The No. 1 overall prospect in the 2026 Recruiting Class resides down the rode from Brian Kelly and the LSU football staff with the program ramping up its push for Jahkeem Stewart.

The prized defensive lineman plays his high school ball at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans (La.) where the Bayou Bengals have certainly dipped their toes in over the years.

From Leonard Fournette to Tyrann Mathieu, there have been several LSU greats that have come from the impressive Catholic League high school.

Now, LSU has their sights set on the next great recruit out of St. Augustine in coveted prospect Jahkeem Stewart.

The No. 1 overall player in the country, Stewart is a physical specimen of a defensive lineman who has programs across America salivating at his ceiling.

With a myriad of programs in his ear, LSU defensive lineman Bo Davis and the Tigers have made sure to get in on the action as well.

On Friday, Stewart took an unofficial visit to Baton Rouge for LSU’s annual Bayou Splash recruiting event.

Stewart posted an update following the event that provided him an opportunity to have one-on-one time with LSU head coach Brian Kelly:

Stewart was accompanied by the top prospects in America with both the 2025 and 2026 classes well-represented.

For the program-changing prospect, he’s seen both USC and Ohio State turn up the heat, but LSU is making sure to work their magic in this one as they remain in constant contact.

It’s been an eye-opening offseason for Stewart as his recruitment picks up with several programs looking to separate themselves from the pack.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound sophomore, who is prepping for his junior year with the Purple Knights, has taken the nation by storm with his stature and physical traits.

He looks and plays above his years, which also has recruiting experts and analysts believing there could be a chance he reclassifies into the 2025 cycle.

Stewart has teased the idea of graduating high school a year early, and with LSU lacking depth for the future at defensive line, it makes their push for Stewart that much more important.

Whether he reclassifies or not, he’s at the top LSU’s recruiting board in the 2026 cycle with Davis and Co. beginning to form a close relationship.

Now, he has another unofficial visit to LSU in the rearview mirror after taking the trip over to Baton Rouge to check in with the program.

It was a beneficial visit for the Tigers after Stewart met with Kelly, spoke with LSU recruiting guru Frank Wilson and had the opportunity to develop relationships with the top prospects both committed to the Tigers as well as players on their radar.

The Bayou Bengals will continue keeping their foot on the gas for the generational talent out of The Boot.

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.

Louisiana’s major electric utilities are still pushing state regulators to allow them to charge customers for the costs of a new statewide energy efficiency program and for the electricity consumers will no longer need because of that program, Louisiana Illuminator reports. 

A large group that included Louisiana Public Service Commission staff, utility company executives, consumer advocates and other energy experts met Wednesday to evaluate bids from companies that want to oversee Louisiana’s new energy efficiency program. 

LPSC’s new energy efficiency program requires utility companies to meet certain energy savings targets the administrator sets. Hitting those targets could require big changes from utilities―such as systemwide upgrades―or smaller efforts like helping low-income customers insulate their homes. 

While the idea might seem like a solution to cut back on waste, utility company executives have been pushing back. In general, utility companies earn more profit when homes and businesses waste electricity. Less waste leads to lower electric bills, which could mean lower profits for the utilities. 

Entergy Louisiana and Cleco are two of the state’s utility providers that have vehemently opposed the idea and delayed its adoption for years. A consultant the commission hired to write the basic guidelines for the program spent 13 years and over $500,000 trying to appease utility companies with agreeable rules, Louisiana Illuminator reports. 

In an effort to end the delays, Commissioner Craig Greene, R-Baton Rouge, ended the stalemate in January and joined with the two Democrats on the commission in adopting what they say is a more consumer-friendly program what the utilities wanted. 

Though customers are covering all the costs of the program, the utility companies also want  customers to recover lost profits with “under-earning” fees. The utility companies lobbied the LPSC to keep a provision that allows them to tack on additional charges to make up for profits they miss out on when their customers no longer waste electricity.

Read the full story. 

While Hurricane Beryl crossed into Louisiana as a tropical storm, Republican Governor Jeff Landry was on vacation in Europe, according to a new report.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based newspaper the Advocate reported Friday that Landry and his wife, Sharon were on a “weeklong jaunt” through Croatia, Greece and Italy when Beryl hit Louisiana, killing one person and damaging homes and businesses and leaving thousands without power. Beryl — which hit southeast Texas as a category 1 hurricane earlier this month, later moved east into the Bayou State and caused coastal flooding and wind speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour. A 31 year-old woman in Benton, Louisiana was killed when a tree fell on her home.

“All the governors I’m familiar with made a business to be around during hurricane season, especially when there was one in the Gulf,” Terry Ryder — who was an attorney for three former Louisiana governors — told the Advocate. “They were always completely engaged before, during and after a storm or a serious threat of a storm. You would not have seen them way out of the country.”

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While Landry reportedly told Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser (R) about his European vacation in advance, he notably did not make a public announcement. Nungesser told the Advocate that he doesn’t “sleep during a hurricane ever since Katrina,” in reference to the 2005 storm that killed more than 1,500 Louisiana residents. He added that it was a “tough call” for Landry to decide postponing his vacation in light of the hurricane as it was approaching from the Caribbean.

“So many of them don’t affect us,” he said. “But if becomes a major threat, you have to be in a position to come back.”

Landry’s press secretary, Kate Kelly, told the publication via text message that the characterization of her boss as absent during a major emergency was unfair, and that Landry was plugged in with state emergency response officials throughout his vacation.

“It was not much of a vacation as he sprang into action with multiple calls a day with the FEMA director, local leaders, GOHSEP [Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness], & State Police in order to monitor Hurricane Beryl,” Kelly said. “He issued a disaster declaration for affected parishes on July 9 and requested a Federal Emergency Disaster Declaration on July 10. Gov. Landry always puts Louisiana and her people first, and it’s disingenuous for this paper to try and imply otherwise — solely for clickbait.”

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Michael Steele, who is a spokesperson for GOHSEP, told the paper that “there was never a moment when the governor was out of communication” with emergency responders.

“GOHSEP was never activated beyond the first level of activation,” he said.

Landry’s European trip had reportedly been postponed more than once: The Covid-19 pandemic initially scuttled his plans to visit the continent, followed by the death of his mother-in-law and the 2023 gubernatorial race.

Click here to read the Advocate’s report in its entirety (subscription required).

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