THE SITUATION: On August 10, Olive Branch (Miss.) tight end Jalen Shead announced his top three schools, Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss. In that tweet, he said, "Recruitment still open", but was it?
The 6-foot-4, 235 pounder actually knew at that time that LSU was his leader, and that is when he started thinking about pulling the trigger with this commitment.
LSU recruited him in a different way, and in the end, that is what set the Tigers apart from the Crimson Tide and Rebels.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: "LSU recruited me differently from the other schools and that made a big difference," said Shead. "They tried to get to know me, they got attached to me, they built strong relationships and that is what really pushed them ahead of Alabama and Ole Miss.
"They recruited me the hardest, they got to know me the most and they made me feel important. They made me feel wanted and not just needed. They are just different.
"Coach Shay is the coach I am closest to. I have talked to coach Ensminger and coach O (Ed Orgeron) too, but coach Shay is my guy. We have literally been talking every day for a while now. He is a coach I can go to with personal stuff if I need to. We have that kind of connection.
"He (Shay) is the first coach that knew about my decision. I told him Tuesday about it, then I talked to coach O about it Thursday. I think I surprised both of them. Me and coach Shay had just had a normal conversation the day before, and we talked nothing about committing, so I think I surprised him when I told him. He and coach O were excited about my decision.
"I got to visit LSU like the day before they shut things down because of the virus and that was huge. I went there with Xavier Hill (2020 LSU signee, former teammate of Shead's) for a spring practice, so I got to see the team work, I looked around the campus, I saw facilities, and that is where I met coach Ensminger. They had not offered me at that time, but I got coach Ensminger my film, they eventually offered, and that is when it got started with LSU.
"I have had a good feeling about them for a while. Just the way they have gotten to know me and recruited me made that impression on me. That, the connection with coach Shay and what I saw last season all played a role. The academic side of things did as well.
"LSU uses the tight end and he compares me to Thaddeus Moss. He thinks I am a lot like him and I really like what they did with him last season. Moss was not the fastest, but he got open, he knew how to work the field, he was a good blocker and I like the fit I have in the offense like he did.
"The last couple of years at Olive Branch, I have watched my teammates get called out of class to get offers, see coaches, and now it is my turn. I have watched a lot of my friends and teammates have success, and it was a dream of mine, and now that dream has come true."
RIVALS REACTION: Shead is a big athlete. He is a prospect we hope to see in person for the first time in the coming weeks to get a fresh evaluation on. We have seen game film and some workout video, and he is a jumbo-athlete with good agility and toughness. He is a strong blocker, he has good coordination for his size, he has soft hands and he is sneaky quick off the ball. Shead looks like a very good fit for LSU at tight end. He looks a lot like what they like to use at that position and he looks to have that SEC toughness in him.
