MICHAEL KIRAL

Lutcher’s Johnson commits to Southern Miss

LAPLACE – Now that the college bowl season is over and Oklahoma has won the national championship, it’s time for programs to begin the process of bringing in new talent. And once again, college recruiters are coming to the River Parishes to look for that talent. Lutcher wide receiver Chris Johnson was the first player to make a decision, committing to Southern Mississippi in recent weeks. Johnson was the offensive MVP in District 9-3A and an honorable mention all-state selection after amassing 1,495 yards in total offense in his senior season. Johnson joins former Lutcher teammate, Kenneth Johnson, with the Golden Eagles. Hahnville’s Dawan Landry is the local player who is receiving the most attention this year. The senior quarterback has already visited Georgia Tech and is visiting Tulane this weekend. He also has a visit scheduled to Colorado. Nebraska, Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State are also in the mix. Landry was the offensive MVP in District 7-5A and an honorable mention all-state selection in 2000 after passing for 1,041 yards and 15 touchdowns. St. James wide receiver Davin Dennis is another highly sought-after recruit. Dennis, an honorable mention all-state selection, is considering Colorado, Kansas State, Pittsburgh and Massachusetts. The first team all-District 9-3A selection caught 26 passes for 507 yards and six touchdowns in 2000. Hahnville wide receiver Aaron Alexander is being recruited by the United States Military Academy. Linebacker Jasen Naquin is being looked at by Rhodes College in Memphis. Nicholls State and Central Arkansas are both recruiting kicker Matt Cummins, an honorable mention all-state selection. Central Arkansas, as well as Louisiana-Monroe, is recruiting all-State lineman Dale Lirette. Central Arkansas is also looking at honorable mention all-state defensive lineman Al Fiffie along with Nicholls State and Alabama State. Fellow honorable mention all-state lineman Lloyd Brimmer is receiving a lot of attention with Tulane, McNeese State, Louisiana-Monroe and Southern Miss having their eye on him. Alabama State is recruiting running back Skyler Boyle. The school is also looking at defensive back Allen Morris along with Butler County Community College. East St. John defensive back Brandon Mason is being recruited by a host of schools, including Southern, Baylor, Cornell, Nicholls State, McNeese State and Cincinnati. The honorable mention all-state selection intercepted seven passes in his senior year and averaged 27.6 yards on kick returns. Defensive back Michael Brown is also considering Southern and McNeese State. Both Brown and Mason are fully qualified academically. Southern is also recruiting Lutcher defensive back David Pittman. Northwestern State and Nicholls State are also recruiting the all-District 9-3A selection. Running back William Adams, recovering from knee surgery during the season, is being looked at by Henderson State and is considering Southern Miss. Henderson State is also looking at defensive linemen Courtney Long and Chris Lee and quarterback Risley St. Germain. St. Germain, an all-district selection last year in baseball, may wait until after that season to decide. St. James defensive lineman Shane Kliebert is being recruited by Louisiana-Monroe, Nicholls State and Massachusetts. Kliebert was an all-district selection in his senior year after recording 62 tackles and five sacks. Wildcat running back Travis Steib is being looked at by Division II schools. Riverside all-state offensive lineman Jason Blanchard is being recruited by a host of in-state schools. West St. John all-district offensive lineman Coy Miller attended the Georgia Tech camp this summer and is looking at a number of schools. Destrehan all-state defensive lineman LeKeith Robinson, the River Parishes defensive MVP, is being recruited by Southern, Jackson State and Nicholls State.