LSU adds ESPN 300 lineman Dellinger from Michigan

LSU added its first ESPN 300 offensive line commit for the 2021 class Wednesday in Garrett Dellinger.

Dellinger, ranked No. 32 overall, had a top four of LSU, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. His decision gives the Tigers staff eight ESPN 300 commitments.

"On my first visit, I really noticed how much I was enjoying the visit, enjoying it more than I did with other visits," Dellinger said. "When I came back home, I was enjoying talking about it with my friends and realized it felt different. The past few weeks it confirmed that's the place that I want to be."

Dellinger is a 6-foot-6, 270-pound offensive tackle from Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Michigan. He's the No. 2-ranked prospect in the state, and LSU was able to pull him away from the Wolverines and the Buckeyes.

Despite LSU's distance from his home and the pandemic limiting Dellinger in how many visits he could take to LSU and other programs, he and his family felt comfortable with the school and coaches.

They were able to do research of their own online and to get a view of campus and the school from the coaching staff through Zoom video calls.

"With my officials being canceled, we were able to go on Google and talk to the coaches and have them pull stuff up," Dellinger said. "So we still had the resources to know about it, other than being down there. The coaches would pull up videos and stuff like that."

He was comfortable enough to make his commitment and end the process, which will now let him become a recruiter for LSU. Dellinger's teammate, offensive lineman Rocco Spindler, is the No. 65 prospect in the country and has already started receiving some minor recruiting pitches from Dellinger.

"I kind of started doing it the past week," Dellinger said. "I've been saying goofy things, just like 'Go Tigers' and stuff like that. I've been just saying subtle things like, 'Come join me.'"

Spindler has LSU in his top list along with Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State but has said he wants to take his official visits before making a decision.

Dellinger was ready to decide, though, and is now the highest-ranked commitment in LSU's class, ahead of linebacker Raesjon Davis, the No. 45- ranked prospect, and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who is No. 62 overall.

The Tigers now have 12 total commitments. They had the No. 11-ranked recruiting class prior to this commitment.