Four Local HS Stars Named to SI All-American Watch List

Four local prep football standouts got some major preseason recognition on Monday.

Beau Chene's Devon Manuel, St. Thomas More's Jack Bech, Comeaux's Malik Nabers, and Lafayette Christian Academy's Sage Ryan were all named candidates on the Sports Illustrated High School All-American Team.

A 6-foot-8, 300-pound offensive tackle, Manuel is an Arkansas commitment.

A 6-foot-1, 203-pound receiver, Bech, who also plays basketball at St. Thomas More, committed to Vanderbilt.

A 6-foot, 190-pound receiver, Nabers, who also plays basketball at Comeaux, has received scholarship offers from such schools as Mississippi St. and Georgia.

A 5-foot-11, 195-pound athlete who projects as a defensive back at the collegiate level, Ryan has received scholarship offers from the likes of LSU, Alabama, and Florida St. among others. Twenty-five high school football players from Louisiana are on the watch list for the Sports Illustrated All-American team for 2020.

New Orleans has eight players of the squad of 25, with the other 17 from the surrounding areas.

In all, 1,000 players from across the nation have been selected to the watch list.

The evaluation process will continue throughout the season “until the list of 1,000 contenders coalesces around just 25 young men who can say proudly they are the best of the best -- they are Sports Illustrated All-Americans,” Sports Illustrated Director of Football Recruiting John Garcia Jr. said.

Sports Illustrated will narrow the 1,000 All-America candidates to 250 in October, 99 in November, and then announce a first-team of 25, a second-team of 25, and then an honorable mention group in December.

The first-team selections will be invited to the Sports Illustrated Person of the Year Banquet.

Over the coming weeks, Sports Illustrated will unveil its preseason Top 10 for each of 14 position groups. Sports Illustrated will unveil its initial preseason Top 99 ranking, the SI99, on Aug. 24.