Football season technically is over, but what we all know is that Louisianans have a thirst for the sport that can’t be quenched with just the regular season.

That’s where Tensey Pricer comes in. Pricer runs PelicanPreps.com , a Web site devoted mostly to high school football and recruiting, with a hint of basketball and baseball thrown in. The site is connected with Rivals.com, a national site that has a focus on the recruitment of high schools players.

Pricer, originally from Sulphur, has worked for The Advocate in Baton Rouge and the American Press in Lake Charles as well as the Southwest Daily News in Sulphur, where he got his start in 1991.

PelicanPreps.com has more than 5,000 registered users, and during the peak of the season, gets nearly 700,000 hits a month. He is a member of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Pricer and HSGametime.com will break down topics, trends and athletes pertaining to recruiting through signing day 2009. Check back in for updates.

Today’s Topic:

Bradley Handwerger / WWL-TV.com

Reuben Randle

Bastrop’s Reuben Randle, widely considered one of the nation’s top recruits period. Randle, 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, is getting looked at by Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma among other national title-contending schools. He played wide receiver for two years before moving to quarterback this past season, his senior year. He led the Rams to the semifinals in 2008 and was a member of back-to-back state championship teams his sophomore and junior season.

HSGametime: What sets Reuben apart from other “athletes” in this state?

Tensey Pricer: “By evidence of the five stars that Rivals gives him, he has literally it all. He has the height. He has the size. He has the quickness. And then sprinkled in there is not only athleticism, but a wherewithal about the game and the way he uses his athletic ability. He’s really a special player.

“Even in the realm of special players, he’s special among them. He’s a kid that is really, really a talented quarterback and equally talented wide receiver. Whoever lands him, I think by far his bread and butter is as a wide receiver. But he is a heck of a dual threat quarterback on top of it all.”

HSG: How much will it help or hurt that he played quarterback this year and is getting recruited as a receiver?

TP: “I worried that. Not that it really means much if it would hurt his stock in rankings, per se. But I was pleasantly surprised the Rivals national analyst kept him so high, and at one juncture, made him the top recruit in the country. I thought playing strictly quarterback would hurt because we have him in the data as a wide receiver. This guy is a special guy. I was pleasantly surprised.

“Because he was such a big part of his team and did so many things and the video showed just how much he did, that came through in the rankings and the coaches saw. He can throw the ball anywhere but when he gets pinned down, he puts his arm down and stiff arms guys and can fly down the field.

“It was pretty amazing watching just everything he was able to do on the football field.”

HSG: Who is looking at Reuben and can he be expected to stay in state or will Nick Saban pluck him out of Louisiana to go to Alabama?

TP: “I think LSU’s chances of getting Reuben are very good. But I know that Alabama-LSU rivalry will definitely make this even pretty hot and heavy. It’s similar, but probably more heated, than McKnight. Is it going to be USC or LSU? At that juncture, we weren’t too far removed from who is the real national championship controversy.

“This time around we have the Saban at one time No. 1 with Alabama and used to coach LSU. It has a similar vibe to the McKnight situation. I think with Reuben – the program has a lot of guys in the Bastrop program who have gone to LSU. LSU definitely has a strong grip on the chances of landing Reuben Randle.”

HSG: Where does Reuben rate as far as top Louisiana recruits of the past five years?

TP: “To me, he’s far and away the No. 1. I say far and away. I say it’s him and Joe McKnight not too far behind. You really have to look at what he brings to the table and what he has been able to do in his program. To me, he’s a pretty solid No. 1 in Louisiana in the past five years. Joe McKnight isn’t far behind, but to me, I feel comfortable saying he’s the top player in the past five years.”

HSG: Why is Reuben the nation’s No. 1 recruit?

TP: “The mix, again, of the size, the speed, the knowledge. On top of that, he catches everything. He runs good routes. And then on top of it, can throw a good ball and has tremendous escapability whenever he’s in the pocket.

“Not too many people get the chance to do what he’s able to do, which is as a sophomore and junior, shine at one position and show just how good he is at that position. And then flip flop his senior year and show just how vital he is at that position. That definitely went a long ways into helping him out.”

HSG: Did his stock fall at all by not leading Bastrop to a state championship?

TP: “No. I don’t think so. Once you get o the kind of resume and the type of athlete he is, not leading Bastrop to another state championship didn’t hurt him at all. He had a great body of work even before then.

“Later in the season, I think he tweaked his hamstring. He wasn’t necessarily 100 percent. Bastrop’s team, from what I understand, wasn’t 100 percent. I don’t think any coaches looked at that. His stock didn’t take a hit whatsoever.

“He’s one of those rare players you kind of look at at the high school level and there’s simply zero doubt that that guy not only is going to be playing on Sunday’s one day, but probably is going to be pretty darn good.”