On300 safety Joel Rogers stays home, commits to LSU

Joel Rogers hoped that after his series of June official visits, he would be closer to revealing his college commitment. In the end, it only took one trip to put the On300 safety over the top.

After soaking up the sights and sounds of his LSU official visit over the weekend, Rogers cancelled his upcoming trips to both Alabama and TCU. The nation’s No. 18-ranked safety out of Saint Francisville (La.) West Feliciana High School pledged in-state to the Tigers, which continue to lock up the state’s best homegrown talent.

The Boot’s No. 4-rated player elected to stay home, a massive trend developing for Brian Kelly and his coaching staff with the wealth of Louisiana-based talent in this 2024 recruiting class.

“It’s the whole LSU family, everybody, the whole staff wants me there,” Rogers told On3.

“I had already had an idea of where I wanted to go,” he continued. “At first, I was just going to take the other visits, but it hit me while I was there — I realized if I already knew where I wanted to go there was no point in making other visits.”

Multiple LSU coaches made Rogers a priority

Rogers saw his recruitment take off after a breakthrough junior season at West Feliciana High School in which the 6-foot, 187-pound do-it-all playmaker got work at quarterback and in the defensive secondary.

Schools around the South began to offers Rogers after the season and earlier this year. That main group was highlighted by Texas, Alabama, Texas A&M, TCU, Mississippi State and LSU, which got the four-star athlete on campus early and often.

Rogers and the other major dominoes in-state have been a priority for Kelly’s staff this cycle.

“I talk to everybody every week … it’s just crazy,” Rogers continued. “They are making sure they keep the best in-state talent home. Being from here, maybe I’m biased, but we grow up in harsh conditions in Louisiana. We have a chip on our shoulders. The talent is different here. The want-to on top of that, LSU is moving in the right direction by getting as many kids from The Boot as possible.”

Rogers got close looks at the team and time inside the program for the length of the spring and again during this past weekend’s official visit. Multiple members of the LSU coaching staff were involved in Rogers’ recruitment, with area recruiter Joe Sloan and safeties coach Kerry Cooks taking lead roles in courting and also closing with Rogers.

“It’s really big,” he said of playing for LSU. “It used just to be a dream; now it’s a reality. My hometown school … Where I live … Everyone knows of LSU football.”

Rogers checks in as the No. 186 overall player in the country. On3 is higher on the newly minted LSU defensive back commitment than the rest of the recruiting industry.