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Historic College Football Program Suffers Massive Recruiting Loss To Rising ACC Team

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jeremy Beren | Last updated May 10, 2025 11:56 AM ET

Rhett Lashlee and the SMU Mustangs are intent on becoming a national powerhouse in college football.

In SMU's first season in the ACC, the Mustangs reached the conference championship game and played in the College Football Playoff.

In doing so, the program achieved a final ranking of 12th in the Associated Press poll – its highest since 1984.

To build off that momentum, SMU is putting together a strong class of new recruits that will arrive in 2026. This group was bolstered Saturday after receiving a commitment from four-star wide receiver Jake Anderson – who had been committed to Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers for nearly a year.

BREAKING: Four-Star WR Jakai Anderson has Flipped his Commitment from LSU to SMU, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 5’11 175 WR from New Orleans, LA had been Committed to the Tigers since June 2024

“New wave.”https://t.co/YeJOUdr2KC pic.twitter.com/H1m4RRNmEk
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 10, 2025

Anderson becomes the third four-star prospect to join SMU's 2026 class after running back Christian Rhodes and four-star wideout Xzavier Barnett.

That alone is a tough pill to swallow for LSU, but the fact that Anderson hails from nearby New Orleans makes his flip to a Dallas-based program even harder to digest.

At 6'0'' and 160 pounds, Anderson is regarded as a dynamic threat whose best football is ahead of him. On3 has him rated as the #53 receiver in his class, and he has stood out to talent evaluators thanks to his explosiveness and his strong route-running.

In his junior year at McDonogh 35 Senior High School in New Orleans, Anderson hauled in 57 catches for 972 yards and 14 touchdowns; he added seven more scores as a kick returner, and a further four as a running back.

That versatility will give Lashlee much to think about as SMU continues to build for a bright future.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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