Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns practiced for approximately one hour-forty minutes on Monday fresh off their first spring scrimmage.
Saturday’s scrimmage was an offensive affair, as the Cajuns amassed 525 yards in 97 plays, of which 268 came on the ground. Tyrell Fenroy led the rushing game with 75 yards on five carries.
The aerial attack finished 27-of-41 for 257 yards. Starter Michael Desormeaux finished 10-of-13 for 70 yards and nearly had 11 completions and over 100 yards had it not been for a dropped deep ball.
Monday’s 10-period work in shoulder pads featured a 10-play pass-under-pressure drill followed by an eight-play first-and-10 drill.
The offense continued its assault, fending off pressure to move the ball efficiently six times during the pass-under-pressure drill. Pressure forced a pair of scrambles by Desormeaux and an incompletion by Connor Morel, and there was a dropped pass, but the offense was clicking on the six other snaps.
“I was really pleased with the pass-under-pressure drill,” said Cajuns offensive line coach Ron Hudson. “The kids were picking up the blitz and we’re playing some young guys right now.
“The defense came at us with a bunch of movement, stunts and twists and we handled it well. I’m proud of how hard they played.
“I think the scrimmage gave us a boost and the offense gained some confidence.”
Phillip Nevels made-up for his earlier drop with a nice diving catch on a post route. Louis Lee hauled-in a Desormeaux ball on a quick slant and found a seem for a big gain. Derrick Smith also gained big yards on a post route courtesy of Desormeaux’s accurate throw. Morel completed consecutive passes for good yardage on a flare and screen pass to counter the defensive pressure.
The defense, however, came back with a fantastic effort in the first-and-10 drill, stifling the offense both on the ground and in the air.
“We were very sloppy all of a sudden (during first-and-10),” stated Hudson. “I credit the defense, they cranked it up and did a great job. They got after us and played harder.”
The Cajuns return to practice on Wednesday at 3:30pm. The team will work on goal line drills and is tentatively schedule to have a short goal line scrimmage.
Gerren Blount (hand), Torres Kingsby (shoulder/toe) and Jermaine Rodgers (knee) all suffered injuries in Saturday’s scrimmage and are listed as doubtful for the rest of the spring. The Cajuns are already without Lamar Morgan (hip), Jemarcus Smith (toe) and Eric Jones (shoulder) who had off-season surgery and were scheduled to miss the spring.
Only six more practice dates remain before the spring game to be held on Saturday, March 31 at noon.
The Cajuns return to practice on Wednesday at 3:30pm.
The Cajuns remaining spring practice schedule:
Wednesday, March 21 – 3:30pm
Friday, March 23 – 3:00pm
Saturday, March 24 – 9:45am
Monday, March 26 – 3:30pm
Wednesday, March 28 – 3:30pm
Friday, March 30 – 3:00pm practice, 7:00pm banquet
Saturday, March 31 – Spring Game @ Noon
LOUISIANA SI