SI All-American Football Candidates in Louisiana

SI All-American's watch list of the top seniors (the class of 2021) in the state of Louisiana

Twenty-five high school football players from the state of Louisiana are on the watch list for the Sports Illustrated All-American team for 2020, SI announced today.

New Orleans boasts eight players of the squad of 25, with the other 17 from the surrounding area.

In all, 1,000 players from across the nation have been selected to the watch list. Video highlights, scouting analyses and a list of each player’s college verbal commitment and/or top college contenders can be found on their bio pages, broken down by state, at SIAllAmerican.com.

The Louisiana honorees are:

• Devon Manuel - 6-8 / 300 / OT from Arnaudville, La.
• Maason Smith - 6-5 / 316 / DT from Houma, La.
• Keenan Landry - 6-2 / 295 / DT from Jennings, La.
• Jack Bech - 6-1 / 203 / WR from Lafayette, La.
• Malik Nabers - 6-0 / 190 / WR from Lafayette, La.
• Sage Ryan - 5-11 / 195 / ATH from Lafayette, La.
• Iverson Celestine - 5-10 / 198 / RB from Mandeville, La.
• Andrew Jones - 6-0 / 200 / LB from Marrero, La.
• Kaine Williams - 6-2 / 205 / S from Marrero, La.
• Kolbe Fields - 6-1 / 205 / PLB from Metairie, La.
• Logan Diggs - 6-0 / 195 / RB from Metairie, La.
• Barryn Sorrell - 6-3 / 250 / DE from New Orleans, La.
• Byron Turner Jr. - 6-3 / 237 / DE from New Orleans, La.
• Casey Cain - 6-2 / 175 / WR from New Orleans, La.
• Destyn Pazon - 6-0 / 170 / WR from New Orleans, La.
• Kenneth Bannister - 6-2.5 / 255 / OT from New Orleans, La.
• Kolbe Cage - 6-0 / 205 / OLB from New Orleans, La.
• Montrell Johnson - 5-10 / 185 / RB from New Orleans, La.
• Tyrese Johnson - 6-1 / 190 / WR from New Orleans, La.
• Ahmonte Watkins - 5-10 / 175 / ATH from Reserve, La.
• Jackie Marshall - 6-2 / 230 / ILB from Reserve, La.
• Saivion Jones - 6-5 / 240 / DE from Saint James, La.
• Brian Thomas - 6-4 / 185 / WR from Walker, La.
• Jardin Gilbert - 6-1 / 175 / S from White Castle, La.
• Chris Hilton - 5-11 / 175 / WR from Zachary, La.

For a breakdown of which of the 1,000 nominees have verbally committed to or are considering LSU as their college choice, head to:

• LSU

The evaluation process will continue throughout the season “until the list of 1,000 contenders coalesces around just 25 young men who can say proudly they are the best of the best -- they are Sports Illustrated All-Americans,” said SI Director of Football Recruiting John Garcia, Jr.

Sports Illustrated will narrow the 1,000 All-America candidates to 250 in October, 99 in November and then announce a first-team of 25, second-team of 25 and an honorable mention group in December. The first-team selections will be invited to the SI Sportsperson of the Year banquet.

Over the coming weeks, SI will unveil its preseason top 10 for each of 14 position groups (kicking off with quarterbacks this week). SI will unveil its initial preseason top 99 ranking, the SI99, on August 24.