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South Central Spotlight: Path from HS to draft star for 5 prospects

K'lavon Chaisson
K'lavon Chaisson (AP)

The 2020 NFL Draft was completed over the weekend, and the Monday morning quarterbacking began quickly. At Rivals, we’ve covered most of those players selected since high school, and recall the recruitments of several of the weekend’s top picks.

Below, we take a look at some of the South Central region’s top draft picks and which 2021 prospect they most resemble.

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NFL DRAFT: The path for five Midwest prospects | Southeast prospects | West prospects | Top 10 former two-stars/unranked selected | Top 10 former three-stars selected | Top 10 former four-stars selected | Top 10 former five-stars selected | What We Learned | Biggest winners of the weekend | Five storylines | Did we hit or miss on HS rankings of 32 first-rounders? | First-round grades | Why did Rivals miss on Burrow's, Herbert's rankings? | Day Two thoughts | Looking ahead to top 10 players for 2021 draft

CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

CLASS OF 2022: Top 100

K'LAVON CHAISSON, LSU

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Drafted: First round, No. 20 overall to Jacksonville

Recruit comparison: Landon Jackson

Recap: Chaisson was right on the cusp of the Rivals100 coming out of Galena Park North Shore in 2017. He was only a few years into his football career after transitioning from a want-to-be hoops star to the grid iron and eventually leading North Shore to a state championship in 2015.

Chaisson unintentionally attended an LSU prospect camp with former high school and college teammate Eric Monroe and wound up working out and returning to Houston with an offer. A Baylor legacy, Chaisson was a priority target for the Tigers as they transitioned to a 3-4 defense, but faced a stiff push from Texas after Tom Herman landed the job.

LSU landed Chaisson’s signature on National Signing Day in 2017 thanks to an early-morning visit from Ed Orgeron on his way to the Houston airport ahead of his final official visit to Florida.

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JUSTIN JEFFERSON, LSU

Drafted: First round, No. 22 overall to Minnesota

Recruit comparison: Caleb Burton

Recap: Jefferson’s star ranking made headlines in the weeks leading up to the draft because Rivals declared him as a two-star coming out of Destrehan High School. While the offer sheet was certainly perplexing, it’s important to note that Jefferson was a standout high school football player that also impressed the LSU coaches with an in-person camp appearance, but academics were a major obstacle.

Jefferson grabbed then-LSU assistant coach Dameyune Craig’s attention in June 2016 when he battled with Amik Robertson during 1-on-1s. He continued to turn heads as a senior as the top target for one of Louisiana’s most prolific offenses and put in a ton of hours during the spring to qualify academically and join the LSU football team.

PATRICK QUEEN, LSU

Drafted: First round, No. 28 overall to Baltimore

Recruit comparison: Ty Kana

Recap: Queen did it all during his varsity career at Livonia High School. He was an All-State running back that amassed 1,500 yards as a senior while also seeing duty at linebacker in preparation for his college career in Baton Rouge.

Queen was deemed as athlete because he was a prolific big-play running back that also came up with plenty of big plays in the defensive backfield, but new LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda was in search of a linebacker. Queen brought so much position versatility and athleticism to the position and was a contributor quite early and really became a playmaker this past season as injuries and suspensions piled up in Baton Rouge.

CLYDE EDWARDS-HELAIRE, LSU

Drafted: First round, No. 32 overall to Kansas City

Recruit comparison: Trevor Etienne

Recap: Edwards-Helaire was thrust into the underdog role as onlookers constantly questioned his ability to play in the SEC because he was only 5-foot-8. However, that height was not a disadvantage … far from it.

What made Edwards-Helaire so special was not just 4.4 speed and fantastic explosiveness, but his balance and lower-body strength that allowed him to always stay on his feet and power forward. He was always a fantastic pass-catcher and his impact in the Chiefs will remind plenty of folks of how Andy Reid made the most of a three-down back like Brian Westbrook.

KRISTIAN FULTON, LSU

Drafted: Second round, No. 61 overall to Tennessee

Recruit comparison: Latrell McCutchin

Recap: Fulton was a lockdown cornerback in New Orleans’ most competitive districts — the famed Catholic League — where he was consistently tasked with shutting down teams’ No. 1 wide receivers. Players like Kalija Lipscomb (Vanderbilt) and Stanley Morgan (Nebraska) battled with Fulton week in and week out, but the results remained the same. Fulton was a ballhawk that flocked to the football, never shied away from blowing up a ball-carrier and was always a threat to strip the ball. He was also a fantastic returner.

Fulton never had the college career he was hoping for at LSU, but certainly flashed some of those same traits that made him such a sought-after recruit at high school.

AMIK ROBERTSON, Louisiana Tech

Drafted: Fourth round, No. 139 overall to Oakland

Recruit comparison: Andre Seldon

Recap: Robertson was too small, yet there was never a stage too big or a rep that he took off. Robertson made a name for himself doing a little bit of everything at Thibodaux High School — and even got Orgeron’s attention during a playoff game at Mandeville High in 2015. Orgeron’s sons, Cody and Parker, played on that Mandeville team.

However, Louisiana Tech made an early impression on Robertson — even after he backed off that pledge as numerous Power 5 overtures rolled in. After Robertson’s junior campaign, he underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL and was cleared that June. On the same day the doctors cleared him, Robertson competed against the aforementioned Jefferson at LSU’s camp, only to earn an offer from the staff later that fall. He opted to follow his heart to Tech, where he was an instant-impact player and All-American as one of the best nickels in America.

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