For my own interest, I have spent some time reviewing the highlights of about 500 Louisiana high school football players who will be seniors this coming season. With over 300 teams in the state and probably at least a dozen (probably more) rising seniors on each team, this is obviously a small percentage of all the potential college football players in Louisiana. It's also why kids "fall through the cracks." Even college recruiters cannot see them all. But I used the recruiting sites and other sources to identify kids who were at least on someone's radar somewhere, even if not rated at all, to "cull" the numbers somewhat. There can be no doubt that I missed some good players. But, since the recruiting sites have not rated a lot of the players to this point, I thought I'd try my hand at picking out some of those (turns out to be about 80) who I thought had the greatest likelihood of becoming a Division 1 scholarship football player and who might improve the Wave roster. Next February I'll see how it went. Anyway, though I did this for my own amusement, I thought some on here might be interested in the results. I'll start with QB's. If there is any interest, I'll pull together my notes on the other positions and post over the next couple of weeks.
QUARTERBACKS (9) 2016 appears to be one of the better years in a long time for QB's coming out of Louisiana high schools. Recently, 3-4 solid prospects would make for a good year. This year, I'd include at least nine. Although I've rank ordered these guys, I wouldn't argue with anyone who thought the ordering is wrong or, for that matter, that someone else should be included instead. It's one man's opinion based on a lot of film watching of about 50 QB's. Had I had access to the full game films of each player (and the time and inclination to watch them), I'm sure I'd come up with a somewhat different opinion. Personal interviews and workouts would probably make a significant difference also. Heck, some of these guys may not be academically eligible. I don't know. So, it is what it is. BTW, to the best of my knowledge Tulane has only offered one of them (Kelley) though they may well have (and probably have) offered others. Despite the belief in some quarters that three scholarship QB's is enough, It's hard for me to believe we won't sign at least one QB in 2016. Saban has five highly rated scholarship QB's on his roster, and I've always thought five was the "right" number. - one every year, expecting a redshirt, and allowing for transfers, injuries, and other disqualifying issues. The position is too important to leave it to "chance." For interest: in the 2015 class, two QB’s from Louisiana signed with P5 schools, three with G5 schools, and one with an FCS school within Division 1.
1. Shea Patterson 6'2" 191 # Calvary Academy (Ole Miss COMMIT) Patterson is the highest rated of all the Louisiana QB's, and arguably the best player in the state. He's mobile in the pocket and seemingly can make all the throws. Even this early he is a 4 and 5 star recruit on all of the services. He's already committed to Arizona, de-committed, and then committed to Ole Miss, so who knows where he'll end up. He's received over 20 offers from P5 schools, including LSU and Alabama. He was named all state and led his team to the Class 2A championship and is probably well beyond the reach of the Wave. As an aside, he's also a very good baseball and basketball player, though football appears to be his primary athletic future. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2109332/highlights/118520380
2. Bladrick Veal 6'5" 190# Southern Lab Like a couple others in the class, Veal reminds me a lot of Ryan Griffin-same relative size and similar skill sets coming out of high school. He doesn't seem to have a cannon for an arm, but certainly good. He also moves a little better than Griffin and even runs some planned QB keepers. He has many P5 offers, including LSU, and would clearly be a good get for the Wave. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2085424/highlights/98074404
3. John Randall Belton 6'3" 203# West Monroe Another really good looking prospect! He can throw and run and has been playing QB for West Monroe since 8th grade. He has a number of P5 offers already, and though he's from Northern Louisiana (not our best recruiting ground), I think he could be a possible. When his teammate, John Washington, signed with Tulane, Belton retweeted CJ's tweet making the announcement. So, he's aware of us anyway. The potential downside and we won't know until his senior year: he's torn the ACL in the same knee during the middle of the 2013 season and prior to the 2014 season. He hasn't been on the field since half way through his sophomore year and is still in rehab. With all that said, he's highly regarded by virtually everyone, though Jimmie Smith dropped him from #33 on his "nifty 50" list prior to the 2014 season to #49 a few weeks ago with his latest ratings. If he comes back like he was as a sophomore, he's a clear P5-level QB http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=jon+randall+belton&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=9CC9D03B46D595EDA1F19CC9D03B46D595EDA1F1
4. Cole Kelley 6'6" 230# Teurings Catholic Kelley is a huge physical specimen. And he can REALLY rifle the ball. Moreover, he can run, too, and is a threat in the open field. He's rated highly by Jimmie Smith, but really hasn't been included much to this point in the data bases of the recruiting services. Max Emfinger has said he's never seen a player, outside of RG III that "could change a game so fast." http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3137127/cole-aka-francis-kelley
5. Austin Guy 6'3" 200# Natchitoches Central I first noticed Guy in reviewing Reginald Turner's highlights last year. Turner looked good and eventually signed with ULM but all I could think of was, "who is that QB?" http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2444848/highlights/203941394
6. Keondre Wudtee 6'3" 183 Parkway This is another kid with pro-size, though he could put on 20-30 pounds without a problem. He has a strong arm and excellent mobility, especially for his size. He can turn broken plays into long yardage with his feet. He's also a top basketball prospect for 2016 with several big offers, including Louisville, which clearly says a lot. We haven't offered in either sport apparently. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2514580/keondre-wudtee
7. Matthew Beck 6'6" 210# Alexandria Beck also looks a lot like Ryan Griffin based on his size and skill set. He has a very quick release from what I've seen and nice touch on longer passes. He even provides some threat to run. Like, Guy, he was included on Jimmie Smith's original "Nifty 50," but not the latest one. Nonetheless, he looks very good to me. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2100478/highlights/218576377
8. Kenney Sears 6'1" 206# St. Paul's Sears completed over 72% of his passes for 2,000+ yards, 22 TD's and 4 INT's as a junior. On his highlights he appears extremely accurate (72% completion rate might suggest that also), hitting receivers in stride consistently. I'm not sure how strong his arm is; he doesn't "air it out" much on the tape, though he throws several passes of 40-45 yards in the air without apparent strain. He also doesn't look particularly fast, but he runs QB draws and other clearly-planned runs very well. I don't think he's in the top four or five in the state, but he looks to be a solid FBS prospect to me. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1504274/kenny-sears
9. Lindsey Scott, Jr. 6'0" 190# Zachary Scott does not have prototypical size for a QB, but then neither does Drew Brees. He has a strong arm, good touch, and great speed and maneuverability to avoid the rush or to take off and run. He was named the most outstanding player in the state for Class 5A as a junior, when he threw for almost 3200 yards and 39 TD's. Those are pretty good credential if you ask me. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1552093/highlights/177961382
This post was edited on 3/25 4:13 PM by WaveON
QUARTERBACKS (9) 2016 appears to be one of the better years in a long time for QB's coming out of Louisiana high schools. Recently, 3-4 solid prospects would make for a good year. This year, I'd include at least nine. Although I've rank ordered these guys, I wouldn't argue with anyone who thought the ordering is wrong or, for that matter, that someone else should be included instead. It's one man's opinion based on a lot of film watching of about 50 QB's. Had I had access to the full game films of each player (and the time and inclination to watch them), I'm sure I'd come up with a somewhat different opinion. Personal interviews and workouts would probably make a significant difference also. Heck, some of these guys may not be academically eligible. I don't know. So, it is what it is. BTW, to the best of my knowledge Tulane has only offered one of them (Kelley) though they may well have (and probably have) offered others. Despite the belief in some quarters that three scholarship QB's is enough, It's hard for me to believe we won't sign at least one QB in 2016. Saban has five highly rated scholarship QB's on his roster, and I've always thought five was the "right" number. - one every year, expecting a redshirt, and allowing for transfers, injuries, and other disqualifying issues. The position is too important to leave it to "chance." For interest: in the 2015 class, two QB’s from Louisiana signed with P5 schools, three with G5 schools, and one with an FCS school within Division 1.
1. Shea Patterson 6'2" 191 # Calvary Academy (Ole Miss COMMIT) Patterson is the highest rated of all the Louisiana QB's, and arguably the best player in the state. He's mobile in the pocket and seemingly can make all the throws. Even this early he is a 4 and 5 star recruit on all of the services. He's already committed to Arizona, de-committed, and then committed to Ole Miss, so who knows where he'll end up. He's received over 20 offers from P5 schools, including LSU and Alabama. He was named all state and led his team to the Class 2A championship and is probably well beyond the reach of the Wave. As an aside, he's also a very good baseball and basketball player, though football appears to be his primary athletic future. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2109332/highlights/118520380
2. Bladrick Veal 6'5" 190# Southern Lab Like a couple others in the class, Veal reminds me a lot of Ryan Griffin-same relative size and similar skill sets coming out of high school. He doesn't seem to have a cannon for an arm, but certainly good. He also moves a little better than Griffin and even runs some planned QB keepers. He has many P5 offers, including LSU, and would clearly be a good get for the Wave. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2085424/highlights/98074404
3. John Randall Belton 6'3" 203# West Monroe Another really good looking prospect! He can throw and run and has been playing QB for West Monroe since 8th grade. He has a number of P5 offers already, and though he's from Northern Louisiana (not our best recruiting ground), I think he could be a possible. When his teammate, John Washington, signed with Tulane, Belton retweeted CJ's tweet making the announcement. So, he's aware of us anyway. The potential downside and we won't know until his senior year: he's torn the ACL in the same knee during the middle of the 2013 season and prior to the 2014 season. He hasn't been on the field since half way through his sophomore year and is still in rehab. With all that said, he's highly regarded by virtually everyone, though Jimmie Smith dropped him from #33 on his "nifty 50" list prior to the 2014 season to #49 a few weeks ago with his latest ratings. If he comes back like he was as a sophomore, he's a clear P5-level QB http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=jon+randall+belton&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=9CC9D03B46D595EDA1F19CC9D03B46D595EDA1F1
4. Cole Kelley 6'6" 230# Teurings Catholic Kelley is a huge physical specimen. And he can REALLY rifle the ball. Moreover, he can run, too, and is a threat in the open field. He's rated highly by Jimmie Smith, but really hasn't been included much to this point in the data bases of the recruiting services. Max Emfinger has said he's never seen a player, outside of RG III that "could change a game so fast." http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3137127/cole-aka-francis-kelley
5. Austin Guy 6'3" 200# Natchitoches Central I first noticed Guy in reviewing Reginald Turner's highlights last year. Turner looked good and eventually signed with ULM but all I could think of was, "who is that QB?" http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2444848/highlights/203941394
6. Keondre Wudtee 6'3" 183 Parkway This is another kid with pro-size, though he could put on 20-30 pounds without a problem. He has a strong arm and excellent mobility, especially for his size. He can turn broken plays into long yardage with his feet. He's also a top basketball prospect for 2016 with several big offers, including Louisville, which clearly says a lot. We haven't offered in either sport apparently. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2514580/keondre-wudtee
7. Matthew Beck 6'6" 210# Alexandria Beck also looks a lot like Ryan Griffin based on his size and skill set. He has a very quick release from what I've seen and nice touch on longer passes. He even provides some threat to run. Like, Guy, he was included on Jimmie Smith's original "Nifty 50," but not the latest one. Nonetheless, he looks very good to me. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2100478/highlights/218576377
8. Kenney Sears 6'1" 206# St. Paul's Sears completed over 72% of his passes for 2,000+ yards, 22 TD's and 4 INT's as a junior. On his highlights he appears extremely accurate (72% completion rate might suggest that also), hitting receivers in stride consistently. I'm not sure how strong his arm is; he doesn't "air it out" much on the tape, though he throws several passes of 40-45 yards in the air without apparent strain. He also doesn't look particularly fast, but he runs QB draws and other clearly-planned runs very well. I don't think he's in the top four or five in the state, but he looks to be a solid FBS prospect to me. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1504274/kenny-sears
9. Lindsey Scott, Jr. 6'0" 190# Zachary Scott does not have prototypical size for a QB, but then neither does Drew Brees. He has a strong arm, good touch, and great speed and maneuverability to avoid the rush or to take off and run. He was named the most outstanding player in the state for Class 5A as a junior, when he threw for almost 3200 yards and 39 TD's. Those are pretty good credential if you ask me. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1552093/highlights/177961382
This post was edited on 3/25 4:13 PM by WaveON