Late shakeups provided early-signing period surprises | Offense

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The early signing period brought a flurry of late excitement in Louisiana despite the bulk of the state's top 2026 prospects having announced college plans prior to their senior seasons. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Several notable coaching changes — including in-state programs in LSU and Tulane and a slew of notable out-of-staters as well — added extra fuel to the winter "flip season" and helped sparked a particularly active recruiting start to this month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a rundown of the major moves from offensive standouts that helped highlight the December shakeups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/12/december-2025-signing-day-late-surprises-flip-season-2026-defense/">click here for more on the defensive standouts who had late changes of plans</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1237613' first='Kenny' last='Darby'] — 6-1, 175 WR — Airline (from LSU to Kentucky)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='401967' first='Jalan' last='Chapman'] — 6-4, 285 OL — Warren Easton (from LSU to Ole Miss)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1757515' first='Kervin' last='Johnson Jr.'] —&nbsp;6-3, 190 WR — Tioga (from LSU to Ole Miss)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three LSU commitments had to find new homes in the early signing period amid the ongoing overhaul of the Tigers' offensive staff under newly hired coach Lane Kiffin. A pair in Chapman, one of the state's top-ranked offensive linemen, and Johnson, the major stock-rising wide receiver, landed in Kiffin's old stomping grounds in Oxford, Miss., while Darby stuck with now-former LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and company at Kentucky.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1601945' first='Trez' last='Davis'] — 6-0, 185 WR — West Monroe (from Tulane to Washington)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The West Monroe star, one of the state's biggest senior stock-risers, reopened his recruitment at the end of the November from a pledge to home-state Tulane and announced on signing day that he would be signing with Washington over Houston and others.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='401749' first='Cole' last='Bergeron'] — 6-4, 210 QB — St. Thomas More (from Virginia Tech to Georgia Tech)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Louisiana's top-ranked quarterback decommitted from Virginia Tech at the beginning of the month as new coach James Franklin added a commitment from his former pledge at Penn State. And by week's end, Bergeron had landed with Georgia Tech, a longtime factor in his recruiting process, over Minnesota and others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='924621' first='Brayden' last='Allen'] — 6-1, 175 WR — Lafayette Christian (from Oklahoma to LSU)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All the movement for the Tigers' recruiting class wasn't outgoing, and one of the new additions was one of Louisiana's top-ranked wide receivers. Allen had remained locked into his commitment to Oklahoma even when picking up an LSU offer, but — after a push during the past few months by Ole Miss —&nbsp;was one of the first prospects to meet Kiffin in Baton Rouge upon his hire to lead the Tigers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='920609' first='O'Ryan' last='Mosley'] — 6-3, 295 OL — Terrebonne (from North Texas to Oklahoma State)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A series of coaching changes in the Big 12 and American Athletic Conference played out to allow Terrebonne's standout offensive lineman to become a Power-Four signee at the wire as he follows coach Eric Morris from North Texas to Oklahoma State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='920629' first='John' last='Johnson'] III — 6-0, 170 ATH/QB — Edna Karr (from Liberty to Washington State to West Virginia)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='710969' first='Gregory' last='Wilfred'] — 5-9, 165 WR — Edna Karr (from UTSA to West Virginia)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Edna Karr's star quarterback had only recently flipped a prior commitment from Liberty to Washington State, and Wilfred, one of his senior receivers, had pledged to UTSA. But opportunities at West Virginia arose in the couple days leading up to the early signing period, and Johnson and Wilfred both flipped on signing day to the Mountaineers. Notably for Johnson, the coaches have offered him a chance to continue working at quarterback as opposed to plans to more likely shift to receiver and return specialist at Wazzu.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1414464' first='Jiwaun' last='Brock'] —&nbsp;5-11, 160 WR — Covington (from Texas State to Southeastern Louisiana)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Home-state Southeastern Louisiana landed a potential steal from just a short drive away with a late addition of Covington's big-play receiver. Brock had garnered Power-Four interest during his recruiting process and adds another dynamic weapon to the Lions' class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1736890' first='Heij' last='Jackson'] —&nbsp;6-3, 185 WR — McDonogh 35 (from South Alabama to Cincinnati)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cincinnati swooped in to land the tall, athletic pass-catcher — a multisport standout whose best football could still be ahead of him — after his prior pledge to South Alabama. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->