Keeping 5-star WR Shelton Sampson Jr. home marks a massive win for LSU and Brian Kelly

There were some questions, and even concerns, about how Brian Kelly would fit at LSU. While Kelly has a great track record as a head coach and took Notre Dame to two College Football Playoff appearances, he is from the Midwest and has yet to coach a game in the SEC. But when it comes to recruiting, he is off to a great start. The Tigers have been on fire this summer, landing 13 of their 18 commitments since late June. LSU’s most recent pledge, Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic five-star wide receiver Shelton Sampson, Jr., is Kelly’s biggest commitment to date.

Sampson Jr. is the No. 32 overall prospect and No. 6 wide receiver in the 2023 On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 rates him even higher as the No. 21 overall prospect and No. 4 wide receiver in the 2023 On300. Both rankings rate him as the No. 3 player in Louisiana.

Alabama was in the mix for the 6-foot-3.5, 190 pound wideout. Florida State got Sampson Jr. on campus a couple of times. Texas A&M was viewed as LSU’s biggest competition since Sampson Jr. visited College Station last week.

However, it didn’t matter. The five-star recruit wasn’t leaving The Boot.

“LSU is close to home and I am a hometown kid right here in Baton Rouge,” Sampson Jr. told On3 last fall. “I grew up watching LSU. It is a program with history and I was a big fan growing up. The atmosphere is different at LSU. They have history producing top wide receivers too, so I like that.”

Sampson Jr. said this while Ed Orgeron was still the Tigers’ head coach. Today, Coach O is out. Kelly is in, and there are many new faces around the program and on the coaching staff.

So far, that change has been for the better. For recruits like Sampson Jr., it’s part of the reason they’re taking their talents to LSU.

“I like how genuine they all are,” Sampson Jr. said in July about the Tigers’ new staff. “The Louisiana culture there is real. From the old coaching staff to the new coaching staff, the energy is different. When coach Kelly came in, he got the academics right. It’s all going in the right direction and that caught my mom’s attention — even more than mine — but she’s a part of the decision, too.”

How LSU’s new staff reeled him in

Sampson’s recruitment skyrocketed when he ran the 40-yard-dash in less than 4.4 seconds prior to his junior season. Power 5 programs offered him within days of the performance.

As Sampson Jr. eventually won a state championship, Alabama, Florida State and Texas A&M started emerging as serious contenders for his commitment. However, LSU was falling behind. The Tigers had recently parted ways with Orgeron and were embarking on a coaching search.

“Sampson Jr.’s recruitment remained at a standstill during the coaching transition at LSU,” On3 National Recruiting Analyst Sam Spiegelman said. “It also coincided with pushes from not only the Tide and the Aggies, but a familiar face emerging at Florida State. (Offensive analyst) Gabe Fertitta, who was Sampson’s prep coach when his recruitment took off several years back, now works alongside (recruiting coordinator) David Johnson and (offensive coordinator) Alex Atkins, who made up significant ground with the five-star pass-catcher in recent months.”

Kelly, the longtime head man at Notre Dame, was announced as LSU’s next head coach on Nov. 30. He soon assembled a staff including wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton, quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan and recruiting specialist Jordan Arcement.

These three staffers were instrumental in recruiting Sampson Jr. The five-star was previously offered by Arcement when he was at Virginia and Hankton when he was at Georgia. Additionally, Sloan has ties to Louisiana, which helped the Tigers’ case for Sampson Jr. and other in-state recruits.

LSU’s recruiting success also caught the attention of Sampson Jr. The Tigers landed two top-100 prospects in July in Miami Gulliver Prep four-star wide receiver Jalen Brown and Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy four-star EDGE Dashawn Womack.

Additionally, the program had already notched commitments from four in-state recruits: Baton Rouge (La.) Liberty Magnet High School four-star running back Kaleb Jackson, Marrero (La.) St. Augustine four-star offensive tackle Tyree Adams, Farmerville (La.) Union Parish four-star running back Trey Holly and Metairie (La.) Archbishop Rummel three-star safety Ashton Stamps.

“As the new LSU staff found a rhythm, it began to pay on the recruiting trail with Sampson Jr., who moved up his timeline after a string of visits this summer,” Spiegelman said.

Shelton Sampson Jr. may spark more recruiting success for the Tigers

Sampson Jr. took multiple unofficial visits to LSU, including one on June 7, before his commitment. Following his pledge, the Tigers’ class — which ranked No. 10 in the 2023 On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings before the announcement — got closer to a top-five group. There is a chance it gets even closer in the coming weeks.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine lists the Tigers as the heavy favorite for Monroe (La.) Neville four-star offensive tackle Zalance Heard, Jackson (La.) Zachary four-star safety Kylin Jackson and Baton Rouge (La.) Woodlawn four-star quarterback Rickie Collins. All three players are top-175 recruits and among Louisiana’s top-15 prospects, according to the On3 Consensus.

Even more players from the Pelican State may consider LSU thanks to Sampson Jr.’s commitment, according to On3 LSU/SMU Analyst Billy Embody.

“Now, there’s a sense that with a five-star well-known recruit like Sampson (Jr.) on board in early August – several months ahead of schedule – that LSU could pick up serious recruiting momentum in The Boot over the next few weeks leading into the season,” Embody told On3.

The Tigers currently have commitments from three of the top 15 players in Louisiana. There is a chance that list expands to six or more.

Kelly and his staff still have to prove whether the Tigers can contend for a national championship on the field. But off it, they have shown an ability to land top prospects and recruit Louisiana hard. Sampson Jr. is a big part of that effort.

“Shelton Sampson (Jr.) is a massive get for LSU for many reasons,” Embody. “After last year’s class losing wideouts from in-state during the coaching change, LSU needed to plant the flag back in Louisiana. Landing Sampson Jr. does that and he’s a Baton Rouge native, which is important.

“Then you have his on-field play, which can really bolster this receiving room for years on the outside. That’s critical with where the positional depth stands on the outside. The staff of Cortez Hankton, Joe Sloan, and others who worked this one really locked in and outside of some buzz here and there for others, led the entire summer. Sampson (Jr.) is a huge addition to an already promising class.”