BATON ROUGE — Ryan Perrilloux, considered by many to be the top prep football player in America, highlighted Les Miles‘ first signing class at LSU, the head coach announced on Wednesday.
LSU’s 2005 signing class includes 12 high school seniors, two grayshirts in linebacker Harry Coleman and offensive lineman Max Holmes, and two transfers in Sammy Joseph and Chase Pittman. In addition, P.J. Zimmerman, a walkon for the Tigers in 2004, was awarded a scholarship that will count towards the 2005 class.
“I thought those people that represent the school did a tremendous job,” Miles said on Wednesday. “The class is a very solid one. It is one that is reflective of the best players in this state, again staying in state for the most part and coming to LSU.
“If that continues, certainly LSU will look forward to great classes and the opportunity to win championships. There were only nine seniors on the 2004 squad, so with scholarship restrictions, it did not allow us to sign the full complement. We felt like we did get what we needed and a quality group of men. It is not so much the number, but who you have and how good they are. We felt like we had a very represented class.”
Highlighting the class is Perrilloux, a quarterback from East St. John High School in Reserve, La., who was named National Player of the Year by the USA Today as well as being named to the Parade All-America Team. In his four years at East St. John, Perrilloux racked up 12,705 yards of offense, including 9,025 passing and another 3,680 rushing.
As a senior, he accounted for 67 touchdowns – 37 rushing and 30 passing. He set the Louisiana high school record for total yards in a single-season with 5,006 in 2004.
“Perrilloux has the arm talent, great view of the field and tremendous athletic ability,” Miles said.
In addition to Perrilloux, the Tigers picked up prize signees in running back R.J. Jackson from Westside High School in Houston and wide receiver Brandon LaFell from Lamar High School, also in Houston.
Jackson earned First-Team 5A All-State honors in 2004, while also being named to Tom Lemming’s All-America team. As a senior, he rushed for 774 yards and caught 37 passes for another 837 yards. He finished with 34 touchdowns in 2004.
LaFell, ranked among the top wide receivers in the nation, caught 46 passes for 1,116 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2004.
Other high school All-Americas on the offensive side of the ball in LSU’s 2005 class include offensive lineman Ciron Black from Lee High School in Tyler, Texas and running back Antonio Robinson from Winnfield, La. Robinson rushed for 1,672 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior.
Other offensive signees include Kyle Anderson, a tight end from The Woodlands, Texas, who caught 16 passes for 398 yards in 2004; Trindon Holliday, a running back/wide receiver who has been clocked at 6.27 seconds in the 55-meter dash, from Northeast High School in Zachary, La.; and Steve Korte, one of the nation’s top fullbacks, from Fountainbleau High School in Mandeville, La. Korte rushed for 628 yards and six touchdowns as a senior.
Al Jones from St. Augustine in New Orleans, highlights LSU’s defensive signees. Jones, a member of Tom Lemming’s All-America team in 2004, had 79 tackles and eight sacks as a senior.
Other defensive signees for the Tigers include Darry Beckwith, a linebacker from Parkview Baptist in Baton Rouge, who was named Louisiana’s Defensive MVP in class 3A in 2004; Chris Hawkins, a defensive back from Walker High School, who was ranked among the top cornerbacks in the country; and Lyle Hitt, a defensive tackle from Parkview Baptist, who earned First Team 3A All-State honors in 2004.