‘No feelings are final.’ By now, this has been the narrative that is doing rounds in college football. After all, we have seen it in multiple cases that getting commitments does not assure anything. Here, Bryce Underwood and Julian Lewis come off as two of the brightest examples. Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes snatched away JuJu from the USC Trojans. Similarly, Sherrone Moore and Michigan Wolverines hunted down Underwood, leaving Brian Kelly and Co. with a big void. Turns out that Kelly should start locking the doors tightly. Otherwise, history is likely to repeat itself. That’s because even after giving his words to the Tigers, their commit has shown interest in Mike Elko and Steve Sarkisian’s abode.  

The player in question is none other than Jabari Mack. Kelly must have been on cloud nine. After all, the Tigers got lucky in picking up two wide receiver commitments in March. The cycle’s top wide receiver, Tristen Keys, made his announcement on March 19, followed by 4-star Mack. Kelly has already been blessed with a strong WR room this season. LSU had landed their first commitment of the 2026 class with Jakai Anderson and No. 24 wide receiver Kenny Darby. Now, if we take a look at Kelly’s WR class, all four pass catchers rank inside the top 50 at their position. With this, the Tigers brought its 2026 class to No. 1 in the nation. But maybe it’s too early for Kelly to throw a celebration party. 

That’s because Mack is still in two minds when it comes to finalizing his next home. In order to get some clarity, analyst Matt Moscona hosted the WR via a phone call on After Further Review: LSU podcast. On the April 2nd episode of the podcast, the analyst brought up the question that has been keeping the Tigers fans on the edge.

“I think you told me that you’re going to visit Texas this weekend. So, what does the rest of your recruitment look like? You going to go on other visits? How does that all work?” The Longhorns are going to host Mack on June 14 and Texas A&M on June 5. To Moscona’s question, Mack replied,  “Yeah, I’ll still be going on all my official visits.” But why?

Kelly’s WR commit looks forward to enriching his experience by traveling to places outside Louisiana. “Just to get the experience. My family, they love all the experiences. So that would be a big thing for me. Just letting them get to see other places outside Louisiana.”

Kelly must be living with some hope in his heart. After all, the New Orleans native chose his home state school over Texas, Texas A&M, and Ohio State. But the 6-foot, 200-pounder and the No. 11 wide receiver has still kept his doors open. As Kelly and Co. have yet to get clarity on Mack’s case, they got a steal deal. 

Brian Kelly’s hard-fought battle ended on a sweet note 

While Kelly’s 2026 WR room comes off as a dominant force, LSU did land four-star cornerback Dylan Purter. The Tigers did have a hard time making this deal, as many schools had their eyes on the Tuskegee (Ala.) Booker T. Washington star. Want to know the suitors’ numbers? 24! Two dozen schools had extended an offer to the 6-foot-1, 172-pounder. However, only ten programs could make the cut. They were LSU, Auburn, Charlotte, Duke, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kentucky, Marshall, Mississippi State, and North Carolina. In that case, what gave Kelly and Co. an edge in the recruiting race?

They have successfully made Purter feel like a priority. It has been only a month since Kelly handed him the offer, and the cornerback has already given LSU his word. On March 21, On3 analyst Chad Simmons tweeted, “NEWS: LSU lands a commitment from Tuskegee (Ala.) Booker T. Washington DB Dylan Purter. 🐯”

On March 8, the 4-star made his first trip to Baton Rouge. And not even for a moment did Brian Kelly or anyone in the Tigers squad make Dylan Purter feel like an outsider. He could not stop talking about how well his visit went in an interview with On3. “They’ve recruited me pretty heavily, staying in contact on a daily basis. Felt like I’ve been there forever. Coach (Kelly) has amazing standards and holds his players accountable. (Safeties coach Jake Olsen) kept it real with me from the beginning. LSU develops top-notch defensive backs every year.” LSU must pull out all the stops to ensure Mack chooses them without any second options looming in his head.