By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine/TV
One of the toughest positions to recruit as a college coach these days, outside of defensive tackles, is to find college-ready linebackers coming out of high school.
Michael Casey is one of those kids, at Huntington High School. Casey will be going into his third year as one of the Raiders’ best players and leaders.
When you stand 6-1 and weigh 225 pounds with football speed, 4.7 forty stuff, you will get a chance to go to a big-time program.
I think he’s a kid who can blow up nationally in recruiting with a great year in 2023. Michael has all the tools to be great and when it’s said and done will be starting or lettering at LB for some college in 2024.
“Michael Casey is as physical a football player that I’ve ever coached,” said his head coach at Huntington, Steven Dennis. “He brings an intensity to the field that is hard to match. Michael is a tone setter, and a great kid to match. He is one of those kids that you truly enjoy in
my profession.”
It’s a mutual admiration society.
“I couldn’t ask for a better head coach and postion coach, honestly,” said Casey. “I was raised on being real and those men do just that.
They reflect my grandfather’s principles, and I respect them heavily for that, I would go to war on and off the field for them without hesitation.”
Casey has a short list of favorite foes.
“The teams I love playing against each year have to be Byrd, Neville and Northwood,” he said. “These teams alone have put us to the test in the past, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it each time. It’s a guaranteed dogfight and I love to fight.”
Casey is unwilling to settle for anything less than the best yet for the Raiders.
“We have a chance as a team like no other this year to set the bar higher than what other teams can reach,” he said. “We have endless talent and work ethic is our best attribute. Another great thing for us is that at the end of the day, we are a team.”
Casey did not wind up at linebacker by accident. He was inspired as a young man.
“My first memory of football is watching the great LB Ray Lewis crush a tight end coming across the middle of the field and leaving him groaning on the ground,” said Casey. “Then and there, I fell in love with the sport.The contact, the sound of pads and helmets colliding, is what I drive for. It’s what I enjoy.
He knows what has to improve for him to step up to the next level after his senior season.
“I need to work on my speed for college,” said Casey. “I’m not slow but being faster than the RB you’re chasing every week, that can make you a great player.”
Casey has a special motivator who has led him to this point of his football career.
“My grandfather is the reason I’m talking to you now,” he said. “The reason I was watching Ray Lewis game in the first place as a kiid was because of my grandfather. He has been teaching me the game of football before I knew what it was, and I appreciate him every day for that.
“He has talked to me as a coach my entire life, so when I started actually playing I was so comfortable with the way coaches communicated with us. My grandfather coached at Huntington and at Green Oaks. If it wasn’t for him, I would not be the young man I am today. I wholeheartedly believe that.”
Tidbits about Michael Casey:
He’s attended camps or visited Louisiana Tech, ULM, Arkansas Pine Bluff, and Arkansas Monticello this spring and summer. “I really enjoyed being on the campuses and seeing what they have to offer in sports and educationally.”
Taking recruiting opportunities out of the picture and just considering schools he likes, Casey points to LSU, Southern, Louisiana Tech, Florida State and Texas Tech.
So far, he has an early offer from Centenary College.
Casey said he “loves working out, and playing other sports. I love the challenge.”
His dad and grandfather both played for Huntington.
Casey definitely has a major and a vision in mind for college.
“Set in stone, it’s architecture. My goal is to drive down a street one day and say I designed and helped build that,” he said.
Casey also wrestled for the Raiders and was 8-0 in matches last fall. He plays soccer.
He isn’t sitting around idle this summer.
“I do landscaping work and also construction work,” he said. “I love using my hands and doing hard work outside.”
Something you might not expect: “I also played tight end, scored two touchdowns, and had two two-point conversions, he said.
For those who might see an immediate upside, Casey said he had several knockout blocks in 2022.
Lee Brecheen has operated Louisiana Football Magazine for over 30 years and is one of the state’s foremost experts on high school football and especially recruiting. Based in Baton Rouge, Lee travels statewide to watch practices and games and has broken down film and tape since the late 1980s. He has converted the printed product to an online website (Lafootballmagazine.com) that will preview every high school and college football program in the state before kickoff this fall. Lee also hosts a football-centric TV show on YouTube, The Sports Scouting Report, on weekdays.
Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com
