Film Study: LSU Football Receiver Target Shazz Preston One of Louisiana's Best in 2022
One of Louisiana’s finest high school players will only be a junior this fall. Shazz Preston is one of the most explosive players in the Bayou State.
The state of Louisiana continues to churn out the wide receiver prospects. Preston might not only be the best wide receiver the state of Louisiana has to offer for 2022 but one of the best in the country, providing yet another banner year for wideouts in the Bayou State.
Preston earned offers from LSU, Mississippi State, Alabama, Oregon, Texas, Florida State, Colorado, Auburn, Arkansas and Miami, just to name a few.
The 5-11, 180-pound Preston plays for Saint James (La.) High School, located along the Mississippi River and produces about as much Division I talent, per capita, as any small-town area in America.
High schools such as East St. John, West Saint John, Donaldsonville, and Destrehan are all along this famous stretch of the Mississippi River that LSU mines for talent. Two areas really stand out about Preston’s overall game.
First, he’s not just some elite athlete that out-talents every player he goes against. Instead, Preston already received and utilized the tutelage of someone that knows the wide receiver position.
While he may not be completely polished because he’s entering his junior year of high school, this is a young man that already understands how to get in and out of his breaks quite well. He also knows how to keep defensive backs guessing at the same time. That’s not easy.
Here’s a video of Preston running a comeback pattern. Notice how he sets up the cornerback by going inside from the outset of the route, then quickly gains outside leverage and runs up the field. Finally, he turns and comes back towards the sideline.
Not a lot of high school programs run this type of route over and over, yet Saint James does. They trust this young man to actually come back to the football. If he slows up or stops, that can easily turn into a pick-six.
Second, Preston does not mind contact. Many of the better speed wide receivers, even in the NFL, will shy away from contact. Preston does just the opposite, as the three clips spliced together below will show.
Those three plays -- slant, fade and dig -- represent only part of his toughness. He’s a capable blocker, and sprung multiple big runs with his blocking. That’s a football player.
This final clip signifies a little bit of everything Preston represents. It’s a stop-and-go fade pass. Preston took the time to actually run the route properly, played physical because the cornerback did not bite, and made a tough catch. Further, he fought for extra yards after the catch.
Route running, quickness, hands, and toughness all on display. That’s a big-time college wide receiver in the making. This is a young man that LSU will have to battle several top programs to sign, but he’s a very talented prospect so look for LSU to really go after the southern Louisiana talent.
