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The big plays that UL head football coach Rickey Bustle wanted to see from his defense were few and far between last season.
On Saturday morning, the Ragin' Cajuns offered a glimpse of what they hope is a much-improved defense in their first full scrimmage of fall camp.
The defense produced five sacks and five takeaways — notably a 75-yard interception return by strong safety Chris Richard for the game's lone touchdown — in a 111-play scripted scrimmage on a humid day at Cajun Field.
Over the past few years the Cajun offense was ahead of the defense early in fall camp. Now the exact opposite appears to be the case after two weeks of practice.
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Joshua Parrott
jparrott@theadvertiser.com
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"I thought that the bodies really flew around," Bustle said. "You have to have great effort. We will look at the film and see how good or bad individuals did and then we will know better where we are as a team."
The defense applied heavy pressure most of the day as the offense played without five linemen from its two-deep depth chart, tight end Ladarius Green (illness) and wide receiver Louis Lee (hamstring) due to injury.
Nose guard Derreck Dean and linebacker Antwyne Zanders had two sacks apiece. Defensive tackle Tory Day added another. Defensive tackle Ben Duhon and linebacker Brandon Nash recovered fumbles.
The pass defense came up huge, picking off quarterback Brad McGuire three times. Cornerback Melvin White nabbed the first interception on the fifth play of the opening series. The second one went to free safety Gerren Blount midway through the first half.
Richard's interception came on the first series of the second half on a McGuire pass intended for wide receiver Pierre Hill deep down the left sideline. Cornerback Dwight Bentley tipped the ball to Richard, who picked it off and raced 75 yards the other way for the score. Offensive lineman Jonathan Decoster lumbered across the field to stop the play, but Richard jumped over him as he dove to make the tackle at the 20-yard line before finding the end zone.
"The ball was still in the air, and I knew that I could catch it," said Richard, a sophomore who played at Destrehan High School. "I saw some blocks and that I had a lane and took it."
The first person to reach Richard in the end zone was defensive coordinator Kevin Fouquier, who surprised the former all-state linebacker with a chest bump.
"I didn't expect him to run all the way to the end zone," Richard said, with a laugh. "He was sprinting with us. He might as well been blocking."
Fouquier, a former walk-on tight end at UL, joked about his run after the scrimmage.
"I was just showing off my 4.4 (second) speed," he said with a grin. "Our coaches on both sides of the ball coach the game with an attitude, passion and focus, and that's what we try to instill in our players."
Over the past two years, UL's defense has lived by the motto "TNT: tackles 'n' turnovers." The unit reached its daily goal of five takeaways.
The defense made plays, Blount said, because the players were disciplined and trusted their teammates.
"A lot of us were in the right spots," said Blount, a senior. "We played pretty good today, but it's only one day. We've still got more steps to go."
The same can be said for UL's offense, although the scrimmage was scripted to limit each series to fewer than eight plays to keep the defense from being on the field for long stretches.
McGuire, who is competing with fellow sophomore Chris Masson for the starting quarterback job, completed 11 of 20 passes for 140 yards. The offense's longest gain of the day came on McGuire's 49-yard bomb late in the second half to wide receiver Marlin Miller, who hauled in the jump ball over White down the left sideline.
Masson went 18-for-30 passing for 178 yards. Those numbers would have been even better, but his 37-yard pass to Hill was negated due to a penalty.
Redshirt freshman Blaine Gautier, also expected to see some time at quarterback this fall, hit on one of three passes for 11 yards and ran once for two yards.
Richie Falgout, a junior wide receiver, grabbed a team-high seven passes for 68 yards. Senior tight end Luke Aubrey, a Teurlings Catholic graduate, stood tall with five catches for 61 yards. Miller, a junior, added two receptions for 61 yards.
"We have so much depth at receiver," said Falgout, a former Lafayette High standout. "Anybody can hop in and make plays."
Undrea Sails, the projected starter at running back, ran twice on the first seven plays before sitting out the rest of the scrimmage. The senior finished with 27 rushing yards, including 20 on his first carry.
Ex-Mamou High School star Robert Walker led the team with eight carries, rushing for 21 yards.
While the offense lacked the explosiveness produced last season under the direction of quarterback Michael Desormeaux and running back Tyrell Fenroy, the coaches were pleased with Saturday's effort.
"It was good to see the offense come out and make some plays," Bustle said. "I thought there were some good throws and thought there were some bad decisions. But our receivers made some nice plays."
Both Bustle and offensive coordinator Ron Hudson said that it was too early to say if anything had changed in the quarterback race between McGuire and Masson. They just know that there's still plenty of work to do before the Sept. 5 opener against Southern University.
"Our defense is playing great and giving us fits," Hudson said. "They have guys who can run like crazy and make plays. They're going to help our offense be better and our team be better."
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