It was a night when Ed Orgeron’s worst fears were realized.
The LSU Tigers went to Mississippi State on Sept. 17, 2017, and got trounced 37-7 by the Bulldogs, in large part because their offensive and defensive linemen, thin on numbers and mostly inexperienced, got pushed around by a shockingly deeper and more physical opponent.
Despite that loss and an equally embarrassing 24-21 defeat against Troy two weeks later, LSU’s problems did not prove fatal. The Tigers went on to win six of their final eight games to finish a respectable 9-4 in Orgeron's first full year in charge.
But the other two losses, 24-10 at Alabama and 21-17 to Notre Dame in the Citrus Bowl, further highlighted the Tigers’ issues at the line of scrimmage. It is not insignificant that both Bama and Notre Dame were in the College Football Playoff this season, an achievement to which LSU still aspires five years into the game’s new championship system.
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“We need to get more linemen on this football team,” Orgeron said after his team got stuffed in Starkville. “We need to get bigger, stronger, faster, and we need to have more depth. That’s why we are going to have to go into the junior college ranks.”
Being deficient on the lines is not a problem LSU fell into overnight. And it is not a problem Orgeron and his staff could rectify quickly. But LSU made being better and deeper on the lines a high priority of 2018 and 2019 recruiting classes.
Call it Project Lineman.
Our player-by-player breakdown of LSU's commitments, signees and the top targets remaining.
The numbers tell the story. Of the 22 signees who found their way to LSU’s campus in 2018, 11 were linemen. Going into the start of the traditional February national signing period, the Tigers have six linemen who signed in the early period in December and two more commitments.
Mesa (Arizona) Community College defensive end Soni Fonua, who committed to the Tigers over the weekend, is expected to sign Wednesday, but a report by 247Sports.com says four-star Ruston tackle Ray Parker will likely not sign with LSU and go the junior college route.
If that is the case with Parker, the Tigers will likely have four remaining spots under the 25-signee limit. LSU has, legitimately, nine targets remaining. Not surprisingly, several of them are linemen.
LSU has no bigger target, literally and figuratively, than 6-foot-3, 334-pound defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher of Amite. True to his word, the battle for Sopsher will go all the way to the end, with LSU, Alabama and Oregon vying for his signature.

Jay Ward
Position: CB
Measurables: 6-foot-1, 175 pounds
High School: Colquitt County
Hometown: Moultrie, Georgia
247Sports Position Rank: No. 51 (3-stars)
STORY: Jay Ward was one of the most surprising signings of LSU's 2019 class. Ward seemed like a lock to either Kentucky or Florida State, which he visited last weekend, but the three-star CB instead picked the Tigers.

Devonta Lee
Position: WR
Measurables: 6-foot-2, 212 pounds
High School: Amite
Hometown: Amite
247Sports Position Rank: No. 8 (4-stars)
STORY: Devonta Lee elected to stay close to home in signing with LSU. The elite athlete took part in the Under Armour All-America Game and had 19 scholarship offers before signing with the Tigers.
- Photo via LSU

Maurice Hampton
Position: CB
Measurables: 6-foot-0, 205 pounds
High School: Memphis University School
Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee
247Sports Position Rank: No. 14 (4-stars)
STORY: The rich get richer. LSU, or DBU, signed another elite cornerback with Maurice Hampton sticking to his commitment of more than two years to the Tigers.
- Photo via LSU

Soni Fonua
Position: SDE
Measurables: 6-foot-4, 264 pounds
School: Mesa Community College
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
247Sports Position Rank: No. 5 (3-stars)
STORY: Soni Fonua saved the theatrics and announced his decision to sign with LSU on Sunday instead of national signing day.
- Photo via LSU

Cordale Flott
Position: DB
Measurables: 6-foot-1, 165-pounds
High School: Saraland High School
Hometown: Saraland, Alabama
247Sports Position Rank: No. 23 (3-star)
STORY: He was once an Auburn commit before flipping to LSU. A report early Wednesday indicated that Flott would not signed today, but he ultimately signed with LSU.
- Provided photo

Kardell Thomas
Position: OG
Measurables: 6-foot-3, 356 pounds
High School: Southern University Lab
Hometown: Baton Rouge
247Sports Position Rank: No. 2 (5-stars)
STORY: Kardell Thomas remained loyal to his commitment to the Tigers, which dates back to summer 2016.
- Photo via LSU

Tyrion Davis
Position: RB
Measurables: 6-foot-1, 230 pounds
High School: Southern University Lab
Hometown: Baton Rouge
247Sports Position Rank: No. 8 (4-stars)
STORY: A hometown product, Tyrion Davis should continue his success at the next level down the road at LSU. His 230-pound frame makes him a bigger, more physical running back.
- Photo via LSU

John Emery Jr.
Position: RB
Measurables: 5-foot-11, 206 pounds
High School: Destrehan
Hometown: Destrehan
247Sports Position Rank: No. 2 (5-stars)
STORY: A longtime Georgia commit, John Emery Jr. flipped to LSU in mid November. He should factor into the Tigers' offense right away.
- Photo via LSU

Peter Parrish
Position: DUAL QB
Measurables: 6-foot-1, 198 pounds
High School: Central
Hometown: Phenix City, Alabama
247Sports Position Rank: No. 13 (4-stars)
STORY: Peter Parrish recently led his team to the Alabama 7A state championship over Thompson, 52-7. Starting at quarterback for Thompson was Alabama commit Taulia Tagovailoa, the younger brother of Heisman finalist Tua Tagovailoa.
- Photo via LSU

Marcel Brooks
Position: OLB
Measurables: 6-foot-3, 195 pounds
High School: Marcus
Hometown: Flower Mound, Texas
247Sports Position Rank: No. 3 (4-stars)
STORY: A dominant defensive presence, Marcel Brooks held offers from 21 programs. Offering schools included Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas and Texas A&M.
- Photo via LSU

Derek Stingley
Position: CB
Measurables: 6-foot-0, 188 pounds
High School: Dunham
Hometown: Baton Rouge
247Sports Position Rank: No. 1 (5-stars)
STORY: Derek Stingley bolsters another elite LSU recruiting class. He should make an impact immediately at DB U.
- Photo via LSU

Apu Ika
Position: DT
Measurables: 6-foot-0, 188 pounds
High School: East
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
247Sports Position Rank: No. 11 (4-stars)
STORY: Apu Ika was a surprise late addition to the 2019 class, choosing to sign with the Tigers over in-state Utah.
- Photo via LSU

Trey Palmer
Position: WR
Measurables: 6-foot-0, 179 pounds
High School: Kentwood
Hometown: Kentwood
247Sports Position Rank: No. 19 (4-stars)
STORY: Trey Palmer visited LSU the weekend before signing day, which seemed to reaffirm his commitment to the Tigers.
- Photo via LSU

Donte Starks
Position: ILB
Measurables: 6-foot-1, 225 pounds
High School: John Ehret
Hometown: Marrero
247Sports Position Rank: No. 6 (4-stars)
STORY: Donte Starks committed in July and took an official visit to LSU last weekend. He joins a long line of talented Tigers inside linebackers.
- Photo via LSU

Charles Turner
Position: C
Measurables: 6-foot-4, 260 pounds
High School: IMG Academy
Hometown: Bradenton, Floida
247Sports Position Rank: No. 6 (3-stars)
STORY: Charles Turner, a Canton, Ohio, native, played two years at high school powerhouse IMG Academy, going 16-1 in that time. He will play in the All-American Bowl on Jan. 5, 2019.
- Photo via LSU

Kendall McCallum
Position: ILB
Measurables: 6-foot-3, 230 pounds
High School: Oxford
Hometown: Oxford, Alabama
247Sports Position Rank: No. 32 (3-stars)
STORY: AL.com reported Kendall McCallum missed four games due to a health scare that was first diagnosed as a heart problem. It was eventually determined to be asthma. McCallum adds to a strong defensive group in the 2019 class.
- Photo via LSU

Anthony Bradford
Position: OG
Measurables: 6-foot-5, 355 pounds
High School: Muskegon
Hometown: Muskegon, Michigan
247Sports Position Rank: No. 13 (4-stars)
STORY: Anthony Bradford is the sixth-highest rated prospect from Michigan, according to 247Sports. He also held offers from SEC programs Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.
- Photo via LSU

T.K. McClendon
Position: TE
Measurables: 6-foot-4, 247 pounds
Community college: Copiah-Lincoln
Hometown: Wesson, Mississippi
247Sports Position Rank: No. 3 (3-stars)
STORY: T.K. McClendon, from Treulton High in Soperton, Georgia, will have two years of remaining eligibility at LSU.
- Photo via LSU

Quentin Skinner
Position: LS
Measurables: 6-foot-0, 235 pounds
High School: Buford
Hometown: Buford, Georgia
247Sports Position Rank: No. 4 (2-stars)
STORY: Quentin Skinner is the latest Buford, Georgia, longsnapper to play for LSU. Brothers Blake and Reid Ferguson are both from Buford. Blake is LSU's sophomore starting snapper. Reid snapped for the Tigers for four years, ending in 2015.
- Photo via LSU

Joseph Evans
Position: DT
Measurables: 6-foot-3, 305 pounds
High School: Haynesville
Hometown: Haynesville
247Sports Position Rank: No. 45 (3-stars)
STORY: Joseph Evans described LSU as a dream school and committed two days after receiving an offer from head coach Ed Orgeron.
- Photo via LSU





After an early signing haul in December that included three five-star athletes — Dunham School cornerback Derek Stingley, Destrehan running back John Emery and linebacker Marcel Brooks of Flower Mound, Texas — Sopsher is the key to LSU recruiting happiness in the new year.
The Tigers need Sopsher not only to address their depth issues on the defensive line — he is one of the top-50 rated players in the country and listed by 247Sports.com as the nation’s fifth-best at his position — but for the sake of perception in LSU’s ongoing pursuit of Alabama.
To this point Alabama has only one player in its top-rated recruiting class from Louisiana: University High linebacker Christian Harris, who signed in December. If LSU could hold Alabama’s recruiting count in Louisiana to that number, it would be a psychological victory for the Tigers in their continuing pursuit of a way to beat the Crimson Tide on the field for the first time since 2011.
LSU is also hoping for a late pledge from four-star Louisville, Mississippi, defensive end Charles Moore, a former Mississippi State commitment.
Even if Sopsher and Moore don’t become Tigers, Project Lineman will have paid off abundantly. On offense, the Tigers return 12 veterans (13 if suspended guard Ed Ingram returns to the team). Players like center Lloyd Cushenberry and tackles Saahdiq Charles and Austin Deculus, who will be joined by newcomers like Kardell Thomas from Southern Lab and Michigan’s Anthony Bradford, a pair of four-star guards.
On defense, getting Rashard Lawrence to return for his senior season was a huge boost, giving LSU nine returning veterans on its base three-man front. Ika and Fonua will join Haynesville defensive tackle Joseph Evans in the freshman class.
Nearly five decades ago, Petelo Kaufusi sent for his cousin in the Tongan village of Koloa.
Alabama under Nick Saban didn’t reinvent football to build its incredible decade of success, last month’s trouncing in the CFP title game by Clemson notwithstanding. The Crimson Tide just does the basic things to near perfection. That starts with blocking and tackling and dominating the line of scrimmage — essential building blocks of championship football.
LSU’s pursuit of more and better linemen will not guarantee championships.
But not making the effort would've virtually guaranteed failure.
Project Lineman has given the Tigers a good start.