Sure, I know that we're more than six months away from signing day in college football, but it's always fun to track who is doing what and where recruits may end up.

I decided to do a tally as to how a few of the local universities are doing. If you take a peek back, you'll find that both Tulane and ULL have taken GIANT steps compared to the recent past.

The Green Wave currently have 17 commitments for the 2013 signing class. If you compare that to the past 10 years, you'll discover that new head coach Curtis Johnson and his staff have done an outstanding job and possibly have a jumpstart to a bountiful haul.

At this date in the past few years, here is where Tulane stood on commitments:

• 2012-five
• 2011-four
• 2010-five
• 2009-three
• 2008-one
• 2007-none
• 2006-two
• 2005-none
• 2004-one
• 2003 two

The same can be said for the ULL Ragun Cajuns, who hold five verbal pledges moving toward signing day. Here is how the Cajuns stood in each of the prior five years on this date for commitments.

• 2012-none
• 2011-none
• 2010-one
• 2009-none
• 2008-none

You would have to think that the success the Cajuns enjoyed under first year coach Mark Hudspeth capped by the postseason bowl win spilled over into the recruiting trail.

LSU sits at 20 commitments for '13,. Fourteen of those 4-star rated players. The Tigers are also in the running for seven of the remaining top 50 ranked players nationally:

• Ricky Seals Jones, a 5-star talent and 18th ranked player in the country, has LSU among his favorites. The Sealy, Texas wideout considers LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and Oregon among his top choices.
• DE Tim Williams (6'4-230), a 4-star out of University Lab in Baton Rouge, is the nation's 23rd rated recruit. The Tigers are very much in the thick of things.
• 29th overall DB Tahaan Goodman , a 4-star out of Rancho Cucamonga, California
• 31st overall Marquez North, a 4-star WR from Charlotte, North Carolina
• 34th overall ranked Robert Foster from Monaca, Pennsylvania, a wide receiver.
• 37th overall Max Redford, 4-star defensive back from Mission Viejo, California
• 47th rated player, Stacy Coley, a 4-star WR from Oakland Park, California.

NOTE: A total of 31 out of the top 50 rated players nationally for 2013 have already committed.

Moving forward, here are some names to watch for the 2015 recruiting season (currently sophomores) that LSU has targeted with an offer already:

- RB Nicholas Brossette (6'0-205) Baton Rouge Southern Lab. Although the Tigers are his only current offer, he has interest from Alabama, Arkansas, USC, UCLA, Auburn, Florida St., Georgia, Nebraska, Oregon and Texas.

- ATH Jacques Patrick (6'1-210) Orlando, Fla. offers on the table from Arizona, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Fla. State, Miami, Vandy and UCF.

- RB Jordan Scarlett (5'11-195) hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. outstanding offers from LSU, Wisconsin, Alabama, UCLA, UCF, Mich. State, Miami and Louisville.

Here are others that bear watching for the 2015 class out of Louisiana.

- Hunter Dale (6'0-170) CB John Curtis- offer from Tulane and Arizona State. LSU, TCU, Miss. State, Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama are monitoring.

- DT Tank Carter (6'0-270) Springfield, La. -- So. Miss., LSU, Tulane, ULM, ULL and La. Tech are interested.

- OT Garrett Thomas (6'6-290) Many, La. -- ULM,Tulane, LSU, So. Miss., Ole Miss, ULL and La. Tech are watching.

- Hunter Dubois (6'4-280) Many, La. -- ULM, Tulane, LSU, ULL and La. Tech watching.

- WR Alfred Smith (5'9-168) Destrehan, La. -- LSU, Miami, Alabama, Tulane, Texas A&M, Florida, Fla. State and Tennessee interested.

- RB Myles Washington (5'10-178) John Curtis -- Tulane, Miss. State, Texas A&M, Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Arizona State are lurking.

- QB Jabaiari Tyler (5'7-150) Newman -- Ex-LSU QB Herb Tyler's son has ULL and LSU are keeping a watchful eye.

- QB Abby Touzet (6'2-220) John Curtis -- Tulane, Miss. State, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Ga. Tech are following.

And if you would be bold as to venture out to the 2016 recruiting class, here are a few names to watch:

Freshman-to-be QB Jon Randle Belton (6'3-190) from West Monroe has a better than average chance to take quite a few meaningful snaps under center this fall. When you consider some of the stellar athletes that the Rebels have churned out (Jerry Stovall, Bradie James and Andrew Whitworth, for example) this young man with some obvious maturing could follow in those footsteps.

Belton has camped at Alabama and drawn interest from Mississippi State. Back on July 7, Belton took in the LSU campus under the guidance of West Monroe alum and current Tigers star defensive end Barkevious 'KeKe' Mingo and had a fabulous time. LSU should be heavily in the mix when the process heats up to secure Belton's pledge.

Another player that Maxpreps has identified is LeRoy Proddy (6'1-290 DT) out of Pride, La. The 2012 9th grader is athletically advanced.

Two others drawing attention from recruiters for the 2016 group:

- WR/DB Mykel Jones (5'11-175) Patterson , La. -- LSU, Florida, Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee have interest.

- LB Ja'Ceiry Linzer (6'2-205) Westgate High -- He has a plethora of recruiters watching his every move including Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Miss. State, Ole Miss, Miami, ULL, Florida, Fla. State, Arkansas, Georgia and Tennessee.

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FIVE DRIVE FORWARD: Here is a close look at five schools nationally that have jumped off to a good start despite recent obstacles on- and off-the-field.

Washington: Under 4th year coach Steve Sarkisian, the Huskies have 17 commitments for 2013 including QB Troy Williams, a superb 4-star athlete who considered Florida, Ole Miss, Hawaii and Arizona. Also, Dane Crane (6'3-313) at center is the best at his position in this class.

Penn State: With all its off the field troubles, the program appears to have righted the recruiting ship under new coach Bill O'Brien. The Nittany Lions have bagged 14 pledges thus far.

The top-rated tight end in the nation, 4-star Adam Breneman (6'5-228), and DE Garrett Sickels (6'4-245) are highlights of the haul to date. Also, 4-star QB Christian Hackenberg (6'4-215) a top 10 rated signal caller who rejected offers from Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia in favor of Penn State.

Vanderbilt: That's right, the Commodores have 15 commits and are presently ranked among the top 20 teams for the 2013 pledge class.

Nigel Bowden, a 4-star talent at linebacker, and Johnathan McCray (6'4-200), ranked among the top 3-4 quarterbacks nationally, are prime recruits for Vandy. The 'Dores bested FSU, Ga. Tech, Georgia, Ohio State, Purdue and Tennessee for McCray.

Arizona: New head coach Rich Rodriguez has hauled in 22 pledges. One key addition is Anu Solomon (6'1-202), a dual threat QB from Las Vegas ranked in the top ten nationally under cente.

Ole Miss: Hugh Freeze takes over the program and is making some noise with 14 commitments thus far.

The Rebels hold commitments from 4-star DT Marquel Combs (6'3-305) and Mark Dodson, a top rated RB (5'10-185) with 4.44 speed.