Lagniappe notebook items from the 2023 Louisiana state championships

NEW ORLEANS — Championship weekend returned to the Caesars Superdome last weekend as some of the best teams around Louisiana gathered under one roof to decide eight state champions.

Talented players from all over The Boot competed. Here are some of the top quotes from the coaches and recruits involved in the games featuring future Saturday talent.

4-star LSU CB commit Ju’Juan Johnson

Four-star LSU CB commitment Ju’Juan Johnson played in his fourth consecutive state title game. After setting a record for yards in a state title game last December, Johnson turned in a 457 yards of total offense with 192 yards on the ground and three touchdowns playing hero for Lafayette (La.) Christian.

“He’s as good as I’ve ever been around. He does a great job. It starts Monday through Thursday. His work ethic at practice is second to none. He’s not a guy who slacks off at practices. What you see on Friday, he runs that hard at practice. He only knows one gear. He’s a tremendous athlete. Whatever he does moving forward, he’s gonna be great. He has a great work ethic. He’s the ultimate competition, whether you’re playing dice or playing football; he’s trying to win the game. I can’t say enough good things about him.” — Lafayette (La.) Christian Academy HC Hunter Landry

“He tried to keep him corralled as good as we could, but it seemed like he made a lot of big plays to me. He got free and he can get down the sideline, you can see the speed and we don’t have anyone that can catch him. We tried to keep him bottled up. It takes 2-3 guys to try and keep him semi in the pocket. That was part of the game plan … we did a good job of bending but not breaking, controlling him as much as we could.” — St. Thomas More HC Jim Hightower

4-star LSU TE commit Trey’Dez Green

take that change every time, didn’t work out for us, what the % was on us

Trey’Dez Green, the On3 Industry Ranking’s top TE in the country, turned in a game-leading 8 receptions into 97 yards and a touchdown.

“We talked about it (kicking a field goal), but 50-50 balls with my man over there … I’m gonna take that chance every time. That one didn’t work out for us, but we’ve had a bunch in the past that have. I had to go with the percentages on that one.” — Zachary HC David Brewerton

2025 QB Joshua Brantley

2025 Ruston (La.) QB Joshua Brantley was the back-up in the Dome in the team’s runner-up finish last December. The junior capped his first season at the helm of the Bearcats’ offense with an MVP performance — amassing 331 total yards and three touchdowns, including the deciding score in the fourth quarter.

“We know that … your best playmakers want to be there to make plays and Josh has been that for us. We turned a corner on offense — we put a finger on what we needed to do in the second half of the Neville game, in particular, Week 5. We did a lot of QB runs after that. It’s been a big part of our offense we did it several times this year. One thing — you’re gonna wear someone down a little bit any time your QB can run the football. Josh adds another dynamic to your running scheme because he’s big and physical and hard to bring down and people get tired of tackling him. I can’t say enough about him. — Ruston HC Jerrod Baugh

“He’s pretty talented, he’s a pretty talented guy. They had some misdirection and it was able to have stuff open up for him to move the chains. On the last TD, we were selling out to stop the run and we took a bad angle off the back-side edge and he housed it. They have a bunch of different weapons to hurt you in a lot of different ways.” — Zachary HC David Brewerton

3-star Louisiana Tech LB commit Jadon Mayfield

Jadon Mayfield had a game-leading 9.5 tackles, including 2 TFL, 7 solo stops and 2 sacks. The Louisiana Tech commitment also saw key carries on offense and also saw snaps in blocking roles for the Bearcats in power run formations.

“Every year I’ve been able to say the best thing about Jadon is that he’s coming back. Jadon allows you to do a lot of things defensively. We played a lot of three-down DL looks tonight, but you can add him to the front and make it a 4man front. He can pop back in coverage and play a regular linebacker spot. He makes it so that you can do so many different things to add to the game plan for us, and change personnel groupings. He adds a dynamic to what we’ve been able to do the past three years defensively. We’ll try to find someone to plug into his spot and it won’t be the same. He’ll have the opportunity to play football and I’ll be happy to watch him on Saturdays.” — — Ruston HC Jerrod Baugh

2025 3-star RB D’Shaun Ford

2025 RB D’Shaun Ford was a force coming downhill out of the backfield for Opelousas (La.) High. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior back amassed 152 yards on the ground and averaged 5.6 YPC running between the tackles and consistently propelling forward. Ford runs with attitude and with purpose.

“No. 1 … He’s a rhythm back, so he gets better as the game goes on. He was feeling it. We kept putting it in his hands and kept it in his hands. He’s our horse and we kept riding the horse that got us here.” — Opelousas HC Jimmy Zachery

2025 CB Aidan Anding

2025 Ruston (La.) CB Aidan Anding provided single coverage on Green and also returned a punt for a touchdown. Anding, who also hoops and runs track for Ruston, registered a 22-2.5 in the long jump in the spring.

Anding stopped playing football in middle school before returning in the spring ahead of his junior season.

“I’ve never seen a kid stay out of football. He was a starter on the basketball team since he was a freshman, but for him to come out to spring football and look like he’s been out there the whole time … you don’t see that a lot. The skills he has, he can do a lot of different things. He defended a pass, you can plug him in on offense, we can do some other things we didn’t run. He’s a dynamic player. You see him returning punts and covering the best WR they had. He’s also a team leader and a really hard-worker. His addition to our team — it helped us gell our football team together. Anytime you bring a good football player in and he’s one of the hardest workers on your team, it’s always gonna help.” — Ruston HC Jerrod Baugh

2025 four-star RB James Simon

James Simon piled up 193 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 6.4 YPC against a hard-nosed St. Charles Catholic that had quieted some of the state’s most prolific offenses leading into the title game.

Simon, the youngest son of John Simon, matched his father’s Southern Lab mark for three touchdowns in a championship game and also was named Most Outstanding Player. He was asked about his celebration with Dad and who the best athlete was in his family, including older brother John Simon Jr., a Louisiana Tech commitment.

“You’re talking to him. I don’t like being a cocky guy or one who talks about awards or things you earned, but I’m very happy about this situation and this accomplishment.” — 2025 4-star RB James Simon

“He and I have always talked about the running back stuff, who’s better, and stuff, but he can say whatever he wants. He might have more stats, but we’re at the same level now and I’m getting close to him, and I’ll be better than him by the time I make it to the next level.” — 2025 4-star RB James Simon