Tip of the hat to you Ragin Dave. Appreciate it!
Tip of the hat to you Ragin Dave. Appreciate it!
In this time where there are many protests over the color of our skin this is a good time to look into the life of Jack Trice, the person Iowa State's stadium is named after: https://theundefeated.com/features/j...lly-cut-short/
Coming off its best season in school history, Louisiana Football will open the 2020 season in Ames, Iowa, for its first-ever meeting with the No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, Sept. 12, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.
Man, it's been a while since I've checked/posted here. Thought I'd swing by and see what your thoughts were on the game/ISU.
First off: Pretty Spot On analysis Dave! Us Cyclones are pretty excited about our team this year as we return quite a bit from last year's squad. As Dave noted, we lost quite a few of our starting OL so that is a concern.
A few notes to add to Dave's work:
QB - We have no backup QB. Our backup last year transferred out, so we have a walkon and two well thought of true freshmen behind Purdy. Purdy isn't the biggest guy and was dinged up for a good portion of last year so him making it through the season will be a huge component of ISU's success.
RB - Dave nails it. Breece Hall is the guy. Nwangu could be the primary backup though two others could see carries as well. Expect Breece to be the workhorse though.
WR - One WR to watch is #2 Sean Shaw Jr. He's another 6'6" WR. He's stepped into our "big" WR role. He had 5 TDs last year and could have a big year in 2020. Dave mentioned Tarique Milton and he will be moving into DeShante Jones role as our "little" WR. He's only 5'11" but is one of our faster players. Xavier Hutchinson came in from JUCO and is currently listed as a starter at WR (our depth chart lists 3 starting WR positions). We'll see what he brings to the table. Behind those three is a pretty deep position group.
TE - Charlie Kolar is the bellcow. At 6'6" he is Purdy's security blanket. He had a phenomenal season last year, having just shy of 700 yds receiving and 7 TDs. He will definitely be one of Purdy's primary targets. Chase Allen can also be on the field sometimes with Kolar. He's 6'7" and is a very good blocker. Then a third TE that will play, #89 Dylan Soehner is used more as a Fullback. He's 6'7" and 270 lbs.
OL - As Dave pointed out, this is the position that makes ISU fans hold their breath. Technically, we lost 4 of 5 starters but our starting Center Colin Newell was a starter most of 2018 and was the starter at the beginning of last year before getting hurt. Listed as a starter in the current depth chart, LT Sean Foster is a 6'8" Senior. He was a former 4* recruit but has struggled much of his career. He's backed up by a Redshirt Frosh, Grant Treiber. The staff has been high on Treiber. I think they're giving Foster one last shot at it but don't be surprised if Treiber gets some time or eventually takes over. Similarly at RG, Rod Hudson (6'7" 360lbs) is listed as the starter but backup Derek Schweiger could see some time too. At RT is Joey Ramos, a sophomore.
DL - We actually lost two NGs, Ray Lima and Jahmal Johnson. Lima was a beast but wasn't able to stay as healthy last season. Jahmal Johnson played extensively and was a very solid player, so they both will be missed. Juco Latrell Bankston, senior Josh Bailey and sophomore Isaiah Lee will be tasked with replacing those two departed seniors. ISU has typically played a 3 Man front the past two seasons. JaQuan Bailey returns after being out most of last season due to injury. He will most likely leave as ISU's all time leader in Sacks. With him out last year, Zach Peterson got extensive playing time and really preformed well. Another player that will start, somewhere, is DE/DT Eni Uwazurike. He's 6'6" 310lbs and has played primarily at DE the past few seasons. He's one of the better players on our DL.
LB - Again, Dave noted that ISU lost Marcel Spears, who was a tremendous player. With our normal 3-3-5 defensive alignment, ISU usually has 2 Inside type LBs and then 1 OLB/S type hybrid LB. Mike Rose (6'4" 245lbs) and O'rein Vance (6'2" 248lbs) are manning those Inside LB positions and Jake Hummel (6'1" 230lbs) is the OLB. I expect Hummel to play primarily against the Cajuns because of your rushing attack. The three backups at those positions are all Freshmen or Sophomores with very little experience. Again, injuries at that position would be critical.
Safety - ISU returns two Safeties, Greg Eisworth and Lawrence White. Dave talked about losing Braxton Lewis. Here's the thing, Lewis was a former walkon and was basically a LB trapped in a Safety's body. He was very solid in run support but at times could be terrible in coverage.
Greg Eisworth is the star of our defensive backfield. He's a tremendous player who battled injuries last year. He played our "Star" position which is a third safety spot that sometimes rotates in for that OLB spot. He hurt his should last season and was never fully 100%. He's slotted at SS this season. Lawrence White is a solid, fifth year senior. The new "Star" prospect is Isheem Young. He's a 5'10" 205 lbs. redshirt frosh. He was a highly thought of recruit out of Pennsylvania. Sounds like our staff is pretty high on him. We'll see how quickly he adjusts to this level.
CB - Anthony Johnson is our left corner. He's 6'0" 190 lbs. He's been a very steady player. At right corner, looks like Tayvonne Kyle is going to get the start. He's 5'11" and a skinny 175 lbs. He's a converted WR. Plays well in coverage but last year he wasn't the most physical of corners. His backup is also a slight player, Datrone Young (170 lbs.).
Special Teams - Dave did an excellent job breaking down the kickers, punters and kick returners. Nwangu was a 2nd Team all conference kick returner in 2018. He's one of our faster players.
All in all I think this could be a very good game. One thing I'll mention is that typically under Campbell, ISU has started the previous seasons kind of flat. We usually play a FCS team to start and then have our big rivalry game with Iowa. Our fans always tell themselves that the coaching staff is playing it safe in that FCS game so that they don't show Iowa anything. Well, we don't play Iowa this season, so we'll see if that's the case or not.
Guys and Gals, I hope we both play well and everyone is healthy at the conclusion! I'm certainly looking forward to the game and definitely wish I could be at the game instead of watching at home but hey, at least we're playing! Go Clones and Geaux Cajuns!
Here is ISU's depth chart
These takes are awesome. I'm pumped for the game.
Thanks for the kind words ISUCajunFan. These breakdowns get much easier during the season, this one was especially tough as we did not expect to be playing you guys for most of the offseason. I knew that I would probably be missing something as I was just going off of information I could gather from your roster, some of the publications and last years stats. Thanks for helping clear up some of the information that I may have missed.
I think you guys are a very good team and possibly with the exception of possibly App State, the best team we will face all season. We will learn allot about UAB tonight as they face Miami.
I really like this matchup for both teams and I am happy both administrations/athletic departments could work this out.
Good luck on the season and after Saturday I am pulling for you guys to run the table, but as far as Saturday goes....>Geaux Cajuns!!!!!
The matchup no one knew existed five weeks ago in a season many prematurely gave up on months ago is apparently really going to happen in a place UL’s football program has never been at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Don’t be confused
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