Pair of LSU Football Signees, Commits Shine in Louisiana State Championships

Jack Bech, Walker Howard put on a show as St. Thomas More wins second straight state championship

Every year, the Louisiana Football State Championships are stocked full of LSU commits and signees and the 2020 season was no different. On Monday evening, 2022 quarterback commit Walker Howard and 2021 receiver signee Jack Bech led St. Thomas More to it's second straight state championship.

It wasn't the first time Bech stepped up as a major contributor for the Cougars. A year ago it was Bech's 11 catch performance for 183 yards and three touchdowns that was the propeller towards capturing the state title. 

This go around, Bech found even more success, hauling in 10 receptions for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 35-28 win over No. 1 seed De La Salle. The 232 yards was a 3A/Division II record for a single game and included this final touchdown in the second half that propelled the Cougars to the win.

JACK BECH 👽 WOW

St. Thomas More scores again.
Howard to Bech.

Wait on this @samspiegs angle 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RkuC47f57r

— Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) December 29, 2020

Bech earned Offensive Player of the Game for the record setting performance for the Cougars. Now that his career is over, he's ready to get to Baton Rouge to start preparing as one of four newcomers at the receiver position for Ed Orgeron and company.

"Just being part of the legacy, my heart has always been in Baton Rouge so when I got the offer, I definitely had to think about it a little bit but I was pretty sure that's where I wanted to be," Bech told LSUCountry after committing to the Tigers. "Having everybody in my family come to every one of my games was real big for me. I'm a really family oriented person, so definitely staying home was a huge reason for me."

While Bech was certainly a huge part to the team's success a season ago, Howard had to wait his turn behind quarterback Caleb Holstein. Now, in his junior season, Howard was able to display his talents fully, tossing for 381 yards and four touchdowns in the win over De La Salle. 

Howard capped off a fantastic junior campaign that saw him throw for over 3,000 yards and 35+ touchdowns on the year. Before his first-year as a starter, Howard told LSUCountry just how much he worked in the offseason on his all around game, being inspired by former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and the success he had during the 2019 season. 

"I mean he's a guy that's dominant in the film room and on the field and knows where everyone's going on the field," Howard said. "He's a guy that's always competing in everything that he does and that's just what I want to be like."

Another LSU signee whose team was in the Louisiana State Championship was Sage Ryan's Lafayette Christian. Ryan had been an obvious gargantuan piece to Lafayette Christian's success but a nagging hamstring injury kept him out of the final game of his high school career. 

Despite not having Ryan, who was a pregame captain against opponent St. Charles Catholic, the Knights were still able to squeak out a win and capture their fourth state title in five years. LSU is bringing proven winners in Ryan, Bech and Howard to Baton Rouge.

Ryan and Bech are two guys who will be given that opportunity to play early and both possess the ability to be an every down player.  It's all about building up that winning culture and what better way to do it than with guys who play their best in the big games?