They knew it was coming eventually, and the University of Louisiana football coaches saw the first drop-off of fall practice Saturday morning.

The Ragin' Cajun squad held its first two-a-day session of camp on Saturday, and the morning practice wasn't to head coach Rickey Bustle's liking.

"It was only OK," Bustle said after the morning session. "That's about all you could give it. It certainly wasn't good enough."

The Cajuns did not show the same intensity that they brought to Friday's first full-contact practice, even in the 10-minute middle drill that is normally the highlight of offense-vs.-defense competition.

"You're only in there for that one period," Bustle said. "You have to keep your intensity and competitiveness all the way through that. Our defense still did pretty well."

UL defensive coordinator Brent Pry said that both units showed some good things in middle drill and in the practice-ending 11-on-11, but that the rest of practice was subpar.

"There's no question we dropped off a little," Pry said. "You expect that after five days of practice. The good thing was when we got into the competitive stuff, they raised their level."

The defense came with more rush and blitz packages in the 11-on-11 sessions that ended the full-contact morning session. The squad worked afternoon drills in shoulder pads and shorts.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com