Louisiana Playoffs: 12 uncommitted seniors likely to open eyes

The final weeks of Louisiana’s high school football season are officially upon us. So too, then, are the final weeks of the state’s 2022 class of graduating seniors. Many of whom are still trying to determine their college plans, and at least a few of whom will — like every year — drastically help their own recruiting cases with stock-raising playoff performances. Even the early signing period’s pushing forward of most recruiting processes hasn’t erased that time-honored tradition of the late push. The number of games each week decreases, and both the stakes and the number of eyes on each game increases. Fans wonder aloud how certain athletes excelling in these circumstances haven’t garnered more — or, sometimes, any — college attention. And programs finally realize their oversights and make their moves. Here are 12 uncommitted 2022 prospects with no Power Five offers and, in some cases, no offers at all, who could finally open some eyes and find homes for the next level. [player_tooltip player_id="136658" first="Connor" last="Wisham"] — 6-0, 180 RB — Zachary Texas A&M quarterback commit [player_tooltip player_id="138485" first="Eli" last="Holstein"] understandably garners the bulk of the headlines surrounding Zachary. But the Broncos, the No. 1 seed in Class 5A, have a slew of valuable weapons at their star’s disposal, including a compliment on the ground who is pivotal to their success. Wisham is a nice blend of attributes in a solid 6-0, 180-pound package that shoots through running lanes like he’s shot out of a slingshot en route to decent track speed — between 4.5 and 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash — and keeps his balance nicely through contact or when making a final quick move to disrupt a defender’s angle. He finished the regular season with 108 carries for 900 yards and 14 touchdowns, with 11 catches for 144 yards and another score and four more touchdowns in the return game. In-state Southeastern Louisiana recently became his first Division-I offer. [player_tooltip player_id="136657" first="Braydon" last="Johnson"] — 6-0, 210 RB/LB — Ponchatoula A similar storyline resides in the backfield of No. 3 Ponchatoula. For all the attention on pass-catching weapons such as [player_tooltip player_id="136477" first="Jacoby" last="Mathews"], [player_tooltip player_id="136481" first="Amorion" last="Walker"] and [player_tooltip player_id="128246" first="Kody" last="Finley"], enough can’t be said about the added component their big running back brings to the offense. Johnson is a big, physical throwback of a running back or linebacker prospect, but with a 4.5-second 40-yard burst that can hit the second level in half a blink and quickly gain steam churning downhill into and through open field. This year appears like as good a chance as any for legendary coach Hank Tierney to potentially bring a state championship back to Tangipahoa Parish. And if the Green Wave can complete that mission, Johnson will have played a pivotal role. [player_tooltip player_id="127862" first="Jarvis" last="Newton"] — 5-11, 190 RB — Alexandria Sticking with the Class 5A running back trend, but in a different package. Compared to his aforementioned peers, the lead back for 2020 runner-up Alexandria is a smaller, faster dual-sport athlete with a 4.4-second 40-yard dash and 10.6 100-meter with good wiggle and balance to his game to navigate contact and traffic. Newton picked up a string of offers from FCS members Nicholls State, Southeastern State and Lamar and Group of Five members Arkansas State and Texas State this spring, but has battled injury and missed time his senior season. The Trojans are a bit lower of a seed — but a dangerous lower seed — after suffering a trio of close loses to top teams in their loaded district in that span, but think Newton is back to full health now and ready play a major role in another potentially deep run. [player_tooltip player_id="136611" first="Tory" last="Morgan"] — 5-11, 195 LB — Edna Karr More recruiting headlines center on defensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id="136577" first="Tygee" last="Hill"] and [player_tooltip player_id="136584" first="Kells" last="Bush"] or cornerback [player_tooltip player_id="138313" first="Ryan" last="Robinson"] Jr., but Morgan is a clear leader for not only the Cougars’ stingy defense, but for team as a whole and a big reason Edna Karr appears the favorite to win a fifth state championship in six years. Morgan has been an active tackler all over the field, including at or behind the line of scrimmage, during his high school career and took on a lot of additional reps in coverage and space during 7-on-7 season. He previously wore No. 10, but was awarded the No. 7 jersey as a senior — one of the program’s three designated numbers of special leadership significances. Southeastern Louisiana, McNeese State, Texas Southern and Louisiana College have extended scholarship offers thus far. [player_tooltip player_id="136737" first="Zayvion" last="Straughter"] — 5-11, 170 DB — Neville The talented younger brother of Corey Straughter, who played at ULM, and younger cousin of Charles Straughter, now at Grambling State, is one of Louisiana’s more underrated cornerbacks. A handful of programs outside of Division I have extended his only offers, but the next five weeks could open some eyes. Neville is once again one of the state’s best teams and the clear top challenger to Edna Karr in Class 4A. The Tigers appear poised for a deep run — at least the semifinals, if not winning the title — and Straughter should receive plenty of opportunities to add to his highlights if and when teams opt to steer clear of his more high-profile counterpart [player_tooltip player_id="136629" first="Lorenzell" last="Dubose"], the Louisiana Tech commit with several Power Five offers, on the other side of the field. Blake Saddler — 5-6, 160 ATH — Abbeville The undersized speedster from southwest of Lafayette plays the game like he’s at least one half bottle rocket. Saddler is a lightning-quick home-run threat anytime he touches the ball on offense with any kind of space near him or as a returner and has enough toughness and strength at his size to still battle in the physical nature of the game. He has been a huge piece of his Wildcats putting together their best season in decades, if not ever, and should have some of his best opportunities to showcase his ability still ahead as the playoffs garner long overdue looks for Abbeville as a team and Saddler and his teammates as prospects. Brayden Zeigler — 5-11, 215 LB — Lafayette Christian The senior linebacker doesn’t garner as much attention as two-way lineman [player_tooltip player_id="136581" first="Fitzgerald" last="West"] Jr. and defensive backs [player_tooltip player_id="136630" first="Jordan" last="Allen"] and [player_tooltip player_id="136632" first="Brylan" last="Green"] or former star Sage Ryan, now a freshman at LSU. But Zeigler has been a major defensive playmaker for the Knights’ state championship run last year and again for a fantastic season this fall. He flies all over the field and impacts the game at each level, whether getting into the backfield, going sideline to sideline or dropping back and disrupting opponents’ passing lanes. His size imposes a bit of a ceiling, but the right FCS school could be a solid fit for the the under-the-rader, unrecruited leader‚ especially if he had continue to develop his game into more of a hybrid box safety at the next level. Kalante Wilson — 5-7, 190 RB — Dunham The undersized, but tough back is the star weapon for a solid Tigers team in Division III. He began garnered some college attention during a breakout, all-district sophomore season before missing nearly the entirety of his junior campaign. Dunham is the No. 6 seed with the opportunity make a little noise even in the abridged select-school brackets and Wilson would likely play a major role if so. He does a nice job using his size and vision to his advantage behind his blockers to evade defenders, hit his gaps and quickly start climbing the field and uses those skills to similarly provide a valuable receiving threat in the screen game. [player_tooltip player_id="136470" first="Wydette" last="Williams"] Jr. — 6-1, 175 QB/ATH — General Trass The Panthers have come seemingly out of nowhere from a tradition of struggling to make a semifinal push in Class 2A last season and actually put together a more impressive regular season this fall. The senior quarterback and defensive back has been a key leader the past three years in the turnaround and would be a star sure to garner some attention if General Trass can make another deep run. In the Panthers’ biggest game this regular season, Williams completed 13 of 19 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, ran 27 times for 213 yards and four scores and intercepted a pass to close the win. So, there’s a lot to like. [player_tooltip player_id="136642" first="Jamarion" last="Dunomes"] — 5-10, 170 DB — Amite The Warriors’ smaller, but athletic defensive back felt his recruitment stunted by the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and an opening-week injury last fall that cost him his junior season. But Dunomes has been back on the field this fall and excelling for the smaller, rural community school with the proud program, including producing the 2020 Heisman winner DeVonta Smith once considered undersized. Amite is among Louisiana’s top challengers again this year to reigning Class 2A champion Many, so a deep run of opportunities for Dunomes to continuing putting together good tape of his quickness, leaping and ball skills could still be ahead. [player_tooltip player_id="136554" first="Ashanti" last="Cole"] Jr. — 6-4, 300 OL — Red River South Alabama, ULM, Northwestern State, Southern and Grambling State all offered the big tackle from midway between Shreveport and Natchitoches during the late spring and summer. Cole is one of Louisiana’s better senior linemen for a solid Class 2A team that should have two or three games ahead of it and potentially a quarterfinal rematch with Many of a district battle in which his Bulldogs provided the talented Tigers one of their closest games of the season. [player_tooltip player_id="136591" first="Denham" last="Smith"] — 6-1 230 DL — Calvary Baptist The standout defensive lineman was a relative unknown until his strong performance in his Cavaliers’ 2020 state championship run and particularly the title game in which he harassed Louisiana (Lafayette) commitment Hunter Herring for four quarters. Smith possesses impressive speed and quickness at his decent size enough that even a couple bigger schools, such as TCU, began to take notice in the spring. Still, he hadn’t particularly considered or taken seriously the potential of playing college football until starting to hear more from a few schools in the summer, including offers from Ouachita Baptist, East Texas Baptist and Northeastern State. Calvary Baptist, a small school in the northwest corner of the state, blows out the vast majority of his opponents during the regular season, rests its starters the second halves of most games and doesn’t draw much media attention to the sidelines as a result. But another deep run could provide the next boost for a more focused Smith, as he and his teammates try to navigate their way to another crown.