June 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nKnox Kiffin\u2019s recruitment picks up<\/p>\n
Kiffin may be just a rising junior, but Lane Kiffin\u2019s son is settling into life in Baton Rouge quite nicely \u2014 and is turning heads on the recruiting front.<\/p>\n
The younger Kiffin, ranked the No. 525 prospect and No. 52 quarterback in the 2028 class, has been busy over the last couple of months traveling to schools to throw in front of coaches, and so far, so good. In the last eight days, Kiffin has picked up offers from Georgia Tech, Memphis and Vanderbilt. SMU also offered in May 2024; Washington and Cal came into the fold in December; and Missouri offered last month, rounding out Kiffin\u2019s Power 4 offers to this point.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s going to be some more offers that come and some more things that are happening,\u201d said Andy Martin, Kiffin\u2019s coach at University Lab in Baton Rouge. \u201cBut (even) if he just stopped right now, he\u2019d have a bunch of great schools to choose from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said Kiffin, who came to Louisiana by way of Mississippi after his father took the LSU job in November, has transitioned nicely among his new teammates and already has a strong understanding of the team\u2019s culture. University Lab is no stranger to offspring of prominent in-state figures \u2014 politicians and coaches often send their children to the school \u2014 so in that sense, Kiffin\u2019s being there isn\u2019t outside the norm.<\/p>\n
This spring, Martin got to see Kiffin\u2019s skill set on the field for the first time during spring practices and walked away impressed with the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got such a high football IQ,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s a student of the game. You can tell he\u2019s been coached up in that way. He\u2019s a quarterback that\u2019s got a plus arm. He can really push the ball down the field. He\u2019s also sneaky athletic. I mean, he really is. He can run \u2026 and I think teams are going to be a little bit surprised by that.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you get when a guy comes in, a coach\u2019s son, and you hope that he\u2019s good. And he really is. He fits the part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said he didn\u2019t think Kiffin was in any hurry to make major decisions but that he could see him wanting to issue a commitment about a year from now before his senior season begins.<\/p>\n
Dad and LSU haven\u2019t offered yet. One of the more fascinating storylines of the 2028 Class will be Knox and Lane and whether they want to team up at LSU.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t talked to him about that,\u201d Martin said. \u201cCan (Knox) play there? I\u2019m sure he can. His skill level is very high. Do (Lane) and Knox want to do that? I don\u2019t know that. There\u2019s just a pressure that comes with that type of thing, and I don\u2019t know that that\u2019s what they want, so I really can\u2019t answer that on how they want that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
LSU rolling<\/p>\n
Speaking of the elder Kiffin, LSU is rolling on the recruiting trail.<\/p>\n
Wednesday, the Tigers landed a commitment from five-star edge rusher Chris Whitehead, a Virginia native who ranks No. 31 overall in the Class of 2027.<\/p>\n
Whitehead is one of four top-150 prospects who have committed to LSU in June. The other three are edge rusher KJ Green from Georgia, running back David Segarra from South Carolina and interior offensive lineman Terrance Smith from Pennsylvania. The Tigers\u2019 class ranks only 18th nationally \u2014 due to its size (13 commits) \u2014 but its average player rating of 93.05 is fourth.<\/p>\n
\u201cLSU is doing a great job of recruiting our guys. They really are,\u201d University Lab\u2019s Martin said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got some good players on our team, and they\u2019re doing it the right way; they\u2019re doing a lot of evaluations and a lot of things like that because a lot of people in Louisiana, when you put that offer out, there are a lot of people that want to go to LSU. So they\u2019ve got to make sure it\u2019s the right kid and the right opportunity bringing him on. I think all of their coaches have just been doing an outstanding job of recruiting not only our guys but even guys in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, it all starts with in-state recruiting for LSU, which has received verbals from four of the top seven prospects in Louisiana this cycle. But the Tigers have also landed commitments from recruits in Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, California and Texas.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s ahead<\/p>\n
June visits always bring a slew of commitments, and this year is no exception.<\/p>\n
The big one to keep an eye on: Five-star cornerback John Meredith III, the nation\u2019s No. 2 prospect and the top cornerback, is set to issue a commitment Friday.<\/p>\n
Meredith, from Fort Worth, Texas, is down to a final trio of Alabama, Texas and Texas A&M, though it feels like a fight between the in-state Aggies and Longhorns, considering Meredith shared photos of official visits to both places in recent weeks, but not Alabama.<\/p>\n
Given the national landscape of recruiting in this era of the sport, it\u2019s not as common for two in-state rivals to go head-to-head for a recruit, but Meredith is the type of prospect worth pulling out all the stops (and resources) for. Should the Longhorns land him, he\u2019d be coach Steve Sarkisian\u2019s second five-star in this class, joining wide receiver Easton Royal out of New Orleans. Texas has three top-100 prospects and 10 blue-chippers in what should be another strong class. If A&M is the choice, the Aggies would score a second major win in as many days after the Henderson commitment and continue their tear through this recruiting cycle.<\/p>\n
A few other notable upcoming commitments to keep an eye on:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Also on Friday: four-star linebacker Jalaythan Mayfield, the nation\u2019s No. 216 prospect out of North Carolina, is choosing between Georgia, Indiana and Miami. Four-star edge James Pace III, the nation\u2019s No. 155 prospect out of Maryland, will pick between Tennessee, Maryland, Auburn, South Carolina and Georgia, though he also recently took an official visit to see Deion Sanders at Colorado. And rounding out a busy day, four-star athlete Israel Hammons, an Oklahoma native who ranks No. 174 overall, is set to pick between several Power 4 schools, including in-state Oklahoma State.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Four-star wide receiver Amare Patterson from South Carolina, ranked No. 230, is committing Saturday and is down to Georgia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and South Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Last but certainly not least, we\u2019ll kick off next week with a splash when four-star receiver Julius Jones, ranked No. 75, issues a commitment on \u201cThe Pat McAfee Show\u201d on Monday. The Florida native and son of a former Notre Dame and NFL running back of the same name is down to the Fighting Irish and Miami.<\/p>\n