16 of Louisiana's most notable February 2023 signees

The traditional spring National Signing Day has lost much of its drama and spotlight with the continued growth of the "early" signing period — and, for that matter, the transfer portal.   But a long list of talented student-athletes all over Louisiana officially inked their college paperwork Wednesday as scholarship signees or preferred walk-ons.   Below is a closer look at 16 of the top, most notable or most promising Division-I signees from around the state, including at least one for each in-state program to have added a Louisiana high school prospect this week.   Neither LSU or Tulane announced new players Wednesday after their heavy efforts in December and into early January for additional spring semester enrollees, and ULM's lone Louisiana additions were transfers.   These guys are far from alone, but should all be worth keeping an eye on.   [player_tooltip player_id='138424' first='Tre'Darius' last='Brown'] — 6-2, 300 DL — Natchitoches Central —> Texas Tech   The Red Raiders added another highly regarded Louisiana prospect to their defensive front seven when the big defensive tackle joined John Curtis linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='275579' first='Justin' last='Horne'], who signed in December. Brown is a handful up front with the size, strength and quickness to line up in different positions and command double-teams or burst past opposing blockers.   [player_tooltip player_id='405764' first='Christian' last='Davis'] — 6-2, 300 DL — Ruston —> Northwestern State   Meanwhile, the Demons didn't have to look too far to bring another disruptive defensive tackle to Natchitoches for college. Davis was a big anchor at the center of the elite defense that helped lead Ruston back to its first state championship game since 1998 with his ability to blow up the interior of opponents' lines — for 76 tackles, including nine for loss and five sacks — or draw enough attention to allow the talented ends and backers around him matchups they could exploit.   [player_tooltip player_id='138314' first='Brendon' last='Harris'] — 6-3, 220 LB/DB — Homer —> Northwestern State   Coach Brad Laird and company also brought a longtime favorite of Prep Redzone Louisiana down to Natchitoches from northwest in Homer. Harris has played a variety of positions, particularly safety, during The Demons zeroed in on Harris as a linebacker, where his physicality and play around the ball figure to best translate.   [player_tooltip player_id='275588' first='Aaron' last='Jackson'] — 6-2, 165 WR — Ruston —> Grambling State   The former Neville pass-catcher, who transferred to Ruston prior to his senior year, will stay on Interstate 20 as another good in-state addition for one of Louisiana's FCS programs. Grambling State adds a receiver who caught 57 passes for 919 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Bearcats' state runner-up team, including nine receptions for 88 yards and a 16-yard score in the Caesars Superdome in the title game. The rest of the team combined for two completions on eight attempts for two yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='138412' first='Caden' last='Jones'] — 6-8, 300 OL — De La Salle —> Florida   Former Louisiana (Lafayette) coach Billy Napier, offensive line coach Rob Sale and associate head coach Jabbar Juluke lured the state's highest-ranked remaining unsigned prospect to Florida despite pushes at different points in his recruitment from LSU and more recently Texas A&M, Texas, Houston and Florida State. He'll also reunite in Gainesville with former De La Salle teammate Montrell Johnson, the primary running back for the Cavaliers when Jones entered the lineup as an underclassman. Jones, a multisport standout in high school, has good quickness and footwork for the tall, long frame that fits the mold of lineman with whom Napier, Sale and Juluke had major success with the Ragin' Cajuns.   [player_tooltip player_id='138282' first='Torey' last='Lambert'] — 6-0, 200 RB/ATH — Brother Martin —> East Tennessee State   The Buccaneers pulled an intriguing potential steal from the Boot in the star Brother Martin running back. Lambert is a smart, quick, athletic prospect who was a standout cornerback for the Crusaders early in his career before taking the reins as the lead running back. Lambert possesses good vision, an explosive first step and impressive strength and balance to stay on his feet and moving through, around and off contact. The one-time Texas State commitment missed time late in the regular season before exploding for an absurd playoff run of 1,017 yards and 12 touchdowns on 157 carries in the postseason alone to lead his program to its first state title game since 1989.   [player_tooltip player_id='276326' first='Dedrick' last='Latulas'] — 5-7, 150 ATH/WR — Westgate —> Louisiana Tech   The Bulldogs only added four signees Wednesday, but a pair of those were talented in-state prospects in Latulas and Sterlington defensive end Charlie Robinson, each of whom potentially fits blueprints with which the program has had recent success. For Latulas, look to former West Feliciana star Davon "Smoke" Harris, the explosive 5-foot-7 receiver and return man who went on to all-conference honors. Latulas racked up 2,882 all-purpose yards and 33 touchdowns the past two years, primarily as a receiver capable of making acrobatic catches over taller defenders, but also as an all-state return specialist capable of swinging games with his home-run speed on special teams.   [player_tooltip player_id='138503' first='Clayton' last='Lonardo'] — 6-3, 210 WR/ATH — Brother Martin —> Southeastern Louisiana   Another of the Crusaders' senior standouts will stay close to home, making the short move to Hammond. The Lions land a versatile weapon who has started drawing comparisons to New Orleans Saints athlete Taysom Hill for the way he bounced back and forth from receiving roles to leading the offense as a running quarterback whose athleticism allowed the RPO game alongside Lambert to hit a different gear, but he's also worked in the secondary and on special teams.   [player_tooltip player_id='404521' first='Christian' last='McNees'] — 6-2, 205 WR — St. Thomas More —> Army   The Cougars' heir to LSU signee (and now TCU transfer) Jack Bech as the lead receiver in their high-powered offense has been one of the state's more underrated players the past two years. The role awaiting in West Point should be interesting. McNees caught 66 passes for 1,356 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior. The flexbone-running Army's entire passing game meanwhile included eight different players — primarily running backs — combining for 42 catches for 920 yards and five touchdowns. McNees possesses notable speed, but is also a strong, physical and gritty athlete who has already shown himself a willing blocker and a potential playmaker in the running and return games. He carried five times as a senior for 128 yards (a 25.6-yard average) and a touchdown and returned six kickoffs for 212 yards (a 35.3-yard average) and another score.   [player_tooltip player_id='275584' first='Matthew' last='Melancon'] — 6-1, 180 DB/ATH — E.D. White —> Nicholls State   The Colonels have made a living on keeping Louisiana's depth of underrated prospect home during coach Tim Rebowe's tenure, and they signed a great one from right around the corner, less than a mile away in the speedy E.D. White star. Melancon was a three-phase playmaker during his high school career as a smart, fluid and fast-closing cornerback and home run threat in the return game or for a patient and methodical offense. He earned all-state honors as a senior as a return specialist with a 25.5 yard average on punts, including four touchdowns, and 30.7 yards on kickoffs.   [player_tooltip player_id='188939' first='Makhi' last='Paris'] — 6-2, 180 WR — Edna Karr —> McNeese State   The Cowboys added another seven prospects Wednesday to grow their class to 33 signees overall. And one of the noticeable trends was the basketball team of outside weapons on offense with Paris actually easily the smallest of a trio that also includes the 6-foot-5, 205-pound Niko Johnson from Dallas and 6-foot-4, 200-pound Jer'Michael Carter from Kentwood. Paris possesses a good college frame, as well as the quickness to make defenders miss, speed to break away and toughness to battle through both contact and adversity — all traits associated with a Cougars receiving corps that gives opponents fits and has produced several recent college prospects, including Alabama signee (and now LSU transfer) Aaron Anderson and Florida State signee Destyn Hill.   [player_tooltip player_id='188927' first='Jake' last='Rizzo'] — 6-4, 240 DE/ATH — Dunham —> Army   The toughest and most physical Tigers group in recent memory made the program's first trip to a state championship game since 2004, and the Black Knights' signee was a huge piece of that equation. Rizzo moved around the formation on both sides of the ball during his high school career, including catching a touchdown as a tight end in the title game, but was at his best as a defensive menace at end or linebacker. Rizzo racked up 48.5 tackles, including 13 for loss and 10 sacks, and another 31 hurries, three break-ups and two forced fumbles with his fast reads and play.   Charlie Robinson — 6-3, 230 DL — Sterlington —> Louisiana Tech   As mentioned above, Robinson joins Latulas in a program that can offer recent track records of success. The Bulldogs have done well developing defensive linemen, including 2021 Philadelphia Eagles draftee Milton Williams, who wasn't much bigger than Robinson coming out of high school in 2017, and the late Jaylon Ferguson, a dynamic edge rusher drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2019. Robinson finished a productive senior season with 68 tackles, including nine for loss and six sacks, and posted impressive track marks with a 23.02-second 200-meter, dash 5-6 high jump and participation in the 400- and 800-meter runs.   [player_tooltip player_id='138489' first='Czavian' last='Teasett'] — 6-4, 195 QB — Scotlandville —> Southern   The Hornets' four-year leader appeared just weeks earlier as though he might be heading north to Grambling State, where former Scotlandville coach Robert Valdez and offensive coordinator Kris Peters are both now assistants. Instead, the Tigers' rivals will keep him Baton Rouge, a short walk down the road from his high school. The multisport standout has always been a mature, poised leader for his team, but developed into a more electric dual-threat playmaker during the course of his career with the confidence and creativity to turn even broken plays into big games with his combination of a strong arm and decision-making and good speed and athleticism. Jaguars fans have been excited by the addition of the one-time SEC and Conference USA recruit and have plenty of good reason to be so.   [player_tooltip player_id='138296' first='Kaden' last='Williams'] — 5-9, 185 RB — St. James —> Austin Peay   The transfer portal's impact on high school recruiting was frustrating for a Division-I talent in Williams, who garnered interest from even SEC programs, but primarily only potential walk-on offers. But the Governors ultimately reaped the benefits of the shifted recruiting landscape, as the speedy St. James star fell into their lap. Williams carried 220 times as a senior for 1,940 yards and 37 touchdowns, including four games with at least five scores, and no fumbles. His reported 4.43-second 40-yard speed looks like he's fired out of a slingshot on long, breakaway runs, and he also showcased reliable receiving ability with 36 catches for 366 yards and another two touchdowns.   [player_tooltip player_id='138278' first='D'Wanye'' last='Winfield'] — 6-2, 220 QB/ATH — Lutcher —> Louisiana (Lafayette)   A similar story across the river from Williams, arguably Louisiana's top high school player this fall landed late to the Ragin' Cajuns at the end of a prolific season and career which he and his teammates capped with the Bulldogs' first state championship since 2016. Winfield garnered interest from SEC schools such as LSU and Mississippi and other notable programs around the country such as UCF, but also questions whether he would translate to the college game as a quarterback or should transition to another position. He opened a lot of eyes with a 335-yard, five-touchdown rushing performance in the semifinals against West Feliciana, then answered a lot of doubters in his passing ability in the state title game against North DeSoto with 20 completions in 32 attempts (62.5%) for 299 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The traditional spring National Signing Day has lost much of its drama and spotlight with the continued growth of the "early" signing period — and, for that matter, the transfer portal.