Five teams with momentum in Louisiana not named LSU

Everyone knows LSU will do well on the recruiting trail in its home state, but what schools could come in and challenge the Tigers for some of the best? After spending three days in Louisiana and visiting more than 20 schools last week, here are five out-of-state programs based on feedback from prospects we saw that seem to have a real buzz in Louisiana.

MORE SIMMONS: The road trip through Louisiana

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

If you spend time at Amite (La.), then you will hear or even see Alabama. Devonta Smith caught the game-winning touchdown in the national championship game in January and he is from there. When there last week, Rivals100 athlete Devonta Lee was wearing a Crimson Tide pullover. He has Alabama very high on his list and most feel the Tide are right there at the top with LSU. He is likely to spend time in Tuscaloosa this summer.

Five-star defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher will be back as well. When asked how many times he has visited Alabama, Sopsher said he lost count. John Emery is a running back Alabama had its eye on last Wednesday during the Destrehan spring game. Assistant coach Joe Punnunzio had his camera on any time Emery hit the field.

A couple of young wideouts have the Tide on their early radar as well – Emery’s teammate, Quincy Brown, and Breaux Bridge (La.) playmaker Dartravion Girod. Alabama was the first school to offer Brown earlier this spring. Girod doesn’t have an offer from the Tide yet, but plans to camp there this summer.

It looks as if Chad Morris and his staff are going to make some noise in Louisiana. The Razorbacks are recruiting numerous prospects in the Boot State and their name was mentioned by a handful of prospects. The two that seem to have the most interest in Arkansas at this time are Charvis Thornton, an athlete out of Baton Rouge (La.) Southern Lab and cornerback Gregory Brooks, Jr. out of Marrero (La.) West Jefferson.

Arkansas is the most recent offer for Thornton and he wants to check it out. Brooks has scheduled an official visit for the second weekend in June with the Hogs. Amite (La.) athlete Kyle Maxwell was offered just over a week ago and he may trip to Fayetteville next month. Another name to keep an eye on is Kendall Wilkerson out of Kentwood (La.). The defensive tackle doesn’t have an offer yet, but he is hearing from Arkansas a lot and he would like the offer.

When on the Southern Lab campus watching spring practice, one thing that jumped out early was LSU commit Tyrion Davis sporting the Bulldog gloves. The four-star running back saw Georgia assistant coach Dell McGee at his practice last week and another visit to Athens is likely. Davis’ teammate, 2020 wide receiver Reginald Thornton, has half a dozen offers, not one from Georgia yet, but the Bulldogs are his dream school. Staying with 2020 prospects, quarterback Caleb Holstein out of Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More is hearing a lot from the Bulldogs and he will camp there this summer. New Orleans (La.) Warren Easton running back Ashaad Clayton has an offer and he plans to visit Athens soon.

Quincy Brown is a young receiver out of Destrehan (La.) with a Bulldog offer already. Georgia has spent as much time as it could at Destrehan this spring. McGee and Cortez Hankton were at their spring game watching 2019 running back target John Emery. Emery was back in Athens over the weekend. Emery’s running mate, 2020 running back Caleb Edwards, called UGA his dream school. He does not have an offer from the Dawgs yet.

Can Mississippi State pull one of the top prospects out of Louisiana? It seems to be right in the thick of the race for running back John Emery. He said he definitely plans to be back in Starkville for another visit soon and a decision is likely to happen late in the summer.

Another one to watch close is Gregory Brooks, who was offered by Mississippi State when he was in town for a spring practice. The Bulldogs will receive an official visit and are one of his top two to three schools at this time. Ishmael Burdine out of Slidell (La.) is another taking a long look at the Bulldogs. Quarterback Amani Gilmore is not hearing from Mississippi State at this time, but he plans to camp there this summer to showcase his ability. Gilmore did not play last year because of a transfer rule.

Destrehan (La.) running. back Quinton Torbor is committed to Mississippi State and he caught some nice passes, including a couple of touchdowns in his spring game last week. He said all the right things and appears to be a strong Bulldog commit.

Tennessee's 2019 class will be Jeremy Pruitt’s first full recruiting class and the staff is doing all it can to pull some of the top talent from Louisiana. But that may be tough this soon, so the Vols are offering young talent and identifying guys they feel can help them immediately. A couple of prospects out of Amite that some feel could have breakout seasons this fall are wide receiver Kyle Maxwell and quarterback Amanti Gilmore. They visited Knoxville on March 31 and picked up the offer. Both plan to camp next month. It should be an interesting next seven or eight months from Gilmore.

Southern Lab athlete Kendarious Moses picked up an offer almost a month ago and he has been in regular contact with UT assistant coach David Johnson. Ishmael Burdine is a long defensive back who visited Knoxville during his spring break and he still has his eyes on the Vols. Kayshon Boutte out of New Iberia (La.) Westgate and Angelo Anderson out of New Orleans (La.) John Curtis Christian are top 2020 prospects and both have early offers from the Vols.