Christian Brathwaite Flips From Baylor to LSU

Tigers steal a Dave Aranda commit

LSU added another piece to its 2023 recruiting class relatively out of nowhere as the Tigers flipped linebacker Christian Brathwaite from Baylor.

Brathwaite, listed at 6’1” and 225 pounds, unofficially visited LSU this past weekend and got to witness the Tigers’ 45-20 win over the Rebels in person. Whatever he saw and heard from Matt House was enough to back off his pledge from one former LSU defensive coordinator, Dave Aranda, and flip to LSU’s current DC.

“Coach House is a player’s guy,” Brathwaite said to On3. “He coaches within the player, He is really interested in the player. He coaches each individual certain way based off their certain skills based on developing them and getting them better.”

Depending on what recruiting service you subscribe to, Brathwaite is either a four-star (like on 247) or a 3 (like on On3). Hailing from Cypress, Texas Brathwaite is built more like a traditional middle linebacker as opposed to an outside backer like Harold Perkins. With Micah Baskerville in his final year of eligibility, LSU will need to have contingencies ready. Perhaps Brathwaite could have an immediate impact like Perkins or maybe he plays sparingly in 2023 and beyond before hopefully assuming a starting role.

LSU now has 23 commits in its 2023 class, which is ranked 7th in the 247 class rankings. As a reminder, the 25-hard cap is gone, the only thing teams need to do is make sure they don’t go over 85 scholarship athletes.