There will be a lot of familiar faces taking the field Friday when the University of Louisiana football squad opens spring practice with the first of 15 sessions.

The Ragin' Cajuns, who claimed a share of their first-ever Sun Belt Conference title last fall, lost only seven starters - four offense, three defense - and 13 seniors from a team that carries a five-game winning streak into this fall.

But head coach Rickey Bustle said he won't be cutting any slack to the veterans when the team takes the field at approximately 2:30 p.m. today.

"Even the guys that played last year need to get better," Bustle said. "We've got to improve on both offense and defense, and we have a lot of young players out there that will have to grow up in a hurry and figure out if they're going to be a part of this thing."

In contrast to previous years, the Cajuns will accelerate the early portion of spring drills and spread out their final days prior to the Red-White Spring Game at noon on April 8 at Cajun Field. UL will work out four straight days, today through Monday, to begin the spring session.

"For us the first few days is a lot of installation," said Bustle, who begins his fifth spring as Cajun mentor. "The way the calendar falls, we have better meeting times Friday, Saturday and Sunday to start off. We're not restricted by classes, especially with the university closing at 12:30 Friday."

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com