The Book: 2003 Football

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Rickey Bustle focused on steady upgrade for Cajuns in 2003.

NEW ORLEANS — Rickey Bustle doesn’t throw around a lot of statistics.

He knows they’re there, but he’s a bottom line kind of football coach.

“The statistic that concerns me most is 3-and-9,” Bustle said Tuesday at Sun Belt Conference media day activities.

UL hasn’t had a winning season since 1995, and Bustle isn’t sure if his second year will provide that kind of positive reinforcement to players and fans who have gotten behind his enthusiasm.

He is certain, though, that the Cajuns will be improved in 2003.

“There’s no question we’re better,” Bustle said. “Now, does that mean over .500? Just under .500? I don’t know where that measuring stick is.”

By any measure, this fall is more settled than 2002.

“When we let the seniors go after our last game, I was looking at 46 kids on scholarship in the room,” Bustle said. “That’s not a lot of people.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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CAJUN CLIPPINGS — Defensive end Justin Venable is back after a medical redshirt in 2002. “Justin has played here about four or five years already, and somehow he got another three years,” Bustle said. “Don’t ask me how that happened. He might have his PhD before he’s through playing.” ... Bustle said it is in freshman quarterback Devin Williams’ best interest to redshirt in 2003 while he absorbs the offense.

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Bustle hopes second year pays dividends for ULL

NEW ORLEANS -- Rickey Bustle has a one-year head start on Charlie Weatherbie, but both face the same challenge.

Bustle is in his second year as coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Weatherbie is in his first at UL-Monroe. Both are trying to improve on records of 3-9 overall and 2-4 in Sun Belt Conference play last season.

"There's no question we're a better football team," Bustle said at the Sun Belt Media Day Tuesday afternoon. "Are we good enough to be .500 or better? I don't know what the measuring stick is.

"The biggest difference from last year is the players understand what the coaches' expectations of them are," Bustle said. "Whenever you're a first-year head coach the players are going to question everything that you do. They might not come out and say it, but they're going to wonder if you know what you're doing. We kept coaching the same way and our personalities didn't change."

Bustle said the Ragin' Cajuns' improvement from being the most penalized team in the Sun Belt two years ago to the least penalized last year shows improved discipline and that the players are "buying into what we're doing."

When Bustle said good-bye to his seniors after last season he was left with just 46 scholarship players.

"After our last meeting," Bustle recalled, "I told them we're getting ready to make our biggest commitment to this program. If you think you've worked hard and committed yourself, you haven't seen anything yet.

"We have a decent nucleus," Bustle said. "We had a heck of a recruiting class (including 12 junior-college players, half of which enrolled in time to participate in spring practice). We have to find out where our junior-college players fit in. We've got to find our chemistry with so many new faces."

UL has made great strides in adding quality depth and generating competition for playing time, Bustle said.

"We were a better team in the spring than we were last fall," Bustle said. "It was fun in the spring from the standpoint of the players knowing where to go to lineup. Last year we had to teach everything. I'm excited about what's getting ready to happen with this football team."

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By LES EAST
Special to The Advocate

[1stTake]

Going over my calendar I notice we have a Thursday game. Has UL ever had a Thursday game before?

[RedBug58]

We've never played on Thursday, but under coach Baldwin we've had some games where we didn't show up until the following Thursday.....

[Cajun1997]

WR Fred Stamps named to preseason 2003 SBC team at the New Orleans football media meetings. The Cajuns were picked to finish 5th in conference behind

North Texas
New Mexico St
Middle Tennessee
Arkansas State

and ahead of

Utah State
Idaho
ULM

LINK

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The Sun Belt preseason rankings selected by a voting panel of head coaches, media relations directors and media. Each line includes the team’s number of points and, in parentheses, first-place votes:

1. North Texas, 186 (20)

2. New Mexico State, 160 (2)

3. Middle Tennessee, 131 (1)

4. Arkansas State, 112

5. Louisiana, 98

6. Utah State, 75

7. Idaho [at Moscow], 59 (1)

8. UL Monroe, 43

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NEW ORLEANS -- The University of North Texas dominated the Sun Belt Conference's preseason picks as the league concluded its Media Days on Wednesday.

Now all the Mean Green have to do is live up to the expectations when they start the season Aug. 30 at Oklahoma.

North Texas, which has won the league's first two titles, was picked to repeat as league champion. Mean Green defensive tackle Brandon Kennedy was selected Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and teammate and running back Patrick Cobbs received that honor on offense.

"Preseason is preseason," NTSU coach Darrell ____ey said. "Both these guys know what's most important is what is said at the end of the year.

. . .


Louisiana's [at Lafayette] lone pick on the all-conference team was wide receiver Fred Stamps, a senior from New Orleans who was a first-team all-Sun Belt selection last season after catching 54 passes for 1,002 yards and eight touchdowns.

"Fred Stamps could play anywhere in the country," Ragin' Cajuns' coach Rickey Bustle said. "I was at Virginia Tech and he could have been one of our tops guys. He has really been working to win. He's getting better every day."

UL is the first team to get a crack at North Texas (Sept. 27 in Denton, Texas). The Mean Green have played their best football after the start of conference play the last two seasons, winning their last 11 league games after losing their Sun Belt debut against ULM two years ago.

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By LES EAST
Special to The Advocate

[Cajun1997]

Looking to 2004 and going off of this year's roster and projected starters here is what we could look like.
24 very experienced seniors, 3 Bustle recruitng classes (2 full), 3 years of playing in the same system for most of our juniors and seniors. I expect good things in 2003 but even better in 2004.

* = preseason 2003 listed starter

Redshirt Freshmen - 21
Michael Adams, DB
Dwain Banister, ATH
Chad Beck, TE
Will Chance, OL
Chris Cutler, DL
Paul Eli, DE
Travis Ferguson, DL
Tre' Green, LB
Jason Guidry, DE
Clay Howell, OL
Jordan Jackson, WR
Jarrett Jones, DB
Torres Kingsby, DB
Zach Leger, OL
Abdule Levier, RB
Brandon McDonald, WR
Lamar Morgan, DB
Mark Risher, LB
Clay Rudiek, DE
Eric Taylor, WR
Bruce Taylor, WR
Devin Williams, QB

Sophomore - 14
*Jerry Babb, QB
Chad Bordelon, C
*Brandon Cox, OL
Marshall Delesdernier, DS
Mack Fair, LB
John Grotefend, TE
Josh Harrison, RB
Anthony Hills, DE
Marlon Jackson, WR
*Jacob Junkin, DS
Derek Morel, WS
Ross Rix, RB
Butch Roussel, QB
Wes Simon, WS
Michael Zatarain, CB


Junior - 15
Johnny Felders, DB
*Terryl Fenton, DB
Chester Johnson, RB
Jarvis Murchisson, WR
*Sean Comiskey, K
*Corey Glover, OL
Julian Harris, RS
Marcus Jackson, CB
*Eugene Kwarteng, DE
Lanford Lemelle, OL
Mike Moore, OL
Tyler Norman, LB
James Roberts, WS
Justin Taylor, DL
Justin Venable, DE


Senior - 24
Travis Bass, DE
George Benson, DL
*Darryl Blappert, DT
C.C. Brown, DB
Travis Cones, FB
Ed Fane, OL
Ken Haynes, DT
Kemmie Lewis, WR
Adrian Limbrick, OL
Antwain Spann, DB
Ricky Thomas, DB
*Demetrios Brooks, OL
*Jerrell Carter, DB
B. J. Crist, WR
*Ronnie Harvey, C
*Greg Hodges, OL
Lawrence Johnson, TE
*Dwight Lindon, RB
Bryan Lloyd, OL
*David Prater, FS
Gary Rudiek, DE
Bill Sampy, WR
*Stanley Smith, LB
Wendall Williams, FS

74 total players

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NEW ORLEANS — It would have been easy for Fred Stamps to relax.

As a junior for Louisiana's Ragin’ Cajuns, Stamps became only the second 1,000-yard receiver in school history (joining three-time member Brandon Stokley) with 54 catches for 1,002 yards and eight scores in 2002.

The Carver High product could have been satisfied, but he’s not.

That’s one reason why Stamps is the Cajuns’ lone representative on the preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Team announced here on Wednesday.

“Fred has been a complete pleasure to coach,” Cajun coach Rickey Bustle said. “A lot of times when a player has had success, it goes to his head, but he has been working his tail off.

“He has been out there every day this summer. He did a good job in the classroom, so he didn’t need to go to summer school, but he’s been out there every day.

“He saw Ike (Ivan Taylor) and Charles (Tillman) get drafted this year, and I think he sees the light at the end of the tunnel. I want him to have fun and play, and hopefully things will happen for him.”

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com