The LSU football program continues to replenish its roster through the transfer portal. Missouri defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo and East Tennessee State offensive lineman Tre’Mond Shorts have committed to LSU. Wingo had 27 tackles and a sack as a freshman at Missouri and Shorts is a two-time FCS All-American. Also, LSU linebacker Micah Baskerville and junior safety Jay Ward announced they are returning to LSU.

In high school football coaching news…Stanley Smith has resigned as head football coach at Ferriday. Smith led the Trojans to a state championship in 2019 and won 47 games at his alma mater. He was hired in 2017.

Hank Tierney is returning to Archbishop Shaw. Tierney led Ponchatoula to the Class 5A championship game last season. Tierney led Shaw to a championship in 1987 and they are moving down to Class 4A next season.

LSU is ranked eighth in the D-1-baseball-dot-com poll.

The 13th ranked LSU men’s basketball team looks to get back to its winning ways as they visit Alabama tonight. The Tigers are coming off a 65-58 home loss to Arkansas. LSU’s leading scorer Tari Eason has been quiet in the last few games. Coach Will Wade says it’s time for that to change…
cut 17 (22) “…down there”
Alabama has also been struggling. They’ve lost three in a row. Tip off is at 6:00.

Last night in the SEC, Arkansas slammed South Carolina 75-59, Missouri blew out Ole Miss 78-53 and Tennessee topped Vanderbilt 68-60. LSU is at Tennessee this Saturday.

LSU head football coach Brian Kelly continues to fill out his staff with big names with local ties. Kelly announced the hiring of Georgia assistant and New Orleans native Cortez Hankton as the team’s wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. Hankton served in the same role for the Bulldogs for the past three seasons. Tiger Rag Editor Adam Hunsucker says Kelly’s staff is ready to compete with any in the SEC.

Cut 20 (10) “…national title.”

Tigers’ wide-out Jaray Jenkins will be working with Hankton next season, as he announced he will be returning to LSU for a fifth year. Over the past two campaigns, Jenkins has 57 catches for 899 yards and eight touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, safety Jay Ward will also be back in the purple and gold, according to a report from 247sports. His return is a huge boost for the Tigers’ secondary. Ward collected 71 tackles, two interceptions, and six pass breakups last season.

———

Moving to baseball, LSU enters the DI Baseball preseason top-25 ranked eighth in the nation. The Tigers are one of six SEC teams in the top ten. LSU opens its first season under new coach Jay Johnson on February 18 against Maine at Alex Box Stadium.

Kim Mulkey is another LSU coach making waves. The women’s basketball team has moved up to eleventh in the latest AP rankings after wins over Missouri and Vanderbilt. This is the highest LSU has been ranked since the Tigers were number five on December 20, 2009.

And the Pelicans dropped their second straight game on their current three-game road trip, falling to the Boston Celtics, 104-92.

The Pels led by as many as 18 points before their second-half collapse. Coach Willie Green said that there are just some games like this, but he expects his team to bounce back.

Cut 17 (08) “…their physicality.”

New Orleans is back on the court Thursday when they face the New York Knicks.

LSU football coach Brian Kelly has finalized his on-field coaching staff with the hiring of Georgia wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Cortez Hankton. Hankton is another Louisiana native on Kelly’s staff as he’s from New Orleans. Tiger Rag Editor Adam Hunsucker says that the makeup of Kelly’s staff should help him make the adjustment to the SEC.
Cut 18 (13) “ …familiar with.”
In other LSU football news…wide receiver Jaray Jenkins has announced he’s returning for a fifth season and Notre Dame starting punter Jay Bramblett announced he’s transferring to LSU.

Louisiana Tech has received a verbal commitment from four-star running back De’Anthony Gatson. Rivals-dot-com ranks Gatson as the 17th best running back in the country after rushing for over 56-hundred yards and 83 touchdowns during his career at Newton High School in Newton, Texas.

The Pelicans dropped their second straight ballgame yesterday afternoon, a 104-92 loss to the Celtics. coach Willie Green says that his team struggled to meet Boston’s intensity on defense.
Cut 16 (14) “…get into stuff.”
Brandon Ingram has been playing well for the Pelicans lately, but yesterday he was held to 15 points on six of 19 shooting.

LSU men’s basketball fell one spot to 13 in the A-P Top 25 poll. The Tigers are at unranked Alabama on Wednesday. Coach Will Wade says starting point guard Xavier Pinson will be a game-time decision with a sprained knee.

The LSU Lady Tigers moved up one spot to number 11 in the AP poll. The Lady Tigers are 17 and 2 and do not play again until Sunday when they visit the Florida Gators.

In the NFL playoffs yesterday, Kansas City and Tampa Bay advanced, while Dallas’s season ended with a home loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Former Haughton star and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Big game for former Ragin Cajun running back Elijah Mithcell as he had 96 yards rushing and one touchdown to help San Francisco advance to play at Green Bay.

Joe Burrow and the Bengals will play Tennessee this Saturday. The Bengals won their first playoff game in 31 years as Cincinnati held off the Raiders 26-19 on Saturday. Burrow threw two touchdown passes in the win…
Cut 17 (13) “ .next one”
One more NFC playoff game tonight. the Rams take on the Cardinals.
The LSU men’s basketball team dropped one spot today to number 13 in the AP Top 25 poll after suffering an upset loss to unranked Arkansas on Saturday. The Razorbacks went on a 17-2 run to finish the game and defeated the 12th ranked Tigers 65-58. LSU Coach Will Wade says the Hogs made the plays down the stretch and they didn’t…
Cut 18 (08) “ ..needed to be”
Eric Gaines had 14 points to lead LSU, while Tari Eason and Alex Fudge each had 13 points. It was the second straight game LSU played without starting point guard Xavier Pinson, who has a sprained knee. Wade hopes Pinson will be back this week. The Tigers are at Alabama on Wednesday and Tennessee on Saturday.

Louisiana Tech improved to 6-0 in Conference USA with a 76062 win over Southern Miss to finish a two-game sweep of the Golden Eagles in regular season play. Kenneth Lofton Junior had 23 points to lead the way.

In the NFL playoffs yesterday, Kansas City and Tampa Bay advanced, while Dallas’s season ended with a home loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Former Haughton star and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Big game for former Ragin Cajun running back Elijah Mithcell as he had 96 yards rushing and one touchdown to help San Francisco advance to play at Green Bay.

The NFL playoffs continue tonight with one more wild card game as the Rams host the Cardinals. Former LSU Tiger and L-A receiver Odell Beckham Junior will be playing in his second playoff game and his first since the 2016 season with the Giants…
Cut 16 (16) “…good feeling”
The winner of the Rams-49ers game will play at Tampa Bay in the divisional round.

The Louisiana Tech men’s basketball team played well down the stretch yesterday and defeated Southern Miss 76 to 62 to complete a regular-season series sweep of the Golden Eagles. Kenneth Jofton Junior led the way with 23 points and Tech held U-S M to 33-percent shooting.

12th ranked LSU didn’t play well down the stretch on Saturday and the Tigers were upset by Arkansas 65-58. The loss ended LSU’s three-game winning streak. Coach Will Wade says they couldn’t overcome their weaknesses…
cut 20 (19) “….you deserve”

A tough trip to Texas for U-L Lafayette as they lost to U-T Arlington and Texas State, while U-L-M upset U-T Arlington 62-55 on Saturday.

The 12th ranked LSU men’s basketball team looks to stay near the top of the Southeastern Conference standings when they host Arkansas at 1 PM on Saturday at the PMAC. The Tigers are 3-and-1 in league play, while Auburn and Texas A-and-M are the only two teams still undefeated against conference opponents. Coach Will Wade sees his team staying near the top of the SEC standings…
cut 19 (10) “….getting started”
Arkansas comes into tomorrow’s game with a one and three record. But the Razorbacks are coming off a win as they dribbled past Missouri 87-43 on Wednesday night.

La Tech blew out Southern Miss on Thursday 80-57. The Bulldogs are 5-and-0 in Conference USA and they’ll face the Golden Eagles on Sunday.

The Ragin Cajuns suffered their first Sun Belt loss on Thursday as they lost by ten to UT Arlington. U-L Lafayette is at Texas State on Saturday.

There is a nation’s best 23 former LSU Tigers on active NFL rosters for this Super Wild Card weekend. Tampa Bay features the most former Tigers with five players on its roster, led by linebacker Devin White and running back Leonard Fournette who will be a game-time decision on Sunday when the Buccaneers host the Eagles. Fournette is coming back from a hamstring injury.

The Bengals and Chiefs have three LSU players on their active rosters. Cincinnati is led by Heisman Trophy quarterback Joe Burrow and receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Chase said on draft night he would break NFL records and ended up setting a rookie record for most receiving yards…
cut 18 (11) “…playoff records”
The Bengals host the Raiders tomorrow at 3:30.

The only team in the NFL that does not have a former LSU Tiger on its active roster is the Green Bay Packers

Louisiana Tech improved to 5-0 in Conference USA play last night with an 80-57 win over rival Southern Miss. The Bulldogs led by seven points at halftime, but Coach Eric Konkol expressed what he wanted to see in the second half…
cut 20 (18) “…to see”
Tech also hit eleven three-pointers, Keaston Willis had four of them and had 21 points. The Bulldogs play Southern Miss again on Sunday in Hattiesburg.

The Ragin Cajuns suffered their first Sun Belt loss as they were defeated by U-T Arlington 83-73, despite 20 points by Kobe Julien. And ULM lost to South Alabama 69-54.

The Pelicans are just a .5 game out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference after beating the Clippers 113 to 89 last night. Brandon Ingram had 24 points. New Orleans is at Brooklyn on Saturday.

With the Saints not in the NFL playoffs, much of the rooting interest in Louisiana will be for Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. 1991 was the last time the Bengals won a playoff game, but Burrow is not bothered by it…
Cut 19 (19)_“…try to do”
The Bengals host the Raiders on Saturday afternoon.

LSU football has received commitments from two more players in the transfer portal. Penn State running back Noah Cain is a Baton Rouge native and returning to Louisiana after leading the Nittany Lions in rushing touchdowns last season. Arkansas defensive back Gregory Brooks also says he’s coming to LSU.

Former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow makes his NFL playoff debut on Saturday when the Bengals host the Raiders to kick off the NFL’s Wildcard weekend. Burrow led Cincinnati to its first AFC North Championship since 2015 and is getting a lot of credit for Cincy’s turnaround. But Burrow says he’s playing with the best group of receivers in the NFL…:
Cut 17 (21) “in the league”
1991 was the last time the Bengals won a playoff game, but Joe is not bothered by that. Kickoff tomorrow is 3:30pm.

The Pelicans had no problem last night as they raced to a 113-89 victory over the Clippers.

What an incredible win in the PMAC last night by the LSU women’s basketball team. The Number 12 Purple and Gold Tigers were lifted to an 87-85 victory over Missouri after a game winning layup by Senior Khayal Pointer with 5.7 seconds left in overtime. LSU is now 16-2 and 4-1 in the SEC.

Also in college hoops last night, the Louisiana Tech men’s basketball team had an easy time over Southern Miss picking up an 80-57 win. UL-Lafayette fell to UT-Arlington 83-73 on the road. The Cajuns are now 8-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play. ULM fell to Texas State 80-56.

LSU Football has received commitments from 2 more players in the transfer portal. Penn State Running back Noah Cain is a Baton Rouge native and returning to Louisiana after leading the Nittany Lions in rushing touchdowns last year. Also, Arkansas defensive back Gregory Brooks is coming to LSU.

The Louisiana Marathon is coming back to Baton Rouge for its 11th year. Thousands of runners from all over the world are expected to be in this weekend. Officials say the Louisiana Marathon weekend generates between $2 million and $4 million in economic impact each year.

The 12th ranked LSU basketball team pulled off a big road win last night as they defeated Florida 64-58. Starting point guard Xavier Pinson didn’t play because of a sprained knee and Tari Eason and Efton Reid both battled foul trouble, but the Tigers were still able to win after withstanding a run by Florida in the second half. Coach Will Wade says it was not pretty…
cut 30 (21) “…his night”
Darius Days had a big night as he scored 20 points and Eric Gaines had 15 points in the absence of Pinson. LSU hosts Arkansas this Saturday.

Tonight…The Cajuns look to stay in sole possession of first place as they visit U-T Arlington. ULM is at Texas State. Louisiana Tech hosts Southern Miss at 6 PM and in the NBA, the Pelicans play the Clippers in the Smoothie King Center.

This week LSU has added two defensive backs to its roster through the transfer portal, Arkansas safety Joe Foucha and Ragin Cajuns cornerback Mekhi Gardner. The Athletic’s Brody Miller expects LSU will go after several other players in the transfer portal, including another Arkansas D-B…
cut 17 (21) “…seeing”

Former Ragin Cajuns running back Montrell Johnson is following Billy Napier to Florida. Johnson has committed to sign with the Gators after rushing for 838 yards and 12 touchdowns as a true freshman for U-L Lafayette last season.