JOURNAL SPORTS

The fourth annual National Football Foundation McNaughton Chapter Preseason Scholar-Athlete Watch List just announced includes 21 competitors from Bossier or Caddo parishes among the 37 remarkable high school seniors in North Louisiana who have been nominated by their coaches.

These young men, from all around the 318 area code in north and central Louisiana, have at least a 3.2 grade point average, have won all-district honors, and are involved in extracurricular activities.

Annually, after each season, the NFF’s S.M. McNaughton Chapter solicits nominations for its scholarship program, and as many as eight senior scholar-athletes are honored in the spring with $1,000 college scholarship awards at a banquet in Shreveport. This Watch List is designed to provide recognition for not just the ultimate scholarship winners, but all of the young men in the Ark-La-Tex who are high achieving senior football players.

Additionally, KTBS Channel 3 in Shreveport continues to honor the memory and legacy of former NFF Board member Bob Griffin, the iconic sportscaster at KSLA and then KTBS for over 50 years, by weekly Tuesday evening profiles of one of the players on the NFF Scholar-Athlete Watch List. The winners will will be eligible for a separate Griffin’s Scholar-Athlete Scholarship at the close of the season, presented by KTBS and Southern Classic Chicken.

Griffin, a 2009 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee as a sports journalist, covered Ark-La-Tex high school football in an incredible six decades before he passed away early in 2020. Because of Griffin’s commitment to the NFF Scholar-Athlete program, the S.M. McNaughton Chapter of the NFF and KTBS have created this partnership to celebrate these outstanding seniors.

The initial group of high school seniors nominated for the Scholar-Athlete Watch List:

Josh Allen, OL, Airline

Cole Austin, LB, Benton

Jaxon Bentzler, QB/P, Northwood

Christian Blackmon, RB/TE/DE/LB/LS, Northwood

Gavin Borland, HB/LB, Grant

Jackson Bradley, QB, Oak Grove

Jack Budziszewski, OL/DL, Loyola

Montrevion Chatman, DL, Booker T. Washington

Cole Corey, WR, North DeSoto

Darrell Cottonham, DE, Byrd

Aaron Dillard, RB, Booker T. Washington

Carter Doyal, TE/LB, Loyola

Caleb Duncan, OL/DL, Evangel

Aiden Eldridge, DB, Ouachita Christian

Jamey Fisher, H-Back/LB, D’Arbonne Woods

Thad Franklin, WR/CB, D’Arbonne Woods

Landon Fredieu, RB/LB, Grant

Jayden Gladney, OLB, Airline

Sam Greer, LB, Byrd

Josh Isaac, RB, Evangel

Isaiah Jones, DL, Oak Grove

Makin Lenard, RB, Ouachita Christian

Evan Lirette, FS/K, Loyola

Christian McGuire, WR/DB/KR, Jonesboro-Hodge

Miller Malley, S, Benton

Isaiah Mckinney, WR/CB, Grant

Devon Oliver, DT, Parkway

Jaylen Oneal, SS, Booker T. Washington

Ethan Plunkett, OG, Parkway

Quan Scott, QB, Bossier

Desmond Simmons, FB, Byrd

Xavier Simmons, C/DT, Magnolia School of Excellence

Raidon Smith, DB, North DeSoto

Ben Taylor, QB, Airline

Brody Towns, C, D’Arbonne Woods

John Turner, OL, Ouachita Christian

Abram Wardell, QB, Calvary

This Watch List will be updated entering the fifth week of the season. Additional nominees may be submitted by text to NFF board member Doug Ireland at 318-471-2086.

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