Louisiana 2024 rankings: Strong DB crop helps lead rising juniors

A rare quarterback group led by [player_tooltip player_id="138484" first="Arch" last="Manning"], [player_tooltip player_id="138485" first="Eli" last="Holstein"] and [player_tooltip player_id="138486" first="Rickie" last="Collins"] has long headlined Louisiana’s 2023 class now rising toward senior status. A slew of talented defensive backs attempting to contain and combat them may be the biggest calling card of the cohort following them. Almost half of the top 25 prospects in Prep Redzone Louisiana’s new 2024 statewide rankings released this week project as college corners, nickels and safeties — including a few already holding Power Five scholarship offers. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139482" first="Tylen" last="Singleton"] — 6-2, 200 DB— Many</strong> The long, lanky freshman earned Outstanding Player honors with a game-sealing pick-six in his Tigers’ Class 2A state championship victory 13 and a half months ago. Scholarship offers began arriving shortly thereafter and have continued ever since. Singleton meanwhile has continued to develop. His work alongside 2023 star [player_tooltip player_id="138353" first="Tackett" last="Curtis"] and in their team’s solid strength and conditioning program is undeniable at first glance and showed in his physical play all over the field, in the box and in coverage against even bigger, older targets. And he showed a consistent knack for reading plays and positioning himself well to quickly put his ball skills and return skills on display with four interceptions — three of which he took all the way back for touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139477" first="Wardell" last="Mack"] — 6-1, 170 DB — John Ehret</strong> A recent string of scholarship offers from Tulane, Alabama and Mississippi State have quickly let the secret out on the talented New Orleans cornerback as one of the top up-and-coming prospects in not only the state, but the region. Mack blankets receivers outside, running stride for stride and showcasing excellent athleticism and body control smoothly flipping his hips and making acrobatic deflections and interceptions. He also shows ability to quickly read, react and break — with listed 4.5-second speed — on screens and run plays to make sure tackles near the line. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139491" first="Wallace" last="Foster"] IV — 5-11, 160 DB — Warren Easton</strong> Another of the first members of the 2024 class to break through onto college radars, along with Singleton and De La Salle linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="139490" first="Keidrick" last="Richardson"], last spring added a strong sophomore season to his resume. Foster was a standout in all three phases for his Class 4A runner-up Eagles with nine catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns, solid punting and a return touchdown to go with his coverage skills and ball skills. Nebraska, UCF, Memphis, Purdue, Texas A&amp;M, Miami and Ole Miss have been among the recent programs to join LSU, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Tulane, Florida State, Florida, Texas, Kansas and Hawaii on his offers list. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139495" first="Kyle" last="Williams"] — 6-0, 165 DB — Northshore</strong> The long, physical cornerback began opening some eyes last spring on the 7-on-7 circuit and appeared poised for a full-blown breakout as a sophomore before missing most of the fall with patiently recovering from injury. Williams will be back in action this spring, and colleges should begin making their moves sooner than later. Similar to the aforementioned Foster, the Northshore standout confidently excelled at an early age against older athletes and has the foundation and opportunity to develop into a special player and prospect with continued work on his craft. His No. 6 positioning in these rankings may not be his peak if that’s the case. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139480" first="Brennon" last="Thompson"] — 6-0, 180 ATH — East Ascension</strong> Another talented — and versatile — young athlete who had been on the 2024 watch list as a freshman. And Thompson may have actually exceeded expectations with a fantastic sophomore showing for the Spartans. He showed next-level potential on both sides of the ball and playmaking ability in all three phases as a lockdown cornerback and electric athlete with the ball in his hands as a receiver and returner. Thompson possesses impressive raw athleticism and has remained hungry to learn from his coaches, trainers and family — including his older brother and cousins, Southern linebacker Blake Thompson and Mississippi State safety Shawn Preston Jr. and Alabama wide receiver signee [player_tooltip player_id="128240" first="Shazz" last="Preston"] — to keep sharpening his skillsets. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="285193" first="Bernard" last="Causey"] — 6-0, 160 DB — John F. Kennedy</strong> The freshest face of the list thus far is the long, springy cornerback with energy and confidence that have started generating buzz for "Beeby" as a soon-to-be rising star in the class. His sophomore film shows a young athlete comfortable in press coverage, setting the tone with a quick, strong punch off the snap, running stride-for-stride with the receiver, then making well-timed plays on any pass his direction. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="285194" first="Trey’Dez" last="Green"] — 6-7, 210 ATH — East Feliciana</strong> Where this big multisport standout is a bit more complicated a question than most of his peers. The 6-foot-7, 210-pound athlete is a two-way prospect as both a wide receiver and safety that creates insurmountable matchup problems for his Class 2A opponents in high school. How he projects at that size — or if he continues to grow — could make for an interesting conversation on the football side. And his high-level basketball opportunities add an additional curveball to his recruiting process. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="285196" first="Edward" last="Brown"] — 5-11, 170 DB — Edna Karr</strong> Another talented "Tre" with potential options in multiple sports, the pitcher and shortstop on the baseball diamond has also started breaking out as an instinctive, ballhawking safety in the Cougars’ secondary. The younger teammate of rising senior standouts [player_tooltip player_id="138313" first="Ryan" last="Robinson"] Jr. and [player_tooltip player_id="138319" first="Michael" last="Richard"] has quick feet to change direction and break into good closing speed to tackles, deflections and interceptions. Arkansas became the first program to extend a scholarship offer this November. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139503" first="Marcus" last="Dawson"] — 6-3, 185 DB — University Lab</strong> A slew of seniors bound for Division-I colleges helped lead the Cubs to a state championship this fall, with junior athlete [player_tooltip player_id="138276" first="Jaiden" last="Ausberry"] and freshman athlete [player_tooltip player_id="144905" first="Keylan" last="Moses"] headlining the non-seniors on the talented roster. But a few sophomores began making clear names for themselves. Dawson leads that bunch in these rankings. The defensive back boasts an intriguing combination of size, physicality and listed 4.53-second 40-yard speed. He put good plays on film playing both press and off at the corner opposite eventual 2022 Auburn signee [player_tooltip player_id="136479" first="Austin" last="Ausberry"], although may more likely project as a college safety. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145325" first="Ty" last="Lee"] — 6-0, 165 DB — Lafayette Christian</strong> Lee appears to be one of the next rising stars at Lafayette Christian following in the footsteps of Sage Ryan, [player_tooltip player_id="136632" first="Brylan" last="Green"] and [player_tooltip player_id="136630" first="Jordan" last="Allen"] in the secondary. The sophomore cornerback locked down one half of the field with his strong hands at the line in press coverage and practically running opposing receivers’ routes for them on one play after another on his film before making instinctive plays for deflections and interceptions or breaking free for big tackles near the line in run support. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139485" first="Rayein" last="Oatis"] — 5-11, 165 DB — Donaldsonville</strong> The Tigers’ three-phase athlete is another of the more under-the-radar names on this list, but was a quick and physical impact player as a versatile defensive back, offensive weapon and return man his sophomore season in the fall and has taken advantage of offseason opportunities to work with other players on this list, such as Foster and Thompson, or 2023 prospects, such as [player_tooltip player_id="138311" first="Austin" last="Guillory"]. He should be an interesting prospect to watch this offseason with a potential breakthrough on the recruiting trail in store.