'It felt like home': 4-star OL DJ Chester commits to LSU

The visits are done for McDonough (Ga.) Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy four-star offensive lineman DJ Chester.

LSU was home. It has been for a long time. Chester made his commitment to LSU public on Thursday morning. Chester, the No. 131 overall prospect in the On300 rankings for the class of 2023, took an official visit to Michigan last weekend.

He officially visited Ole Miss on Sept. 30. Chester also took an official visit to Auburn. LSU had something the others didn’t.

“It felt like home,” Chester told On3. “I didn’t want to leave.”

Chester has felt that way for months. He took his time and fought the urge to make a decision. He did his due diligence. That’s what the last few months have been about for Chester. He wanted to be absolutely sure that LSU was where he wanted to be.

“I took all the visits that I wanted to take,” Chester said. “I knew where I wanted to be, so I just wanted to get it over with.”

Brian Kelly has LSU ranked in the top 15 and controlling its own destiny to win the SEC West in his first year. Chester isn’t surprised by the quick turnaround. It had minimal impact on his recruitment. Even still, the future is bright in Baton Rouge, and Chester is hopeful of building a winner at LSU.

“Even if things didn’t go as well as they have, I’d still be committed to them,” Chester said. “Nobody expected them to do this, but I did. My thing was to go to a place that was going to fit where I wanted to go.”

LSU is about more than football to DJ Chester

The recruiting process went beyond football for Chester. LSU is more than a football program for Chester for a few reasons.

“It’s bigger than football,” Chester said. “During the spring, you’re not really playing games. All you’re doing is practicing. If you just like the school just for football, you’re not going to have fun being there. I also want to go to school here. It’s bigger than football because I know football isn’t going to last my whole life. When I get to the NFL, football is only like 10-15 years. I’ll be 35 years old. I’ll have a lot of years of life in me. I’m more than just a football player.”

Chester loved the culture of football in Louisiana.

“In Louisiana as a whole, it’s just LSU and the Saints,” Chester said. “I feel like everyone that grew up in Louisiana is cheering for the LSU Tigers.”

Chester also wanted to pursue track and field at the college level. LSU will provide Chester with the opportunity to compete with the track team during the spring. Auburn offered a similar opportunity. LSU’s track team’s success also stood out.

LSU’s men track team won the national championship in 2021.