By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine/TV
I don’t think people around Louisiana realize the sleeper talent that comes out of the Cenla area, but there have been tons of sleepers I have seen over the years, kids that don’t get offers till their senior year is over.
Chris Brown, a talented running back for Alexandria Senior High, signed with Oklahoma late and became a prime example of what I’ve seen by earning All-Big 12 Conference honors. More recently, Cody Ford, a 6-4, 315-pound offensive lineman out of Pineville High School, also went on to the Sooners, had an All-American career at Oklahoma and is in the NFL now.
Neither of those young men were offered by LSU. Both would have been top-caliber Tigers.
A Cenla sleeper in the Class of 2024 to keep an eye on is athlete/WR/DB Dartavin Dupass from Peabody Magnet. Dupass looks the part at 6-2, 185 pounds and is set to have a breakout year in his senior season this fall at both defensive back and receiver. His consistent 4.5 speed and athleticism are immediate indicators of his potential.
To get insight on Dupass, I talked to former LSU starting linebacker and former LSU starter Harry Coleman. Not only is he Peabody’s head coach – but he’s Uncle Harry to Dupass.
“He has a chance to be a great player,” Coleman said. “He is already a great track athlete who competed in regionals and the state meet in the long jump. Last fall he made second-team all district as a defensive back.
“My nephew is from my hometown of Baldwin, and first started at West St. Mary in South Louisiana. I am really excited to see this kid come full circle in 2023. He does everything for us on the field and is one of our leaders. The exciting part is he hasn’t scratched the surface of his ability yet.”
His wide receivers coach at Peabody, Deqarius Thomas, liked what he saw in their first meeting, and hasn’t been disappointed.
“The first day I met Dupass, I was blown away by his height. Once I learned that he was a junior, and I was gone to be able to coach him for two years, I knew he would be great. As the year progressed in 2022, I realized he is a very coachable player, a great leader, and an outstanding athlete. He plays both sides of the football, and also handles his business when it comes to school. The most impressive thing to me is the way he is humble about everything, even though he plays the game on a different level.”
Dupass plays receiver and halfback on offense, and cornerback, strong safety and free safety defensively. In track and field, he competes in four sprint events – the 100, 200, 4×100 relay nd 4×200 relay – and the long jump, where he punched his ticket to the state meet.
Until last school year, his life had been spent in south Louisiana, but he’s adjusted well to the move.
“Being from the southern part of the state the only difference to me is the food we cook is with a little more spice than up here, but other than that it’s great people, a great school for me, and I love the city of Alexandria,” he said.
His uncle’s background is one of the factors that has Dupass very Tiger-centric when he considers his future, although he has a couple other big-time favorites.
“I grew up liking LSU. I wanted to play for LSU growing up mainly because my uncle played there. Seeing the energy LSU fans bring in the stadium it just feels like a dream to possibly play for them one day. But I also have always liked Ohio State and Florida State.
Athletic ability runs in the family.
“There have been several people in my family play college sports. Along with Uncle Harry at LSU, my cousin Tremaine Morrison played football for Southeastern in Hammond; my cousin Ronald Moore played baseball at Southern in Baton Rouge, and so did my cousin Kayron Ceaser,” said Dupass.
He’s been looking around at possible college destinations and getting exposure on the camp circuit.
“I’ve been to some college camps and colleges this spring and summer. So far I’ve been to Southern Arkansas and Louisiana Tech and I’ll be back again for a Southern Arkansas camp July 11,” he said.
Notes on Dartavin Dupass:
He is a man for all seasons, competing in football, track, basketball and baseball.
Dupass has a 3.0 GPA at Peabody.
Last season, he caught passes for 778 yards and scored six touchdowns, and recorded 483 rushing yards as a halfback, scoring three TDs.
When he has spare time, he enjoys paint ball and riding outdoors on ATVs.
Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com
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 a 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.
