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On January 31st, Ahmonte Watkins received his first offer from the University of Virginia. Five months later Watkins made his way to Charlottesville for an unofficial visit to see what the program had to offer.
It was evident that the whole Cavalier coaching staff was ecstatic to have Watkins on campus for the first time, which made him feel at home right away. “Soon as I stepped on campus I felt a really good vibe from everybody,” Watkins said. “Everybody is genuine & it felt like I’ve been knowing them for years.”
Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall was blown away with how Watkins competed & tested at their elite prospect camp on his visit. Watkins was timed at a 4.49 in the forty, 10-1 broad jump, & a 36 inch vertical. He was also very good in individual instruction & one on ones. “Coach Atuaia (RBs coach) coached me real hard at the camp & I love the passion he coaches with,” Watkins said. “I wanted to come out there & show them that they didn’t make a mistake offering me first. “My goal was to prove that I was the best prospect at the camp & I think I did that.” 
It’s clear that the Virginia coaching staff made a big impression on the four-star prospect led by area recruiter Ricky Brumfield & senior scout Jordan Arcement, who are both Louisiana natives. “Coach Brumfield is really cool & down to earth,” Watkins said. “Him & the entire staff at Virginia are some really good people that truly care about their players. I got to see first hand the relationship between the coaches & the players. You can tell it wasn’t anything scripted & that was big to me.”
Watkins currently only holds offers from Virginia, Miami, Colorado, Southern Miss, & Nicholls St at the moment. He’s gained a lot of attention as of late from Mississippi St, Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Louisiana Tech, & UL. “Miami & Alabama have been my dream schools since I was a kid,” he said. “I look forward to seeing what those programs have to offer in the future. But, Virginia really open my eyes to what a program is suppose to look like. Coach Mendenhall is a great leader & he’s different, but a good different. I love how he challenges his players physically & mentally. It’s not just about football up there, it’s about making you a better man.” The 5-foot-10, 176 pound Watkins out of Riverside Academy is on his way to being a household name. He is a true speedster who won the open 100 & 200 meter at the state championships this past May. In the 100 meters he finished with a (10.71) & (21.7) in the 200 meters. His freshman year he was clocked at a 10.44 in the 100 meter, which caught the eye of a lot of people around the state. “Track will always be one of my first loves,” Watkins said. “I like the fact that at Virginia they want me to play both football & track. They made it clear while I was up there that I’m a high priority in both sports & that made me feel really good.” 
With Watkins still having two years of high school left which is scary, it’s going to be interesting to see if & will Virginia get to land him when it’s all said & done. “I don’t want to be one of the those kids that drags this process out going through my senior year,” he said. Me & my dad talked about me committing after my junior year so that’s the plan.”
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 Jamie Vance has seen his stock rise tremendously over the last month & a half. During the spring, he had a plethora of schools that dropped by to see him & it was evident that most of the coaches left very impressed with how good Vance looked. Vance has been phenomenal on the camp circuit showcasing that he should be ranked the number one corner in the state. According to 247 Sports, Vance is ranked 29 overall but I see that changing soon enough. At the Alabama camp he put on a show for Nick Saban & defensive coordinator Pete Golding calling out all the top receivers there & winning damn near every one on one battle. He did it again at the LSU camp the following weekend, where his one on one camp video went over 54,000 views on twitter. So I’m guessing the public is wondering why he didn’t leave with an offer from either school right?? Well, the knock on Vance is that he has a thin frame at 5-10 & 160 pounds along with his straight line speed being a concern for certain coaches. Even though those are concerns, I wouldn’t rule out Alabama offering Vance late especially with how Saban raved about him after the camp. One of the most impressive things I seen Vance do on the circuit is compete at receiver at the Houston camp. He looked so fluent with his route running & such a natural catcher with the ball that offensive coordinator Tyron Carrier was blown away. This kid is a true technician at the corner position & his athleticism is very underrated to some degree. His ability to get his hands on you & redirect your route is something that gives a lot of receivers fits. Vance understands the little things & his attention to detail is incredible. His route recognition is ridiculous because he often runs the route for the receiver. He is able to play press & off man at an elite level, which is sort of uncommon at the high school level. Vance is currently committed to Arkansas, but I know head coach Chad Morris has to be nervous about all the attention that is coming the 3-star cornerback’s way right now. Auburn is making a strong push to flip Vance along with some other schools, so we’ll see if he ends up being a Razorback come December for signing day. 
On Friday, East St. John wide receiver Dontae Fleming made it official via twitter that he was committing to the University of Louisiana. “I wanted to be apart of the UL family right way because the relationship between the players & coaches is unbelievable,” Fleming said. “I wanted to be developed by good coaches, but most of all I wanted to be surrounded by good people.”
The 6-0 prospect is one of the better receivers for the 2020 class in Louisiana. He showed last season in his junior year that he has real big play ability, which is what made head coach Billy Napier & his staff very interested. He shows the ability to also get separation when needed & he is a crafty route runner. “My goal every year was to be the best receiver I can be, so that made me train harder & harder,” Fleming said. 
After evaluating Fleming at the Nike Opening & UL camps, he showed that he is as good as his film says he is. He chose UL over Memphis, UL-Monroe, Southeastern, Lamar, Nicholls St, & Alcorn St. Many close to Fleming felt he would choose Memphis, but the UL coaching staff did an excellent job of keeping him in the state.
Fleming will be the second receiver from East St. John in three years that will be signing to a division one school. Damonte Coxie was the last in 2016 who caught for 1,174 yards & 7 touchdowns this past season at Memphis University. “We built different at (The E), we have a lot of talent,” Fleming said. “Everyone prides themselves on being the next one to come out of East St. John & make an impact on the next level.” Check out Dontae Fleming’s junior film: 
The Opelousas Catholic two sport athlete has been making a name for himself on the camp circuit for football the last few weeks. Coleman camped at LSU & impressed wide receiver coach Joe Brady with his size & athleticism. He then took his talents to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette & the University of Houston impressing both coaching staffs because of how he dominated his matchups in the 1 on 1 portion of the camp.
Keon Coleman has a chance to be the best two sport athlete in Louisiana for the 2021 class when it’s all said & done. Houston, Colorado State, Tulane, ULL, Louisiana Tech, South Alabama, Sam Houston, & Southern are all on the verge of offering the talented receiver at the moment. I expect him to be a high major prospect by the end of his junior year if he keeps progressing. Coleman measured in at 6-2 & a half with his shoes off to go with a 74 inch wing span. Although he is still raw, Coleman has the size & athleticism to be a high major prospect. Right now he is still in the beginning stages of learning how to become a precise route runner, but once he puts it all together he’ll be one of the most sought after prospect in the state. The soon-to-be junior is also a big time prospect in basketball where he just received two offers in the last week & a half from McNeese State & Coastal Carolina. Coleman has schools like ULL, Tulane, Northwestern State, Nicholls State, Southeastern, UNO, & South Alabama monitoring him closely at the moment with possible offers on the way. More schools will be on this kid’s radar come July when coaches get to see him perform for Peach Jam on the Nike circuit with LivOn-Fleur De Lis. Check out Keon Coleman’s Sophomore Film 
A simple truth is taught to everyone who plays football & that’s low man wins. Pad level and leverage are crucial to success for a good pass rusher. Josh Randall exemplifies these traits & then some. Most college programs prefers its pass-rushers to be long and tall, even though a natural advantage exists for shorter defenders. Randall proved that this past season racking up 26 sacks & 4 forced fumbles. Now that’s what I call production, especially for an edge rusher that’s 5-11 & 215 pounds.
I don’t think you’ll find a pass rusher in this 2020 class with a better get off & motor than Randall. No he doesn’t have the size of Newman’s Brandon Williams & John Curtis’s Angelo Anderson, but when you turn on his film it’s tough to not put Randall at the top of the list. His ability to sack the quarterback is simply a skill, not a genetic trait. College offenses continue to lean more heavily on the passing game these days. The game isn't played from tackle to tackle anymore like 10 to 15 years ago. Randall plays with very good bend coming around the edge, which makes it tough for these 6-3 or taller tackles. Randall would be a perfect stand up edge rusher in a 3-4 scheme on the next level along with being an outstanding special teams player. I envision this kid to rack up double digit sacks again this upcoming season & continue to be a quarterback & left tackle’s worse nightmare. Randall received his first offer from Lamar University a few weeks ago, but he has a few other schools like Murray St, Nicholls St, McNeese St, & Southern that’s on the verge of pulling the trigger as well. Tulane could possibly offer Randall as well down the line after he dominated their camp last weekend winning all of his 1 on 1 reps. Check out Josh Randall’s junior film below 
When you talk about electric players with the ball in their hand, people might want to start talking about Lynarise Elpheage Jr. The soon to be junior is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign where finished with 1,109 all-purpose yards & 10 touchdowns. After evaluating him at Southeastern University elite prospect camp this past weekend, it’s no doubt about it that he was the best receiver there hands down.
When it comes to route running & creating separation to go with his certified hands, I don’t know if you can find another receiver in the C/O 2021 that can do it better than Elpheage Jr. His yards after catch & how incredible he is in space is very unique because he can turn a five yard hitch into a eighty yard touchdown like it’s nothing. It’s even looking like he has a chance to be an even better prospect than his father Lynarise Elpheage Sr, who starred at Carver as well in the late 90’s & went on to be a standout at Tulane.
At 5-8 or however tall he is, you can’t teach the skill set that this kid has. You have to have a real appreciation for how he plays the game with so much passion & determination. And with two years left in high school, I think the best is yet to come for the dynamic playmaker. He currently holds offers from Troy St, Nicholls St, Northwestern St, & Southeastern. Many feel that he’s probably too small to play past a FCS level, but I beg to differ. Colorado, Kansas, Houston, Tulane, Louisiana Tech, Tennessee, & Mississippi St are all keeping a close eye on Elpheage Jr. And I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these schools pull the trigger before it’s all said & done. Check out Lynarise Elpheage’s sophomore highlights below |
Jeremiah Gray, Owner"GSportz is an independent, integrated sports media outlet that prides itself as a grassroots organization, which covers players, high schools and college sports across the state of Louisiana." Categories |
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