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AMITE, La. – The white coat is the first thing customers see when entering the mobile home of the Sopsher family. It is full of memories: sports trophies, special letters, game strips, newspaper clippings. Wanda Sopsher turned her cloak into a sanctuary for her three children, and the largest of them – Ishmael 6 "5", 305 pounds – is in the center. "Ishmael happens to be the defensive tackle ranked first. rank of The 2019 signature class, a teddy bear whose size and stamina on the football pitch have made him the most sought after candidate on one of the most fertile and competing recruiting grounds of the country.
Ishmael and his mother fly above the coat like a grocer in the products section. What items should we show? Wanda recovers from the group an oversized birthday card that LSU coach Ed Orgeron sent to the residence, his signature under a handwritten message at the top left, Have a nice day! Ishmael picks up a personalized flyer sent by Nick Saban from Alabama, the coach's photo in the upper right-hand corner and, like the LSU card, a message from him on the top left, Ishmael, good luck to you and to Amite HS this season!
Ishmael wakes up to send SMS to these two men. He talks to them every week on the phone and they pass near his high school, sometimes by helicopter. He will see them both on Saturday as their teams gather at Tiger Stadium in what many Baton Rouge call Game of the Century Part II. No. 1 Alabama (8-0) and 3rd LSU (7-1) meet this weekend to renew what has recently been one of the most intense series of college football, but their real struggles take place elsewhere.
The real war between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide takes place not in a bloated stage on match day, but during the other 364 days of the year, in theaters like this, in a three-bedroom caravan in a rural area of southern Louisiana. is one of the most decorated players in the country in an area that Orgeron is trying to protect and Saban is trying to loot. "This recruitment is … woooo!" Says Pete Jenkins, 77, coach of the defensive lines of the universities, who worked for Saban and Orgeron. "Recruitment is as much a part of the rivalry as Saturday night."
Both Alabama and LSU have been able to win important recruiting victories this season: Kelvin Joseph and Alabama have recruited Patrick Surtain Jr. in the 2018 cycle (top) to Eddie Lacy and Kwon Alexander (bottom) at the borders of State. Last 10 years.
Joe Robbins, Streeter Lecka, Stacy Revere, Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images
LSU and Alabama are involved in the most cruel school-to-school recruitment war the country has had in the last decade, said Barton Simmons, a national recruitment expert for 247Sports. Jenkins admits that it is an eternal struggle for the elite talent that has led to retirement. Their most violent fights take place in what Simmons calls Louisiana's "Battlefield State", bitter heavyweight episodes with huge gains for the winner: five-star candidates to deploy the first week of November . The result is a pair of programs that produce more NFL players than the other two teams at the university, having tied for first place in the nation among the players recruited from 2008 to 17 (65 each) and placing first and second among the former players on the first day. NFL Alerts this season (Alabama with 44 and LSU with 40).
Do you think their play days are bad slugfests? You should see others 364. Their spying on each other knows no bounds. In 2011, just weeks before a national championship match against LSU, Saban introduced former LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton to Tuscaloosa in what Crowton thought was an interview for a position with Saban staff. He is not so sure now. "I do not know if he was interviewing me or trying to get information about LSU," says Crowton. A few years later, Les Miles, a former LSU coach, hired Kevin Steele, Alabama's assistant, as a defensive coordinator, at least in part because of his knowledge of the Alabama program, according to a former member LSU staff. Teams even synchronize their weeks off by placing them strategically a week before their meeting for maximum rest and preparation. Something started with Saban in Alabama in 2009 and LSU started the following year.
Meanwhile, Orgeron has spent his first two seasons preparing for his program to win this game. During the off-season, he replicated the structure of Saban's team, recruiting a team of analysts specializing in advanced scouting. He and offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger revised a race-centric attack that, while battling less talented foes, averaged just 10.4 points per game in the last seven games with the Crimson Tide. All this with the aim of overthrowing the undisputed king of university football and his winning dynasty of the championship, in order to reshape a rivalry that strongly inclined purple and white.
Alabama have won seven straight games against LSU, Tide's longest winning streak since Bear Bryant won 11 from 1971 to 1981. LSU, a black shadow in the form of his former coach, responsible for the climb dazzling program in the early 2000s, recently left the Tigers on their knees. "We do not talk about that. It's not something that's under discussion, "said Orgeron on Monday about the lost skid. "We take it one game at a time, but of course I think we all feel it. We understand the importance of defeating Alabama at LSU. "
To achieve this feat, it is not enough to expand the support staff and reorganize the offensive, but to recruit and rebuild what Orgeron sees as the last gap of LSU against the tide: the offensive and defensive lines. "Trenches. You have to win the match in the trenches, "he says.
Alabama has always been at the forefront of recruitment in the trenches. In seven years, to end in 2017, Alabama has hired four additional defensive linemen and three other offensive linemen against LSU. The most glaring figures are the levels of talent. The tide has signed 13 offensive linemen ranked in the top five at their four-for-LSU position and signed 17 top-ranked defensive linemen at their 11-unit LSU position. In response, Orgeron sourced line players, signing 11 in last year's class and signing 10 defensive tackles in the last three classes – more than the school signed in. the six previous classes.
He has already noticed the effects, saying that the Tigers "corresponded [Alabama’s] "Physicality" during a 24-10 loss to Tuscaloosa last season – that's why a proud Orgeron made a viral statement at his post-game press conference. "We come," he said, "and we do not back down."
LSU is already here? "We're coming," says Orgeron Sports Illustrated in an interview on Monday. "We are aggressive … we want to be a national championship football team, and we are coming". These are the guys we have to hunt. We must stay on the attack. We must beat them. We have to beat them in the hunt and beat them on the football field. We come '.
Overcoming the wind on the recruiting trail, for LSU and others, proved to be as difficult as beating them on the field. After all, Alabama had been in the first class of signatures for seven consecutive years before the last cycle, when Georgia outstripped its counterpart of the national title. Since Saban's arrival, Alabama has been the biggest source of concern for the Tigers in keeping Louisiana's best talent in the state. Since 2012, The Tide has recruited 13 players ranked in the top 10 of the 247Sports States ranking in Louisiana. During the same seven-year period, other programs outside Louisiana merged to sign 16. Six of Tide's thirteen members are still on his list: receiver DeVonta Smith and security Shyheim Carter, both from the parish of Sopsher, Tangipahoa; linebackers Chris Allen and Dylan Moses, both from Baton Rouge; and defensive linemen Phidarian Mathis and Isaiah Buggs, two northern Louisians.
Buggs was a tear for the Tigers. A long-time LSU fan that even Orgeron was hoping to sign with the Tigers, Buggs was deserted late in the process, announcing his decision in a strange letter on social media that ended with, among other things, this: " Tigers Gins ".
Mathis's recruitment also included theater. Mathis told the press that one of the factors in his decision was his relationship, or lack thereof, with his future coach of positions at LSU, Jenkins: He would never have met him. Jenkins was employed at will for 18 months at LSU, working without a contract and rarely recruiting. "I've never met Big Phil. That played a role in the fact that we were losing it, "reveals Jenkins this week in an interview with Sports Illustrated. "That's one of the reasons I felt the need to leave. It hurt Ed to lose this boy against Alabama. I can not tell you how bad I felt. "
The most important recruitment defeat against Tide was produced last February at favorite cornerback Patrick Surtain, the best unanchored player in the 2018 category on the day of the signing. Surtain, a Floridian whose family originated in New Orleans, stunned the country by signing with Alabama – where he quickly took on a leading role – among the long-time favorite, LSU. That one burned. There are many more connections. Tide's other starting midfielder, Saivion Smith, was transferred from LSU to a junior university before the 2017 season, and signed with Tide last December. Then there is the case of Matt Womack, who started on Alabama's offensive line last year but has battled injuries this season. The SEC sanctioned LSU for breaking recruitment rules after Womack waived a financial aid deal signed in 2014 with the Tigers before signing with Alabama.
The rivalry in recruitment is not totally one-sided. LSU had finished in the top seven of the 247Sports composite team recruitment ranking up to 15th place last year. The Tigers pulled out NFL linebacker Kwon Alexander of Alabama in 2012 and have recruited most of Louisiana's top 10 players in eight of the last 11 cycles. They even resisted the rising tide last year for safety in Louisiana, Kelvin Joseph, but the loss to Eddie Lacy in 2009, the Landon Collins safety in 2012, pitted Cam Robinson in 2014. The trend between Louisiana and Alabama is such Tuscaloosa News' The match day coverage for last year's match contained a bold headline on a representation of the state of Louisiana: THIS IS BAMA TERRITORY, he said.
It's a hotbed of recruitment that Orgeron is so determined to protect that he figured to shut Louisiana to aliens during the lunacy of the 2016-17 satellite camp. He convinced university and state high school programs not to invite or, in some cases, invite uninvited teams from Louisiana to camps. "It's my job to protect the state of Louisiana," says Orgeron. "[Nick Saban] or whoever comes here is my job. I am the head coach of the Louisiana State, a native of Louisiana. We want our young men from Louisiana to stay at home. It's my job to do it. "
That's why Simmons says the battle for Sopsher is paramount from the point of view of perception alone. "That's why Ed Orgeron is here: galvanize the state, win the tough recruiting battles and build a fence around that state," Simmons said. "Perhaps even more than any coach in the country, he takes it for nothing. When you create a program with such a strong cultural foundation, the Louisiana program, it's important to keep your biggest intruder out of the way.
More recently, Alabama occupies the largest part of the state in the region of Amite and its environs, a town of about 4,100 inhabitants located in the parish of Tangipahoa. The Tide picked Carter, the security, from Kentwood in 2016 and Smith, the receiver, from Amite High in 2017. Is Sopsher the next? "At the moment, I think Alabama is in the lead," said Tim Watts, reporter for BamaOnLine.com of 247Sports who has covered Alabama recruiting over the past 20 years, "but he has plenty of time to change mind. "
Saban has created a Louisiana-style team, two of which are closely related to Tangipahoa. Pete Golding, the co-coordinator of the Tide defense, was hired in low season in Hammond, a town of 20,000 located 45 miles from Tiger Stadium and 15 miles south of Amite. Sam Petitto, Director of Bama Personnel Operations, is from Amite. None of this is lost for the LSU head coach. "When I leave this campus, the parish of Tangipahoa is the first place I always go," says Orgeron, "and we are doing everything in our power to bring these young men here legally. That's all I can do.
Because of Smith and Carter, Tangipahoa is considered part of Alabama's footprint, and some of its residents are fighting against this, including the football staff of Amite High School. "It's a situation we're shooting for our home school," says Chris Gordon, staff assistant. "Many people think we are pro-Bama. We are pro – our children. Every time LSU plays, we are LSU fans. Even this week! Sopsher is one of the best players to come out of this place. He is a smart, hard working kid who is durable and versatile. According to Zephaniah Powell, Amite's head coach, he has never failed to miss a four-year high school match. Sometimes coaches line it up to attack and even back.
The relationship between Orgeron and Sopsher goes back to the eighth year of the player. "He always told me that I would be someone," says Sopsher, who has a grandfather of 6 "7," an uncle of 6 "and an aunt of 6 & 5. He often hears purple and golden fans on social media He cuts the conversations just to have a little peace It's not just fans Orgeron even sent a text to Sopsher when the player visited Alabama a few weeks ago, the same day that LSU turned Georgia upside down: LSU 36, Georgia 16. Sopsher has a handful of finalists other than LSU and Alabama, but his deciding factor in this decision is to reach the NFL. "These are the two best schools for that," he admits.They will have to show me that they can take me to the next level. "
Orgeron describes Saban's incursion in Louisiana as relentless and "aggressive". The Tide is pushing for Sopsher as eight defensive linemen are in the 2019 category. LSU has one. A former LSU staff member who worked under Miles said Sports Illustrated this week, he thinks Saban "is coming to Louisiana as a mind game on LSU".
In Alabama, recruitment in Louisiana dates back to the time of Bear Bryant, who was recruited in Larose, Louis by Orgeron. "Bear was coming to my house, but my dad told him not to do it. He said, "My boy is going to LSU!" Remembers Orgeron. Tide's last recruiting campaign began in 2009 with Lacy and receiver Kenny Bell, both recruited by Crowton, the LSU offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2010. Crowton explained that Lacy was an academic risk that the Tigers "could not assume ". Bell overturned his LSU engagement in Alabama the night before the signing of the contract when the Tigers secured a pledge from another Louisiana addressee, Rueben Randle. Crowton remembers frantic phone conversations with players the day before the day of signing. "We were on the phone that night saying to Rueben," You are the guy. We need you, "says Crowton. "Then we try to talk to Kenny to stay in touch. [Another school] something else was said to him. He called to ask, "What's going on with Rueben?" Bell signed with the tide a few hours later.
Crowton is still a big fan of LSU who often wears purple and gold clothing in his current role as offensive coordinator at Pine View High School in his home state of Utah. In December 2011, just weeks before the tide beat the Tigers 21-0 in the BCS National Championship game, Crowton found himself in the middle of the rivalry, as he had just finished his first season in Maryland after having left Baton Rouge for a job with the Terrapins. "Coach Saban called me. I wanted to talk about football. His [offensive] coordinator [Jim McElwain] was leaving, recalls Crowton. "He asked me if I would talk to him. He brought me. I talked about football with [defensive coordinator] Kirby Smart. I spoke a little, but not too much, of LSU. It was a strange situation. I have loved LSU and I still love it.
Nearly 10 years later, the figures are still in use and Louisiana remains a battlefield state, at least until LSU stops the lost skid. "It's really a chicken or an egg," says Simmons. "Should we beat Alabama in recruitment to win the game or beat Alabama in play to win in recruitment? I think until LSU gets one from Alabama on the field, there will be holes in the fence. "
Orgeron spent Friday night outside the fence. He is stunned to attend a high school student game in Alabaster, Alabama, about 50 miles east of Tuscaloosa, to watch Taulia Tagovailoa, a highly touted quarterback Alabama and Tide's younger brother. , the fourth Tua Tagovailoa. Orgeron even briefly talked to Tua, television cameras and mobile phones capturing evidence of the meeting. Some think his appearance was a ploy, an attack on his main rival on the recruiting trail. Oh, are you going to enter my state? Well, I'm in yours. "I do not know if it was a troll job or anything," laughs Watts.
Five-star defensive tackle Ismaël Sopsher (right) and his brother Rodney pose on either side of the family's cloak of sports memorabilia at the home of the Sopshers in Amite, La.
Ross Dellenger
Back in Louisiana, the Sopshers are sitting in their living room, their parents Wanda and Rodeny Sr., as well as their sons Rodeny Jr. and Ishmael. Their oldest daughter, Dynasty, lives in New Orleans. Rodney Jr., a young college player who has played at Amite High, also has an offer from LSU. His academics need to improve, but "the plan," says Ishmael, "is that the duo signs somewhere together. The town of Amite, although nestled in Louisiana, is divided on this destination. The success of Smith in Tuscaloosa – you will remember, won the decisive pass to defeat Georgia in the national championship game – the place is somewhat torn. "I would say 60% say LSU and 40% say Alabama," says Wanda. "At the grocery store, at the pharmacy, everywhere. They come to me.
Ismaël does not intend to make his choice before the National Day of the signature of February, and Orgeron made him aware of the importance of his decision. "I know this battle here," says Ishmael, "is something everyone wants to see him win." That includes the governor of Louisiana.
The governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, a native of Amite and close friend of Orgeron, plunged into the Alabama-LSU war. In an interview with Sports Illustrated Earlier this year, he lamented Smith's loss to the tide, and he encouraged, without advice, the next big star of his hometown to choose a different route. After all, this is the Alabama-LSU, where real fighting takes place far from the football field and sometimes involves elected officials. "I'm excited about Ishmael," says Edwards. "As governor of the great state of Louisiana, I encourage him, not directly, to remain in that state, and if he does, it presumably means LSU."
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