LSU leads for LaCouture

LSU has taken the lead in the recruitment of Christian LaCouture, the four-star defensive end from College Station (Texas) A&M Consolidated.

"LSU is probably the team to beat right now," LaCouture told TigerBait.com on Saturday night after spending the day on campus. "I really like them. I'm looking to make a decision here pretty soon."

LSU tops a short list for him that also includes Michigan, Missouri, Texas A&M and Nebraska.

"I'm going to visit Michigan April 14th for their spring game," he said. " Probably after that, I'm not going to visit any more schools. By then, I'll probably have the team where I want to go. Like I said, LSU right now is probably the team to beat."

The former Texas A&M commitment got plenty of face time with LSU coaches on Saturday before the spring game.

"I got up there a little earlier and wanted to talk to the coaches around 9:30," LaCouture said. "I sat there and talked to Coach (Brick) Haley for a long time to see where they see me in that defense. I got a chance to talk to Coach (Les) Miles for a long time. We had a great time. I'm really getting to the point now where I want to make a decision soon. LSU was a great visit."

The 6-6 260-pounder said Miles gave him a rundown of LSU's overall spring progress and outlined the program's plans for him.

"We talked about how they did in the spring and how they improved on things they worked on," he said. "We talked about what they saw in me. With me graduating early, they think that's a huge bonus for me to get to know the plays better. Going in, I have a better shot of playing early as a true freshman. He loves that, coming in early, and thinks that's the best thing you can do."

LaCouture studied LSU's defense during the spring game and gained even more appreciation for the level of talent and the way it's deployed.

"It looked like they really moved around a lot," he said. "The defensive schemes they have -- the blitzes and bringing the pressure from either side -- the defensive tackles were coming out. I saw a couple of times, the nose guard was going out and covering people. It really showed how athletic the defensive linemen can be at LSU. That's how I see myself. I'm very versatile. I can play defensive end or defensive tackle."

Recruits were treated to a picnic after the spring game, which gave them time to talk to coaches and one another.

"I talked to Coach (Steve) Kragthorpe and the rest of the staff," he said. "It was a great time to recap how the day went."

LaCouture enjoyed conversations with players like Tevin Lawson, who committed to LSU on Friday.

"I talked to Tevin and he's great," LaCouture said. "We were talking about how he and I would be great, dominating opponents on the inside. He's a great kid and he's a great athlete. He was telling me how he committed on Friday and I'm looking forward to getting to know him better."

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