LSU targets like Emery, Sopsher the difference between good, great

Few, if any storylines, caught LSU fans’ attention more this past bye weekend than John Emery’s decommitment from Georgia.

And rightfully so.

The Tigers’ longtime focus on keeping Louisiana’s top prospects home for college is no secret — and an approach that has kept the program among the nation’s top 10 to 20 contenders on an annual basis.

And credit to coaches Les Miles and Ed Orgeron and their staffs on succeeding on this goal far more often than not.

But the few misses each year could very well be the difference between being an 8-4 or 9-3 ranked team or an 11-1 team with a strong case for a playoff position each season.

Consider some of the players to leave the state in recent recruiting classes and the impact they could be making for LSU in 2018.

Jerry Tillery, the athletic 2015 Evangel defensive tackle, leads No. 3 Notre Dame this season with seven sacks and appears poised to be a first-round NFL draft pick this spring.

The 6-foot-7, 305-pound big man has earned one of top 30 Pro Football Focus grades among all defensive players in the country — including a No. 11 ranking for his pass-rushing, the best among all interior defensive linemen.

Kentwood star Shyheim Carter finished his high school career with a state championship that December, then picked Alabama on National Signing Day 2016.

The 6-foot, 195-pound standout has excelled as a cornerback in Tuscaloosa.

Carter has only allowed a reception every 19.7 snaps he’s play so far this season, with his two pick-sixes thus far giving quarterbacks pause when looking his direction.

The Crimson Tide additionally nabbed wide receiver Devonta Smith from Amite and pass-rushers Isaiah Buggs, from Ruston via Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and Dylan Moses, from University Lab via IMG Academy.

Smith caught the national championship-winning touchdown to cap his freshman season and has caught 21 passes for 409 yards (19.5 yards per catch) and three touchdowns so far as a sophomore.

PFF grades the 6-foot-1, 173-pound pass-catcher — among the SEC’s top 20 wide receivers this season in overall performance on offense, pass routes, hands and pass rating when targeted — ahead of any LSU player in each category.

Buggs and Moses, meanwhile, are two of Alabama’s top defensive players with a combined 11 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 69 tackles, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

McDonogh 35 safety Brad Stewart and Jennings running back Travis Etienne signed with Florida and Clemson, respectively, that year.

Stewart earned the SEC’s ninth-highest overall grade of any defensive player and third-best grade for his performance in coverage this season — in each case, ahead of any (yes, any) LSU player.

Etienne, PFF’s No. 8 highest graded running back, has rushed 108 times for 845 yards (7.8 yards per attempt) and 14 touchdowns to earn Heisman discussion for his undefeated Clemson team.

How much of a difference would any couple of those players have meant in a matchup in Gainesville, Fla., on Oct. 6 that LSU trailed by just one point in the final minutes.

Imagine the boost Tillery could have provided that defensive line.

Or Buggs or Moses to struggling pass rush and edge contain efforts.

Or how much a home-run hitter such as Etienne or Smith could have helped the offensive line and quarterback Joe Burrow by giving the Florida defense that much more of a threat to respect.

How much of a factor might two or three of those players mean this week as the No. 4 Tigers prepare for a battle with No. 1 Alabama.

The matchup should already be far more of a battle than Vegas oddsmakers or many LSU skeptics or Bama fans seem to believe.

But what an additional boost another two or three of Louisiana’s home-grown stars might be.

Take into account that Buggs, Moses or Smith would also be subtracted from the Crimson Tide’s efforts, and the impact is doubled.

Extend that hypothetical further back to older standouts such as West Monroe offensive tackle Cameron Robinson in 2014, U-High pass-rusher Tim Williams in 2013, and Dutchtown safety Landon Collins and Bastop linebacker Denzel Devall in 2012 — all of whom signed with the Crimson Tide.

Understanding the excitement for commitments from Dunham cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., Southern Lab offensive lineman Kardell Thomas and running back Tyrion Davis, Kentwood wide receiver Trey Palmer, John Ehret linebacker Donte Starks, Ruston star Ray Parker and other Louisiana prospects is not difficult in that light.

And the attention surrounding the decisions of Emery and Amite defensive lineman Ishmael Sopsher seems all the more warranted.

Coach Ed Orgeron has talked about needing a near-perfect performance to upend Alabama this Saturday and add another victory to LSU’s already-strong 2018 campaign.

But the closer the Tigers can get to perfection in their already-strong in-state recruiting efforts, the more consistently and firmly in the hunt for even bigger goals the program should be on an annual basis.