"It's like a father-son relationship": LSU 2026 commit Jabari Mack raves over Tigers' coach

The LSU Tigers have a big 2025 season ahead of them, but they are also focused on ensuring the team is ready for future seasons. As a result, the coaching staff has been working to get commitments for the 2026 class.

The LSU Tigers got a commitment from four-star wide receiver recruit Jabari Mack on March 22nd. He had offers from Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State and Alabama, but chose to join the Tigers Class of 2026.

On Wednesday, Mach, who went to Destrehan High School in Los Angeles, appeared on "After Further Review" with host Matt Moscona. On the show, Moscona asked Mack about his relationship with co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton.

"My relationship is great," Mack said. "I just really feel like it's like a father-son relationship. Just you know based on how much we talked. It isn't always all about football, it's about life sometimes and I really feel like that's the best part about it."

Mack was asked whether other coaches have the same commitment to players off the field as Hankton. He said that he did not feel like that's the case.

"I really feel like they don't and that's something coaches should get more into because a lot of athletes after football, they pretty much don't know what to do," Mack added. "So, I feel like a lot of coaches got to dive deeper into the athletes and that's what Coach Hank does with me."

Moscana then asked Mack what other coaches were involved in his recruiting.

"Coach (Joe) Sloan, Coach Frank (Wilson), and many more behind the scenes, but those are the main ones to be honest," he added.

LSU looks to improve on its 2025 recruiting class

The LSU Tigers do not have a bad 2025 recruiting class, but it did not rank at the top among SEC teams. The team has the seventh-ranked 2025 class with two five-star commitments, 19 four-stars and two three-stars.

Their class was significantly hurt when No. 1-ranked recruit QB Bryce Underwood flipped his recruitment from LSU to Michigan.

However, the Tigers are off to a good start in getting commitments for the 2026 class. Jabari Mack is a good addition and should add a lot to the team. As things stand in early April, the Tigers have the third-best 2026 recruiting class in the SEC behind USC and Clemson.

Edited by Krutik Jain