RIVER RIDGE—For Duke Riley it was just a matter of semantics.

All he was waiting on was a true offer to be on the 2013 Tigers and he was going to commit right then and there.

It finally happened this week.

After offers to greyshirt throughout the recruiting process from Les Miles and his staff, things finally changed for the outside linebacker from one of the nation’s top prep programs as he got his scholarship offer. He quickly followed it by announcing that he would be the latest commitment for the Class of 2013 for the Tigers.

“I was so stoked,” Riley said of getting the offer. “It was all that I was waiting for and it was something that I had been waiting my entire life for, especially since I started playing football. I have grown up in Louisiana my entire life. We always watched the Tigers play on Saturday night and then we watched the Saints play on Sunday. That is what life was always like in the fall and I can admit for sure that my dream was to play for both of those teams. To be able to accomplish part of that is very very cool.”

The 6-2, 210-pound Riley played linebacker on the high school level, but is open to anything once he arrives on campus in June, is coming off of an impressive senior season that saw him make 99 tackles and was named the Class 2A State Championship Most Valuable Player as he helped the Patriots capture yet another state championship.

“It was (recruiting coordinator) Frank Wilson who told me about the change in the scholarship offer first,” Riley said. “Then after I talked with Coach Wilson, Coach Miles called me and told me it was real to make it official. Needless to say I didn’t have to think at all about it and I committed on the spot. My commitment was immediate, immediate, pick one. I was just so excited.

“LSU never really had to sell me on their school. I always wanted to go there and I was just waiting for them to want me. Coach Wilson told me throughout this entire process that he was fighting for me to get a true scholarship offer for this year. He said he has seen me on film and there should be any way that I’m not a member of the 2013 class. He proved it and fought for me. That showed me so much trust so he and the coaching staff at LSU have mine now too. I don’t care where I play either man. I trust them. I just want to be out there. I am pretty quick out there and would like to play outside linebacker and we have talked about that but I really just want to play. I trust that the coaches will put in the correct spot to make that happen that will help us win the most games we can.”

Riley chose the Tigers over scholarship offers from Arizona, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Kentucky, Louisiana-Lafayette, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, San Diego State, TCU and Tulane.

With a 3.7 core GPA and a 18 ACT score Riley said that he is already cleared academically and will be qualified once he arrives on campus.