Home Sports Football: LSU signs elite freshman class

Football: LSU signs elite freshman class

by Russell Hedges

LSU Athletic Communications

BATON ROUGE – LSU added 23 players to its football roster for the 2025 season on Wednesday as the Tigers signed one of the nation’s top recruiting classes.

LSU’s signing class was ranked as high as No. 6 nationally by Rivals.com. The other three recruiting services – On3, ESPN and 247Sports – tabbed the Tiger class at No. 8.

“Overall, I think this is the finest class that I have signed,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said. “It points to the work the entire staff has done over the past 18 months putting together an outstanding class. Regardless of what happened over the last week, all of these guys wanted to be here at LSU, representing LSU and wanting to be part of a championship. 

“This is an outstanding class. All of these guys wanted to be part of LSU because they see something, they felt something that was clear to them and what was clear to them is that this is going to be a championship program and they want to be part of it. In back-to-back years we have put together elite classes.”

Kelly’s fourth signing class at LSU featured 10 of the top 20 rated players in the state of Louisiana, including the No. 1 ranked player in running back Harlem Berry. The class featured the No. 1 rated player in the states of Arkansas (OL Carius Curne), Florida (CB DJ Pickett) and Indiana (EDGE Damien Shanklin). 

Pickett from Zephyrhills High School in Florida is widely considered the No. 1 cornerback prospect in the Class of 2025. He’s ranked as the 10th-best overall prospect nationally. Berry, from St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Metairie, is the nation’s top-rated running back, while offensive tackle Solomon Thomas is rated as the No. 1 interior offensive lineman nationally. All three players earned 5-stars in the On3 composite rankings. 

Of the 10 in-state signees for the Tigers, five were rated among the top 10 in the state and eight were among the top 15 players in Louisiana.

The class includes 14 players on the defensive side of the ball, including four defensive tackles and four linebackers, along with nine on offense. LSU signed four offensive linemen which included 5-star offensive tackle Thomas and 4-stars Curne and Tyler Miller.

LSU also added a pair of legacy Tigers in offensive lineman Brett Bordelon and tight end JD LaFleur. Bordelon joins his brother Bo on the Tiger roster and is the son of Ben Bordelon, who started 31 games for the Tigers in the 1990s. LaFleur is the son of David LaFleur, an All-America at LSU 1996 and a first-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys. 

Another member of the Weeks family joined the LSU roster as well as Zach Weeks, the younger brother of West and Whit, will play for the Tigers in 2025. It’s the first time since 1995 that LSU’s roster will feature three brothers. That year, the Hill’s – Chris, Greg and Melvin – all played for the Tigers.

LSU Football – 2025 Signing Class (December)

Name                                 Pos.       Ht.         Wt.                       Hometown (High School)

Aidan Anding                  CB          5-11       167                       Grambling, La. (Ruston HS)

Dilan Battle                       DT         6-2         319                       Oak Park, Mich. (Timberview (Texas) HS)

Harlem Berry                    RB          5-11       188                       New Orleans, La. (St. Martin’s Episcopal School)

Brett Bordelon                  OL         6-3         303                       Raceland, La. (Isidore Newman)

Jaiden Braker                    LB          6-3         217                       Snellville, Ga. (South Gwinnett HS)

Jacob Bradford                 S             5-11       190                       Baton Rouge, La. (Catholic HS)

Brandon Brown                DT         6-1         291                       Melbourne, Fla. (Eau Gallie HS)

Carius Curne                    OL         6-4         329                       Hughes, Ark. (Marion HS)

TaRon Francis                  WR        6-0         206                       Avondale, La. (Edna Karr HS)

CJ Jimcoily                        S             6-3         212                       Nashville, Tenn. (Lipscomb Academy)

JD LaFleur                         TE          6-6         245                       Sulphur, La. (Sulphur HS)

JT Lindsey                         RB          5-11       185                       Alexandria, La. (Alexandria Senior HS)

Walter Mathis Jr.             DT         6-1         285                       Savannah, Ga. (Calvary Day School)

Tyler Miller                       OT         6-5         341                       Laurel, Miss. (Laurel HS)

Keylan Moses                   LB          6-2         208                       Baton Rouge, La. (University HS)

DJ Pickett                          CB          6-4         184                       Zephyrhills, Fla. (Zephyrhills HS)

Charles Ross II                 LB          6-1         205                       Houston, Texas (North Shore Senior HS)

Damien Shanklin             EDGE    6-4         254                       Indianapolis, Ind. (Warren Central HS)

Jhase Thomas                   S             6-1         162                       Destrehan, La. (Destrehan HS)

Zach Weeks                       LB          6-2         218                       Oconee County, Ga. (Oconee County HS)

Zion Williams                  DT         6-4         342                       Lufkin, Texas (Lufkin HS)

Phillip Wright III             WR        6-0         169                       Shrewsbury, La. (Destrehan HS)

By Position: 

Defense: 14

Linebacker: 4

Defensive Tackle: 4

Safety: 3

Cornerback: 2

Edge: 1

Offense: 9
Offensive Line: 4

Running Back: 2

Wide Receiver: 2

Tight End: 1 

By State:

Louisiana: 10

Texas: 3 

Georgia: 3

Florida: 3

Tennessee: 1

Indiana: 1

Arkansas: 1

Mississippi: 1

Rankings based on On3: 

5-Stars (3)

4-Start (17)

3-Stars (3)

Signed No. 1 Ranked Player in the states of:

  • Louisiana (Berry) – No. 1 by On3 and 247Sports
  • Arkansas (Curne) – consensus No. 1
  • Florida (Pickett) – consensus No. 1
  • Indiana (Shanklin) – No. 1 by ESPN

Signed Top 5 Ranked Player in the states of: 

  • Louisiana (Lindsey at No. 4, Anding at No. 4, Bradford at No. 5)
  • Mississippi (Miller at No. 3)
  • Tennessee (Jimcoily at No. 5)

In Louisiana signed:

  • 5 of the Top 10 rated players
  • 8 of the Top 15 rated players
  • 10 of the Top 20 rated players

Related Posts