The Tigers continued to add to an elite 2026 recruiting class as a prolific LSU recruiting weekend ended with the commitments of two defensive line prospects. It started with local product Darryus McKinley\u2019s announcement on Friday. His commitment was followed by Suwannee, Georgia native Deuce Geralds\u2019s decision on Saturday to cap off an incredible recruiting weekend for LSU.<\/p>\n
Undoubtedly, the staff is riding high after such a productive weekend. LSU has prioritized the defensive tackle position after fielding an admittedly thin group in 2024. But what is defensive line coach Kyle Williams getting in the most recent dynamic duo of commitments?<\/p>\n
Watching a 6\u2019-2\u201d, 275-pound defensive tackle move the way Geralds does on the field is simply unnatural. The 247Sports<\/em> Composite ranks him as a four-star prospect and the 12th-best\u00a0defensive lineman in the country, which is very high praise. Flatly, we think that\u2019s too low.<\/p>\n As a pass rusher, Geralds shows snap anticipation and an impressive burst. He has adequate strength to bull rush, but his ability to bend stands out at his size. Geralds has an ability to bend and dip his shoulder that rivals the best pass rushing defensive end prospects. He plants his foot, then explodes to change direction and elude offensive linemen. That elusiveness even shows up on the offensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n Yes, we called a guy approaching 300 pounds elusive. Geralds also plays running back for Collins Hill High School. But not in a short-yardage, JJ Pegues at Ole Miss type of role. He is a legitimate running back who gets to the edge and outruns defenders. The versatile prospect takes direct snaps at times and even flashes a wiggle at his size. Considering his size and skill set, it\u2019s no surprise that LSU had to fight off teams like Ohio State and Oregon to get his commitment.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t much of a surprise when McKinley decided to join his older brother, Dominick McKinley, at LSU. But make no mistake, the LSU offer was not a legacy situation or an attempt to appease Dominick. The younger sibling is a solid player in his own right.<\/p>\n The three-star prospect chose LSU over Texas and Florida, which is a testament to his potential. He\u2019s roughly the same size but a little taller than Geralds, listed at 6\u2019-3\u201d and 270 pounds. McKinley\u2019s game is more power-based. He routinely resets the line of scrimmage, pushing into the offensive backfield. His film is textbook-worthy as he stacks and sheds blockers.<\/p>\n Double teams from the most talented programs in Louisiana\u2019s 5A classification were no match for McKinley \u2013 he simply pushed them around. He\u2019s the vintage run-stopping defensive tackle that every defense needs.<\/p>\n The two recent commitments from LSU\u2019s big recruiting weekend join University High\u2019s Lamar Brown and Karr\u2019s Richard Anderson in the Tigers\u2019 2026 class. Things could always change before signing day, but no team currently has a more highly touted group<\/a> of defensive tackles committed. According to the 247Sports<\/em> Composite, LSU now holds commitments from the first, second, and twelfth-ranked defensive linemen in the country.<\/p>\n LSU\u2019s commitment to strengthening the defensive tackle<\/a> position is more evident than ever. After signing three high school recruits<\/a> and two transfers in 2025, the 2026 class will add quality depth to allow the linemen to remain fresh on the field. Let\u2019s face it; every team should expect yearly random defections from the roster in this age of college football. Depth is also important in that regard.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no coincidence that the best LSU defenses had superb defensive line play. If the Tiger defense is to return to the ranks of the elite, this position group is where it all starts.<\/p>\n Main Image: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Tigers continued to add to an elite 2026 recruiting class as a prolific LSU recruiting weekend ended with the commitments of two defensive line prospects. It started with local product Darryus McKinley\u2019s announcement on Friday. His commitment was followed by Suwannee, Georgia native Deuce Geralds\u2019s decision on Saturday to cap off an incredible recruiting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4690,"featured_media":72661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,35582,7316,3],"tags":[35268,35385,244,34432,33569,35267,86,73,258,277,35304,6142],"class_list":["post-75926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-ole-miss-rebels","category-recruiting","category-sec","tag-darryus-mckinley","tag-deuce-geralds","tag-florida-gators","tag-jj-pegues","tag-kyle-williams","tag-lamar-brown","tag-lsu-tigers","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes","tag-ole-miss-rebels","tag-oregon-ducks","tag-richard-anderson","tag-texas"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75926"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75929,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75926\/revisions\/75929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Darryus McKinley Stands on His Own<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Best Defensive Line Group in the Nation<\/strong><\/h3>\n