By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine/YouTube TV

I love the recruiting world and promoting players. There are the obvious Division 1 players, and then there are the sleepers who can excel at some level if given a chance to play college football.

Today I will talk about safety Jason Blackwell, a senior who stands 5-9, weighs 155 pounds and is already having a great year for his Alexandria Senior High School team. Blackwell fits that mold of a kid just needing a chance to play college ball who is a leader, a really good student, and a tough football player.

Yes, he is undersized. But not unappreciated by coaches and teammates, and he shows up fast on game tape.

Blackwell sees a lot of upside for the Trojans.

“This year’s Alexandria Senior High School team is more connected and has a lot of potential. We have a ways to go to being as good as we can be, but our time will come,” he said. “When it does, we can meet our goal, which is being state champions.”

It wasn’t long ago, in 2020, when ASH was in the state finals and was a two-point conversion away from being state champs. So don’t take that goal for granted.

Driving the motivation for Blackwell has been his position coach at ASH, Josh Mercer.

“He has always been in my ear pushing me. He is the type of coach that would be hard on you because he sees something in you,” said Blackwell. “Coach Mercer is honest with everything. He tells you your good and bad moments as a player and always sees room for improvement. Him pushing me the way he did allowed me to become the player that I am today.”

Blackwell says he is not the only Trojan to watch in the secondary.

“Some of the guys at the defensive back position to mention are Rylan Hall and  Jaden Lewis. I know they will do great things because of their hard work, willingness to work and willingness to push themselves for the person beside them.

“Rylan is a cornerback. Being his senior year, he has really stepped up being a leader and his work ethic is strong. Jaden, coming over from Menard High School,  pushed himself and made himself a player even considering the change of pace and amount of work we do here.

“And then there’s Ayden Walker (linebacker/athlete), and everyone knows Ayden is just different,” said Blackwell. “He is a big time player and a leader.”

There’s some family history that points toward Blackwell being a prospect.

“My uncle, Chris Gistorb, played high school and college football. He played at ASH, and went on to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.”

Blackwell has a GPA of 2.8, and a ACT score of 22. He would like to major in accounting.

He also runs track at ASH. Among his hobbies, he likes to work out, read and cook. So far he doesn’t have scholarship offers, but has been to UL-Lafayette for a game visit, and also took a visit to Northwestern State.

He will have plenty of football left to earn an offer from somebody after ASH makes a deep playoff run.

Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com