LSU's plan for the commitments that didn't sign early
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Day 1 of the early signing period came and went.
LSU locked in 19 members of its 2019 class out of a total of 21. Two that did not put the pen to paper were 4-star cornerback Maurice Hampton and 4-star tight end/offensive tackle Ray Parker.
Both Hampton and Parker officially visited LSU the final weekend before the Dead Period arrived on Sunday night, and while the coaching staff pushed both to sign on Wednesday, neither followed through.
Hampton, a prospect listed right outside the Rivals100, informed Rivals he will sign with LSU in February, and only did not sign to do with at his high school with his teammates, who previously waited for him to sign.
Ruston High School’s Parker did not sign after some waffling.
“I think that … every recruit has a different story,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “There will be some recruits that had some reason why they didn’t sign. We said, ‘OK, we understand that.’ Some recruits -- I don’t know why they didn’t sign. You treat everyone different. We’re going to take the best player available, and that’s our plan.”
With 19 players on board, Orgeron announced Charles Turner will shift from the offensive line to tight end, a position originally intended for Parker.
LSU signed a trio of cornerbacks in Derek Stingley Jr., Cordale Flott and Raydarious Jones, who committed on Wednesday.
Hampton, who is a part of the Tigers’ plans in the secondary, is also a highly touted baseball prospect. A potential first-round selection in the MLB Draft, Hampton is committed to LSU for both football and baseball.
LSU will continue to chase after Hampton’s signature, but a first-round payday will be the team’s biggest threat.
Parker’s commitment status with LSU remains up in the air after Day 1 of the early signing period came and went.
“You got to gauge how good they are,” Orgeron said. “Obviously, if we think we’re going to sign them, they’re worth it. The guys we’re looking at are worth it. We want them on our football team.”