Everything LSU fans need to know before five-star Lamar Brown reveals commitment

LSU football’s top 2026 recruiting target will commit on Thursday. Five-star defensive lineman Lamar Brown is set to decide between LSU, Texas A&M, Texas and Miami. Brown is a Louisiana native who plays high school football in LSU’s backyard at University Lab.

This is a big one. Brown is among the top recruits in Baton Rouge history. According to 247Sports’ historical ratings, Brown is the best defensive line recruit to come out of Louisiana in the modern recruiting era. He sits just a sliver of a percentage point ahead of Marcus Spears, who excelled at LSU before a lengthy NFL career. Overall, Brown is Louisiana’s No. 12-ranked recruit of the modern era.

ESPN considers Brown the No. 1 overall recruit in the country, putting the Louisiana product in rare territory. LSU typically doesn’t miss on Louisiana recruits of Brown’s caliber.

Brown’s commitment is slated to be televised on ESPN2 at 12:15 p.m. CT. Here’s everything LSU fans should know before Brown goes public with his pledge.

LSU and Texas A&M are considered the favorites

These days, there’s no shortage of insider scoops in the recruiting world. Beat writers are pretty good at gauging where a prospect will go, but there’s legitimate suspense with Brown. There are predictions, but nobody is confident. However, insiders do feel LSU and Texas A&M are the clear favorites.

Miami and Texas are both included in Brown’s finalists, and Miami was well-positioned at one point, but for most of the recruitment, this was a race between LSU and A&M.

The Tigers and Aggies have been here before. Every year, several elite prospects in between New Orleans and Houston narrow the race down to LSU and Texas A&M. In the class of 2024, LSU got the best of A&M after five-star Louisiana DL Dominick McKinley decommitted from the Aggies in favor of LSU.

On3/Rivals Prediction Machine: LSU has the edge

According to the Rivals’ prediction page, LSU has an 86.5% chance of landing Brown. Texas A&M sits No. 2 at 11.1%.

247Sports Crystal Ball: A&M is the favorite

On June 16, the 247Sports Staff entered a Crystal Ball prediction for Texas A&M. So far, their predictions are 55/57 in the 2026 cycle. That’s a strong hit rate and potentially bad news for LSU fans.

Brown is projected to play defensive line at the next level

Brown is a two-way star on the high school field and for much of his recruitment, sites listed him as an interior offensive lineman. But over the last six months, Brown has expressed a preference to play the defensive side of the ball. Brown now projects to be a defensive tackle in college.

What does the scouting report say?

Here’s what scouts in the industry have to say about Brown.

“Initial suddenness and heavy-handedness translate to defense, where he’s experienced inside and on the edge. Shows surprising pursuit range thanks to excellent functional athleticism,” Gabe Brooks wrote.

Brooks added that Brown could be a “high-impact player” on offense or defense and has “legitimate high-round NFL Draft potential.”

Here’s what On3’s Charles Power said:

“Shows disruptive ability as a big defensive end. Has the power to hold his ground and sift through the trash to make plays in the backfield. Can close quickly on the quarterback,” wrote Power.

Brian Kelly and LSU can’t afford a miss here

No recruit is bigger than the program and the term “can’t miss prospect” is overused. But Brown is close to it, especially for a non-quarterback.

Brown attends University Lab High School, just miles away from Tiger Stadium. LSU has recruited Brown for years. LSU already missed on one five-star this cycle when safety Blaine Bradford committed to Ohio State. Losing Brown would be a tough look for this staff.

LSU has a chance to finish with No. 1 overall class

Brian Kelly and LSU have a chance to finish with the No. 1 overall-ranked recruiting class, but to do that, LSU must land Brown.

LSU sits No. 8 right now, according to Rivals’ rankings.

But LSU’s average recruit rating of 92.07 ranks No. 2 nationally. Once LSU has the volume to match other top classes, LSU will be in the thick of the race for No. 1.

LSU’s defensive tackle class can be elite

LSU already has one five-star defensive tackle committed in Richard Anderson. Signing Brown would make this LSU’s best defensive tackle haul in some time.

Kyle Williams has only been LSU’s defensive line coach for a few months. With this being Williams’ first collegiate coaching job, there were questions about how he’d fare as a recruiter. Signing Anderson and Brown is one way to answer that.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: What LSU football fans should know before 5-star Lamar Brown commits

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