Takeaways from the weekend

The regular season is reaching an end as district titles and playoff seeds are becoming all the buzz on Friday nights. Week 9’s slate was headlined by a pair of games in the Greater New Orleans area featuring talented squads at Marrero (La.) John Ehret and Destrehan (La.).

On3 National Recruiting Analyst Sam Spiegelman was on hand for the action. Here are some takeaways from that and around the region:

Buying stock on Blood

Daniel Blood reopened his recruitment over the weekend as the longtime Louisiana WR commit continued to draw the attention of other in-state schools like Tulane, as well as the SEC. Blood, a 6-foot, 190-pound playmaker on the Destrehan offense, has also been electric as a return specialist this fall. With the exception of five-star Notre Dame DB pledge Peyton Bowen, Blood has been one of the biggest difference-makers in multiple phases of the game.

Blood housed a punt and also reeled in a touchdown catch as he continues to soar under the radar as one of the South’s most dynamic playmakers. Missouri recently offered Blood and Tulane has been working overtime to keep him close to home. From this analyst’s perspective, he has Power 5 abilities and then some.

Return of the Mack

After catching Ehret play under-manned early this season, the offense had a different feel with top-100 DB Wardell Mack out wide as a receiver and also at his natural spot at corner. Mack showed off the speed and ability to instantly accelerate after the catch on offense with a handful of splash plays in the contest. He beat a defender on an in-breaking route for a touchdown at the tail end of the first half showing his suddenness.

Mack’s speed also translates at cornerback, where he largely occupied the field side. He consistently puts himself around the football in coverage and is a willing tackler. Equally as important, Mack calls the shots on that side of the ball as a junior. LSU leads the way early on On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Cobbins provides speed off the edge

On3 Consensus top-200 EDGE Kolaj Cobbins brings rare speed to the outside linebacker position. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Cobbins is a freight train patrolling to the sideline against outside runs and is equally as persistent applying pressure to the quarterback. Cobbins came away unofficially with a pair of sacks and even more pressures on the quarterback while also keeping him contained as a runner outside the pocket.

Cobbins is still developing as a pass-rusher but is as talented and intriguing with his combination of size, speed and most importantly, his motor. He’s also excellent at defending the run as there is in the South. LSU slightly leads Ole Miss early on the RPM.

Massive OL Lee is light on his feet

Khayree Lee has picked up steam on the recruiting trail this fall as the big-framed offensive lineman shines as a road-grader. The 6-foot-5, 330-pounder is down more than 50 pounds and excelling at multiple positions on the left side of the Ehret offensive line, including at his natural position at guard.

Lee not only plays with enormous power, but the 300-plus-pounder is light on his feet. He’s able to get out and move defenders off the ball at the second level and can even hustle to make blocks out in space, too. Lee has only blocked for mobile quarterbacks and has been a huge part of this offense’s success. The Tigers are heavily favored on the RPM.

Robinson is a Swiss Army Knife

Talented junior Destrehan DB Anthony Robinson is already a top-40 athlete in the nation in the 2024 recruiting cycle. He saw action at multiple positions back deep in the secondary, including his safety and also out wide at cornerback. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder, one of the most versatile defenders in the state in next year’s crop, is also a skilled option in the nickel.

Robinson is instinctive in coverage and covers a ton of real estate to defend the run. He’s a fearless defender and naturally finds the ball evident by multiple picks already this season. Mississippi State holds an early lead on the RPM over Ole Miss for Robinson, who is drawing the eyes of several other SEC and Big Ten schools. He reminds me a ton of another Swiss Army Knife defensive back Greg Brooks Jr.

Additional Notes

• Tulane commit Kevin Adams came away with an impressive over-the-shoulder pick along the sidelines on a deep pass attempt downfield. He has great ball awareness and the speed to cover a lot of ground in a hurry.
• The Destrehan interior DL of Jairin McCall (2024) and Amare Johnson (2023) continue to fly under the radar. McCall (6-foot-2, 280 pounds) and Johnson (6-foot-3, 290 pounds) are stout clogging up running lanes and have been doing this throughout the fall. Both McCall and Johnson generated pressure up the middle, too.
• 2025 WR Johnnie Thiel IV seems poised to make his presence felt in Destrehan’s offense this postseason. The uber-talented sophomore is a big-framed pass-catcher (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) and dynamic after the catch. He’s dangerous making plays in the middle of the field and is a threat with the rock in his hands.
• 2024 Bogalusa (La.) QB Ashton Levi has been absolutely brilliant for the bulk of the fall and is coming off another incredible Week 8 performance in which he completed 19-of-28 passes for 544 yards and four touchdowns. Levi, a 6-foot, 190-pound quarterback in next year’s cycle, has produced video-game-like numbers this fall and no team in the state has been able to effectively slow him down. Levi can launch it deep and has fired the ball off-schedule to keep defenses off their toes. His fearlessness has led to major splash plays. In-state schools like Tulane, Louisiana and Southeastern have been in touch and he undoubtedly has big-time Saturday talent.