Istrouma running back Kyree Paul (1) drives upfield with the ball late in the second quarter against Plaquemine on Friday, September 22, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. What happened on the first play of Istrouma’s intrasquad scrimmage was expected. Ky’ree Paul accelerated down the sideline yards beyond the defense.
He caught a pass and scored. It also offers a juxtaposition about Paul, the unexpected star the Indians never knew they had until last fall. That football revelation caught Paul by surprise too.
“Last year was my first year playing high school football,” Paul said. “When the coaches put me on offense, I’ll be honest, I did not know I could do all that. “The thing that surprised me the most was my ability to get away from other people.
I had no idea ...
really.” But now the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Paul knows. And so do plenty of other people.
Praise, comparisons and added scrutiny are part of the story now for Paul and an Istrouma team that was a surprise force in District 6-4A a year ago. Paul has a surprise goal off the field – to graduate a year early, thus reclassifying to 2025 from 2026. “Long story short .
.. he’s our best player,” second-year Istrouma coach Sid Edwards said.
“I’ve been around and coached a lot of great players and I have not compared them to Warrick Dunn until now. “Ky’ree is the closest player to Warrick skillwise that I’ve seen. He has that speed, elusiveness and a feel for the game.
” Dunn, a Catholic High l.