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On Sunday, the Ragin’ Cajuns definitely did not rest.
The UL football team ran through its second full team practice on Sunday as the first week of preseason practice came to an end.
The session, the fourth straight day of practice for the 105 squad members, also marked the end of another significant period as well. The first four practices each featured no contact in partial uniforms. On Monday, the Cajuns will be in full uniform and hit for the first time this fall.
And Hudspeth said that if the newcomers had their eyes opened by the first two days with the entire squad, they will be in for another shock on Monday.
“When you don’t have to worry about getting hit, it is easy to fly around the field,” Hudspeth said. “But starting tomorrow, there are a bunch of guys who are ready to take practice to another level tomorrow.”
The Sunday practice was another opportunity for the coaching staff to set the tone for the upcoming season and along the way, continue to evaluate the squad members to determine which combination will help UL achieve its goal of winning the Sun Belt title.
Hudspeth chided the reserves after the practice about how hard they wanted to play, asking if they were really willing to do what they had too to get on the field.
“How bad do you want to play,” Hudspeth said. “We’ve got a starting center right now who has to play every down because nobody has stepped up. We’re worried what will happen if he breaks a shoelace and has to come out?
“Do you want to back him up? Have begged the managers to lend you a football so that you can go back to the dorm and practice snapping for four hours? If you are a running back and want to get on the field, then have you taken the time to practice that first step coming out of your stance so that you can explode at your opponent? If you haven’t, then I want to know how badly you want to play,” Hudspeth said.
Hudspeth noted that even though the Cajuns enjoyed pretty good depth overall, the experience level needs to continue to rise.
“We have a lot of potential on this team, but you won’t go very far on just potential.” Hudspeth said. “The day that the light goes on and each guy understands what they are supposed to do and why, then that is the day that you can go far.
“Right now, we are looking for depth in the secondary which is very important. If you are a backup on the defensive line and you miss your gap or make a poor play, you might let up a four-yard run. When you are playing cornerback and mess up, it could mean a 40-yard touchdown. We need to find guys who we trust out there,” Hudspeth added.
Still, just four days into the preseason and still 27 days away from playing Lamar in the 2012 season opener, the Ragin’ Cajuns are moving forward.
“This has been a good first week. We’ve gotten better each day that we’ve stepped on the practice field and we’ve stayed healthy. We have a long month ahead of us, but we will be ready,” Hudspeth said.
LAGNIAPPE: The weather was up and down during the session with a cool breeze blowing when the sun was behind the partly cloudy skies and things would heat up when it wasn’t. . . the temperature peaked at 95 degrees at 10:30 a.m., giving the practice a heat index of 104 degrees and a relative humidity of week-low 48 percent. . . the Cajuns will take part in their annual Media Day between practice sessions on Monday with approximately 35 area media members expected to be on campus to meet with the players. . . also joining the Media Day will be new Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson, who will address the media.