LSU has work to do to recover from Alabama's recruiting raid on North Louisiana

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Alabama coach Nick Saban is apparently not going to Texas. Does this mean north Louisiana players will continue to go to Alabama?

“We just have to face it,” said Mickey McCarty, the head football coach at Neville High in Monroe. “The success Alabama has had the last few years is strong. They won three national championships in four years (2009, 2011, 2012). Kids and adults alike want to be associated with a winner. The fact of the matter is they’re a powerful pull. They don’t want for anything at Alabama. That’s just a powerful force over there in Tuscaloosa.”

In the last three months, Saban did something in Louisiana for the first time since he became Alabama’s coach in 2007 – gain commitments from two top-five players in Louisiana for the same class. The first to go red was West Monroe High’s Cameron Robinson, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the nation and No. 7 overall prospect in the country, according to Rivals.com. He committed to Alabama over LSU on Sept. 4. On Dec. 2, Laurence “Hootie” Jones, the No. 4 safety in the nation and No. 38 overall prospect in the country by Rivals.com out of Neville High in Monroe, committed to Alabama over LSU.

Just last year, LSU coach Les Miles signed John Diarse, the No. 31 wide receiver in the nation out of Neville, away from Alabama. In 2009, Miles signed the nation’s No. 1 receiver in the nation and No. 2 overall prospect in Rueben Randle away from Alabama out of Bastrop High near Monroe.

“If it was my personal preference, I’d like to see a our kids stay in the state. LSU is a great place,” McCarty said. “But Alabama is just hard to ignore. Sometimes the truth hurts. Both schools did an outstanding job recruiting Hootie. He was really torn – truly torn – between the two. I didn’t think LSU did a poor job.”

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