JOURNAL SPORTS
The fifth annual National Football Foundation McNaughton Chapter Preseason Scholar-Athlete Watch List just announced includes 37 competitors from Bossier or Caddo parishes among the record high of 63 high school seniors in north and central Louisiana who have been nominated by their coaches.
These young men, from all around the 318 area code in north and central Louisiana, carry at least a 3.2 grade point average, have won all-district honors or made remarkable impact on their teams, and are involved in extracurricular activities.
The previous high water mark of nominees was 46.
Annually, after each season, the NFF’s S.M. McNaughton Chapter solicits nominations for its scholarship program, and as many as nine senior scholar-athletes are honored in the spring with $1,000 college scholarship awards at a banquet in Shreveport. This Preseason Watch List is designed to provide recognition for not just the ultimate scholarship winners, but more young men in north and central Louisiana 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 created this partnership to celebrate these outstanding seniors.
The Shreveport-Bossier high school seniors nominated for the McNaughton Chapter’s Preseason Scholar-Athlete Watch List:
Charlie Abraham, WR, Evangel
Case Austin, WR, Benton
Jonathon Baker-Shepard, DB/WR/QB, Plain Dealing
Corey Brown, OL, North Caddo
Andre Campbell, OL, Captain Shreve
Mark Copehaver, LB, Parkway
Hunter Davis, OT, Calvary Baptist
Ashton Dawson, DE/HB, Evangel
Kameron Demery, DL, Southwood
Evan Dooley, DB, Southwood
Damari Drake, LB, Evangel
Jeremiah Epps, FS, Airline
Cavon Foster, LB, Green Oaks
Ke’Adre Garner, LB, Airline
Nate Green, ATH, Huntington
Lamarcus Harris, OL, Bossier
Hayden Horton, LB, Loyola College Prep
Roy Jackson, C, Huntington
Adrian Johnson, WR, Green Oaks
Johnathon Jones, OL, North Caddo
Adam Miller, LB/TE, Woodlawn
Luke Miller, FS, Calvary Baptist
Beckett Moore, LB, Benton
Vontravious “Tray” Moore, WR, Booker T. Washington
Asher Murray, K, Byrd
Will Petro, K, Benton
Jamarcea Plater, RB, Captain Shreve
Brady Prine, LB, Parkway
Michael Robertson, C, Northwood
Briggs Savage, LB, Captain Shreve
Marcus Smith, DL, Bossier
Justin Thomas, CB, Northwood
Zion Washington, LB, Green Oaks
Justin Whitaker, QB, Huntington
Mason Whitley, DL, Southwood
Kaleb Williams, QB, Parkway
Watch List members from other north and central Louisiana schools are Marquis Baker, HB/LB, Jonesboro-Hodge; Madden Blalock, OL, Grant; Landon Boston, RB/LB, Jonesboro-Hodge; Brock Case, QB, Lakeside; Ty Curtis, LB, Buckeye; Luke Delafield, QB, North DeSoto; Ryan Deselle, OL, Buckeye; Tyde Hurley, FS, Oak Grove; Connor Justice, LB, Sterlington; Dakota Knox, QB/DB, Jonesboro-Hodge; Cullen McIntosh, DE, Oak Grove; Derrick Mitchell, OG/LB, Mansfield; Jaden Moore, TE, Grant; Braden Paulk, S, Buckeye; Gavin Polk, K/P, Ouachita Christian; Noah Redding, WR/CB, Lakeside; Braeden Slohn, LB, Grant; Hudson Smith, OL, North Webster; Lander Smith, FB, Ruston; Owen Smith, QB, Natchitoches Central; Grayson Thibodeaux, TE/DE, Alexandria Senior High; Kenny Thomas, RB, North DeSoto; Patrick Turpin, WR/DB, Ouachita Christian; Luke Vidrine, K/P, Ouachita Christian; Darrien Wells, C/DL, Mansfield; and Christian Whitlock, K/P, North Webster.
This Watch List will be updated entering the fifth week of the season. Additional nominees may be submitted by head coaches via text to NFF board member Doug Ireland at 318-471-2086.