Brian Kelly and LSU facing another Bryce Underwood situation as 4-star 6'0" commit makes eye-opening comment

Coach Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers dealt with a challenging situation last year when No. 1-ranked recruit QB Bryce Underwood flipped his commitment from them to the Michigan Wolverines. While they were able to recover and salvage the No. 10-ranked class of the year, according to 247Sports, missing out on Underwood was a huge disappointment.

Looking ahead to the 2026 class, the Tigers are hoping to avoid another Bryce Underwood situation. However, On3 reporter Hayes Fawcett spoke with four-star, 6' 0" LSU wide receiver commit Kenny Darby on Saturday, and he made a shocking statement.

"NEWS: Just spoke with LSU WR commit Kenny Darby, & he told me he’ll make a final decision on July 4th between LSU & Alabama. He’s currently at Alabama for his OV & will take one to LSU June 21st. "I love the coaching staffs a lot. It’s going to be hard.""

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Kenny Darby initially committed to LSU in November but does not need to uphold his commitment. He has the option to withdraw his commitment and flip it to another program if he chooses, similar to what Bryce Underwood did last season. According to 247Sports, the four-star wide receiver is the No. 148-ranked player nationally and No. 21-ranked wide receiver in his class.

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers are putting together a strong 2026 recruiting class

If WR Kenny Darby chooses to flip his commitment to Alabama or another program, it would be a big hit to Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers' recruiting class. However, it would not be the end of the world because of how good a job they have done at getting commitments in the 2026 class. According to 247 Sports, they have the No. 7-ranked class in the nation.

Part of the reason the team would not be in a bad spot if Darby flipped his commitment is that they already have commitments from a few other top wide receivers. Their class is led by five-star Tristen Keys, who is the No. 4-ranked player in the nation and No. 1-ranked WR. Additionally, the team has received the commitment of No. 14-ranked wide receiver Jabari Mack.

In total, Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers have received nine hard commitments. Although any of them can flip, similar to Bryce Underwood, most of them will likely stay committed to LSU. Of those nine commitments, they have one five-star recruit, seven four-star recruits and one three-star recruit.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Alexander O'Reilly