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, works for The Advocate in Baton Rouge. He has worked in sports journalism since 1991, when he started at the Southwest Daily News in Sulphur. From there, he became the lead prep man at the American Press in Lake Charles, where he stayed for five years. He moved to Baton Rouge to work in the sports department in 2001, and has been at the paper since.

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 at least signing day 2008. Check back in for updates.

Photo courtesy of PelicanPreps.com.

Bastrop quarterback Randall Mackey led the Rams to the past two state championships over Westbank school Shaw.

Today’s topic: Randall Mackey, 5-foot-11, 200-pound dual-threat quarterback from Bastrop. Runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and has a 31-inch vertical leap. He was the Class 4A championship game MVP in a win over Shaw. Mackey moved from Port Sulphur to Bastrop following Hurricane Katrina. He led the Rams to three state state championships, though the title they won his sophomore year was revoked by the LHSAA as a result of how Mackey ended up at Bastrop.

HSGametime.com: Those fans who follow Shaw football will know Randall Mackey. So will anyone from Plaquemines Parish. For those who don’t know Mackey, why does he stand out?

Tensey Pricer: Mackey has so many attributes you look for in a quarterback. First and foremost, he has a strong arm and he can throw the ball down the field accurately. You always like that in a quarterback, and, in addition to that, being able to do that while running out of the pocket. It’s not terribly uncommon to have a guy throw the ball downfield and be accurate. But rolling out and throwing down field, that’s what separates Mackey. I haven’t seen a better high school quarterback do it. There have been a lot who can do it, but not like Randall Mackey. He’s fast. And he’s not afraid to run and he’s real gritty.

“He’s kind of like a combination of all these great attributes you like to see in a quarterback.

HS: As athletic and as game-changing as he can be, why are bigger schools, such as LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, not after him?

TP: I think it’s almost 98 percent … because he’s not academically qualified. From what I gather, college coaches have known for some time it would be tough for him to meet qualifications.

“Then he had the other punch of he’s not the 6-3 guy. It’s kind of a double whammy. If he’s academically qualified, people like LSU might take a flier on him. They’ll take him and say he’s not what we normally take, but this kid is like a (former Ohio State and Heisman Trophy winner) Troy Smith or a (former Florida quarterback) Chris Leak. He’s not big, but he can run a spread offense like few high school players can.

HS: Is there a thought out there that he still has some maturing to do before he can become a major player in college football? There were a lot of posts on message boards following the state championship game saying that.

TP: I don’t know. I haven’t heard specifically that he needs to mature. But I think, to a degree, all high school kids have some kind of learning curve involved with that. I haven’t heard that he needed to mature more than any other high school kid.

“He’s a fiery competitor. While the opponent and opponent’s fans don’t like it, college coaches like it. They like to see the quarterback get in people’s face. It’s definitely a trait that’s made him as successful as he is.

HS: What do you hear from coaches are the positives about Mackey?

TP: “He can change a game with both his arm and his feet. Coaches spend all this time drawing up these plays, hoping they go exactly right. For one reason or another, the play breaks down. Mackey still finds a way to improvise to make something out of it.

“It’s one thing to be flushed out (of the pocket) and run, it’s another thing to be a legitimate threat when he does that. Mackey’s a legitimate threat. He’s gritty. He doesn’t shrink from contact. He’ll tuck the ball and run up the middle of the field.

“He’s the best high school quarterback you can have when dropping back to the throw the ball, but he’s also one of the better running backs you’ll have if he has to tuck it and run.

HS: Did the move from Port Sulphur to Bastrop help Mackey’s recruiting prospects at all, what with Bastrop playing in one of the highest divisions?

TP: That’s a great question. On the surface, you’d say yeah. Not only did he play at a bigger school on a bigger stage, he also fell into a situation where it was at a really good bigger school that he landed in. He was surrounded by a lot of talent. He was able to do what he did his senior year as a sophomore.

“That’s what really jumped out to a lot of people. Here’s a sophomore, put in a great situation, and he rose to the occasion. Nobody would have thought twice if he shrank to the challenge. He’s a sophomore and he has been through a lot. But right off the bat, he rose above that and excelled. That helped.

But then you have the scrutiny of just the storm and people who survived the storm, and then the scrutiny of the controversy that surrounded him eventually landing at Bastrop. He had all these things going against him and he still succeeded on the football field.

HS: Will Mackey be sad to not play Shaw anymore?

TP: I think Shaw will definitely be happy not to run into Mackey. Shaw has a great team. Teams would die to have the kind of two-year run they had. They just happened to run into a really good quarterback on a really good team with a really good defense as well.

“Shaw was facing an uphill battle even before you put Mackey in the equation. It’s going to be hard to keep Bastrop from not being the No. 1 team in the state next year.