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If history is any indication, there's a lot more pressure on Michael Desormeaux than one young man should have to bear.
But over the last three decades, it's easy to figure out the biggest factor when UL has had football success. Almost without fail, it's been because of the quarterbacks.
From 1975-77, magic man Roy Henry was under center and the Cajuns put together a three-year record of 21-11-2, including one stellar 9-2 season.
From 1986-89, the Cajuns had four straight winning seasons for the first time in a quarter-century. Brian Mitchell was the catalyst of that attack.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070826/SPORTS/708260351/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
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UL won two Big West Conference crowns in 1993 (with an 8-3 record) and 1994, and beat Texas A&M in 1996. The quarterback during that four-year stretch was Jake Delhomme.
The Cajuns' only claim to Sun Belt Conference football fame came in 2005 when UL won its last five games and took a share of the league title. Jerry Babb was in the middle of his four years of taking snaps.
That quartet fills four of the five spots on UL's all-time career passing list. Not by coincidence, the Cajuns had 11 winning seasons in the 15 years that span those four careers.
Now, the scary numbers. In seasons when none of those four quarterbacks were on UL rosters, over the last 30 years, the Cajuns are a pathetic 57-127, barely winning 30 percent of their games.
Which brings us to Desormeaux. Excluding Mitchell, a one-of-a-kind talent, the Catholic-New Iberia product could be the best running quarterback the Cajuns have ever fielded. Delhomme and Henry were pass-first quarterbacks. Babb was a true two-way threat, having led the Cajuns in rushing one year, but Desormeaux's faster and more elusive.
Ask Arkansas State, after his 14-carry, 174-yard rushing performance in Jonesboro two years ago when fans were predicting doom and gloom after Babb's injury.
It's in the passing game, though, that Desormeaux will be judged against that group.
Delhomme was Louisiana's all-time passing yardage leader upon his graduation. Babb's the most accurate passer in school history. Mitchell threw for 5,447 yards. Henry had more touchdowns per completion than any other Cajun.
Desormeaux? He only threw nine passes all last season. He completed 53 percent of his throws as a thrust-into-action freshman two years ago, with no touchdowns and five interceptions. But, upon closer inspection, he didn't have a pick in his last 59 throws that year when he started getting comfortable in the position.
Can Desormeaux find the passing success that his predecessors have brought to bear on those successful teams? Fall practices and scrimmages say yes, but those are scrimmages and things will be much different when the Cajuns travel to South Carolina Saturday.
If he can, it could be a season to remember. If he can't, it's wait until next year all over again.
Talk about pressure.
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