Former LSU teammates of La'El Collins go to woo him to Miami Dolphins

UPDATE: The plane has landed in Louisiana, let the recruiting begin.

The Miami Dolphins are meeting with LSU offensive tackle La'El Collins on Tuesday, and the chosen party for this meeting was two of Collins' old teammates from LSU (and one alumni who was not a teammate): wide receiver Jarvis Landry, defensive tackle Anthony Johnson, and linebacker Kelvin Sheppard.

At first glance, it seems rather unorthodox for the organization to send three current players to represent them, but if one were to look more closely at the situation, it would be revealed that the four former LSU Tigers are close friends.

Good seeing my boys today @freakxlsu @God_Son80 @KelvinSheppard

— SeVeN ZeRo (@70LaelCollins) April 21, 2015

Just based on that, it would appear that Landry, Sheppard and Johnson have been hanging out for quite some time, and now that he has gone undrafted and the young tackle has the option to choose where he is going to play, his three teammates are going out once again to convince him to come to Miami.

On top of all of that, thanks to a recent post on Mike Pouncey's instagram, it appears that the Pro Bowl Center is also accompanying them to make their pitch to the young man out of LSU.

The fact that Pouncey is accompanying the three LSU alumni shows that they're serious about making a case as to why Collins should join them on the Dolphins, as Pouncey is arguably one of the best centers in the league, and has since had something of an emotional transformation thanks to the new contract he received just a short while ago. If anyone can testify as to why he should sign with Miami, it would be him.

There were also reports that head coach Joe Philbin would also be going to meet with Collins, but according to reports by the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero and NFL Network's Ian Rapaport, the Dolphins did not send Philbin, and the players are going by themselves to recruit Collins. Speculation as to why this is the case is that the Dolphins do not as of yet feel comfortable sending front office members because Collins hasn't been officially cleared. 

Another possibility is that since Collins already made a pre-draft visit with the Dolphins, they don't consider it necessary for them to send the coaches and personnel members to speak with him again.

Regardless of the reason, the fact that these players are going out of their way to recruit Collins should make the young tackle feel very wanted, and with Mike Tannenbaum's connections to Collins' agent, the no income tax perks of Florida and the fact that the Dolphins have an excellent chance of succeeding with him there, they should be considered the favorites to land Collins.

I have no doubt that Collins and his agent are going to do their due diligence and look into every option to see what would be the best fit for Collins, but rest assured, the three former LSU Tigers are determined to form a reunion with their comrade in sunny Miami.

Jet life Going bring my Brother back to South Beach....✖️♠️ #FinsUp #LCToMiami https://t.co/lMP7lYhP6f

— Anthony Johnson (@freakxlsu) May 5, 2015

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater