Local powers to be challenged in 2015 season
September 9, 2015Prep Roundup: Week 1
September 9, 2015
New Nicholls football coach Tim Rebowe promised to recruit local.
Two local prep football standouts are happy to be in the Colonels plans.
Central Lafourche defensive back Anfernee Poindexter and South Lafourche defensive end Jacob Jackson are two of the Colonels verbal commitments for the team’s 2016 signing class.
Poindexter announced his commitment to reporters in early August at the beginning of the Trojans’ preseason practices. Jackson’s pledge came a few days later on The Sports Corner Radio Show on ESPN-New Orleans.
Both said that they are thrilled to be wearing red and white following the completion of their senior seasons.
“It felt like home. Everything about being a Nicholls Colonel felt like home,” Jackson said. “Coach Rebowe is a cool guy, and he’s really welcoming. I think that he is going to do a good job turning things around, and I want to be a part of the things that are happening here.”
“The chance to play after high school is something I’m grateful for,” Poindexter added. “I like what is going on at Nicholls right now, and I am excited to be going there after I graduate. I’m pumped to be in a place where all of my family can stay with me and follow me throughout my career.”
The Colonels are getting two really good players.
Poindexter is one of the best athletes in the Houma-Thibodaux area – a defensive back on paper, but also an elite offensive playmaker for Central Lafourche, as well.
The senior Trojan said he stands 6-foot and weighs 176 pounds. When asked for a 40-time, Poindexter said that he’s run a 4.48. Because of his already-good size and ability to gain muscle at the college level, scouts and college coaches consider Poindexter a player who still hasn’t reached his peak.
In Central Lafourche’s jamboree game, the future Colonel intercepted a pass and took it 80 yards into the end zone for the first points of the game.
He said that having a winning season with the Trojans is his only focus, adding that the reason why he committed before the start of the season was to show his 100 percent commitment to his high school team.
“I didn’t want to be distracted with that,” Poindexter said. “I wanted to make sure that I had a clear mind so that I could give all of my attention and support to my teammates and what we’re doing here. We have big plans, and we want to have a huge season. I want to be a big part of that.”
Like Poindexter, Jackson said that his No. 1 focus was committing to a program before the 2015 season so that he could focus his mind on the new year.
Jackson is a 6-foot defensive end who said he weighs “around 220 pounds.” At the high school level, he routinely overwhelms opposing offensive linemen with his brute strength and ability to both stop the run and also rush the passer.
Jackson was receiving interest from UL-Lafayette and other schools throughout the Southeast. At South Lafourche, Jackson also has spent time at running back.
He said he picked Nicholls because he likes how he fits into the team’s plans going forward. Jackson added that he, too, made his choice early so that he could focus on ending his prep football career with a bang.
“We want to win the state championship,” Jackson said. “I can’t wait to be a Colonel, but I wanted to give myself time to focus on my senior season and also my academics so that I could have everything ready for my college career.”
REBOWE WANTS MORE
Per NCAA regulations, Rebowe can’t comment specifically on Poindexter or Jackson specifically until they have officially signed a scholarship with the team.
But he can say that it’s not a coincidence that the local duo has committed to the Colonels.
Throughout his time as the Colonels coach, Rebowe has repeatedly said that he wants to recruit local players – high school student athletes who are within a two-hour radius from Nicholls campus.
Rebowe said during summer practices that he’s pleased with how well the team’s recruiting efforts are going, touting that improving the team’s talent pool will be one of the backbones that can spark a turnaround.
The first-year Colonels coach has already hauled in several talented players in the 2016 class, including Rummel quarterback Chase Fourcade, Rummel lineman Joe Oliver and two-star De La Salle receiver Christian Booker – a guy who, on paper, is one of Nicholls most touted commitments in years.
“I think it speaks to our coaching staff, and some of the connections and the ties that they’ve made along the way,” Rebowe said of the team’s successes. “We’re going into high school fieldhouses, and meeting and talking to kids, and I think the coaches are telling them once we leave that we’re doing things the right way and that we’re a program that is on the way back. We have a great staff of recruiters here who love to interact with the kids, and I think we’re starting to see it pay off.”
