Top 2021 Wide Receiver Prospects in Louisiana

Consider 2021 "The Year of the Receiver" in Louisiana. With all due respect to star defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id="63549" first="Maason" last="Smith"], the state’s now-senior class has been primarily headlined and spotlighted by its impressive crop of pass-catching playmakers for at least two years. Smith tops the 2021 rankings, but five of Louisiana’s top 10 prospects — as well as dozens of its top 200 — are receivers. And that impressive group in terms of both high-end talent and depth comes despite natives Latrell Neville and Theodore "Teddy" Knox now living in Texas and other two-way high school stars such as [player_tooltip player_id="63550" first="Sage" last="Ryan"], [player_tooltip player_id="63557" first="Matthew" last="Langlois"] and [player_tooltip player_id="63559" first="Jardin" last="Gilbert"] being recruiting as defensive backs. Without considering those expatriates and athletes, here are the seven top names to know leading the way of that receiving class. All seven are among Louisiana’s top 19 senior prospects overall in the 2021 rankings. <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/chris-hilton/">[player_tooltip player_id="63552" first="Chris" last="Hilton"] Jr.</a> — 6-2, 175 WR — Zachary</strong> Speaking of this statewide receiving class taking over the spotlight two years ago, Zachary’s speedy, spring multi-sport standout is a great place to start. The son of two former college track athletes began high school with basketball as his chief sports priority before wowing coaches and earning an increasing role for the perennial Class 5A contenders as an underclassman. As SEC offers began to arrive, coach David Brewerton and his staff talk about the light-bulb moment coming late in his sophomore season when he realized the extent of his talent and began playing more aggressively. Hilton became one of Louisiana’s household names that December with a pair of impressive touchdown catches to lift the Broncos to a state championship, including the game-winning screen-turned-scamper up the sideline. He received an LSU offer that evening, to which he committed this summer. His speed, leaping ability and hands put him on the map. And he’s continued to work hard on his footwork and improve his strength, with a college strength and conditioning program likely to quickly tap even further into his NFL potential. <blockquote> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">KEILON BROWN. [player_tooltip player_id="63552" first="Chris" last="Hilton"]. ZACHARY MAGIC. <a href="https://t.co/xyc3CjLJZi">pic.twitter.com/xyc3CjLJZi</a></p> — Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1071617408891273216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/destyn-hill/">[player_tooltip player_id="63553" first="Destyn" last="Hill"]</a> — 6-1, 180 WR — Edna Karr</strong> The talented New Orleans pass-catcher seems to go somewhat less-heralded locally than his two counterparts in the three-man head of the class, whether because he’s an inch or two shorter, or because he doesn’t have the same eye-popping signature highlight or moment, or because he hasn’t been as heavily tied to LSU on the recruiting trail during the past year. But [player_tooltip player_id="63553" first="Destyn" last="Hill"] — or, formerly, Destyn Pazon — is a constant playmaker for one of the state’s top high school programs, and the skillset with which he excels on Friday nights translates perfectly to Saturdays. The Cougars’ star constantly creates space with his 11.09-second 100-meter speed, his quickness and his route-running to be a productive weapon for the four-time defending state champions. And he runs hard and physically when met with contact to help fight for extra yards and has also made his share of more athletic catches when necessary in tighter coverage near the goal line. <blockquote> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">[player_tooltip player_id="63553" first="Destyn" last="Hill"] 👀👀👀</p> AJ Samuel finds his senior down the middle for the long conversion with the stretching catch. <a href="https://t.co/7RzHp6XR24">pic.twitter.com/7RzHp6XR24</a> — Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1313999411580731395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/brian-thomas/">[player_tooltip player_id="63554" first="Brian" last="Thomas"] Jr.</a> — 6-4, 190 WR — Walker</strong> Across the same high school district from Hilton is the biggest athletic freak of the receiver class in [player_tooltip player_id="63554" first="Brian" last="Thomas"]. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound pass-catcher boasts the best size of the top trio and similar speed to his counterparts. Thomas first made waves helping friend Jalen Cook, a 2020 LSU basketball signee, win a state championship on the hardwood their freshman and sophomore year, respectively. But his incredible potential as a football prospect opened eyes later that spring and summer. He has played both sports and, in football, both sides of the ball, and he hasn’t been blessed with the same level of quarterback play as Hilton or Hill have enjoyed. But he could easily develop his way into the top player in the class if he ends up with the right coaches and focus at the next level. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8lDarAofvqI" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/malik-nabers/">[player_tooltip player_id="63555" first="Malik" last="Nabers"]</a> — 6-0, 180 WR — Southside</strong> The Lafayette area standout starts the next tier of prospects and presents an interesting circumstance. The young Nabers was one of the top weapons on his 15U national championship 7-on-7 team, the Louisiana Bootleggers, in 2019 and had a strong fall campaign for Comeaux High School where he was one of his area’s top receivers. His penchant and prowess for coming down with a dominant percentage of jump-balls thrown his way has always been his calling card. But he has focused on developing himself into a more complete receiver over time. The COVID-shutdown spring and summer provided hurdles, though, and now he remains in an eligibility dispute since transferring to Southside, which could cost him a senior season. Nabers committed to Mississippi State over Georgia late this summer and has since finally received an LSU offer that likely would’ve come months early had he had the camp opportunities of a normal summer. <blockquote> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">2021 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Comeaux?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Comeaux</a> star [player_tooltip player_id="63555" first="Malik" last="Nabers"] (@MalikNabers) has been huge for the <a href="https://twitter.com/LABootleggers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LABootleggers</a>’ 15U group all spring.</p> The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ULM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ULM</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cajuns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cajuns</a> target came up with several huge catches again Sunday, saying he is confident enough in his ability that he sees no 50-50 balls — always at least 75-25. <a href="https://t.co/1CiguWhXZD">pic.twitter.com/1CiguWhXZD</a> — Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1132815982559453184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/jack-bech/">[player_tooltip player_id="63558" first="Jack" last="Bech"]</a> — 6-3, 215 WR — St. Thomas More</strong> Vanderbilt will understandably do its best to cling to a prolific pass-catcher who can no longer be argued as a best-kept secret or most-underrated prospect in the 2021 class. Bech caught a ridiculous 91 passes for 1,668 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior in St. Thomas More’s high-powered offense, while also proving himself as physical and enthusiastic a blocker as a high school coach could ask for. Several programs around the country extended scholarship offers, although the elite Power Five representatives held off over his approximately 4.7-second 40-yard speed. But he worked as hard as any athlete in the state this summer to bulk up about 20 pounds and shave his 40-yard dash down to a mid-4.5-second range to improve both his big-play ability with 17 catches for 446 yards (26.2 yards per catch) and five touchdowns and his versatility to potentially play more of a tight end or hybrid role in college depending on the offense. He appeared increasingly poised to become the latest in a tradition of senior stars for whom Louisiana fans clamor for a late LSU offer. But the Tigers, Mississippi State, TCU and Texas have now all offered in the past few days. <blockquote> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Third&amp;3. Walker Howard gets the ball to [player_tooltip player_id="63558" first="Jack" last="Bech"], and the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vandy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Vandy</a> commit takes care of the rest.</p> STM leads, 7-0, just over a minute into the opening quarter. <a href="https://t.co/mFxejIMzT9">pic.twitter.com/mFxejIMzT9</a> — Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1317257753560272902?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/tyrese-johnson/">[player_tooltip player_id="63565" first="Tyrese" last="Johnson"]</a> — 6-2, 190 WR — Booker T. Washington</strong> Like most of this list, Johnson is also a talented basketball player — even with a few offers in that sport, including from Georgetown and UAB. He is also one of the state’s most explosive player with the football in his hands. His high school uses him in a variety of positions, including quarterback, to reap those benefits as often as possible. But as the Arizona commitment continues to perfect his craft and gets to spend more time at one natural position, the strides awaiting may be as intriguing as any of his peers. He’s physical with good leaping ability, hands, and quickness and elusiveness and decent straight-line speed. <blockquote> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Arizona?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Arizona</a> commit [player_tooltip player_id="63565" first="Tyrese" last="Johnson"] (<a href="https://twitter.com/reseagoat?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@reseagoat</a>) is so ridiculous in any kind of space 😂</p> He just glides through and around dudes like everyone else is in slow-motion. <a href="https://t.co/m7nhExCgfZ">pic.twitter.com/m7nhExCgfZ</a> — Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1316926113080397825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/keon-coleman/">[player_tooltip player_id="63567" first="Keon" last="Coleman"]</a> — 6-4, 190 WR — Opelousas Catholic</strong> If there were any debate over which wide receiver is the most talented basketball player, Coleman’s long list of opportunities to play both sports at the next level should just about shut that case. The explosive pass-catcher on the field and scorer on the court committed to playing for both Les Miles and Bill Self at Kansas this offseason over similar opportunities at Oklahoma and South Carolina. He recently reopened his recruitment and quickly received offers from USC, Texas, TCU, Virginia Tech, Grambling State, Howard and Jackson State. As a receiver, he’s a long, rangy deep threat who may only trial Hilton in leaping ability. He remains more raw in his footwork and route-running, among other technical aspects of his craft. But it’s not difficult to see the tools that have so many Power Five programs so intrigued.