Catching up with Louisiana’s top 2023 OL

Louisiana boasts some solid Division-I — and even Power-Five — talent and depth of offensive linemen for the second straight recruiting cycle. Former LSU coach Ed Orgeron and his staff repeatedly praised the 2022 cohort for producing more top-tier blockers than the state typically does. And while new coach Brian Kelly, line coach Brad Davis and company may only be actively pursuing at most a handful of Louisiana’s 2023 prospects in the position group, more than a dozen are garnering notable interest from elsewhere around the state and country. Here’s the latest information on the 12 offensive linemen who ranked in the top 100 in Prep Redzone’s previous update prior to the summer. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138389" first="Zalance" last="Heard"] — 6-6, 300 OL — Neville</strong> The past year and a half has been a fairly meteoric rise for Heard from a talented, but largely under-the-radar Bastrop defensive tackle to one of the state’s top prizes in the 2023 class as a Neville offensive tackle. The explosive big man is being pursued heavily by several big programs, including LSU and Florida State among others, and may not be far off from a potential commitment announcement before focusing on his senior season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="188944" first="Tyree" last="Adams"] — 6-5, 275 OL — St. Augustine</strong> Another of the nation’s top offensive tackles recently narrowed his focus from his more than two dozen offers to an all-SEC top four of LSU, Florida, Georgia and Ole Miss and a slate of official visits that will extend into the season with a trip to Alabama potentially also on the schedule. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138412" first="Caden" last="Jones"] — 6-7, 255 OL — De La Salle</strong> The long, athletic tackle released a top 10 at the end of June that included Florida State, Florida, Texas, Texas A&amp;M, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Missouri, Houston, Howard and Minnesota. Jones has already made the rounds to several of those programs with more trips likely on deck and, from that standpoint, may be one of Louisiana’s hardest recruitments to read out of its top two dozen or so rising seniors. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138409" first="Tyler" last="Kimble"] — 6-4, 240 OL — Denham Springs</strong> Some programs started to really take notice of the Yellow Jackets’ star and leader throughout the past several months since a strong junior campaign. His solid list of offers has included Purdue, Louisville, Liberty, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, Georgia Southern, Grambling State and Air Force. Kimble camped at both LSU and Alabama and is planning to take visits this season with Air Force, Liberty, Louisiana (Lafayette), Nicholls State and Northwestern State currently most heavily recruiting him and currently most likely to garner trips. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138408" first="Brandon" last="Spincer"] Jr. — 6-2, 270 OL — Edna Karr</strong> Louisiana Tech kicked off the Cougars’ lineman’s recruitment last winter with his first offer on the immediate heels of his sophomore season. And Spincer’s process has gotten more consistent this year with additional offers from South Alabama, Alcorn State and Grambling State this spring; visits to Mississippi State, Memphis, Southern Miss, Louisiana (Lafayette) Tulane, Southeastern Louisiana and Alcorn State; and camps at LSU, Southern Miss, Southeastern Louisiana, Grambling State and Louisiana (Lafayette). <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138414" first="Ethan" last="Fields"] — 6-4, 315 OL — Dutchtown</strong> Fields hit the camp circuit hard last summer as a rising junior and began picking up offers, such as Nicholls State and Tulane, and placing himself firmly on the radars of other programs such as Memphis, Houston, LSU, Louisiana (Lafayette) and Mississippi State. And he hasn’t seemed to slow down since — in his work and development, or his recruiting travels and competition — until a recent commitment Purdue to allow himself to lock in on his final high school season and continuing to work on his craft. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138410" first="Roy" last="Brackins"] III — 6-3, 290 OL — Woodlawn (Baton Rouge)</strong> The Panthers’ interior lineman is a prime example of the depth of Louisiana’s 2023 line group. Brackins hasn’t garnered the same spotlight as many of his counterparts on this list, but committed earlier this week to Louisiana Tech where he will likely prove himself a steal for a competitive Group of Five program. Air Force, Northwestern State and Grambling State were among his other offers, with Mississippi State and Louisiana (Lafayette) among others showing interest. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138407" first="Jamall" last="Franklin"] Jr. — 6-8, 370 OL — Scotlandville</strong> The mammoth blocker with the impressively quick feet for his size has been all over these rankings — from a top-20 debut, to a slip as more prospects joined the list, to a strong offseason poising him for a leap closer to his original starting point —and all over the recruiting trails with Texas Tech, Houston, Louisiana (Lafayette), Tulane and Missouri headlining his list of at least 15 offers. Franklin visited Tulane and Houston in June, plans to get to Florida later this month and said Oklahoma is another notable program that has shown recent interest. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138411" first="Dezmin" last="Parker"] — 6-4, 295 OL — Zachary</strong> The Broncos’ guard hit a few in-state camps in June, including LSU, Louisiana (Lafayette) and McNeese State and plans to visit Arkansas State later this month. An injury cut his junior season short, but Arkansas-Monticello extended his first offer in late May. And Parker is eager to get back on the field this fall for his final high school season and Zachary’s push for another Class 5A title. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138415" first="Peyton" last="Polk"] — 6-4, 290 OL — Haughton</strong> This summer has included camp trips to the Select 50 Showcase in Frisco, Texas, as well as campus events at LSU, Baylor, Louisiana (Lafayette) and Louisiana Tech. And Southern Arkansas and Centenary extended his first two scholarship offers during this offseason. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138416" first="Carmelo" last="Crump"] — 6-3, 285 — Warren Easton</strong> Particularly with the shifting dynamics of modern recruiting because of the impacts of the transfer portal, ULM — whose staff includes former Warren Easton coach Tony Hull — feels like it has found itself a south Louisiana steal in securing the commitment of the New Orleans standout. Marshall and Grambling State have each offered, and Louisiana (Lafayette), Tulane and Mississippi State have been among others to show interest. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138413" first="Landry" last="Cannon"] — 6-3, 345 — Destrehan</strong> In another big in-state victory, Louisiana (Lafayette) landed the commitment of the big Destrehan guard. Tulane extended an offer the following day and joined a list that also includes Louisiana Tech, ULM, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls State. But the Cajuns should remain well-positioned with their recent run of developing big bodies up front into top-flight college lineman and, in a few cases already, NFL Draft picks.