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They knew it was coming eventually, and the University of Louisiana football coaches saw the first drop-off of fall practice Saturday morning.
The Ragin' Cajun squad held its first two-a-day session of camp on Saturday, and the morning practice wasn't to head coach Rickey Bustle's liking.
"It was only OK," Bustle said after the morning session. "That's about all you could give it. It certainly wasn't good enough."
The Cajuns did not show the same intensity that they brought to Friday's first full-contact practice, even in the 10-minute middle drill that is normally the highlight of offense-vs.-defense competition.
"You're only in there for that one period," Bustle said. "You have to keep your intensity and competitiveness all the way through that. Our defense still did pretty well."
UL defensive coordinator Brent Pry said that both units showed some good things in middle drill and in the practice-ending 11-on-11, but that the rest of practice was subpar.
"There's no question we dropped off a little," Pry said. "You expect that after five days of practice. The good thing was when we got into the competitive stuff, they raised their level."
The defense came with more rush and blitz packages in the 11-on-11 sessions that ended the full-contact morning session. The squad worked afternoon drills in shoulder pads and shorts.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
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Senior linebacker Tre' Green of Bastrop and two newcomers, junior tackle Korey Raymond of LaPlace and freshman Hall Davis of Port Allen all had impressive tackles during middle drill.
Veteran Abdule Levier and newcomer Deon Wallace did reel off big runs, the latter behind newcomer center Junior Ramos, and the offensive line got a big push for running back Josh Harrison on the drill's final play.
RETURNEES: Defensive ends Tony Hills and Rodney Hardeway were back on the practice field Saturday, having completed a one-week squad suspension which carried over from spring practice. Bustle had suspended the pair for an unspecified violation of team policies.
Hills, a senior from Carrollton, Texas, and Hardeway, a junior from Tyler, Texas, are required by NCAA rules to go through the same "acclimation" period as the remainder of the squad did during the first week of camp. Both have two days in shorts only and two days in limited-contact shoulder pads and shorts before they can don full gear next Wednesday.
HURTS: Senior linebacker Wes Simon of Crowley took a hit during middle drill and was visibly shaken. He was held out of the remainder of Saturday's workouts and saw a doctor between practices. Junior guard Lanier Coleman of New Orleans injured his left leg in position drills and was limited the rest of the morning practice.
Sophomore defensive tackle Seth Adams of New Orleans missed part of the morning session with heat problems, and sophomore tight end Erik Jones of Austin, Texas, watched most of the two sessions with a bruised shoulder.
Cornerback Jemarcus Smith (ankle) and tight end Matt Ulm (knee) were both in green jerseys but went through the non-contact parts of practice. Freshman running back Matt Dupree (shoulder) remained limited.
HOW CLOSE?: Saturday's bloodiest injury didn't even involve a player. Graduate assistant coach Sam Robinson, who works with offensive line coach Ron Hudson, got too close to a offense vs. defense session after middle drill, and was struck above his left eye by a face mask.
Robinson, a 2004 UL graduate and an eight-year Navy veteran in his second season on the staff, suffered a gash which required post-practice stitches.
"We were teaching some bull rush," Robinson said.
Robinson was back into the drills five minutes later after a quick cleanup and bandage. But he didn't clean all the blood off his face.
"I figured maybe if I bleed a little, the guys would get pumped up. I left some of it on there for a while," he said.
BIG HIT: Junior safety Lamar Morgan was again involved in one of the day's best collisions. During the final competitive session of the morning practice, quarterback Jerry Babb completed a screen pass to Tyrell Fenroy for a long gain, but near the end of the play Morgan nailed blocker Brad Bustle to clear out much of the interference.
"He hit him a pretty good lick," said father Rickey Bustle.
KICKER UPDATE: UL's kickers went 2-for-5 on field goals at the end of Saturday's early practice. Drew Edmiston hit the left upright from 48 yards and was good from 43, Stokka Brown was good from 43 and Tyler Albrecht missed from 48 under heavy pressure.
Albrecht's last try was blocked by freshman redshirt free safety Gerren Blount, who came nearly untouched.
NUMBERS: Saturday's morning session lasted one hour and 50 minutes, with the afternoon session slightly longer including a wrapup conditioning session. Temperature at the mid-point of the morning workout was 92 degrees with 58 percent humidity, giving a heat index of 103.
The morning session included a five-minute shower, the first time rain has hit a practice in fall camp. The rain did not affect practice.
TOWERING: The new practice fields had an even newer look at Saturday's workout, and UL's video crew had even more reason to fear heights.
Two new filming towers were in place Saturday, after crews delivered the structures following Friday morning's drill. One of the new towers on the newest practice field rises almost 50 feet and is 13 feet taller than UL's other midfield tower.
The structures were donated and built by Fluid Crane of Broussard and owner Ed Domingue, whose staff also brought a crane and erected the towers Friday.
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