4-star recruit explains why he committed to LSU over Tennessee
The Tennessee Vols missed on one of their top 2024 recruiting targets on Wednesday evening when four-star cornerback Cai Bates committed to the LSU Tigers. Bates, 6-foot-2/180 lbs from Orlando, FL, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 11 cornerback in the nation and the No. 15 player in the state of Florida. […]
The Tennessee Vols missed on one of their top 2024 recruiting targets on Wednesday evening when four-star cornerback Cai Bates committed to the LSU Tigers.
Bates, 6-foot-2/180 lbs from Orlando, FL, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 11 cornerback in the nation and the No. 15 player in the state of Florida.
The Vols were very much in the mix for Bates — at one point it seemed like Tennessee had the momentum in this recruiting battle. But LSU received Bates' final official visit which is always hard for a program to overcome.
After announcing his commitment to LSU, Bates explained to On3 why he chose the Tigers over the Volunteers.
And it all came down to culture.
“The culture of the program is what separated LSU,” said Bates to On3. “It’s a program known for producing defensive backs and I know that players who played there will come back, so it’s really a defensive back brotherhood. Those guys are players I looked up to growing up and watched who will come back during their offseason to help."
Bates also pointed out his frequent communication with Tigers head coach Brian Kelly as a reason why he committed to LSU.
“You know you’re a priority to a school when the head coach frequently reaches out to you and talks with you,” said Bates. “I didn’t really know much about him as a person until he started recruiting me. Head coaches are busy so for him to take the time to contact me multiple times, it let me know that I’m a priority."
I wouldn't take any of Bates' comments as a shot at Tennessee or a sign that the Vols are failing on the recruiting trail (and clearly they're not….UT currently has the No. 9 2024 recruiting class in the nation).
Bates simply felt more comfortable at LSU than he did at Tennessee. That's going to happen from time to time. LSU is a great program with great facilities and a winning tradition. It's hard to blame a recruit for choosing to go there.
Ultimately, Bates' decision to commit to LSU didn't happen because Tennessee failed, it happened because he liked LSU more. Again, it happens. And there's likely nothing the Vols could've done to change his mind. After all, the culture at Tennessee has been praised by nearly every recruit that's visited Knoxville over the last two years. Bates just felt more at home in LSU's culture.
Tennessee needs to start winning more of these recruiting battles for elite defensive players — that's the only way they'll be able to consistently compete with Georgia and other top programs. But at the same time, they're not going to win every recruiting battle. So for Josh Heupel and his staff, it's on to the next big defensive recruiting target.
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