College offers continue to roll in for Coast's best

It has been another busy weekend on the Coast with regards to college football recruiting.

In addition to St. Stanislaus tight end Chase Rogers committing to Tennessee at the beginning of the week, several of South Mississippi's finest have picked up collegiate interest.

Harrison Central quarterback Tavis Williams added Division I offers from South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday and Friday. He already held an offer from Jackson State.

Pascagoula running back Reginald Hunter also picked up his second D1 offer. Louisville was the first to offer the rising senior. Friday, ULL jumped in on Hunter's recruitment.

Long Beach rising senior J'arius Warren was the latest to land his first D1 offer.

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound inside linebacker has received interest from a number of schools. Thursday, South Alabama stepped up and offered Warren.

"His combination of size and speed really stands out," LBHS coach Forrest Williams said. "He's a big kid who isn't done growing."

Warren shined as a defensive running mate along side tackle machine, Kevin Wayne, in 2015.

The junior was second on the team with 142 tackles, including 14.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He also forced four fumbles and recovered two.

In addition to playing linebacker for LBHS, Williams said Warren slotted in at offensive tackle and H-back from time to time.

"I think he'll be able to play a lot of different positions (in college)," Williams said, listing off defensive end and a pass-rushing interior lineman as possible positions. "I think his versatility will be a key asset at the next level.

"I think he's a big-time player. I'm glad South Alabama recognized that. I think it will be the first of many (offers) for J'arius."

Red Rebel duo

Williams and teammate Jacob Shoemaker have drawn plenty of college interest lately.

Shoemaker was the second Coast lineman to get a D1 offer last week when Louisiana-Monroe offered.

The offensive lineman started at left tackle for the Red Rebels and first-year coach Casey Cain in 2015. Cain said Shoemaker could slide inside at the college level if needed.

"He just has the right size," Cain said. "He's 6-5, 295 and has great feet with great reach. He plays hard every down."

With Williams, the Red Rebels saw a maturation of a young quarterback who went from directing a run-heavy offense where he handed the ball off the majority of the time to a version of the spread offense where he could hand off, pass or tuck the ball and dart up field.

"Tavis shows great pocket presence and then he also has great feet," Cain said. "When he has his check downs he can tuck the ball and run."

As is the case with most young quarterbacks, the rising senior is still maturing as a QB and learning how to read defenses.

Roundup

Below is a roundup of Coast players with four-year offers that have been made public:

-- St. Stanislaus WR Corbin Blanchard: Cornell

-- St. Stanislaus QB Myles Brennan: Memphis, Southern Miss, Troy, South Alabama, California, Kentucky, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Indiana, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas-San Antonio, Vanderbilt

-- Gautier OL Paul Gainer: Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State

-- Pascagoula RB Reginald Hunter: Louisville, Louisiana-Lafayette

-- Biloxi WR Tim Jones: Southern Miss, Louisiana-Lafayette, Memphis, Troy

-- St. Martin QB Wayne Overman III: Army, Navy

-- St. Stanislaus TE Darius Pittman: Wake Forest, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, South Alabama, Texas-San Antonio

-- St. Martin WR Kalem Reddix: Troy, Louisiana-Lafayette, Jackson State

-- St. Stanislaus TE Chase Rogers: Memphis, Wake Forest, Troy, South Alabama, Tulane, Cal, Arkansas State, UAB, Colorado State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas-San Antonio, Tennessee

-- Harrison Central OL Jacob Shoemaker: Louisiana-Monroe

-- Long Beach DL J'arius Warren: South Alabama

-- Ocean Springs WR Austin Williams: Louisiana Tech, Nicholls State, Troy, Mississippi State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Harvard, South Alabama, Tulane

-- Harrison Central QB Tavis Williams: Jackson State, South Alabama, Louisiana-Lafayette

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 4:18 PM with the headline "College offers continue to roll in for Coast's best ."