LSU’s recruiting received a boost as the Tigers won 9 of their 1st 11 games and rose to as high as No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Though the Tigers were beaten fairly soundly by Texas A&M in their regular-season finale and by Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, that doesn’t seem to have significantly impacted recruiting for head coach Brian Kelly and his staff.

With the start of the early signing period looming on Wednesday, LSU has the No. 5 class nationally, although that translates to just No. 3 in the SEC, according to 247Sports.com.

Kelly’s 1st Tigers team was already kind of thin before draft entrees and transfer portal entrances began to kick in.

So, it looks like LSU will need a top-flight signing class in order continue the momentum that began this season. And it looks like such a class is on its way.

Here is a look at the Tigers’ recruiting class heading into signing day:

Highest-rated player: Zalance Heard, T, 5-star

Heard (6-5.5, 310) is still evolving as a tackle after switching from the defensive side of the ball before his junior season.

But his combination of strength and athleticism already has made him a dominant blocker, and he still has significant upside. He doesn’t have to be rushed into a starter’s position because much of the success of LSU’s line this season has been due to the presence of outstanding freshman tackles Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr.

Nonetheless, Heard can compete for a spot in the rotation and offensive line coach Brad Davis will certainly want to consider all line combinations once he gets the whole group on campus.

Did they bolster the QB room? (Yes)

Quarterback wasn’t necessarily a position of significant need, but thanks to the transfer portal that position can go from deep to thin pretty quickly. Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier and Walker Howard all have the opportunity to return, and it seems likely that at least Daniels and Howard will do so.

Nonetheless, the room will have a seat for Rickie Collins (6-2, 190), a 4-star recruit from Woodlawn in Baton Rouge who’s the No. 16 quarterback prospect in the country, according to 247Sports.com.

Collins has the ability to compete for the starting position at some point, but he’ll likely have to bide his time even if someone leaves before the fall.

Best position group: Defensive backs

The Tigers needed a whole bunch of defensive backs with just 2 cornerbacks on this year’s team expected to return and safety Jay Ward entering the NFL Draft.

Five of the commits are 4-star prospects and the others are 3-stars. The group, which consists of 4 corners and 3 safeties, was bolstered late last week when 1 of the 4-stars — Javien Toviano from suburban Dallas, the No. 6 cornerback in the country, according to 247Sports.com — committed.

Biggest need filled: Cornerback

The incoming safeties will help, and the Tigers addressed other thin positions at offensive line, wide receiver and tight end.

But it was cornerback where LSU had the fewest numbers and was in its most desperate need of a big influx, which it got.

Biggest potential flip: Javien Toviano, CB, 4-star

Toviano is the most recent commitment to the Tigers, and he was a significant 1. He’s not likely to change his mind, but Texas A&M made a big push for him, and LSU will be looking forward to him formally signing and demonstrating that he hasn’t changed him mind about wanting to play out of state.

Final takeaways on this class

LSU always wants to secure the Louisiana border, though a little leakage is bound to happen. The Tigers have done well in their home state, but just 10 of the 25 commitments are from Louisiana. Both LSU and Kelly when he was at Notre Dame have had success recruiting nationally and that’s reflected in the fact that this class features players from 9 states outside of Louisiana, including Ohio, Minnesota, Maryland, Nevada and California. …

Kelly has addressed every position group with these 25 commitments, and he’s not done — not even in the secondary, which already has the most commitments of any area of the team. …

At 5-8, 180, running back Trey Holly from Union Parish High School in Farmerville, Louisiana, is the smallest player among these commitments, but his impact as a high school player was enormous. Holly shattered former LSU running back Nick Brossette’s state record for career rushing yards, finishing with more than 10,000 yards.