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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As they prepare to start their senior seasons with a road game today at Arkansas, Ragin' Cajun seniors - 11 of them at UL from the get-go, some for four years, some for five, one, safety Rodney Gillis, for six - remember the trying times.
Those years without a winning record.
That 3-9 season in 2010.
The days when December meant meaningful football was done until the following September.
It's a world unknown to Cajun youngsters, from enjoying a pair of nine-win seasons including two New Orleans Bowl victories over the last two seasons to the perks that come with backing up big-time.
"They don't realize when we were (first here) we didn't get tennis shoes," senior linebacker Andrew Hebert said. "You brought your own shoes. Just little things like that."
On the field, the difference is even more discernible.
"Knowing what it feels like to have a losing season, going 3-9 or whatever ... and then knowing how much more fun you have when you have a winning season - I guess it just makes you appreciate it more," linebacker Justin Anderson said.
"When I came here, (losing) was hard," Hebert added. "You would get depressed. I just wasn't used to that, and I never liked it."
Hudspeth doesn't mind at all when some of his seniors remind the underclassmen of just that.
He doesn't order them too, but doesn't need to either.
"They step up there every once in a while and sort of mention that they've been there through the good and the bad, and they definitely don't want to take a step back," Hudspeth said.
"I definitely think the guys that have been here, that have been on both sides of the fence, appreciate it a lot more than the freshmen," he added. "You know, it came really easy to these freshmen and sophomores - and really easy to the ones that haven't even contributed yet, that just rode on the bus and ate steak."
So the seniors are quick to tell their younger brethren of the history, and how they shouldn't forget it.
Starting center Andre Huval - one of three seniors from local high schools who've been at UL since their freshman seasons, along with Hebert (Teurlings Catholic) and special-teams contributor Hunter Thibodeaux (Acadiana) - is one among them who takes on the task.
Huval recalls coming off that 3-9 season and having The Sporting News' website tag UL as the nation's worst team.
But now the Cajuns are co-favorites - according to a vote of conference coaches - to win the Sun Belt, along with UL Monroe.
"The toughest part is trying to relay the message to the younger players who haven't been here," Huval said. "They got here; as soon as they get here, they get a bowl ring. Next year, they get another bowl ring. It's kind of like they don't understand what it was like.
"Definitely the senior class knows what it's like to feel like that. And it really does help push you, especially when these preseason rankings come out and you're ranked No. 1. Well, it really doesn't matter - because we were ranked No. 120, and look what happened."
For Huval, being a part of the gain makes so much of the pain bearable.
"It keeps your head kind of level," he said, "because you've got all these accolades and you're 9-4 and you're winning bowl games - but we all remember where we came from.
"That keeps us working hard every day, because we don't want to go back to those days. We don't want to be 3-9. We don't want to be missing out on bowl games, because that's where football gets fun."
The Holdovers
A look at Cajun seniors who've been there since the beginning, bridging the Rickey Bustle coach era to the Mark Hudspeth era (including games played and starts):
TE Ian Thompson, from North Carolina (38/13)
TE Jacob Maxwell, from Pearl River (37/1)
C Andre Huval, from St. Thomas More (35/27)
WR Darryl Surgent, from Alexandria (35/23)
LB Justin Anderson, from Alabama (32/15)
DL Brandon McCray, from Florida (29/7)
S Rodney Gillis, from Florida (24/13)
ST Brandon Nash, from Baton Rouge (26/1)
ST Hunter Thibodaux, from Acadiana High (24/0)
LB Andrew Hebert, from Teurlings Catholic (20/5)
OG Daniel Lemelle, from Texas (7/0)
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