Reloading year...
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Reloading year...
If we can find stability at QB, I think we still have a decent change to win 10 regular season games again. QB and O-Line will be the two question marks.
RB: We're good with the depth and youth.
WR: We lose LeGendre and Bernard...but Robert Williams this second half of the season seems to be shaping up as a legit stud, who may also be our best kick returner. If Lunch can't secure either the QB1 or QB2 slot, does he have the ability like LeGendre to convert? Would he want to convert? If the answer to both is YES, then how long would that conversion take for him to be an impact player at receiver?
TE: If Carter doesn't get poached, we'll be good with him and Freshman Caden as the blocking TE.
DL: Lawsone is a Jr. I think West will step up. He had a good game vs. ULM. Gotta hope another underclassman can come in and fill take up space like Narcisse. Run defense has been our big glaring issue all season long.
LB: Is Whitfield staying? Heard rumors he could get poached. If he stays, Glass is a Sophomore, and I think Kibodi can step in with the experience and solid tackling of Ossai.
CB: We lose Keyon Martin, which will cause a hole. Our other CBs got some experience filling in for him for a couple games, though, some valuable experience.
S: Kody Jackson is starting to look like he'll be able to fill in for graduating Tyron Lewis at the FS spot.
K: Replacing Kenny...that's going to be extremely tough. But that's what happens when probably the best ever at his position graduates.
Easy to say. But we are losing a LOT of good players. CFB is a QB driven league and we have 0 meaningful snaps coming back. Add that to a young oline and I think we will struggle to move the ball. This year when people loaded the box the stop the run, Ben and chandler were able to throw downfield to back them off. Remember some the HUD years with Haack and the carencro QB, or the LSU transfer?
We can have high expectations and not “accept mediocrity” but we need players to win consistently.
I thought we were a 9 win team this year and we will likely end up with 11+. That is HUGE. But we are losing a good chunk of the roster.
I guess it is one of those things, not only UL does this, but many college programs make that a goal with a reward in a coach's contract, playing .500 ball. Doesn't cut it in h/s or pro, much less any other sport. I don't know of any other job that rewards being "meh", besides weathermen. It's been pretty much standard language for a long time in UL FB contracts.
Des has his system in place and his MOO regarding recruiting. I understand, NIL used to retain, not buy. I like that, more actual ROI.
Fields, although CBN's first recruit, I feel will be the biggest loss. He obviously clicked with CMD, think both men are cut from the same cloth. Dude is a Cajun for life like Des. He always did exactly what was asked of him, and prepared as a coach would hope. An example for others. His leadership in the locker room is undeniable. If CMD gets another leader(s) like that, Cajuns will be fine.
Besides, 50% is less than 75%.
I think the kid from STM, LSU, Ole Miss coming in as Qb (yes,yes if he proves himself) will be a GREAT addition for next year. BUT, as we have seen, if he does even good (not great), based on his track record, he will move to a better offer elsewhere after his one year "prove himself" year at a G5/6.
OL is going to be hard to fill though
If Howard performs so well that he has Get Gordon, or the version of that slimeball at a place like Miami or Notre Dame, throwing cash at him, then that means he kicked some major ass for us in 2025, and Beale was able to chill back another season and learn from him.
I'd take that outcome for next year in a heartbeat.
We’ve lost a ton of GREAT players over the last 3 years. Dez coached us out of 8-9 win seasons his first two years as a HC. He is improving and we are 10-2 with the SBC Title on the line.
Our recruiting has been very good. We haven’t dropped off in that aspect. We have a highly sought after QB on the roster in Beale, Lunch is a tremendous football player and we haven’t dropped off a highly sought after transfer coming in.
OL will still be a strength.
RB will be a strength.
WR/TE will be very good.
DL has talent, depth is the question mark.
LB young and talented.
DB solid, especially up the middle.
K big question mark.
PR/KR we solid there.
8 regular season wins is the floor of this program. Anything less is a disappointment.
All of this is dependent on what happens in the portal, both portal in and portal out. I am concerned about the OL next year, we have a lot of young talent, but we lose a ton this year. Kicker is going to be a tough one, it is going to be hard to replace Kenny and we could use a more consistent punter. WR we lose a bunch, but that is an area we are very deep in, plus we should get Charles Robertson back. PR is not solid, our only PR this year has been Jacob Bernard, so someone will have to replace him. LB is young and talented, but you lose maybe the best player on the defense in KC Ossai. we saw how we struggled this year without him. The loss of KM and TL in the Defensive backfield is going to be tough.
I think 8 wins needs to be the standard minimum at UL. Anything less is a disappointment.