LSU Football Recruiting: 5 Things Missing from 2012 Class

The LSU Tigers have another good signing class headed to Baton Rouge, but they've lost some great recruits along the way.

The signing of top quarterback prospect Gunner Kiel was a brilliant signing, especially after watching Jordan Jefferson throw 54 yards, get sacked four times and throw a God-awful interception in the BCS National Championship Game against Alabama.

But, then Kiel switched his commitment to Notre Dame.

This signing class is missing a few other elements, besides, obviously, a solid quarterback.

Here are five other things missing from the current 2012 class.

Mississippi Recruits

The LSU Tigers almost always get a top recruit from Mississippi, and that's just not the case for this signing class.

In fact, there's not one recruit from Mississippi in this class.

The Tigers haven't landed a player on the Clairion-Ledger's Dandy Dozen in quite some time, and they'll continue that trend this season.

Past great recruits from Mississippi include Richard Dickson, who caught two touchdown passes in the BCS National Championship Game against Ohio State in 2007.

Channing Ward

One of the Mississippi recruits that the Tigers had in sight was defensive end Channing Ward.

He slipped right through the Tigers' grasp.

At the Under Armour All-America Game, Ward announced that he'll be attending Ole Miss. Not only is Ward not coming to LSU, but the fact that he's going to Ole Miss has to upset Tiger fans that much more.

Ward is a four-star defensive end that provides both size and athleticism to the position, and he would have added great depth to the Tigers defensive line.

Running Backs

Not that LSU is in need of running backs, but they only have one committed running back thus far.

With Kenny Hilliard, Spencer Ware, Michael Ford and Alfred Blue at the Tigers disposal, running backs wouldn't necessarily be considered a need at all.

But it couldn't hurt to add depth and build for the future.

So far, the only running back commitment is Lamar Louis from Breaux Bridge, but the Tigers are still trying to get star running back Jeremy Hill to commit.

Hill's expected to commit. With his addition, the Tigers will be in good shape.

However, if for some reason, Hill doesn't come, the Tigers will be lacking youth at running back.

Alabama Recruits

Mississippi isn't the only state that's absent from the Tigers' 2012 signing class.

Nick Saban went into Louisiana and picking up Landon Collins and Denzel Devall, but LSU has yet to make it's mark in Alabama.

So far, LSU has no recruits from Alabama, which is pretty odd when you think about all the great recruits LSU has gotten from the state over the years.

It's sort of like the enemy is coming and taking men from LSU's hotbed, and the Tigers aren't invading their land at all.

LSU greats and potential future greats like JaMarcus Russell, Josh Williford, Stephen Rivers and Kendrick Allen all hail from Alabama, and I can't help but wonder what recruits LSU is missing out on in Alabama.

Landon Collins

This one hurt.

With the Tigers losing a quality safety in Brandon Taylor, the Tigers needed to land the top safety in the nation.

With the decision coming down to Alabama and LSU, Landon Collins picked Alabama, and Tiger fans basically watched their heart get ripped out by a five-star stud on live television.

The Tigers still have Craig Loston to fall back on, but Collins has potential to be a future NFL star. And, the fact that he was from Louisiana made the decision more painful.

If you haven't seen the video from the Under Armour All-America Game, here's the infamous decision.