I don't follow high school football that much but saw this kid on tv, a replay of an earlier game this season. I can't find too much information on him except that he is 5'10 and 190 pound and is a Senior at Pope John Paul II which is located in Slidell, Louisiana, about 40 minutes outside of New Orleans, LA.
He has never played runningback before this season, was a safety and now has 1161 yards on 143 carries and 15 tds, 8.1 ypc.
http://highschoolsports.nola.com/news/article/-9210640759600834145/tyler-lusignans-big-switch-pays-off-for-pope-john-paul-ii/
"Brandon Jeanmarie plays center for Pope John Paul II. He is part of the Tyler Lusignan admiration society.
"Tyler is always thanking us, " Jeanmarie said of his running back and the offensive linemen who block for him. "But the truth is sometimes we don't block anyone and he still gets yardage."
When someone says Lusignan, who will lead the Jaguars against Many in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs Friday, is a surprise, what they mean is a shock. He has never played running back before this season. In fact, he has never played offense. He spent three seasons with the Jaguars at free safety, toiling long and hard and using his speed to stop an offense, not create it.
"I didn't dislike free safety, " Lusignan said. "I was just trying to help my team in any way I could."
At the end of last season, first-year coach Mark Jeanmard gave Lusignan some mop up carries, and he liked what he saw. In the spring, Jeanmard continued to give him some opportunities to carry the football for what would be his senior season.
To say Lusignan was raw is an understatement.
"I didn't know any of the offensive plays, " he said. "I didn't know how to carry the ball. I didn't know how to take a handoff. I had run some running back for the scout team, and I guess they saw something I liked. They kept giving me chances, and I kept doing something with those chances."
He didn't know much about the technical part of running the ball, hitting seams and such, but he knew enough to know that when he got a bit of space, he had an opportunity to take it the distance.
"In the spring, we made it simple for everyone, " Jeanmard said. "We started from scratch, teaching him how to take the handoff and other basics. It helps that he is so athletic, and that he is a 4.7 (GPA) student. He's pretty smart."
The Jaguars' coaching staff thus took one of the most physical players on defense and turned him into one of the most physical players on offense.
Jeanmard said the coaching staff knew it had done something right when in the jamboree game against Carver, he took a "little swing pass and went 50-60 yards." He runs hard, physical and tough, getting his shoulder pads straight as he is handed the football. When he hits the hole, he hits it, naturally and quickly.
"He is just a natural born leader, " said Jeanmarie. "He doesn't talk much, but when he does, you had better listen. He has changed all of us with his work ethic. You can't argue with the results. I played with him since junior high and he always played defense, but the results speak for themselves."
Lusignan, 5 feet 10, 180 pounds, has rushed for 1,161 yards and 15 touchdowns on 140 carries, among the metro area leaders in all categories.
With all the offensive success Lusignan has had, it still was a tackle that helped the Jaguars to their biggest victory of the season after they trailed 21-0 at one point last week to St. Thomas Aquinas. Lusignan's big hit in the fourth quarter on a critical play helped open the door for the comeback that helped the Jaguars to the victory. Without the win this past week, Pope John Paul II wouldn't be getting ready for the playoffs this week. So, he still is a free safety at heart.
"He made the hit that caused the fumble that helped us get back into it, " said Jeanmard. "He plays offense, defense, special teams. He does it all. It was a crazy night last week, and he was a big part of it."
Week before last, when it appeared he might be eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark, he went up to all the linemen during the game, thanking them for what they had done to help him. It was a sincere genuine gesture that didn't go unnoticed.
"He is a captain of ours for just such reasons as that, " Jeanmard said.
Said Jeanmarie: "He thanked us, but we should be thanking him.""
I know he isn't in a top notch division but he still looked good enough to get some offers. It says in the article that he is 180 but on his stat page it says 190.
Edited by: dwid
He has never played runningback before this season, was a safety and now has 1161 yards on 143 carries and 15 tds, 8.1 ypc.
http://highschoolsports.nola.com/news/article/-9210640759600834145/tyler-lusignans-big-switch-pays-off-for-pope-john-paul-ii/
"Brandon Jeanmarie plays center for Pope John Paul II. He is part of the Tyler Lusignan admiration society.
"Tyler is always thanking us, " Jeanmarie said of his running back and the offensive linemen who block for him. "But the truth is sometimes we don't block anyone and he still gets yardage."
When someone says Lusignan, who will lead the Jaguars against Many in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs Friday, is a surprise, what they mean is a shock. He has never played running back before this season. In fact, he has never played offense. He spent three seasons with the Jaguars at free safety, toiling long and hard and using his speed to stop an offense, not create it.
"I didn't dislike free safety, " Lusignan said. "I was just trying to help my team in any way I could."
At the end of last season, first-year coach Mark Jeanmard gave Lusignan some mop up carries, and he liked what he saw. In the spring, Jeanmard continued to give him some opportunities to carry the football for what would be his senior season.
To say Lusignan was raw is an understatement.
"I didn't know any of the offensive plays, " he said. "I didn't know how to carry the ball. I didn't know how to take a handoff. I had run some running back for the scout team, and I guess they saw something I liked. They kept giving me chances, and I kept doing something with those chances."
He didn't know much about the technical part of running the ball, hitting seams and such, but he knew enough to know that when he got a bit of space, he had an opportunity to take it the distance.
"In the spring, we made it simple for everyone, " Jeanmard said. "We started from scratch, teaching him how to take the handoff and other basics. It helps that he is so athletic, and that he is a 4.7 (GPA) student. He's pretty smart."
The Jaguars' coaching staff thus took one of the most physical players on defense and turned him into one of the most physical players on offense.
Jeanmard said the coaching staff knew it had done something right when in the jamboree game against Carver, he took a "little swing pass and went 50-60 yards." He runs hard, physical and tough, getting his shoulder pads straight as he is handed the football. When he hits the hole, he hits it, naturally and quickly.
"He is just a natural born leader, " said Jeanmarie. "He doesn't talk much, but when he does, you had better listen. He has changed all of us with his work ethic. You can't argue with the results. I played with him since junior high and he always played defense, but the results speak for themselves."
Lusignan, 5 feet 10, 180 pounds, has rushed for 1,161 yards and 15 touchdowns on 140 carries, among the metro area leaders in all categories.
With all the offensive success Lusignan has had, it still was a tackle that helped the Jaguars to their biggest victory of the season after they trailed 21-0 at one point last week to St. Thomas Aquinas. Lusignan's big hit in the fourth quarter on a critical play helped open the door for the comeback that helped the Jaguars to the victory. Without the win this past week, Pope John Paul II wouldn't be getting ready for the playoffs this week. So, he still is a free safety at heart.
"He made the hit that caused the fumble that helped us get back into it, " said Jeanmard. "He plays offense, defense, special teams. He does it all. It was a crazy night last week, and he was a big part of it."
Week before last, when it appeared he might be eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark, he went up to all the linemen during the game, thanking them for what they had done to help him. It was a sincere genuine gesture that didn't go unnoticed.
"He is a captain of ours for just such reasons as that, " Jeanmard said.
Said Jeanmarie: "He thanked us, but we should be thanking him.""
I know he isn't in a top notch division but he still looked good enough to get some offers. It says in the article that he is 180 but on his stat page it says 190.
