Louisiana Championships: Uncommitted Prospects in Division I

A Louisiana high school football season once uncertain to even occur will close this week with nine final intriguing matchups. Northwestern State in Natchitoches will host the LHSAA’s Prep Classic event — as opposed to its usual home at the Superdome in New Orleans — because of concerns related to COVID-19. But, for all the abnormalities and adjustments, the significance, excitement and levels of talent remain high as ever. Prep Redzone Louisiana will look at three to seven of each matchup’s remaining unsigned and uncommitted prospects. &nbsp; <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PK6h2rflrGg" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe> &nbsp; <strong>Class 2A</strong> <strong>No. 3 C.E. Byrd vs. No. 4 Catholic (Baton Rouge)</strong> <strong>Sunday, 6 p.m.</strong> The final stop on Byrd’s "Revenge Tour" might be more metaphorical than the bulk of this season spent avenging losses from a year ago. The Yellow Jackets have faced Catholic (Baton Rouge) just once before in the schools’ history — a 2002 playoff victory. But the Bears make their fourth straight state championship appearance and fifth in six years as a program that has increasingly established itself as as much of a measuring stick and class of Division I as any of the New Orleans members that make up the bulk of the postseason bracket. Byrd meanwhile returns to this stage for the first time since a 23-22 loss to Rummel in 2013. And a slew of seniors back from a team that took some lumps last season seem to still be proving themselves to the fans and media around the state. <strong>2021 Recruiting Class</strong> <strong>William Berry — 5-10, 180 ATH — Byrd</strong> The Yellow Jackets’ highest-rated prospects have already either signed — such as defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id="63607" first="Carson" last="Bruno"] to Louisiana Tech and running back [player_tooltip player_id="63635" first="Venzell" last="Thompson"] to Air Force — or committed — such as [player_tooltip player_id="63662" first="Makarios" last="Brown Jr."] to Northwestern State. But coach Mike Suggs’ roster also boasts a deep senior group of players capable of playing somewhere at the next level. The speedy and smart Berry, with his 4.52-second 40-yard dash and 31 ACT superscore, has good enough size and versatility as an offensive weapon to continue his football career in college. Davidson has offered and would be a good fit, but other athletic options could still enter a mix that figures to have some impressive academic options either way. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63625" first="George" last="Hart III"] — 5-11, 210 RB — Catholic</strong> The most experienced member of the Bears’ backfield waited his time and played his role last season behind then-seniors Joshua Parker and Braelen Morgan and showed the same patience this season as he shared opportunities with juniors Corey Singleton and Tae Nicholas. But, as the most critical weeks of the season arrived, Hart began the best stretch of his career to help lead his younger teammates on offense with 402 yards and six touchdowns on 42 carries the past three outings — 134 yards per game and nearly 10 yards per attempt. McNeese State and Georgetown extended scholarship offers during the unusual offseason that did Hart no favors by shutting down the typical circuit of camps, combines and other in-person recruiting opportunities. But other late opportunities figure to join that list for one of Louisiana’s top 10-15 senior running backs. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F4Q2YQn-vuc" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63630" first="Christian" last="Mannino"] — 6-2, 290 DL — Catholic</strong> The senior at the center of Catholic’s defensive front bulked up heavily during the offseason, but also made sure to maintain — if not improve — his quickness and continue working on his technique. And the result has been a fantastic senior season plugging the interior, but also finding opportunities to get into the backfield for disruptive plays or get his hands into passing lanes. He has been a mainstay in "Top Performers" posts throughout the season and is a overdue scholarship offers. His performance in the middle of the Bears’ line Sunday will also be pivotal against a run-heavy Byrd attack. <strong>Luke Miletello — 6-2, 190 LB — Byrd</strong> Another of the Yellow Jackets’ impressive senior group is linebacker Luke Miletello, an all-district and all-city performer whose tackling in space will be critical against the Bears’ long list of playmakers. He holds an offer from Mary Hardin-Baylor. <strong>2022 Recruiting Class</strong> <strong>Emery Jones — 6-5, 325 OL — Catholic</strong> The Bears’ left tackle is one of the major prospects that has LSU coach Ed Orgeron more excited about Louisiana’s 2022 offensive line class than at any prior time during his tenure in Baton Rouge. The potentially versatile blocker at the next level — for the Tigers, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Louisiana Tech, Penn State, Houston or any of his other options — has been a huge piece of the success of Hart, Singleton, Nicholas, quarterbacks Landon O’Connor and Daniel Beale and the offense as a whole. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tU1bdw_CD0k" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>Corey Singleton — 5-11, 200 RB — Catholic</strong> The Bears will have plenty of reason to remain excited about their backfield — and offense overall — even Hart and a few other notable seniors graduate. And Singleton may be as big a reason as any. The junior, whose big-play ability shone in some of the season’s biggest moments, enters the title game with 656 yards and seven touchdowns on 69 attempts. He is still awaiting the offers to begin falling into place, but some offseason work on his 40-yard dash and an opportunity to visit more colleges and events should kick-start that process swiftly. <strong>2023 Recruiting Class</strong> <strong>Shelton Sampson Jr. — 6-4, 181 WR — Catholic</strong> Hart gradually built to his late-season breakout. His younger teammate, finally back to 100 percent from a slight injury, flat-out exploded in the semifinals. Sampson entered his team’s last outing with nine catches for 168 yards and one touchdown, then proceeded to haul in five receptions for 168 yards and three scores in one night. The combination of his health, freshman quarterback Daniel Beale’s continued emergence and the opportunities provided by the Brother Martin defense created a perfect storm for the sophomore. And the same wouldn’t be difficult to see occurring Sunday. Sampson’s 4.35-second and 4.39-second 40-yard dash times this summer blew the hinges off one of the until-then best-kept secrets in Louisiana’s talented 2023 class with offers from Mississippi State, Virginia, Tulane, LSU, Southern Miss and Florida State all quickly following. Some similarities in his recruitment can be drawn to Zachary star and LSU signee [player_tooltip player_id="63552" first="Chris" last="Hilton"] Jr., and his body and potential may fall somewhere between the Hilton and recent LSU star Terrace Marshall Jr. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PgSnyYZkb54" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>