LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin owes his running backs coach Kevin Smith a big-time thank you for what went down in an SEC rival’s backyard this week.

The Tigers weren’t really in the mix for 2027 four-star running back Tre Segarra until Smith essentially flipped the entire recruitment upside down.

Segarra, 5-foot-10/205 pounds from Duncan, SC, is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 6 running back in the nation and the No. 2 player in the state of South Carolina. He’s also rated as the No. 119 overall player in the 2027 recruiting class.

LSU now looks like the favorite to land Tre Segarra

The Tennessee Vols and the South Carolina Gamecocks have been viewed as the favorites to land Segarra.

LSU, in fact, wasn’t even scheduled to get an official visit from the talented running back.

But that all changed when Smith visited Segarra at his home in South Carolina.

Smith made his pitch to Segarra and now the Tigers are the favorites to land the four-star recruit.

“LSU running backs coach Kevin Smith visited his house in May and pitched to Segarra and his family giving Baton Rogue, Louisiana, a shot despite not being on his official visit slate at the time,” reported 247Sports’ Anna Adams. “Fast-forward just a month later — LSU is out in front and a decision might not be far off.”

There’s a reason why Kiffin brought Smith with him from Ole Miss — and it’s not just because he’s a great on-field coach. It’s because he’s a hell of a recruiter, too.

Smith, who is from Miami, should have no problems landing in-state recruits in Louisiana. And he obviously has great recruiting connections in South Florida.

Now the rest of the SEC knows he can go into another program’s backyard and make some noise with a recruit that wasn’t even previously that high on LSU.

That should be scary for the rest of the conference.