Louisiana’s biggest storylines halfway through a hectic summer

And, just like that, the summer is already halfway through. June was an absolute recruiting whirlwind in Louisiana, as was the case in most, if not all, football-heavy areas of the country. Here were six of the bigger storylines around The Boot. <strong>The recruiting floodgates reopen</strong> The underlying storyline to all the others nationwide was the extended dead period, as a result of COVID-19 concerns, finally coming to an end after 15 months. And athletes wasn’t no time whatsoever hitting college campuses bright and early on June 1 and keeping hectic schedules rolling all over the country. Most of the routes included at least one trip to LSU, with top prospects such as [player_tooltip player_id="128240" first="Shazz" last="Preston"] of St. James, [player_tooltip player_id="136480" first="Javae" last="Gilmore"] of Amite and [player_tooltip player_id="138353" first="Tackett" last="Curtis"] of Many going coast to coast and border to border. <strong>2023 QB dominos begin to fall</strong> The college picture starting coming into focus for one of the most heavily anticipated quarterback classes — if not the most heavily anticipated — in the history of the state. This past week, Zachary passer [player_tooltip player_id="138485" first="Eli" last="Holstein"] announced his commitment to Texas A&amp;M to become the first member of the cohort to pledge to a college. The decision came two weeks after hometown LSU offered Woodlawn (Baton Rouge) standout [player_tooltip player_id="138486" first="Rickie" last="Collins"], who quickly appeared to become the likeliest to eventually land in purple and gold as the recruiting world also continues to read any semblance of tea leaves that come available on Newman star [player_tooltip player_id="138484" first="Arch" last="Manning"]. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127859" first="Le’Veon" last="Moss"] heading to Alabama</strong> For all LSU’s annual recruiting success, the running back position has featured its share of twists, turns and misses at times. Three of the nation’s best hailing from south Louisiana appeared to bode well for 2022, but the first commitment of the trio became Baton Rouge native [player_tooltip player_id="127859" first="Le’Veon" last="Moss"] of Istrouma’s pledge to SEC West rival Alabama. Nothing can become official until December, obviously, but the spotlight immediately appears to heat up on [player_tooltip player_id="127858" first="Tre’Vonte’" last="Citizen"] and [player_tooltip player_id="127856" first="Trevor" last="Etienne"] of Lake Charles College Prep and Jennings, respectively. <strong>New programs dipping into The Boot</strong> Power Five programs all over the country have identified the upswing of talent in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 for an already typically talent-rich state in Louisiana and are trying to take advantage. Prior to Holstein’s commitment to the Aggies, he received a rare offer from Ohio State and another from Alabama in a span of days. The Buckeyes don’t typically recruit Louisiana much, but have offered multiple current prospects, including Holstein and fellow 2023 standout [player_tooltip player_id="138276" first="Jaiden" last="Ausberry"] of University Lab. Tennessee added a commitment from 2022 Dutchtown running back [player_tooltip player_id="127860" first="Dylan" last="Sampson"], who would be the state’s first player to sign with the Volunteers since 2018. Mandeville receiver [player_tooltip player_id="128245" first="Landon" last="Ibieta"] committed to Miami. Purdue drew pledges from University Lab defender [player_tooltip player_id="136609" first="Roman" last="Pitre"] and Warren Easton center [player_tooltip player_id="136550" first="Malachi" last="Preciado"]. And the impact of former Catholic (Baton Rouge) coach Gabriel Fertitta on Louisville’s staff is already being felt with a commitment from John Ehret speedster Zavion Thomas and more offers than ever out to intriguing prospects in The Boot, such as 2022 athlete [player_tooltip player_id="136484" first="Jaylin" last="Lucas"] and 2023 defensive backs [player_tooltip player_id="138307" first="Jordan" last="Matthews"] and [player_tooltip player_id="138308" first="Jeremiah" last="Vessel"]. <strong>LSU dips into 2025</strong> The Tigers pushed their recruiting out to the Class of 2025 with a pair of offers in early June, including one to hometown athlete [player_tooltip player_id="144905" first="Keylan" last="Moses"]. The younger brother of Dylan Moses, who just moved on from Alabama to the Jacksonville Jaguars this spring, is following similar footsteps with big early offers rolling in before even competing in his freshman season and University Lab. Like Dylan, Keylan looks like a likely linebacker long-term, but appears to be breaking into the lineup first as a backfield compliment to a veteran running back — Dylan to Nicholas Brossette and now Keylan to Derrick Graham. <strong>Louisiana Tech’s impressive month</strong> In the north half of the state, the Bulldogs have somewhat quietly had a heck of a run of their own. Louisiana Tech hauled in its 2022 quarterback commitment from Calvary Baptist star [player_tooltip player_id="127701" first="Landry" last="Lyddy"] in May and only picked up steam when the NCAA re-opened on-campus recruitment. One after another, coach Skip Holtz, associate head coach Joe Sloan and company added West Monroe cornerback [player_tooltip player_id="136628" first="Rayshawn" last="Pleasant"], AJ Ellender wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="128661" first="O’Ryan" last="James"] and Huntington pass-catcher [player_tooltip player_id="136515" first="Kendrick" last="Rucker"].