After five-star defensive tackle Lamar Brown delayed his signing with LSU, sources told ESPN that a timeline for a decision from the nation's No. 1 overall prospect remains up in the air.
Sources told ESPN on Tuesday night that Brown was not expected to sign during this week's early signing period following a meeting with members of the LSU staff on Tuesday, intending to wait for new coach Lane Kiffin to fill out his Tigers coaching staff.
According to sources, Brown's representatives held further talks with members of the LSU staff on Wednesday. But while those conversations fueled fresh optimism that Brown could ultimately sign later this week, no resolution was reached, leaving sources involved unsure of whether Brown will extend his process beyond the early signing period and into late December.
Uncertainty surrounding Brown, who remains verbally committed to the Tigers, swirled over a mixed bag of a signing day for Kiffin and LSU. All told, the Tigers signed nine commits from the program's incoming class when the early signing period opened Wednesday, leaving LSU ranked No. 14 in ESPN's latest class rankings for the 2026 cycle.
Those signatures included three prospects who landed in Kiffin's first wave of pledges with the program on Tuesday: three-star wide receiver Brayden Allen and a pair of former Ole Miss commits in tight end J.C. Anderson (No. 165 overall) and center Ryan Miret.
Four-star pass-catcher Corey Barber, who decommitted from Ole Miss on Nov. 30 following Kiffin's departure, committed and signed with the Tigers on Wednesday morning as well.
Kiffin and the Tigers also retained a significant commitment with the signing of top 100 offensive tackle Brysten Martinez. An in-state pledge who initially committed to LSU in February, Martinez chose to stick with the Tigers following a pair of visits to Texas last month.
However, Brown was not the only LSU pledge to hold off on signing Wednesday.
As of early Wednesday evening, only cornerback Havon Finney Jr. (No. 69) and safety Aiden Hall (No. 145) had been formally signed by the program, leaving four of the Tigers' seven ESPN 300 commits unsigned. Among them, defensive tackle Deuce Geralds (No. 39 overall) said he remained committed to LSU and plans to "make a final decision" by end of day Friday.
"I was planning to sign this morning," Geralds wrote in a statement. "But after speaking with my family, I decided to give myself a couple more days to get to know the new staff."
According to sources, lingering questions over the Tigers' coaching staff was one of the drivers in Brown's decision to delay his signing this week as Kiffin works to hire assistants.
Brown has forged close relationships with multiple Tigers coaches throughout his recruitment, including defensive coordinator Blake Baker and interim coach Frank Wilson, whose respective futures with the program remain uncertain. Kiffin said Monday that Wilson will remain as interim coach through bowl season.