Top 2021 Defensive Back Prospects in Louisiana

Louisiana’s production of talented defensive backs is a huge part of why LSU lays such a viable claim to its "D-B-U" moniker. The Tigers have pulled some notable standouts such as Patrick Peterson or Jamal Adams from Florida or Texas, but the bulk of their secondary has been built on in-state stars such as LaRon Landry, Ryan Clark, Corey Webster, Eric Reid, Chad Jones, Brandon Taylor, Tyrann Mathieu, Tre’Davious White, Donte’ Jackson, Andraez "Greedy" Williams, Kristian Fulton or Derek Stingley Jr. The 2021 recruiting class once again includes several Division-I prospects, including the top five below. Another pair in Scotlandville safety [player_tooltip player_id="63572" first="Jah’Von" last="Grigsby"] (Michigan State) and Holy Cross safety [player_tooltip player_id="63576" first="Kolbe" last="Cage"] (Arizona) are already committed to Power Five schools, with several others such as [player_tooltip player_id="63577" first="Da’Veawn" last="Armstead"], [player_tooltip player_id="63584" first="Eric" last="Randall III"], [player_tooltip player_id="63589" first="Cejae" last="Ceasar"] and [player_tooltip player_id="63590" first="Caleb" last="Spann"] holding offers from those conferences. <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/sage-ryan/">[player_tooltip player_id="63550" first="Sage" last="Ryan"]</a> — 5-11, 190 DB — Lafayette Christian</strong> Few positions in Louisiana’s 2021 class have as clear of a top prospect as the defensive backs. The biggest case made against Ryan leading that list would have to be a more technical attempt to designate him as "athlete." From the start of his impressive high school career, the Lafayette Christian standout has made plays all over the field in all three phases. His combination of long receptions, interceptions and special teams returns in state championship games in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome — all with flashes of electricity once he secured the ball and looked upfield — put him on the map even as an underclassman. And when he ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash as a Nike The Opening regional event at the end of his sophomore year, the scholarship offers began pouring in. He still makes plays all over the field for the Knights, but he has developed into a clear defensive back prospect for the next level where he enjoys comparisons and expectations of childhood favorite Tyrann Mathieu at LSU, where relatives Trev Faulk and Kevin Faulk were stars in their day. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/micSoDesJ-c" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/kaine-williams/">[player_tooltip player_id="63556" first="Kaine" last="Williams"]</a> — 6-2, 190 DB — John Ehret</strong> Williams figures to be one of the more interesting of Louisiana’s top prospects to watch the development and transition of his body and his game to the next level. He remained listed at 190 pounds this offseason when he committed to Alabama and said he talks to the Crimson Tide staff about a safety role that will allow him to play all over the defensive backfield, including deep on the back end. And each year his film has shown more flashes of ability to make big plays in that sort of role. But his size and physicality have always stood at as much as, if not more than, his coverage skills, and he may actually have already grown to at least 200 pounds with a frame that still looks good to carry much more, so seeing him grow into more of a linebacker wouldn’t be a surprise. Whatever his landing spot in that regard over the next few years, Williams has been considered among Louisiana’s top prospects since his sophomore year. And a quick look at him or his film make it easy to see why. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WLFaBfxJTSM" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/matthew-langlois/">[player_tooltip player_id="63557" first="Matthew" last="Langlois"]</a> — 6-0, 185 DB — Catholic (Pointe Coupee)</strong> Coming from a small private school in a more rural community about 45 minutes outside of Baton Rouge, Langlois did not garner the same recruiting attention as an underclassman or even a junior as many of his counterparts. But the Catholic (Pointe Coupee) star kept growing and running and hitting and making plays all over the field and leading his team to a Division IV state championship appearance where he could show a wider audience the 10.9-second 100-meter speed on long touchdown runs or the explosive, fumble-forcing tackles on defense that the folks of New Roads, La., had been watching for years. Offers began arriving as a junior, and his list blew up during the offseason that followed. He committed to Kansas State prior to the season, when the NCAA continued to extend its dead period, but flipped this week to nearby LSU when opportunities continued to arrive from the Tigers, Notre Dame and other elite programs. He will become his school’s first LSU signee since defensive back and return specialist Sammy Grezaffi in the 1960s and expects to work primarily at safety, although his athleticism and work ethic could provide some versatility to play anywhere in the secondary. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F89SeXVrMW0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/jardin-gilbert/">[player_tooltip player_id="63559" first="Jardin" last="Gilbert"]</a> — 6-2, 175 DB — University Lab</strong> The young defensive back making interceptions in the state championship game highlighted by former teammates such as Christian Harris, Michael Hollins, Makiya Tongue, Bryton Constantin, Jordan Clark and Jaquelin Roy has now become the veteran passing the torch to another impressive crop of U-High athletes coming through the program. And he’s excelled the whole way through. The long, lean and athletic prospect has always had impressive ball skills as both a receiver and defensive back and has run a 4.47-second hand-timed 40-yard dash. But his willing physicality and desire to tackle have continued to lean him more to the defensive side of the ball and particularly as a safety where schools such as Alabama, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Southern University have made his top five list. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_CIr4a7z2RQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/tyrell-raby/">[player_tooltip player_id="63566" first="Tyrell" last="Raby"]</a> — 6-1, 175 DB — Madison Prep</strong> Another two-way player in high school with potential on either side, Raby first began making highlight catches as a receiver for a Madison Prep program where 2021 Georgia and Kentucky signees Major Burns and Joel Williams, respectively, were the star defensive backs. But his ability and versatility in the secondary continued to come to the forefront as a junior. And his senior season is off to an impressive start with multiple pick-sixes and special teams returns for touchdowns. In addition to his good ball skills, he runs a mid-4.5-second 40-yard dash, is comfortable getting physical and has the versatility to play corner or safety. He’s ranked just outside Louisiana’s top 20 prospects in the class by multiple services, but has a combination of high potential and willingness to work hard that could make him one of its top players in the coming years. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Memphis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Memphis</a> commit [player_tooltip player_id="63566" first="Tyrell" last="Raby"] (<a href="https://twitter.com/ykrell_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ykrell_</a>) just excited for Madison Prep to get out there and play some football.</p> Wants he and his Chargers to stay healthy and make a state title run. Oh, and Quency Wiggins is “a beast.” Keep an eye on both those guys & the squad. <a href="https://t.co/zfoNVnPsd6">pic.twitter.com/zfoNVnPsd6</a> — Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1309662991806353408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>