Destrehan (La.) four-star outside linebacker Kolaj Cobbins has quickly become one of the top recruited edge prospects in the entire Mid-South region as schools across the country made their way to the west New Orleans suburb to see one of The Boot’s finest.
Cobbins is fresh off of releasing a top six featuring Colorado, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss, Oregon and Texas earlier this winter as each program has made a strong attempt at recruiting him in recent weeks.
Texas has been arguably the hottest in pursuit behind Steve Sarkisian, cornerbacks coach and area recruiter Terry Joseph and running backs coach Tashard Choice.
“Texas has definitely been coming hard,” Cobbins said. “(Joseph) has been real since day one. Coach Sark FaceTimes me once or twice a week. Even as a head coach, he’s not hard to reach out to. Him, Coach Joseph and Coach Choice came to Destrehan. It means a lot for those guys to come out and talk to me. They will be up there when it comes down to the final three.”
LSU’s hometown appeal had the Tigers in it from the start, but the success this past season will have them in it to the end.
“Coach Brian Kelly told me specifically that a lot of SEC schools want me, but LSU wants and needs me,” he said. “I look at BK like a scientist. He puts the missing pieces together like it’s science. They’ve already made it to the SEC Championship, so I know LSU has a lot for the future.”
Michigan’s presence in Louisiana with assistant Ron Bellamy on staff has been continuously increasing, and Cobbins’ recruitment is no different.
“They produce great interest,” he said about the Wolverines. “They’ve also been down since day one. Coach Ron Bellamy came down here like two weeks ago to see me. We were chopping it up and it was real. I’ve always had a thing for Michigan since I was a kid and they’ve produced a lot of great edges.”
Colorado has already made one big splash in the state of Louisiana in 2024, and Deion Sanders along with defensive tackles coach Patrick Hill are looking to keep it going with Cobbins.
“It’s gonna be the next big place,” he said. “Deion Sanders, when I was on the phone with Coach Hill, he told me he was coming. They’re right there for me. They will probably get an official visit in the summer.”
Along with Michigan and Colorado, Oregon will also get an official visit.
“Oregon is just a child’s dream,” he said. “They were good in the PAC-12. Why not put Oregon in there? I had to put a PAC-12 school in there so they got it.”
Ole Miss has multiple staffers that have connected with Cobbins as special teams coordinator Marty Biagi has established the relationship for the Rebels and new defensive coordinator Pete Golding has Cobbins intrigued about the future in Oxford.
“Coach Biagi comes down to Destrehan too, he comes down a lot,” he said. “That’s a real guy right there. With Ole Miss picking up Coach Golding, they’ll do real good. That’s a big pickup right there. It’s in the SEC too.”
Cobbins’ plan includes seeing the out-of-region schools on official visits before making a decision sometime in the summer.
At 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Cobbins is ranked as the No. 138 recruit in the country for the class of 2024, according to Rivals. He is the No. 8 outside linebacker in the country and the No. 5 recruit from the state of Louisiana.
Nick Harris, National Recruiting Analyst
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