2007 Football preview and offseason fan talk

[ulforlife]

_ An article posted earlier this week stated that we expected 105 players on the field for the opening day of practice. But according to reports from the practice only 102 players were on the field. Does anyone know who the 3 players are that were missing and why they were missing? _

The third guy was attending an award ceremony for his father. That is why we wasn't at the first meeting.

[Hammer58]

_ You are right about Hathorn, I forgot about him. I hope he is able to come back healthy because I was expecting big things from him. I really like his speed and physical play. He also seems to make the big play. _

I think an article in the Advertiser said he had received a fractured skull and would take a medical redshirt.

[NewsCopy]

  Cajun Basin - Offensive Coordinator Blake Anderson was very pleased with the improvement that he saw on the second day of fall camp. The Cajuns worked 10 periods in two hours on Sunday afternoon.

The heat index topped 100 degrees for the first half of practice, as the temperature remained in the 90's throughout practice.

"It's hot," said Anderson. "I challenged the offense at the end of practice yesterday because I didn't like the way they finished.

"We had a good tempo today and I'm proud of what they did. Mentally, we decided not to let the heat get to us."

The offense worked on a lot of passing drills for the second straight day. Route running was stressed at the skill positions as the quarterbacks are still trying to get in sync with the running backs, tight ends and wide receivers.

"We are trying to work out the kinks," stated Anderson. "The coaches are throwing a lot at them even though it's early.

"More than anything we want everybody on the same page with the effort level we expect, the tempo we want to play at and to be accountable on every snap."

Even though the coaches are not allowed to watch players during the summer months, the coaching staff quickly saw how hard the team conditioned during the off-season. Drills that were conducted in the spring are still fresh in the players minds.

"You could see how hard they worked," added Anderson. "There hasn't been very many mental hiccups so obviously they were serious over the summer. They haven't lost much from the spring which has allowed us to move forward."

RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

UL's football team took a challenge to heart Sunday afternoon in its second practice of fall training camp. The Ragin' Cajuns struggled at the end of Saturday's first practice, enough to draw harsh words from head coach Rickey Bustle and offensive coordinator Blake Anderson. "We challenged them last night," Bustle said Sunday after putting his team through a two-hour and 15-minute workout. "This team needs to be mentally tougher. Last year we weren't mentally tough enough. It's got to be a mental thing. "Working at our coaches' pace is different, and they've got to get back to that. They weren't ready for that yesterday." The 24-hour change in the final periods of practice was obvious, with UL's offense much sharper in its practice-ending drills. The rest of the story Dan McDonald

[RaginFan2]

After reading this thread, I can't think of anything intelligent to say. I can't wait for the McNeese game to be over so I don't have to read all of this nonsense any more.

Me too!

[DestinCajun]

_ Me too! _

Not me, the shirt is hilarious.

[Hammer58]

_ After reading this thread, I can't think of anything intelligent to say. I can't wait for the McNeese game to be over so I don't have to read all of this nonsense any more. _

Good thing you're in So Cal so you don't have to drive down Johnston St and see the nonsense displayed there.

[CajunT]

Jerry LaFleur
author/moderator
Posted Aug 6, 2007

The Cajun staff had one-hundred and three players on the field in helmets only for the begining of the 2007 campagine. Two players in the mix, but not on the 2006 squad were fifth year senior Will Chance, and first time freshman Kyle Plouhar from Fountainbleau High. If the 2007 version of the Cajuns are to reach their goals Chance and some true freshman will have to step up to the plate?




http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?S=345#S...=3397&T=803844

[NewsCopy]

The Cajuns added shoulder pads for the third day of camp and Mother Nature added more heat. Luckily the humidity stayed in the 30’s to keep the weather in the upper 90’s for most of practice. The temperature peaked to 103 degrees near the midpoint of practice, before settling down to 96 at the conclusion of Monday’s work. The team worked 11 periods followed by a conditioning exercise. The final period featured a 12-play team drill in which the offense battled the defense for the first time this fall. Both sides made plays in the team period, as the offense had several solid gains both on the ground and through the air and the defense collected an interception and had a fumble recovery. “They moved around pretty well today,” said defensive coordinator Kevin Fouquier. “I think they’re picking up the system. I’m very pleased with the effort. “It looks like nearly everyone came into camp in good shape.” The Cajuns offense operated at their usually quick pace, but the defense was able to keep up for 11 of the 12 plays. On one play, Fouquier asked for time to realign his defense and help tutor some of the younger players. “We are stressing getting better each play,” added Fouquier. “If we can keep up with the pace of our offense, then we should be in good shape when we play against teams that huddle.” The Cajuns will continue to work in shoulder pads on Tuesday before conducting their first full pads practice on Wednesday. Thursday will mark the first two-a-day practice with an 8am session and a 3:30pm practice. Courtesy: RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

UL's new offensive attack may make the Energizer bunny look decrepit, but the rapid-fire pace can take a big toll. Just ask the guys in the offensive line - the ones who have to bounce off the ground at the end of every play, bust it back to the line of scrimmage and be ready for the snap before the defense gets ready. "A lot of people don't realize what it takes out of you," said senior starting guard Zach Leger. "You've got seven seconds of going full speed, running into people and having them run into you, and you sprint back to the line and do it all over again." "The pace we're going, we've got to be ready the second we can snap it," said sophomore center and Lafayette product Chris Fisher. "We're doing things a lot faster, and we trained all summer knowing that our offensive pace was going to be a lot quicker." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com