With a need for defensive backs as part of its needs to close out the 2017 class, Louisiana Tech did not have to travel far to look. Monroe Neville quarterback Jaiden Cole played defensive back as a sophomore and started for the Tigers then.

At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Cole is just what college coaches look for at the safety position. Coming in as West Monroe's Xavier Woods finishes his time at Tech and prepares for the NFL draft seems like perfect timing.

Power 5 offers from nearly every corner of the country from Notre Dame to Washington to Tennessee but the local product ultimately decided the short trip down the Interstate was best.

Rivals.com Regional Analyst Woody Wommack watched Cole earlier thie month in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as Neville played Edna Karr for the 4A State Championship, he came away impressed.