News travels fast. When that news concerns LSU football, it travels faster.

Jeryl Brazil, a junior athlete from Loranger High School and the first commit in the LSU class of 2013, learned that the hard way.

When he tweeted "I decommited from LSU" on Jan. 29, he sent fans into a frenzy. They sounded off on the popular message board Tiger Droppings, worrying LSU could no longer recruit and that the program's prestige had taken a hit after the BCS Championship debacle.

Brazil didn't expect the reaction to be so severe.

"People freaked out thinking I didn't like LSU anymore, and that I wanted to go somewhere else," Brazil said. "That wasn't the case. I knew people were going to jump the gun and think otherwise without actually knowing anything."

The truth was Brazil hadn't actually decommitted. He had expressed interest in checking out other schools and wanted to fully experience the recruiting process. He never intended on breaking the promise he made to LSU coach Les Miles over the summer.

"I just wanted to have fun with my recruitment, just visit other places and see what other schools had to offer," Brazil said. "I knew at the end I would end up coming back to LSU. I just wanted to have fun with it."

Brazil spoke with LSU recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson shortly after the hysteria began. The coach encouraged him to examine other schools but told him he didn't have to decommit.

Brazil said he appreciated the advice Wilson gave him and cleared up the fans' confusion that day. Loranger coach Sam Messina said he spoke with Brazil a few days later, and he doesn't expect Brazil to land anywhere other than LSU.

"He's a teenager, and not many people get those opportunities," Messina said. "They only come around once in a lifetime, and sometimes you feel like you don't want to miss out on some things other people get to do. I know that goes through his head."

For high-profile prospects, the allure of being recruited is often too tempting to ignore. Few can blame Brazil, who projects to play cornerback at LSU, for taking advantage of that opportunity, but he said he hasn't set up visits with other schools.

That bodes well for the Tigers, who stand to add a speedster to their secondary. Brazil, who also plans to run track in college, said he has been timed in the 40-yard dash in less than 4.3 seconds.

Messina has used Brazil at quarterback and running back in addition to starting him at cornerback.

"It's big for us because his ability and speed allows him to do some things that not many people can do," Messina said. "It also allows for other players on our team to get opportunities because teams will try to take him away from what we try to do and leave people open."

Messina said his role on the field has translated to a leadership mentality off it. As his recruiting class's first member, Brazil said he has taken the task of steering other targets to Baton Rouge.

That quality is something Messina said LSU, or any school, should crave.

"I've seen some changes in him over the last three or four months," Messina said. "You can tell he's taking a little more responsibility for the things he's doing. His attitude has improved a lot in certain areas. I know LSU needs a high-character kid, and he needs to be one of those."

 

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Contact Hunter Paniagua at hpaniagua@lsureveille.com