Entering the 2026 recruiting cycle, there was one clear mission for Brian Kelly and his staff: Keep Lamar Brown home. LSU's National Championship teams have always been strong in the trenches and, when a 5-star lineman is coming out of Louisiana, it's a player the Tigers can't afford to see leave town.
Oftentimes, it's said that a recruit is from a program's backyard when it's an In-State player but, Lamar Brown is the true meaning of that Statement as his school is on LSU's campus. Brown's recruitment was a massive battle but, July brought the massive news that the Tigers were keeping Lamar Brown In-State, holding off Texas A&M, Miami, and Texas.
According to Rivals' Industry Recruiting Rankings, Lamar Brown is the 2nd-ranked player in the Country, the Top Athlete in the class, and the top player out of Louisiana. Brown's position is listed as athlete, and it's rare to see a recruit listed as an athlete let alone the Nation's best at 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds.
The athlete tag comes as Lamar Brown would most likely be a 5-star recruit at offensive or defensive lineman, which is how schools were recruiting Brown but, he's going to play defensive line at LSU. When speaking about Lamar Brown's latest update in the Rivals rankings, Brown got one of the biggest compliments a player could get.
Lamar Brown draws unique comparison to Travis Hunter
After Rivals released its latest recruiting rankings, their Director of Scouting spoke on why Lamar Brown is such a special recruit, calling him the "Travis Hunter of linemen".
"He's the Travis Hunter of linemen"@CharlesPower ranks LSU commit Lamar Brown, 6-4 285-pounds, as the No. 1 ATH in America 🤯
— Josh Newberg (@josh_newberg) July 17, 2025
MORE: https://t.co/tXl7N07JBu pic.twitter.com/U0R6GRnDCG
Being compared to Travis Hunter in any fashion is an incredible compliment spe,aking to how special of an athlete you are. While Lamar Brown is most likely going to play defensive lineman, he's shown on film he could likely compete for a starting role on the offensive line as soon as he arrives on a campus.
Regardless of whether or not LSU will allow Lamar Brown to play both sides of the football, it's still a truly incredible pickup for the Tigers. Even if he's not allowed to do it on a regular basis, it would make for a great story if the Tigers used Lamar Brown in the trenches on both sides of the ball.