10 top-ranked prospects to watch on the North Shore in 2024

Louisiana's 2024 high school football season is now in its final countdown to its official kickoff Sept. 5, 6 and 7.   And the always talent-loaded state will once again feature a long list of future college talent in every region and corner.   As much time as we spend looking at top prospects specifically by class, we thought we'd take a look at the best by area — mixing together seniors, juniors and sophomores — to help preview on which student-athletes fans might want to keep an eye in their area or when their team hits the road or hosts a less-familiar foe from elsewhere in the state.   We continue the 10-region tour with the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, an area typically marked by competitive parity with top prospects spread across a range of programs.   Each list will focus specifically on the 2025, 2026 and 2027 cycles and hold off on further evaluation and consideration of the 2028 group until more of those players have some high school competition and film to their resume.   Also note, while the list has to be cut off somewhere — for the north shore, we broke at 10 — between 100 and 200 Louisiana prospects sign with Division-I colleges every year, so these lists just represent the leading tips of The Boot's notable talent iceberg.     [player_tooltip player_id='920630' first='Kameron' last='Casnave'] — 6-1, 225 ATH — Northlake Christian (2026)   The Wolverines' big-bodied, powerful runner put up big-time numbers as a sophomore not only bowling over defenders and bouncing off contact, but showing enough speed to bust long gains in the open field once he got to space. Whether his college fit remains in the backfield or on defense, Casnave has been the area's top 2026 prospect to catch our eye thus far.   [player_tooltip player_id='710082' first='Jeremie' last='Elzy'] — 5-10, 160 DB — Covington (2025)   The smart, instinctive cornerback has long been one of our favorite under-recruited potential Division-I prospects in Louisiana's 2025 class. Whether game, 7-on-7 or camp settings, Elzy always seems to be in position and makes the most of opportunities to make high-impact plays with his timing and ball skills to snatch interceptions.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_SL6fP7EYI </div></figure>     [player_tooltip player_id='423247' first='Dylan' last='Henry'] — 5-11, 155 DB — Mandeville (2027)   The area's top-ranked 2027 prospect, the Skippers' young defensive back is expected to play a notable role in the secondary this fall for the Class 5A program with not only his size and athleticism at his age standing out, but also his instincts and confidence. Henry already holds offers from UCF and Oregon State early in his recruiting process.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McMKxWZ11fU </div></figure>     [player_tooltip player_id='1250288' first='Rylan' last='James'] — 5-8, 180 RB — Loranger (2027)   The young running back put himself on the radar with a 400-yard, five-touchdown performance last season against Archbishop Hannan on his way to a 1,700-yard, 18-touchdown freshman season with a highlight reel full of long, breakaway scores and an already solid build and receiving skillset for the position.   [player_tooltip player_id='1214129' first='DeReyon' last='Jenkins Jr.'] — 6-4, 205 DL — Salmen (2025)   The long, quick edge rusher was productive for his Spartans as a junior with more, including more than 100 tackles and eight sacks, and has earned an offer list that includes UCF, Central Arkansas, Grambling State and Lafayette College in the process.   [player_tooltip player_id='914088' first='Jackson' last='Jones'] — 6-7, 290 OL — Pine (2025)   The big, tenacious blocker is the headline prospect for a Raiders program that earned its best record this past fall since 2018 and will look to build upon that in the senior season for Jones and his 2025 classmates. Jones is one of a pair of TCU commits in Louisiana's class, both on the offensive line.   [player_tooltip player_id='1214130' first='Abrum' last='Lewis'] — 6-6, 315 OL — Covington (2025)   The Lions' second player on this list, matching their St. Tammany Parish and District 6-5A rival Mandeville for the most by any program, is another big, physical mauler of an offensive lineman with a solid college offer list of FBS and FCS programs around the region, including Louisiana Tech, Central Arkansas, Arkansas State, Troy, Colorado State, Nicholls State, McNeese State and Southeastern Louisiana.   [player_tooltip player_id='710077' first='Nate' last='Sheppard'] — 5-11, 185 RB — Mandeville (2025)   The Skippers' all-around star and leader, who announced his commitment Friday to Duke, is the highest ranked prospect in the north shore area regardless of classification. The returning all-state selection is a well-rounded and hyper-productive running back in Louisiana's loaded class at the position with a polished skill set as a route-runner and receiver and track record of impact play on special teams and defense to go with his big rushing performances.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogr6tJ4aE78 </div></figure>     [player_tooltip player_id='1262068' first='Tanner' last='Spears'] — 6-0, 200 LB — Oak Forest Academy (2025)   The first Oak Forest Academy player ranked since Prep Redzone Louisiana launched during the 2021 recruiting cycle, the stout, but speedy linebacker prospect and three-phase player for the small private school is committed to Southeastern Louisiana. So fans that don't get a chance to see him this fall will have the close-to-home opportunity to do so at the next level.   [player_tooltip player_id='1250286' first='Braylen' last='Taylor'] — 5-9, 150 WR — Amite (2027)   The Warriors' speedy receiver earned varsity playing time as a freshman and looks early on to be one of the next dynamic weapons in a long tradition coming through Tangipahoa Parish, many of which former standouts Taylor has grown up knowing and emulating. As he continues to develop physically and technically, he has the potential to be among the notable prospects to watch in Louisiana's strong 2027 class.

Louisiana's 2024 high school football season is now in its final countdown to its official kickoff Sept. 5, 6 and 7.