Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

Daub recorded 108 tackles, 12 sacks, two fumble recoveries, two fumble recoveries and had an interception. He will play this season for former Florida standout quarterback and former NFL signal-caller Shane Matthews.

It didn't take LSU very long to unfurl the red carpet for Daub, his mother and brother once they arrived Friday in Baton Rouge for a tour of the school's athletic and academic facilities.

"What really wrapped it up was when I got there," Daub said. "This wasn't really planned and it felt like everything was planned two months in advance. I only gave them a two hour notice and they made sure everything good, treated me well when I got there, showed me around and I just loved it. It felt like home. I couldn't wait any longer and had to commit."

Instead of jumping back in I-10 for a return trip home Daub delayed his departure to spend more time around LSU and wound up taking part in the Tigers' 7-on-7 tournament with the state's top team - the Louisiana Bootleggers.

As fate would have it that squad was comprised of several of LSU's 2013 commitments ranging from Loranger's Jeryl Brazil, Barbe's DeSean Smith, Green Oaks' Tre'Davious White, Neville's John Diarse and Jewel Sumner's Jeremy Cutrer.

Not only had Daub become increasingly comfortable with his surroundings he encountered a day's worth of testimonials from some of his new 7-on-7 teammates that went a long way in helping him cement his decision.

"They were telling me this is where I needed to be," Daub said. "They made it feel like home. I talked to them all day about everything to make sure I wasn't the only one seeing the things I was seeing. I wanted to make sure they saw the same things and they were seeing the same things that I liked."

During the day Daub spent valuable time around LSU Head Coach Les Miles, defensive coordinator John Chavis, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and defensive backs coach Corey Raymond, who recruits Florida for the LSU staff. Strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt was also a wealth of knowledge in the areas of weight lifting and speed training.

"I liked the fact that they could be serious and then again they can joke around," Daub said of the staff.

Chavis took about 30 minutes to explain LSU's 4-3 scheme and told Daub, who has run a sub-4.7 in the 40, that he could play any one of the three linebacker positions and not to worry about having to move to the interior because of his size.

"He said I could play Sam, Mike or Will and I liked that," Daub said. "He said the only way I'd play on the line is if the linemen that were there when I get there weren't doing what they were supposed to do."

Moreover, Daub said he enjoyed his first time being around Miles and later caught him off guard with news with his decision to attend LSU.

Miles was handing out awards following the 7-on-7 competition which the Bootleggers won with a victory over Karr. When Miles got to Daub and handed him his championship t-shirt, he asked for some feedback on his visit.

"He asked me how I liked it and I said, 'coach you didn't hear, I'm the newest Tiger'," Daub said. "When I told the coaches I committed they said I'd made their day.

"They were happy for me to be part of their family," Daub said. "Coach Miles is a real nice guy and real funny. We had a lot of things in common. I could see him being my coach for the next four years."