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It's really hard to pull Lousiana kids away from LSU, but the Frogs are in position to do just that with defensive tackle D'Andre Christmas-Giles. Originally committed to Tennessee, Christmas-Giles reopened his commitment in December just a day after taking an official visit to Texas.
A 6'3", 290 pound behemoth out of New Orleans, D'Andre had planned to take the last of his OV's (to Ole Miss) before announcing his top three, but expedited the process in an announcement Monday evening. He plans to make his final decision on signing day, leaving a mad scramble for Les Miles, Charlie Strong, and Gary Patterson over the next week and a half. That TCU has remained in the hunt says a lot about Patterson's reputation as a defensive master, and about his fellow class of 2016 recruits - he has been in contact with several Frog verbals, most notably Isaiah Chambers, who has been a vocal recruiter for TCU in the past several months. Christmas-Giles made his official visit to TCU in December, and has been hotly pursued in the weeks since. He was most recently in College Station, but Kevin Sumlin could not overcome the lure of the Tigers, Horns, or Frogs when it came to making the cut for the top three.
LSU has already secured three defensive linemen in their class, and while that is believed not to be a determining factor for the game ready prospect, there is certainly a larger opportunity to compete for immediate playing time in both Austin and Fort Worth. Though he is considered an LSU lean, it would not be all that surprising to see him matriculate to either Texas school. TCU has been in a lot of battles for top prospects as of late, and has closed the deal on several big names. Adding a prospect the caliber of Christmas-Giles, and one that fills a major need on the defensive side of the ball, would be a coup for Patterson and the cherry on top of what is becoming a special class of athletes and people.
You can watch his highlights below - the kid, nicknamed the Freak, is an absolute beast.
Keep up with all the happenings as we close in on signing day right here!