Anding, Joseph Jr. Lead LA’s Elite 2027 Safety Stock-Risers

Rapid-fire transfer-portal movement dominated recruiting headlines all over the country for the first two and a half weeks of the new year.   That was as prevalent as anywhere in Louisiana where a long list of former prep standouts and current college players alike were on the move.   But once the transfer action largely subsided and college coaches were able to start hitting the roads and the phones to high school prospects, a slew of new offers headed out to rising seniors as the 2027 class begins to take more of the forefront in prep recruiting.   Note: Many colleges continued adding 2026 athletes on the traditional February signing day — although in many cases just some final pieces to incoming high school classes that were heavily stocked in December's early period — and some may potentially still find room for limited late additions.   But Prep Redzone Louisiana is in the process of through the biggest updates on the recruiting trail that caught our attention during the second half of January and first half of February, position group by position group as 2027 starts taking center stage.     [player_tooltip player_id='1356159' first='Jayden' last='Anding'] — 6-0, 170 DB — Ruston   The Bearcats' standout safety was already one of the highest-profile prospects in Louisiana's 2027 class and has added a slew of major offers in recent weeks that includes Mississippi State, Kentucky, Houston, Kansas State, Louisiana (Lafayette), Ole Miss and South Alabama.   [player_tooltip player_id='934578' first='Jye' last='Blain'] — 5-11, 170 DB — St. James   and [player_tooltip player_id='871856' first='Kendrick' last='Joseph Jr.'] — 6-0, 180 DB/ATH — St. James   A pair of St. James standouts who have lived on the varsity field and in Prep Redzone Louisiana's class rankings since they were freshmen have now both received their first FBS offers in the past few weeks. Blain had previously received an offer from Grambling State and added nearby Louisiana Tech following a decorated junior campaign. Joseph, an intriguing athlete who has shown promising flashes on both sides of the ball despite missing some time to injury, meanwhile picked up an Old Dominion offer.   Gavin Cooper Jr. — 6-0, 195 DB — Archbishop Rummel   The big, physical safety/nickel earned a Nicholls State offer late in his junior season and has racked up a string of FBS offers from Ole Dominion, Oregon State and Troy during the past few weeks as one of a couple members of his Raiders' secondary to see their recruiting process start gaining some traction early in their final high school offseason.   [player_tooltip player_id='1610149' first='Jakyrin' last='Griffin'] — 5-10, 180 DB/ATH — Alexandria   Quietly one of the state's bigger difference-makers for a contending team in Louisiana's highest classifications, "K5" was among the veteran standouts in a strong Trojans secondary overall and was also called upon as an explosive threat on the other side of the ball. During the past few weeks, his recruiting process has kicked off with a trio of offers from Liberty, McNeese State and Old Dominion.   [player_tooltip player_id='423247' first='Dylan' last='Henry'] — 5-11, 170 DB/ATH — Mandeville   The longtime leader on the field for his Skippers and highly ranked prospect for Prep Redzone Louisiana recently added another pair of offers to his list of college options with Southern and Old Dominion becoming the latest. Henry has received multiple offers every offseason of high school and, in addition to his 7-on-7 and camp schedule, is working to continue trimming his 40-yard speed to ahead of upcoming college camps.   [player_tooltip player_id='1356113' first='Marvin' last='Joseph'] Jr. — 6-0, 170 DB/ATH — Central   The Wildcats' star has enjoyed one of Louisiana's busiest months of adding new offers to his list of options with another 10 already in the past five weeks, including UNLV, Kennesaw State, Kansas State, Houston, Louisiana Tech, Syracuse, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Louisiana (Lafayette) and McNeese State.   [player_tooltip player_id='1782867' first='Prentice' last='Mackyeon Jr.'] — 6-1, 190 DB — John Curtis   The Patriots' nickel/safety, one of the headliners of the program's loaded secondary, has been another of Louisiana's hottest names on the recruiting trail thus far this offseason with Louisiana (Lafayette), Oregon State, Arkansas State, Troy, Tulane and Oklahoma State all extending recent offers.   [player_tooltip player_id='1782943' first='Kyron' last='Turner'] — 6-4, 180 DB — Haughton   Jackson State and McNeese State both offered the Buccaneers' standout last offseason, nearby Louisiana Tech marked his first FBS option in November on the heels of his junior season and now Louisiana (Lafayette) and become the first program of the new year to make its move.   [player_tooltip player_id='1356115' first='Khylin' last='Wilson'] — 6-0, 175 DB — John F. Kennedy   The physical and instinctive nickel/safety picked up Old Dominion and Southern Miss offers last May and September, respectively, and has now added Syracuse and Liberty in the early weeks of the new year, while also hearing from Louisiana Tech and Southeastern Louisiana

Rapid-fire transfer-portal movement dominated recruiting headlines all over the country for the first two and a half weeks of the new year.