Auburn football: Three LSU commits that could flip to AU

Although Auburn football’s bye week is well underway, first-year head coach Bryan Harsin and his staff are doing anything but taking a break. With the fewest number of commits in the recruiting class of 2022 in the SEC, they certainly have a lot of work to do.

The coaching staff has been spending their bye week sending out offers left and right, including one sent to Syracuse wide receiver transfer Taj Harris. With many in-state prospects on the Tigers’ target list for the class of 2022 and beyond, things have been busy in the recruiting world.

However, the recruiting game in the SEC was changed the moment that LSU announced head coach Ed Orgeron would not be returning as the head coach next season. Though Coach O will finish out the 2021 season, future leadership for the Bayou Bengals remains uncertain, so there are bound to be repercussions with the class of 2022.

If there’s any time for Bryan Harsin and the staff to attack LSU commits, it’s now, and there are quite a few that have been on Auburn football’s radar throughout this recruiting cycle. At this moment in time, anything is possible, and recruits could decide to stay or leave at any moment.

But for now, there are several key targets that the Tigers have a chance to steal away from the bayou, where it’s typically a major challenge to pull local talent away from LSU.

Here are three LSU commits that have the potential to flip to Auburn football:

#1. DeMario Tolan

This 4-star linebacker is the 23rd best player out of the state of Florida and the #20 linebacker in the recruiting class of 2022. He committed to LSU back in July, but with news of the coaching change, it’s likely he ends up playing somewhere else.

Tolan told Auburn Undercover that he remains “locked in” on LSU despite the loss of Coach O, but he will be considering all of his options before deciding to play for the Bayou Bengals:

"“Everything is still locked in, but I am still taking my visits,” Tolan said Tuesday. “I don’t know where I am taking my visits at yet, but I am still going to take my visits… We are still completely locked in. Coach O isn’t the main reason I committed to LSU. It’s a great atmosphere, it’s my dream school, great business school, all of those things. I am still solid, but after what happened this past weekend, I have got to look at my options again.”"

Assistant coach Jeff Schmedding offered a scholarship to the linebacker as soon as he took the position with Auburn football, and Tolan has been a high priority for the Tigers ever since. Also in hot pursuit of Tolan are Florida State and Tennessee.

Tolan will be playing in the 2022 All-American Bowl, along with another of Auburn football’s top targets, 4-star DL Khurtiss Perry from Pike Road, Alabama.

#2 JaDarian Rhym

4-star cornerback JaDarian Rhym is from Valdosta, Georgia, which will only help the Tigers in the process of flipping him to orange and blue. With offensive coordinator Mike Bobo’s Peach State recruiting connections, he could be the key to bringing on Rhym.

The #18 player out of Georgia and the #21 CB in the recruiting class of 2022, Rhym originally committed to LSU back in January over Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and other major Power 5 schools.

Keith Niebuhr of Auburn Undercover reports that Auburn football is very much in the mix for the cornerback, who is a major priority for Zac Etheridge, and it’s likely that he’ll visit the Plains before the end of the season.

#3 Laterrance Welch

4-star cornerback Laterrance Welch has been committed to LSU since January, but that was no deterrent for Bryan Harsin and his coaching staff. Back in June, Welch officially visited the Auburn Tigers, and the staff wants him back on campus for a game this fall.

Welch has been on Auburn football’s radar for quite some time, but things got interesting once the news of Coach O’s departure broke. According to Auburn Undercover, Welch began hearing from Auburn’s class of 2022 commits right away:

"“They’re wondering what I’m going to do,” Welch said. “I know a couple of them. Damari (Alston) — me and him are cool.”"

In fact, Damari Alston and fellow Auburn commits Holden Geriner and Drew Bobo all hopped on Twitter to encourage Welch to jump ship in the Bayou and join the Tigers on the Plains:

Welch stated that he will stay at LSU if cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond is retained by the next head coach, but it’s likely that if Raymond is out, Welch will be looking for a new football program to play for.

Laterrance Welch is currently ranked as the #9 player out of the state of Louisiana and the #15 cornerback in the recruiting class of 2022.

It’s too soon to tell if any of these guys will officially bow out of their commitment to LSU, but as Auburn football fans know, a coaching change can certainly shake up the roster.