Football Welcomes Elite Freshman Class at Start of Early Signing Period
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.