Got to love the 5* talent.

The 2011 All-American class, Mo Claiborne was the lowest ranked player on the board, the #58 Athlete. Mo was a 3* player, one without a position. LSU moved him to CB and the rest was history. Go back an look at some of the offers on kids, all too often small schools will offer, all the time with the hope that the larger school never see a kid.

Once again LSU took the lowest rated position player from this last years class and coached him into an All-SEC player, Jalen Mills. Remember, Mills wasn't even the best CB on his DeSoto high school team. LSU saw more than paid scouts and college coaches.

Looking back at the list of 5* players from the 2007 class, Athlons did a write-up on these players. So many never panned out. For too many the words, improper benefits, injury, transferred, not selected in the draft and many with legal troubles. Many never played a down with the school they signed with.

You never know, I think the staff does a better job than most with high school players, an many of the High School, College and Pro coaches I talk with say the same thing.

He didn't start until his senior year, so he wasn't on anybody's radar

I watched Spears film Saturday night, and in my amateur opinion, it's pretty obvious Spears is at least a 4-star talent. His film is one of the best I've seen of any LSU recruit ever. Granted, i don't watch a lot of film, but check this out:

Rivals.com national analyst Mike Farrell tweeted this yesterday:

WR Kevin Spears is one of te true
hidden gems in this class, film is
simply awesome and late bloomer.
#LSU steal here. Big bump was in
works

I hope I'm not jinxing Spears here, but Claiborne and Jalen Mills both had film that was among the best I'd ever seen when they were recruits, same with Spears

What some other Tiger fans across the interwebs are saying about Spears...

This kid will be a star.
Will be the steal of this class.
...
Contrary to popular belief I expect him to
make an impact in his first year.

Agree.

Me too! I'm really impressed with him.
...I think he'll see plenty of
action next year.

High School film reminds me of Craig Davis
film in high school.

He ... also reminds me of Davis

I say Dwayne Bowe 2.0...
He is about the same build at this
pointe. This guy has great concentration,
hands, and he's a great athlete

Reminds me of a young
Dwayne bowe......and bowe after eye
surgery.

This one could be a gem.

I really think Spears could be a diamond in
the rough.

Diamond in the rough kids going to be
special

At first, I was like "Meh, a 3 star?? We don't
need to be wasting the little spots we have
left on 3 star players..."
Then I watched his youtube video and I'm
thinking we have found another diamond in
the rough. Great talent evaluation.

Based on his video, this diamond isn't
rough. ... I think we got a real winner.

Kid looks awesome.

I think he may be a good one.

he reminds me of LaFell

This kid is a lock to be the underrated star
of this class

Spears is a talented wr.....as far
as purely catching the football he would be
ahead of most wr recruits we have had this
past decade. As an overall receiver he's not
far off from Brandon ladell out of high
school. Seeing him live I'd say he's on par
with buster Davis out of high school.

Hes a stud, period.

That is a great highlight reel.

His highlight is amazing!! Speed,
acceleration, height, jump, catch in traffic,
balance, vision after catch, you name it. He
possesses all the aspects that a great WR
should have. Man he should be ranked as a
5 star receiver for whatever it's worth.

To me from his highlight tape he looks more
wr than rsj. (the 5-star WR commited to aTm)

I see a good WR with a great
skillset that will be able to immediately fill a
void in our passing game.

He looks like a baller.

Youtube kevin spears holy cross and watch
the one that says best catch...wow

Good pick up. Like this kid a lot.

If he would have played football before this
season he would have been highly rated.
Under the right circumstances, camps and
whatnot, he could have been a 5 star. Has 5
star talent. Reminds me of Claiborne,
someone no one was talking about untill late
in his recruitment, then blew onto the scene.
Spears became a must get.

people in the know know this kid is the real
deal. Great pickup. Could be the star of this
recruiting class by the time all is said and
done. NFL talent. WAy more upside than
OBJ and Landry combined.

watched the video and VERY impressed with
this kid. Add in the fact that he just started
playing ball as a junior and it makes it better.
I think we will be talking about what a steal
this kid was in a couple years...

He looks great in that video.

I see him as a De Bryant clone. I saw Dez in
real life and this kid has that same ability to
track a ball and also go up and get it at any point....he has every skill set needed to
contribute if not this year in the next two years...
Great pick up for LSU.
For the record. I was nervous about this one
until I saw the highlight film.

Like most say, raw but talented. WRs aren't exactly lining up and foaming at the mouth to play in this LSU offense. Plus this staff has been excellent at finding those hidden gems. I dont see him making an instant impact with so many WRs returning but I trust the talent evaluation. If they were half as good calling plays and developing players we would have a couple more championships. Welcome aboard Mr Spears.

Heres some more comment about Spears from Tiger fans:

The first thing that jumps out to you about
Spears is his size. He is 6-3 and an
explosive leaper, which makes him a great
red-zone threat. Spears gets off the line well
and is smooth in and out of his breaks
fluidly. His ability to track and high-point the
ball is top notch despite his limited
experience. Once he secures the ball, he has
the ability to create space and earn yards
after the catch. His upside is tremendous.

This kids film is impressive.
Period!

i like his highlight film.

Looks pretty good to me.

Looks pretty damn good on film, IMO.

Watching his highlights knowing he's only
played one year of football has me excited
for this one. Looks to have amazing
instincts.

His ability to go after the ball is elite, he
doesn't wait for it to get to him, he grabs it
before the defender can react. Better ball
skills than (5-star WR) RSJ.
Also one of the hardest
things to coach, while for Spears it's an
instinct.

Based on his film, he looks like the best
receiver in the state this year.

If he grew another 2 inches he'd be a Justin
Hunter clone

Watching him he is smooth. Effortless is
another description I'd use.

Looking at his film, this guy runs
better routes than most college sophomores
and has great hands. Should see pt as a true
freshman IMO.

He runs nice routes already.

I watched about 5 of his games. he is a
great blocker. much more polished blocker
than most HS WR's, and considering he has
only had a year of coaching at it, thats
pretty impressive.
he is also a pretty natural route runner. he
found himself open a lot across the middle,
and that can usually be attributed to precise
routes, and clean cuts.

Can't believe he has only played two years
of football. His use of hands, and his route
running look very polished

kid is good. only his 2nd year of football,
focused on basketball his first 2 years of
high school. kid has amazing hands. as of
now, he is being looked at by ULL and
Tulane and like schools do to lack of
combine and camp workouts. had an offer
from Kentucky before Joker got the can, not
sure if it still stands. has incredible hands
and is a natural route runner.

tremendous ball skills

This kid...will be a playmaker!

Kids got a huuugggee upside

Playing 1 year of football and earning a LSU
offer says a lot about how good this kid can
be

Good highlights.

the tape is pretty impressive...
I think there's a good chance he could be a
Brandon LaFell type player at LSU

he looks really legit

Spears' video reminded me of Brandon
LaFell. Long strider, good speed, catches
the ball with his hands.

Lafell is a GREAT comparison, but he
catches better now than Lafell did when he
was at LSU. I don't think I will ever forget
the pass that Flynn threw to Lafell against
Auburn that hit Lafell in the hands, then he
tossed it over his shoulder to the Auburn DB.
Has to be the most embarrassing play in
Lafells career.

It is easy to see on film that Spears is a
good prospect

Speed: check
Height: check
Hands: check
Athleticism: check
Blocking: check
Routes: check
What's there not to like?

Notice that acceleration off the line? Imagine
how much better he will get year 2 of
football. Damn.

To me, this (acceleration)
was the most impressive thing I
saw in that highlight video

IMO this dude is
a Brandon Lafell clone.

kid is a stud

This kids film looks awesome!

His film reminds me of Marques
Colston

This kid looks like he could be a Marcus
Colston clone.

kid can ball

Kid looks like videos I've seen of RSJ.
He has talent for sure!

This guy is legit. It felt like I was watching a
solid 4 star players highlights.

From last years class, I got to see a game at Breaux Bridge, after I got to see Travin Dural play, I said that this one could come in right away and help out. Well LSU played 15 True Freshmen and if not for injuries, Dural would have played. This kid had speed, field vision, and great hands. He could return punts, kickoffs and play special teams. The guy I was watching the game with was saying the same things. He like I have seen too many players and way too many games. LSU hit on a good one last year, look for this to continue.

In his Rivals rating? Is that what he's saying?

That's what I understood him to mean.