LSU football won a major SEC recruiting battle on Wednesday for the state’s top running back in the Class of 2027 as Trey Martin from Franklin Parish High School committed to the Tigers.
Martin put up big numbers last season for the Patriots, rushing for 1,310 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also caught 17 passes for 277 yards and five touchdowns.
“One of the most explosive football players that I’ve ever been around,” said Franklin Parish head football coach Adrian Burnette. “He does a fantastic job, obviously, in the backfield; but also catching the ball in the open field and being able to turn it up and make big runs out of it,” Burnette noted.
Alabama and Florida were also after the 5-10, 202-pound prospect that ran an 11.31 in the 100 meters as a junior.
But Martin built a strong relationship with LSU head coach Lane Kiffin and running backs coach Kevin Smith while they were at Ole Miss, and that bond only grew stronger when Kiffin and Smith arrived at LSU.
“Everything with this kid is football. So this whole journey, as far as being recruited, he handled it as a professional. He did a fantastic job as far as maneuvering through a lot of these schools and ultimately being mature enough to make the best decision he felt fit him,” Burnette explained.
Martin is the third running back commitment in the Class of 2027 for the Tigers. He joins four-star Trey Segarra from South Carolina and three-star Brennan Lacy.
Also on Wednesday, LSU got a commitment from four-star edge rusher Chris Whitehead from Chesterfield, Virginia. Ohio State, South Carolina, and Virginia Tech were also after Whitehead, who had 54 tackles and 10.5 sacks as a junior.
It was just a few weeks ago that LSU had four commitments and the recruiting class was ranked outside of the Top 50. But now with 13 commitments and more on the way, LSU has moved up to 19th in the 247 Sports team rankings.
LSU is also pursuing five-star Mississippi offensive lineman Caden Moss and five-star New Jersey receiver Xavier Sabb.
The Tigers are pushing hard to flip Brother Martin receiver Easton Royal, who is currently a Texas commitment.
LSU also recently had Texas Tech commit Jalen Brewster on campus. The defensive lineman is considered the best player in the Class of 2027. Brewster spent this past weekend at Florida.
