re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition

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We need to. Hell, a white good ole boy and a black atheist hanging out would set the world on fire If we find a gay Latino we would really get some attention

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I feel we could easily get a Colombian for the coffee part, but I also feel that open-toed footwear is a staple of both the gay and Latino communities so we may be out of luck on this one.

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The nation’s No. 1 linebacker, Nakobe Dean, made his way to Baton Rouge along with Jones, his teammate, and 2020 tight end Jakivuan Brown. Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda spent most of the day chatting up Dean, a 5-star prospect with a 4.7 GPA who sits atop the team’s board. The Tigers are making a concerted effort to make a strong impression on the Horn Lake (Miss.) High School prospect by landing not only one, but ideally two from the Magnolia State.

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A pair of Tangipahoa Parish targets made the decision to visit LSU — and not Alabama — on Friday, a significant ripple from what was expected for the weekend. Four-star receivers Trey Palmer and Devonta Lee were on hand for the early part of the day, conversing with other notable recruits on campus. In talking to those close to the blue-chip prospects, it’s clear that Palmer is a heavy LSU lean who may not even wait until Signing Day to make his commitment. Lee, on the other hand, is torn between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide, according to a well-placed source. In other words, visiting LSU instead of Alabama on Friday is nothing to look past. The same goes for 5-star Amite (La.) tackle Ishmael Sopsher, who camped with the LSU staff last weekend. The source indicated that Texas A&M is a bigger threat to LSU, but the in-state program has long held an edge with Sopsher.

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Louisiana’s top-ranked athlete has trimmed a lofty offer list to four.

Christian Harris, a 4-star athlete who projects as a linebacker at the next level, unveiled a final foursome of LSU, Alabama, Auburn and Texas A&M on Monday night. Each of those four schools will host the 6-foot-2, 235-pound prospect for an official visit this fall ahead of a scheduled December commitment.

“The top four is based off the relationships I have with the coaches and with me wanting to play on defense,” Harris told SEC Country. “It’s about where I fit best. With those [four] schools, I feel I could do best on defense, playing linebacker and feeling the most comfortable at.”

Harris noted that all four of his SEC finalists like him on defense. Alabama, Auburn and LSU view him as a true inside linebacker, while Texas A&M is courting him as a Buck or Rover on the outside.

Additionally, after visiting all four of these campuses on multiple occasions, Harris made it clear that there is no leader in the clubhouse at the moment.

“Everywhere I visited, I fell in love with,” he said. “There’s not one school that’s standing out. Everyone is pretty much even.”

Harris was on LSU’s campus on Thursday and Friday for the first time since the spring.

Harris garnered an offer from the hometown team on March 1 — as an offensive athlete. When he returned to campus this weekend, Harris enjoyed a conversation with Tigers defensive coordinator Dave Aranda about his fit on defense.

“Everybody recruiting me asked me what position I wanted to play. I used to say safety or receiver, but in talking about my size and how good I am and my athleticism, I’m probably going to get bigger and have to play inside linebacker,” Harris explained.

“It look them [LSU] a little longer to offer because they didn’t know what position I would play,” he continued. “I play so many different positions [for University Lab], so when they offered, it was on offense. When I told them I wanted to play defense, Coach Aranda told me he had always been interested in me at linebacker. He explained the defense to me and how I would fit in and do things like Devin White.”

Harris spent a lot of time with not only Aranda, but area recruiter Tommie Robinson and also coach Ed Orgeron during his LSU unofficial. He was on campus for two days, including a Friday photoshoot in the locker room.

“It was pretty,” Harris said. “I hadn’t been to LSU in a minute, so it was pretty cool to get back and to see everyone and talk to everybody.”

Harris originally planned to give a commitment prior to his senior season, but now has a new timeline in mind. Louisiana’s No. 5-ranked prospect plans to make four official visits and make a decision during the early signing period in December.

Harris has already penciled in official visits to Texas A&M on Sept. 8 and to Alabama on Oct. 12. He is slated to schedule officials to LSU and Auburn as well, and will not make any other official visits to schools outside his top four.

Here is Harris’ breakdown of each of his four finalists:

Texas A&M: I went there for a couple and met the entire staff. It was pretty cool seeing people I already knew. I felt a family vibe and that’s what I’m looking for. It was very family oriented. I had a chance to talk to a couple players, a couple coaches and it was a pretty good visit. I felt comfortable with the players and coaches because I had been there before, but this time I got to talk to people and get to know them better. They switched their entire staff under Jimbo [Fisher], and it feels like they have a championship mentality and want to turn things around.

Alabama: The relationship I have with the coaches there are really strong. They’re so successful and they take care of you in life after football. That stuck out to me. They’re recruiting me hard because they need some linebackers right now. They’re short on numbers at the inside linebacker position, so they’re recruiting me hard because they need me.

Auburn: The first time I went there, I got to sit down with [linebackers] Coach T-Will [Travis Williams] and talk to him. He’s a great guy and we have a really good relationship. I was there for the cookout and it was very non-football-related kind of stuff. You could see what kind of family vibe they have there and the things they offer outside of football. I got to sit down with some other recruits, some players and coaches, and got to talk about the defense and playing inside at linebacker early when I get there.

LSU: I’ve always been an LSU fan. I grew up 15 minutes away and I’ve had that thought — “What if I stay home?” My parents wouldn’t have to drive far for games. That’s always in the back of my mind about what it would be like to stay home. I have a good relationship with the coaches, especially Coach Robinson and Coach Orgeron as well.

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2019 offensive guard, Kamaar Bell, released his top 7 schools on Sunday and included Alabama.

Florida, Auburn, Ole Miss, Kentucky, West Virginia and Mississippi State rounded out Bell’s list. He has no favorite at the moment but the Tide were the first school to offer him. He took an unofficial visit to Kentucky last weekend.

“They basically just showed me a little bit of everything,” Bell said.

Bell was planning on making his commitment in July but decided it was best for him to postpone his decision.

“I’m looking at in the middle of the season,” Bell added. “I want to take my official visits and then make a decision.”

The Georgia-native has no official visits set at the moment. There is a good chance Alabama will get one. They have stayed in constant communication with Bell.

“We talk every other day,” Bell said.

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4-Star safety, Noa Pola-Gates, took a four-day visit to Tuscaloosa last weekend. He talked to Touchdown Alabama before the visit and told us why this trip was going to be so special to him.

“I’m so excited to get back there,” Gates said. “My pops is going to be with us this time, so it is a big deal.”

Alabama would love to add Gates to their class and they knew a great visit could put them in a good position to land the Arizona-native. The Tide can check that box off their list as Gates was amazed by Alabama.

“It was amazing,” Gates said. “I got to kick it with players and had a long conversation with the Dean of School of Music and the Director of Music Composition. I also got to talk to coach Saban a lot.”

Gates wants to have a career in music composition and production. He got a chance to explore the University of Alabama’s school of music and found out that they are on a quest to be very different.

“The school of music wasn’t just talking classical and orchestra type of music,” Gates added. “Alabama wants to be cutting edge and work with all genres.”

Alabama had the chance to host Gates from Thursday to Sunday. He talked to many of the Tide’s current players and they all had a similar message.

“They all said just work hard,” Gates said.

The Tide made big moves with Gates as he feels they are still at the top. He doesn’t have a commitment time frame just yet but he is thinking about it.

“I’m working on a date with my family,” Gates said.

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