The Book: 2004 FOOTBALL

[RedBug58]

Saw Jessie at Taco Bell Sunday night. He's a big boy, was very friendly, and was ready to get started. He had another guy with him (#75). My kids will be looking for #67 & #75 at the games this year. They have something in common....."Tacos"

[Swamp Hound]

Originally posted by HOTBOUDIN
I won't miss Glover. Did he ever play?

Not much, he seemed to have injury problems. I just wondered what had happened to him.

[Turbine]

Originally posted by SwampHound
If Jesse is now wearing #67, does that mean that Corey Glover is no longer with the team?

The other thing is Newman is listed as #61 in the media guide.

These non pad sessions are notorious for number mixing with 1st year players.

[DestinCajun]

Originally posted by ragincajundad70
Jon thanks for the pics. I was there yesterday and I thought the lineman look good for their first day. Thanks especially for the pic of Zach Leger. He is my son and this pic is now a background on my computer. Looking forward to the season. Geaux Cajuns!!!

I travel from just off Jefferson Hwy & Druscilla to support the Cajuns. Best of luck to big #70 and I hope he enjoys his time at UL!

[DestinCajun]

Originally posted by rwcajun
... Anxious to get to practice this weekend, look forward to seeing some of you. ...

It's gonna be great having Greg back in the line up and you guys come by the Eauque and say hello.

[Turbine]

Originally posted by BrilesBall
What do you guys think of the additions of Troy State, FIU and FAU?...

Should be fun to see how they do...

Troy already seems to have garnered a fair amount of national respect, who am I to argue...

I can't look past the coaching hires of FAU and FIU. The best I have ever seen for programs so young.

Q4U: What do you think of FIU's mascot?

Louisiana seems to have a long history of getting new programs off the ground. One that comes to mind is Houston 1946.

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. — Ever since his arrival at University of Louisiana, Rickey Bustle has made it clear that special teams play will be an integral part of anything the Ragin' Cajuns do.

His background at Virginia Tech taught that special teams play can make a big difference in deciding games, and that philosophy has been part of Cajun football since Bustle's Day One.

"Look at the players we have on special teams," Bustle said Thursday. "A lot of them are starters. The players know this is important. They understand how special they are, and they're competing to get on those teams."

The Cajuns, who will work in full pads today for the first time this fall, remain unsettled on specific "Pride and Joy" units, as Bustle calls special teams.

"We're not sure who our punter is going to be, that's for sure," Bustle said. "That position is probably the furthest off from being settled.

"We're still dealing with our (kick) returners, and we don't have our kickoff team down yet."

One thing remains certain, besides Sean Comiskey being the Cajuns' place kicker, and that is that the coaching staff will find ways for starters to get an extra play or two off on defense or offense in order to have a more decisive kicking game.

While the staff is still looking for the right personnel in the kicking teams, other facets of the game ran a bit rough on Thursday.

"The early part of the practice I thought went well," Bustle said. "But in the team period I thought the offense got sloppy with its substitutions. That's not something we've worked a lot on, so it will come."

In the third-down drill just before the closing wind sprints, only a pair of offensive plays picked up the needed yardage — a dash up the middle by Josh Harrison and a Jerry Babb scramble.

But the second unit had problems with shotgun snaps as the defense asserted control.

The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. — There’s no need for quarterback Jerry Babb to begin looking over his shoulder.

After all, the St. Thomas More product did propel Louisiana to wins in four of its last five games last season.

He threw for 1,502 yards and six touchdowns and ran for 232 yards and five more scores in 2003, and remains the acknowledged leader on offense.

But there is no shortage of competition at his position for 2004.

Literally looking over Babb’s shoulder is 6-foot-6 junior college transfer Luke Sniewski, while senior Matt Lane remains a steadying presence and highly-prized freshman Michael Desormeaux is getting his share of snaps.

It’s a nice position for Cajun offensive coordinator Rob Christophel to be in.

“Luke came in in the spring and showed the symptoms of being a new guy,” Christophel said. “But you could see he had a big-time arm and tremendous pocket presence.

“Now you look at him, and he’s put on weight from 208 to 217 and his body has changed. He has come back with a little more confidence. He learned a lot in the spring. We feel very comfortable with Luke right now.”

Importantly, Sniewski wasn’t content with the knowledge gained in spring drills.

“He did a great job over the summer,” Christophel said. “He had his nose in the playbook, and took all the film work we could give him. He still has a long way to go — we’ve probably got about 20 percent of the offense in — but he is making progress.”

Lane, who holds on place kicks and has other special team roles, remains the Cajuns’ coach on the field with his comprehensive knowledge of the offense and his veteran savvy.

Desormeaux, who was as good a safety as quarterback at Catholic-New Iberia, is an intriguing prospect.

“We’re excited about Michael,” Christophel said. “He has shown flashes of the guy we recruited. Obviously, he’s someone we need to evaluate for down the road.”

Then, of course, there is Babb, who started early in the 2003 season, sat a while, then came back to finish his freshman campaign with a flourish.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

Demons tackle paperwork on first day of camp

NATCHITOCHES -- Instead of blocking sleds and tackling dummies, paperwork and orientation sessions were occupying 90 Northwestern State football players who checked in Monday afternoon for the start of preseason practice.

The Demons' first on-field workout was Tuesday, after about two dozen newcomers go through the Trident Tests checking speed, strength, agility and conditioning in the morning. The team's second practice session was Wednesday, preceding NSU's annual Fall Sports Media Day luncheon on Thursday. A 7:20 evening workout is planned Thursday evening and the team will practice at 4:15 Friday afternoon and 4:30 on Saturday.

The Demons will change gears from past years in their first two practices, working on installation of basic schemes earlier than usual.

"It's liable to get a bit helter skelter with all of the newcomers and redshirts, especially," said third-year coach Scott Stoker, "but the veterans, especially the first teamers, ought to have a good idea what to do from the start. Hopefully by the time we get into the weekend we'll be getting more accomplished than we have previously in that stage of preseason."

The Thursday night practice will be the first in shoulder pads for the Demons, who will don full gear for the first time in the Saturday afternoon workout. There are only three true two-a-day practices facing Northwestern, on Aug. 17, 19 and 23.

"We could have had three two-a-days next week, but then we would have scrimmaged next Saturday (Aug. 21) after going twice the previous day," said Stoker. "Our guys worked hard this summer. I want them fresh for that scrimmage and the final one (on Aug. 25) and that's most important."

The Demons open their season Sept. 4 with a 7 p.m. visit to Louisiana-Lafayette, then go to Jackson State on Sept. 11 before their home opener Sept. 18 vs. Texas Southern.

The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. -- The first inclination would be to look at the finish by the University of Louisiana football team as the team's greatest feat in 2003.

The Ragin' Cajuns reeled off four wins in their final five games to conclude the season with a 4-8 record and wound up in second place in the Sun Belt Conference.

But third-year coach Rickey Bustle traced the team's true exploits of last season to the beginning of the Cajuns' final stretch -- a run that came on the heels of an 0-7 start.

For a program that had already clinched a school-worst eighth straight losing season, the prospects for a turnaround appeared remote.

"One day I walked in and said 'This is tough, but we've got to find a silver lining somewhere,'" Bustle said. "We lost a tough game to (Louisiana) Monroe (45-42) and it was a wild one. That was probably the most critical point. We wondered, 'Are we going to lose them (the players) now'? But they didn't quit on the coaching staff. They kept on plugging and kept on playing.

"I don't know what would have happened if we would have lost one more (game, to go 0-8). But we didn't."

Sophomore quarterback Jerry Babb said emphatically that the impetus in UL-Lafayette's season was in a come-from-behind win over New Mexico State -- a game in which the Cajuns trailed 24-17 entering the fourth quarter.

"New Mexico State was the turning point in the year," Babb said. "We got off to a bad start, and it continued for the next seven games. I think past Cajun teams would have rolled over and quit. But we were a team that showed a lot of character, especially the seniors, to finish up right."

That conclusion, capped by a pulsating 57-51 victory in four overtimes over Middle Tennessee, set off a chain reaction of positives throughout the program that included a solid recruiting class, upbeat spring drills and the renovation of the team's locker and training rooms.

Now, with 10 starters returning and 41 letter winners back, the Ragin' Cajuns are hopeful of taking the next logical step for the program.

"We were more focused this summer .... everyone came together," senior strong safety C.C. Brown said. "We tried to get that team bond by staying around each other."

The rest of the story

By WILLIAM WEATHERS
wweathers@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter