By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine/YouTube TV
I thought it might be fun to share my favorite players to ever come out of the Alexandria/Pineville area, players from many years of first watching, then over three decades covering high school football around our state.
Everybody has their favorite players that they watched, and this list is what I saw in my years from the late ‘70s to the current 2023 season. I am sure I will leave someone out who might be your favorite but today I will share my list.
My favorite player of all time to come out of the Alexandria area in high school football is Jalen Richard, who prepped at Peabody High School and played several years in the NFL after playing in college for the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.
Jalen was 5-8, 185 pounds in high school, not ranked among the best recruits in Louisiana, but went on to have a stellar career in both college and the NFL. He might be one of the toughest running backs I’ve ever seen carry the ball in high school and had an incredible burst hitting the line of scrimmage. Jalen spent most of his pro career at 201 pounds, playing for the Oakland Raiders.
My second favorite local player to ever watch is Kenny Mixon, an LSU defensive end and an NFL player with the Miami Dolphins. Kenny to this day is the most gifted player I’ve ever seen come out of the Alexandria/Pineville area. In college he ran a 4.6 forty at 6-4, 255 pounds and his talent was at another level at Pineville High School.
Next I will go with Cody Ford, offensive lineman from Pineville High School. I remember seeing his film from his junior year at Pineville, and he had so many pancake blocks it took three pages to mark down. I remember also that LSU under Les Miles did not recruit this kid until two years after Oklahoma did. He made All-America at Oklahoma and is still a pro to this day.
Fourth on my local stars list, I will go with Craig Nall from Alexandria High School, a 1997 recruit. Craig signed with LSU, got tangled in a coaching change and a three-way QB derby, had injuries, and after Nick Saban arrived and began to sort it out, Nall transferred to Northwestern State for his senior season. Another of the tremendous players Butch Stoker produced at ASH. Stoker’s son, Scott, was a gutsy and record-breaking QB at NSU, and later, the last Demons coach to win a championship there.
Craig had a incredible season with the Demons, took them to the FCS playoffs, broke a ton of records, was an All-America throwing the javelin, and was a fifth-round NFL Draft pick. He played several years with Buffalo and Green Bay (backing up Brett Favre) as the No. 2 guy, and had a great season in NFL Europe. Craig was 6-3 and had a great arm. Is now a QB guru in the DFW metroplex.
My No. 5 Cenla stud is offensive lineman Reginald Nelson. He came from ASH in 1994, was a All Southland Conference player two different times, made FCS All-America for a very good McNeese team. Blake Miller went to LSU and was tremendous in the late 1980s, but Nelson to me may be the most gifted lineman ever to come out of ASH and along with Miller, they have had some good ones.
Honorable mention on my list of Cenla studs:
RB Tony Taylor, Pineville High School, Class of 1998. All-Southland as a true freshman for an FCS semifinal team. Broke all the records at Northwestern State, had three NFL seasons, earned a Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay, backed up Emmitt Smith in Dallas. Now has a doctoral degree and is education in Houston.
RB Chris Brown, Alexandria HS, Class of 2005. Started 3 years for Oklahoma. He was unstoppable in high school.
WR DJ Chark, Alexandria HS. Starred at LSU, is playing in the NFL now.
Kicker Chris Boniol, Alexandria HS. Was great at Louisiana Tech, found his way to the NFL as a fres agent, then earned a job with the Dallas Cowboys. Has since coached in the NFL and in college. His dad was a great baseball coach at ASH.
DE Bruce Radford, Tioga HS. Drafted in the 3rd Round by the Denver Broncos.
DB Chris Williams, Tioga HS in the late 1970s, became a really quality player at LSU and played in the NFL.
DT Jacobian Guillory, Alexandria HS. In high school was a man among boys every week, and now is playing at LSU.
From here, didn’t play here:
Two players who were born in Alexandria but did not go to school here are RB Anthony (A-Train) Thomas, who played at Winnfield HS and became a Michigan All-American and NFL star with the Chicago Bears, and QB Bubby Brister, who played at Neville HS and Northeast Louisiana in college before playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brister’s dad was a leader in youth baseball in Cenla.
Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com