With National Signing Day 2015 in the books, recruiting gurus nation-wide are turning their attention to the 2016 recruiting landscape.
As usual, Louisiana boasts a deep crop of talented targets, however the 2016 class is something special. Louisiana is home to 10 of the top 100 players in the country, according to Rivals.com, with highest rated player of those 10 targets, Calvary quarterback Shea Patterson, recently giving a verbal commitment to coach Hugh Freeze and the Ole Miss Rebels.
In attendance at Patterson’s announcement was another Louisiana top 100 prospect, North Webster High School running back/linebacker Devin White of Springhill.
A Webster Parish product, White is ranked No. 90 overall by Rivals.com. This past season, White accounted for over 2,500 yards of offense and 35 touchdowns. He also manned the middle of a North Webster defense that had four players sign college scholarships on National Signing Day this year. White has a knack for the big moment, saving his best performance of his junior season for a playoff game versus Patterson High School in which he totaled 347 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while adding a 53 yard touchdown catch for good measure.
White currently holds offers from 14 schools and more are expected to fall in line. Among the top schools targeting the 6 foot 253 pound bruising runner are Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Notre Dame and Nebraska, just to name a few.
At this point, it’s unknown who the favorite is to land the talented tailback. Actually, it’s unknown whether or not he will play in the backfield at all. Many scouts project White as a better linebacker than running back. He might be wise to hear them out, seeing how the careers of linebackers seem to have more longevity than that of running back. Not to mention, the guy hits really, really hard.
White and Patterson are the best Northwest Louisiana has to offer in 2016, and the two have developed a friendship as evident through their social media interactions. Before committing to Ole Miss, Patterson tweeted to White calling him his “future teammate.”
This early in the recruiting process, everything is to be taken with a grain of salt due to the fickle nature of recruiting tactics and the pressure of making a college decision. One thing is for sure, it’s going to be a tight race to land one of the nation’s best players for 2016.
Blake Branch is a sports writer at the Minden Press-Herald. He can be reached at blake@press-herald.com