There’s no question LSU’s 24-21 victory against Alabama on Saturday was important for a lot of reasons.
In the Southeastern Conference standings, it was obviously huge, leaving the No. 5-ranked Tigers (8-1, 5-1 SEC) just a game behind No. 3 Auburn in the West Division.
And by keeping LSU alive in the SEC race, it was the kind of victory that keeps the Tigers in line for an awful lot of other noteworthy goals.
But as important as the immediate impact the win could have, the lasting effect looms equally as large for LSU.
Saturday was the biggest recruiting day of the season for the Tigers, both in terms of how many prospects were in Tiger Stadium and because of whom LSU played and how the game played out.
The Tigers’ monumental victory against one of the teams it recruits hardest against head-to-head is a perfect example of why recruiting coordinators target their biggest games of the season for recruits to visit.
“It’s a big impact,” Tigers senior wide receiver Terrence Toliver said. “Being here for that kind of game would’ve had an impact on me.
“Big game, big crowd, a lot of people came out to watch the game, and we beat a well-respected team. I probably would’ve made my decision from that.”
That’s exactly what the LSU coaches have to be hoping for.
In the wake of the Tigers’ first triumph against a top-10 opponent since the 2007 BCS National Championship Game, the coaches spent a good chunk of Sunday with the wave of recruits who were part of the vocal crowd of 92,939 Saturday.
Four recruits were in town for official visits: Tight end Nick O’Leary, defensive end Curt Maggitt and quarterback Jacoby Brissett from West Palm Beach (Fla.) Dwyer; and defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan from Lake City (Fla.) Columbia.
Besides that quartet, there was a large contingent of players who have already committed and a handful of in-state players at the game on unofficial visits.
“All these big-time recruits, to come in and experience that game and feel like they’re a part of it is huge and is definitely going to play into our favor,” said inside receiver Russell Shepard, one of the highest profile recruits LSU has landed in the past several years.
How a win like Saturday’s impacts recruits is measurable in a lot of ways. As Shepard pointed out, beating the Crimson Tide was massive because it was a chance for the Tigers to make a statement like they haven’t delivered the past few years, when they’ve lost at home against ranked foes three times in the national spotlight: against No. 9 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama in 2008, and then against top-ranked Florida last season.
“A lot of those recruits, when they really started following LSU football was 2008,” Shepard said. “They were too young for the 2007 (national championship) season, so they never experienced LSU football at that level — with the big-time wins at Tiger Stadium.”
LSU coach Les Miles added: “I think our football team and the success that they’re having tells the recruiting class that you have an opportunity to win championships and play the biggest games. I think anybody that was in the stadium will recognize that Tiger Stadium is the finest athletic building maybe in the country. I think a win like that certainly makes the right statement of ‘come on,’ there are some special things happening here.”
It doesn’t hurt, of course, that Alabama was the vanquished opponent. Ever since Nick Saban took over in Tuscaloosa, Ala., three years ago, the recruiting battles between LSU and the Crimson Tide have intensified because Saban isn’t shy about dipping into talent-rich Louisiana.
Saban has made several dents in the wall he built around the state’s borders. And with the 2010 Louisiana senior class regarded as the state’s best since the 2001 crew that formed the nucleus of LSU’s 2003 national title season, the head-to-head on-field battles between the Tigers and Tide are more important than ever.
“For a lot of (recruits), Alabama is a school they’re considering, and for us to beat a team like that is huge,” Shepard said.
It might not seem logical than 3‰ hours at a football game can influence a decision that lasts three or four years.
But there seems to be little doubt that one game — one almost perfect afternoon — can go a long way in recruiting.
“It was huge,” LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee said of his recruiting visit in 2006. “It was one of the reasons I came here. The atmosphere, the environment, to be in the locker room and see what a big deal it was — it sticks with you.”
Especially a place like Tiger Stadium when it’s packed and as raucous as it was Saturday.
Shepard had already committed to LSU when he visited LSU, and it came after he had taken in games at Southern California, Texas and Florida. “Tiger Stadium is the best because it’s such a unique place to play,” Shepard said. “You go to Texas or USC, you’ve got a lot of people at the game, but not everybody is into the game like they are here.”
The game Shepard first attended was when Alabama visited in 2008 and escaped with an overtime victory. He said Tiger Stadium was “the loudest place (he’d) ever heard.”
“I’d never felt something like that,” he said. “Even though we lost, it made a big impact on me.”
What Saturday’s victory also afforded the LSU coaches and players was a chance to share the experience.
After a loss, it makes sense that the locker room isn’t a lively place where the current players feel like chatting with the recruits.
After a victory — a huge victory like Saturday’s — there is plenty of socializing.
For added measure, the recruits watched Kelvin Sheppard present an emotional Miles with a game ball.
“I usually ask those guys ‘Did you watch the game today? Did you see all the people there?’” Toliver said. “I talk to them like I’d talk to my little brothers.”
As important as the postgame might be, the 60 minutes are key when the environment is anything like it was Saturday.
“In the second half it was rocking at Tiger Stadium and that says a lot about our fans and what we have going here,” Shepard said.
“Louisiana people are different from anywhere else. The culture is great and people are just happy. Everybody loves each other, and that was important to me.”
It was an important building block two years ago for Shepard, just like Saturday’s victory and everything that surrounded it could contribute to the Tigers’ success in the future.
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