LSU lands St. James WR Khai Prean commitment for dynamic, local weapon
The energy in Khai Prean's voice hit as differently as the opportunity he was describing.
"Boy, it's gonna be a different feeling," the highly regarded St. James prospect said in his bayou drawl. "Just knowing the state I was born and raised in, the culture, the people, just being able to represent that and being able to represent my family is something I can't pass up on in my opinion."
The 6-foot, 180-pound athlete, a dynamic three-phase playmaker through his career, announced his commitment to nearby LSU on Tuesday evening from his high school's auditorium about 50 miles southeast, across the Mississippi River in Vacherie.
Prean becomes the 21st pledge of the Tigers' 2023 recruiting class, including four from the 225 area code in the past 11 days and five straight in-state products during the past two and a half weeks.
The four-star, top-150 prospect joins a receiving core with a pair of top-50 prospects on the outside in Shelton Sampson Jr. of Catholic (Baton Rouge) and Jalen Brown of Gulliver Prep (Miami), as well as speedy slot Kyle Parker of Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas).
"That's going to be really exciting knowing that we have weapons coming at pretty much every position really," Prean said of the class. "We're going to be a dangerous offensive team. And especially with all of us in the same class, once we get there on the same page and get our tendencies down, we're gonna be real hard to stop."
He admitted late Monday some nervousness for the ceremony itself, but had long zeroed in on the home-state Tigers as his preferred college destination.
"I just know the decision I'm making is going to best benefit me and my family and all the people that have supported me since Day 1," he told Tiger Details. "I'm just feeling that moment of excitement that all my hard work has paid off."
Prean pointed to deep bonds with the coaching staff as a determining factor in LSU keeping him from leaving for Auburn, Mississippi State or Florida State.
He's known recruiting specialist Jordan Arcement, a Thibodaux native and E.D. White and Nicholls State alumnus, long before either was in their current circumstances.
And first-year wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton, a New Orleans native, had previously started recruiting Prean during his tenure at Georgia before himself returning home.
"I was starting to get in touch and build a relationship with him," Prean said. "And then it turned out he was coming closer to my home, and we were able to start picking up right where we left off in the recruitment."
And other key relationships with associate head coach Frank Wilson III and offensive analyst Carter Sheridan, two more New Orleans natives, and the rest of the staff consistently helped the young athlete and his family feel confident in the decision.
"It had to be the relationships," Prean said regarding priorities in his process. "Building a relationship with a coach knowing that you can go to them about anything and that coach is gonna have your back through it all, that means a lot. That's something that goes a long way beyond football.
"And then him meeting your parents and being able to establish that relationship with your parents and them knowing, 'I've got your son's back. He can always come to me if he needs anything. And I'll just be in his corner to support him.' That just says a lot to a parent and a kid in my opinion."
Prean said he felt that love and support from the coaches "calling everyday just checking up on me and making sure that I'm working hard and telling me how they believed in me."
He was also consistently amazed at the attention from fans on Twitter "all supporting me and looking forward to me doing what I've got to do to get on the field and be successful."
And the recruitment in recent weeks by current players and previous commitments resonated strongly.
"I would say real close touch with (Woodlawn quarterback) Rickie (Collins)," Prean said. "Even when he was committed to Purdue and Purdue had offered me, he was the main guy that was trying to get me up there and stuff like that. So once he decommitted, he was updating me and texting me and telling me what was going on, I kind of knew that it was special for him to want me to be involved.
"And the other day Jalen Brown texted me and was asking me how I feel and if I wanted to be on board, and I was like, 'Of course.' And when I told him that, he said, 'Well, me, you, Shelton, Rickie and the rest of the 'em, let's get this national championship.' And I said, 'Let's do it.'"