Simmons' Takeaways: Louisiana talent impresses
The state of Louisiana regularly produces a lot of top prospects every recruiting cycle and the current crop of standout talent is no different. Rivals.com Southeast recruiting analyst Chad Simmons stopped at more than 15 high schools in Louisiana over the last few days and came away with several takeaways.
CHAD SIMMONS' MAILBAG: Auburn, RBs, Haselwood, Georgia
... Taiwan Berryhill is a quiet, reserved recruit who is not ready to say too much about his recruitment just yet. Tennessee was the first school to offer and he visited Knoxville for the first time over the summer. LSU has shown interest as have Houston, Tulane and some others. At this time, if there is a school to beat, it may be Tennessee.
... Keilon Brown was offered by Nichols State his freshman year. The 2020 quarterback out of Zachary added an offer from Southern Miss in June. He also has offers from Baylor and Virginia, and camped at Mississippi State and Ole Miss in June. Being from Louisiana, most would expect the dream school to be LSU, but Brown said his dream school is TCU. He has yet to hear from the Horned Frogs, and so far has heard the most from Houston and Mississippi State.
... At one point this summer Edna Karr defensive back Devin Bush thought he was close to committing. He decided to slow things down, instead. Arkansas has been talking to Bush and he said he’d like to visit the Razorbacks, Auburn, Georgia and Oklahoma this fall. The Sooners offered early and they made his top five, but not top three. Since Bush has kind of started over again, Oklahoma has come back into play.
... Bertrand Carrell has an official visit to Missouri scheduled for Sept. 21, and it could be a big visit. The Tigers are and have been a top school for Carrell for some time. This will be his first trip to Columbia, so he wants to see how he feels there. Kentucky has slowed things down a little, but Carrell said he is still in regular contact with LSU. He said he talks with at least one, sometimes two Missouri coaches every day.
... Ashaad Clayton has LSU on top. The 2020 running back out of Warren Easton has been a Tiger fan for some time and the only other school he said that is close to the in-state school is Georgia. He does like the Bulldogs and a visit to Athens could take place this fall. At this time though, it appears that LSU could be tough to beat.
... Jalen Cook is a two-star star out of Walker (La.) with offers from Georgetown, Houston and LSU among others in basketball, then a long list of offers to play football from Arizona State, Notre Dame, Tennessee and West Virginia to name a few. He has not really thought much yet about which sport he may want to focus on in college. He could play both, but he is leaning toward playing one. As a football prospect, he could project as a wide receiver or cornerback. On the hard-court, he is a point guard.
... Caleb Etienne is an impressive young man on the hoof. I saw his team play Saturday, and although he is still raw, the offensive tackle is intriguing. He is long, he has a great frame and he is fond of Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke. Etienne is a strong Rebel commit and he said he is not really talking to any other schools at this time.
... Colorado is the biggest offer on paper for 2020 lineman Nicholas Hilliard of Ascension Catholic at this time, but other big programs are showing interest. Notre Dame is one. He camped there over the summer and the Irish want him on campus for a game this fall. Mississippi State is another school that has picked things up with the 6-foot-3, 288-pounder. He shines on both sides of the ball now, but he looks to have the highest ceiling at offensive guard.
... Tyler Kirkwood announced last week that he picked up his first offer, but it actually took place in the spring. Boston College offered the 2020 wide receiver out of Holy Cross and the coach let Kirkwood know after Sept. 1, but since communication was very limited due to NCAA rules, the offer actually was extended four months ago. Auburn, Iowa, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee and others are showing interest in Kirkwood. He camped at Penn State in the summer.
... Lance Legendre is a hot name in Louisiana because he does not talk much about his recruitment and he decommitted from Kansas in August. Florida State, LSU, Tennessee and some others have shown interest. As we say in recruiting, follow the visits here. No official visits are scheduled at this time and Legendre is not saying too much about his recruitment. He does not plan to make a decision any time soon.
... BJ Lockhart is a physical defensive back that may not have the height and length as some others, but he plays bigger. West Virginia is a school that has offered and he is in regular contact with the Mountaineer staff. He was in Morgantown late in July and he liked what he saw. An official visit is likely and West Virginia could have the edge at this time. Lockhart is in no rush to make a decision.
... If you do not know Brian Thomas of Walker yet — you will. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound sophomore has offers from LSU and Virginia. He, like his teammate Jalen Cook, has offers in basketball as well. Thomas did not play football last season, so most are getting their first looks at him this season. Watch out because he could become a hot name real fast.
... Warren Easton is loaded in 2019, but it has some top juniors too. Offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran is one of them. He is a strong young man with size and he could play anywhere up front. He has played tackle, guard and center. He will likely be a guard on the next level. Georgia may be trending right now. The Dawgs had him on campus for camp in June and offered him. Van Pran then returned to Athens a little over a week ago for UGA’s season opener.
... Brandon Williams was at Alabama over the weekend. Alabama has not offered the edge rusher out of Newman yet. Tennessee has and the Vols were his first “major” offer and he has visited Knoxville. Florida, Kentucky and Purdue offered in August. LSU is showing interest as well and he plans to be in Baton Rouge for a game later this month. Williams is looking to take in games at Florida and Tennessee later this season.
... Joel Williams was busy over the summer. He spent time at Florida, Florida State, LSU, TCU and Tennessee. He has more than a dozen offers and the four-star defensive back out of Madison Prep could be close to adding offers from Clemson, Louisville and Miami. He called his visit to Tallahassee the best he had over the summer. He said it felt like home at Florida State. Williams is open right now and he does not plan to rush his recruitment.