LSU Football Recruiting 2012: 5 Targets the Tigers Can't Afford to Not Land

With the college football season over, these next few months will be focused completely on recruiting. If teams didn't do as well as they had hoped, they can make the future much brighter by landing a few top recruits.

LSU recently lost the BCS National Championship, but they still have an extremely talented team. They have one of the top recruiting classes this year and hope to continue to build on their success.

In recruiting, you never settle for what you have; you can always do better and get a few more quality players.

With a loaded team returning and a good class coming in, here are five more prospects that the Tigers can't let slip through the cracks.

OLB Kwon Alexander

Kwon Alexander is one of the top outside linebackers in this year's class and would add even more depth to an already talented defense. He's really as tough and as physical as they come and is capable of stopping the run, as well as dropping back into coverage. He also has solid speed, as he runs the 40 in the 4.5 range.

LSU was the first school he visited, but the Tigers are also in competition with Alabama, Auburn and Florida State.

WR Cordarrelle Patterson

With the Tigers losing two wide receivers already this season, it goes without saying that they need an elite wideout to boost their offense, especially with an elite quarterback in Gunner Kiel throwing the football.

LSU has already landed three wide receivers in this class, but none are as explosive as Cordarrelle Patterson is. He's a big target at 6'4", 202 pounds and is a deep threat for this offense. He's very strong, has great leaping ability and has good hands.

He's already visited with Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee, but is expected to make his last visit to LSU soon.

WR/S Corey Thompson

Corey Thompson is another wide receiver that could help this Tigers team out as well. He's 6'2", 210 pounds and is a aggressive type of receiver. But the thing that sticks out most with him is his versatility, as he has the ability to play safety or linebacker as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, he is a hard-hitter that has great ball skills. Thompson is just overall a playmaker.

He's visited Texas A&M and Nebraska already, but has visits scheduled with LSU and Oklahoma State soon. 

DE Mario Edwards

What better way to build your defense up than to land the top-rated player in the state of Texas? Defensive end Mario Edwards is really quick for somebody who is 6'4'', 291 pounds. He's extremely strong, plays the game with a lot of emotion and makes a lot of plays in the backfield, as he's fantastic against the run. 

Edwards originally committed to Florida State, but he backed out as he wanted to explore more of his options. LSU is one of the schools he recently visited, along with Texas and Oklahoma. It's also important to know that the Seminoles are not out of the running either.

CB Tracy Howard

LSU has already landed two top cornerbacks this season, but few are as talented as Tracy Howard. This is also a position that the Tigers need to load up on a bit with the recent loss of Morris Claiborne.

Howard is a great cornerback who has fantastic cover skills and plays very hard. He isn't really a physical corner, but he can keep up with nearly any receiver stride for stride. He's one of those players that will see playing time right away and make a big impact on whichever school he commits to.

Howard has cut his list down to Florida, LSU and USC.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]