Saw Jessie at Taco Bell Sunday night. He's a big boy, was very friendly, and was ready to get started. He had another guy with him (#75). My kids will be looking for #67 & #75 at the games this year. They have something in common....."Tacos"
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Saw Jessie at Taco Bell Sunday night. He's a big boy, was very friendly, and was ready to get started. He had another guy with him (#75). My kids will be looking for #67 & #75 at the games this year. They have something in common....."Tacos"
Not much, he seemed to have injury problems. I just wondered what had happened to him.Quote:
Originally posted by HOTBOUDIN
I won't miss Glover. Did he ever play?
The other thing is Newman is listed as #61 in the media guide.Quote:
Originally posted by SwampHound
If Jesse is now wearing #67, does that mean that Corey Glover is no longer with the team?
These non pad sessions are notorious for number mixing with 1st year players.
I travel from just off Jefferson Hwy & Druscilla to support the Cajuns. Best of luck to big #70 and I hope he enjoys his time at UL!Quote:
Originally posted by ragincajundad70
Jon thanks for the pics. I was there yesterday and I thought the lineman look good for their first day. Thanks especially for the pic of Zach Leger. He is my son and this pic is now a background on my computer. Looking forward to the season. Geaux Cajuns!!!
It's gonna be great having Greg back in the line up and you guys come by the Eauque and say hello.Quote:
Originally posted by rwcajun
... Anxious to get to practice this weekend, look forward to seeing some of you. ...
Troy already seems to have garnered a fair amount of national respect, who am I to argue...Quote:
Originally posted by BrilesBall
What do you guys think of the additions of Troy State, FIU and FAU?...
Should be fun to see how they do...:hot:
I can't look past the coaching hires of FAU and FIU. The best I have ever seen for programs so young.
Q4U: What do you think of FIU's mascot?
Louisiana seems to have a long history of getting new programs off the ground. One that comes to mind is Houston 1946.
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — Ever since his arrival at University of Louisiana, Rickey Bustle has made it clear that special teams play will be an integral part of anything the Ragin' Cajuns do.
His background at Virginia Tech taught that special teams play can make a big difference in deciding games, and that philosophy has been part of Cajun football since Bustle's Day One.
"Look at the players we have on special teams," Bustle said Thursday. "A lot of them are starters. The players know this is important. They understand how special they are, and they're competing to get on those teams."
The Cajuns, who will work in full pads today for the first time this fall, remain unsettled on specific "Pride and Joy" units, as Bustle calls special teams.
"We're not sure who our punter is going to be, that's for sure," Bustle said. "That position is probably the furthest off from being settled.
"We're still dealing with our (kick) returners, and we don't have our kickoff team down yet."
One thing remains certain, besides Sean Comiskey being the Cajuns' place kicker, and that is that the coaching staff will find ways for starters to get an extra play or two off on defense or offense in order to have a more decisive kicking game.
While the staff is still looking for the right personnel in the kicking teams, other facets of the game ran a bit rough on Thursday.
"The early part of the practice I thought went well," Bustle said. "But in the team period I thought the offense got sloppy with its substitutions. That's not something we've worked a lot on, so it will come."
In the third-down drill just before the closing wind sprints, only a pair of offensive plays picked up the needed yardage — a dash up the middle by Josh Harrison and a Jerry Babb scramble.
But the second unit had problems with shotgun snaps as the defense asserted control.
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One asset of the defensive prowess is a deep secondary led by safeties C.C. Brown and David Prater and cornerbacks Terryl Fenton and Michael Adams.
"What's exciting is how they're competing with each other," said Bustle. "Guys are practicing a lot better. They know if they have a bad day, they could get behind.
"We've got competition at every position out here."
That competition will ratchet up a notch today with full-pads work.
"We'll get to the middle drill stuff tomorrow," Bustle said. "We'll find out how we do in tighter quarters. We'll see if we step right and hit the right guy.
"I'm looking forward to it."
Bustle is also looking forward to seeing his Cajuns on the field beginning Sept. 4 against Northwestern State.
"I'll say one thing," Bustle said. "We're really playing with effort, and we've got better looking athletes out here than ever before."
As for Thursday's unseasonably mild temperatures, which are predicted to last a couple of more days, Bustle said, "We've really had good weather, but I think today is spoiling them."
CAJUN CLIPPINGS The Cajuns have picture day at 9:30 a.m. this morning and Fan Day at 6 p.m. on Sunday at Cajun Field ... wide receiver Kemmie Lewis has switched from No. 18 to No. 3 ... Travis Smothers, a running back in 2003, has moved to wide receiver and showed good moves on punt coverage on Thursday.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — There’s no need for quarterback Jerry Babb to begin looking over his shoulder.
After all, the St. Thomas More product did propel Louisiana to wins in four of its last five games last season.
He threw for 1,502 yards and six touchdowns and ran for 232 yards and five more scores in 2003, and remains the acknowledged leader on offense.
But there is no shortage of competition at his position for 2004.
Literally looking over Babb’s shoulder is 6-foot-6 junior college transfer Luke Sniewski, while senior Matt Lane remains a steadying presence and highly-prized freshman Michael Desormeaux is getting his share of snaps.
It’s a nice position for Cajun offensive coordinator Rob Christophel to be in.
“Luke came in in the spring and showed the symptoms of being a new guy,” Christophel said. “But you could see he had a big-time arm and tremendous pocket presence.
“Now you look at him, and he’s put on weight from 208 to 217 and his body has changed. He has come back with a little more confidence. He learned a lot in the spring. We feel very comfortable with Luke right now.”
Importantly, Sniewski wasn’t content with the knowledge gained in spring drills.
“He did a great job over the summer,” Christophel said. “He had his nose in the playbook, and took all the film work we could give him. He still has a long way to go — we’ve probably got about 20 percent of the offense in — but he is making progress.”
Lane, who holds on place kicks and has other special team roles, remains the Cajuns’ coach on the field with his comprehensive knowledge of the offense and his veteran savvy.
Desormeaux, who was as good a safety as quarterback at Catholic-New Iberia, is an intriguing prospect.
“We’re excited about Michael,” Christophel said. “He has shown flashes of the guy we recruited. Obviously, he’s someone we need to evaluate for down the road.”
Then, of course, there is Babb, who started early in the 2003 season, sat a while, then came back to finish his freshman campaign with a flourish.
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com <!--
“Jerry was in there when we won four out of five, and the kids obviously believe he’s a winner,” Christophel said. “They’re all working hard, and I couldn’t say enough about them as people.”
Like any quarterback worthy of playing, each of the Cajuns in the rotation is eager for more snaps in practice.
“I wouldn’t want anyone who wasn’t bothered by someone playing ahead of them,” Christophel said. “I want guys to be chomping at the bit. Luke’s like that. Jerry will be running the first team, and Luke’s right beside me, asking ‘Is it my turn yet?’ ”
With the quarterback crew leading the way, the Cajuns are making headway with the offense.
“We’re moving along at a good pace,” Christophel said. “We have a lot of returning players back, and we’ve picked up the tempo as far as installation goes.
“Now, we do have a day or two set aside in the back of my head for when a fuse starts to blow and we need to slow down a little. We’ll probably have a lot (of the offense) in by the first scrimmage, but we’ll pare it back and try to hone a few things down.”
Christophel is ready to broaden the attack this year, a continuation of that stretch run of 2003 that began in the spring.
“We’re going to a little more open style,” he said. “We’re going to throw more, so we can spread the defense and stretch the defense. We want to make our opponents defend more of the field.
“In 2002 we played it close to the vest and we didn’t take a lot of chances. Now I think we all feel we’re getting better and we all feel we can take advantage of the opportunities presented to us. We have better athletes and we can force the defense to actually defend us.”
One look at the talent-rich quarterback spot reflects that improvement for the 2004 Cajuns.
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<blockquote><p align=justify><b>Demons tackle paperwork on first day of camp </b>
NATCHITOCHES -- Instead of blocking sleds and tackling dummies, paperwork and orientation sessions were occupying 90 Northwestern State football players who checked in Monday afternoon for the start of preseason practice.
The Demons' first on-field workout was Tuesday, after about two dozen newcomers go through the Trident Tests checking speed, strength, agility and conditioning in the morning. The team's second practice session was Wednesday, preceding NSU's annual Fall Sports Media Day luncheon on Thursday. A 7:20 evening workout is planned Thursday evening and the team will practice at 4:15 Friday afternoon and 4:30 on Saturday.
The Demons will change gears from past years in their first two practices, working on installation of basic schemes earlier than usual.
"It's liable to get a bit helter skelter with all of the newcomers and redshirts, especially," said third-year coach Scott Stoker, "but the veterans, especially the first teamers, ought to have a good idea what to do from the start. Hopefully by the time we get into the weekend we'll be getting more accomplished than we have previously in that stage of preseason."
The Thursday night practice will be the first in shoulder pads for the Demons, who will don full gear for the first time in the Saturday afternoon workout. There are only three true two-a-day practices facing Northwestern, on Aug. 17, 19 and 23.
"We could have had three two-a-days next week, but then we would have scrimmaged next Saturday (Aug. 21) after going twice the previous day," said Stoker. "Our guys worked hard this summer. I want them fresh for that scrimmage and the final one (on Aug. 25) and that's most important."
The Demons open their season Sept. 4 with a 7 p.m. visit to Louisiana-Lafayette, then go to Jackson State on Sept. 11 before their home opener Sept. 18 vs. Texas Southern.
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There was one letterman who couldn't report Monday. Junior fullback Buddy Garrett, whose spring practice was halted by a non-football related illness, was forced to end his playing career upon medical advice.
"Buddy's a super young man and he worked so hard, it's really unfortunate he can't play any longer," said Stoker. "But his health is the most important thing and this is the right decision. He's got a bright, bright future ahead in whatever field he chooses."
Garrett, a Franklinton product, lettered last year at linebacker after sitting out a season as a transfer from Southern. He got most of his action on special teams and recorded four tackles. He was slated to compete for the third-team fullback job this year. Garrett was the Class 3A Most Outstanding Defensive Player as a senior at Franklinton and was second-team Academic All-State while earning 10 letters in four sports.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. -- The first inclination would be to look at the finish by the University of Louisiana football team as the team's greatest feat in 2003.
The Ragin' Cajuns reeled off four wins in their final five games to conclude the season with a 4-8 record and wound up in second place in the Sun Belt Conference.
But third-year coach Rickey Bustle traced the team's true exploits of last season to the beginning of the Cajuns' final stretch -- a run that came on the heels of an 0-7 start.
For a program that had already clinched a school-worst eighth straight losing season, the prospects for a turnaround appeared remote.
"One day I walked in and said 'This is tough, but we've got to find a silver lining somewhere,'" Bustle said. "We lost a tough game to (Louisiana) Monroe (45-42) and it was a wild one. That was probably the most critical point. We wondered, 'Are we going to lose them (the players) now'? But they didn't quit on the coaching staff. They kept on plugging and kept on playing.
"I don't know what would have happened if we would have lost one more (game, to go 0-8). But we didn't."
Sophomore quarterback Jerry Babb said emphatically that the impetus in UL-Lafayette's season was in a come-from-behind win over New Mexico State -- a game in which the Cajuns trailed 24-17 entering the fourth quarter.
"New Mexico State was the turning point in the year," Babb said. "We got off to a bad start, and it continued for the next seven games. I think past Cajun teams would have rolled over and quit. But we were a team that showed a lot of character, especially the seniors, to finish up right."
That conclusion, capped by a pulsating 57-51 victory in four overtimes over Middle Tennessee, set off a chain reaction of positives throughout the program that included a solid recruiting class, upbeat spring drills and the renovation of the team's locker and training rooms.
Now, with 10 starters returning and 41 letter winners back, the Ragin' Cajuns are hopeful of taking the next logical step for the program.
"We were more focused this summer .... everyone came together," senior strong safety C.C. Brown said. "We tried to get that team bond by staying around each other."
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By WILLIAM WEATHERS
wweathers@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter <!--
Brown represents one area of UL-Lafayette's new-look defense that will be the strength of a unit that had to meld eight junior-college players into the mix a year ago.
With the move from an eight-man front to a 4-3 alignment, Brown, the team's leading returning tackler with 67 stops, returns to anchor a group that allowed 37 points and 439 yards per game.
"The former defense was built on high pressure, tackles for losses, sacks, playing a lot of man coverage," defensive coordinator Brent Pry said. "If you're not good enough, or you're making critical mistakes, you're going to give up big plays."
Pry is delighted about a secondary that features returning starters Michael Adams and Terryl Fenton at cornerbacks, while Lamar Morgan moves into the starting role at free safety left vacated by David Prater, who opted not to return for his senior year. The Cajuns will have also have added depth with the return of Amite native Jerrell Carter, Antwain Spain and Ricky Thomas at cornerback.
"For the first time, we can move some people around back there," Pry said. "I think our secondary is probably the solid part of the defense hopefully."
Senior middle linebacker Stanley Smith feels as though he's going to thrive because of the defensive switch. The Cajuns will also look to interior help from Ken Haynes, Marshall Delesdernier, Justin Taylor, Eugene Kwartang, Tony Hills and Travis Bass.
"I get to run sideline to sideline and will get to make a lot of plays," Smith said. "This year, I'm going to be able to make plays."
The same goes for Babb, who took over for an injured Eric Rekieta and rallied ULL past New Mexico State. It was his 435-yard, four-touchdown effort in the season finale against Middle Tennessee that helped propel the Cajuns to victory.
For the season, Babb completed 146 of 259 passes for 1,502 yards with eight interceptions and six touchdowns. He also rushed for 232 yards and five touchdowns.
"I'm a lot more confident this year compared to last year," said Babb, who will be backed up by junior college transfer Luke Sniewski. "Just knowing that you can go in and get the job done; if you make a mistake, you just bounce back on the next play."
Senior running backs Dwight Lindon (68-228, 3 TDs) and sophomore Josh Harrison (44-168, 3 TDs) will try to help UL-Lafayette improve on its 116.6 yards-per-game average along with help from redshirt freshman Abdule Levier.
The offensive line features experience and improving depth with the return of senior center Ronnie Harvey, senior guard Bryan Lloyd and mammoth 6-7, 295-pound sophomore tackle Brandon Cox. Redshirt freshman Zach Leger of Bishop Sullivan is ticketed for reserve duty at right tackle.
Senior wide receivers Bill Sampy (39-486, 3 TDs) and Kemmie Lewis (27-234, 1 TD) have the unenviable task of taking over for departed Fred Stamps, who finished as the school's second-leading receiver with 180 catches for 2,789 yards and 19 touchdowns. Baton Rouge native Travis Smothers, who rushed 75 times for 269 yards, has moved from running back to wide receiver.
Junior place-kicker Sean Comisky, who has made 21 of 33 career field goals, was a first team All-Sun Belt selection last season.
"I expect this program to make some positive strides," Bustle said. "Where that takes us, I don't know? Overall, I think our people expect it, I expect it, the coaches expect it and the players expect it."
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