The Book: 2004 FOOTBALL

[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.

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[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."

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By WILLIAM WEATHERS
wweathers@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter

[bigearl]

I'm guessing Desormeaux will redshirt, barring any injury to Babb and Sniewski. Agreed?????

[CajunNation]

Agreed.

What nobody is saying is that Matt Lane is VERY adept at running this offense.

I believe we could win as many games with either of the first 3 QB's.

[NewsCopy]

Prater leaving Cajuns

LOUISIANA La. — David Prater, the safety from Wylie, Texas, who led UL in tackles in 2003 with 68, left the team on Friday.

Prater, a senior, was facing a battle for a starting position from Lamar Morgan and redshirt freshman Torres Kingsby for the upcoming campaign.

“David Prater just fell out of love with football,” said Cajun coach Rickey Bustle, who had a heart-to-heart talk with Prater on the field after the Cajuns had their first full-gear workout of the season on Friday.

“We've got some depth there, with Lamar coming back from injury, and I hope we can work things out.”

The Cajuns are missing some other faces as they turn their focus to the Sept. 4 season opener, with freshman defensive tackle Clay Bridges of White Oak, Texas, a no-show to camp and junior college fullback Marcus McCall an academic casualty.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

Chances to improve high for University of Louisiana

LOUISIANA La. — They’ve heard it. They know it’s out there. They just hope it lasts beyond two-a-day practices.

University of Louisiana, Ragin’ Cajuns know fans are thinking big after their team won four of its last five games in the 2003 season.

The Cajuns admit the strong finish put some pep in their step during offseason work, but they also remember starting that season 0-7.

So when fans start talking about an 8-3 or a 9-2 record in 2004, the Cajuns are smart enough to know it won’t come easily.

“I’m happy how fans are showing us some love,” safety C.C. Brown said. “I hope it stays like that.”

The Cajuns had their first full-pads workout of the preseason on Friday and they stage their first scrimmage next Wednesday. There is still plenty of work to do before the Sept. 4 opener against Northwestern State at Cajun Field.

“It’s a good thing that they have confidence in us,” running back Dwight Lindon said of UL fans. “But, it all boils down to you doing it. It’s important for us to get through camp healthy and focus on that first game.”

Sophomore quarterback Jerry Babb, the leader of that late-season surge in 2003, is also looking at the opener.

“It’s nice to finally have fan support,” Babb said. “It gives us a little confidence boost. But we know we’re going into the Northwestern State game with a clean slate.

“They’re ranked in the Top 20 in Division 1-AA and are picked to win the Southland Conference. We know they’re a tough team.”

Defensive end Eugene Kwarteng echoed that caution.

“I’m definitely excited about the enthusiasm,” Kwarteng said. “It seems to grow every year. But what is past stays in the past. It’s all about the program moving forward.”

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

Bruce Brown interviews Eugene Kwarteng

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. -- Third-year University of Louisiana football coach Rickey Bustle wasn't about to fall into the trap.

When told of the innocent banter bouncing around town this summer, that supporters of the program envision a team worthy of a 9-2 or 8-3 record, Bustle didn't flinch. Especially, not with a program that's endured eight consecutive losing seasons, the last two under his direction.

"If you can tell me what your adolescent is going to be doing on Sept. 4 (home opener against Northwestern State) at 6:30 and how they're doing, I'll be able to give you a prediction," Bustle said. "But I don't know that."

Bustle did concede one thing during Friday's Media Day activities ... that he will field his best team in three years. Just how that will translate into more victories remains a mystery.

"There's no question in my mind right now that we're a better football team," Bustle said. "How do you compare in your conference? You don't know until you get out there.

"Everybody else is supposed to be better," Bustle said. "I like to think we're closing the gap. Obviously (defending Sun Belt Conference champion) North Texas is the kingpin of the conference."

UL concluded the 2003 season with a 4-8 record -- including four wins in its final five games. Maybe more importantly, the Cajuns' finish came on the heels of an 0-7 start that included three losses by a touchdown or less.

"We won four out of five and we carried that into the offseason, and spring, and it gave us a lot of confidence," UL-Lafayette quarterback Jerry Babb said. "But it doesn't matter what we did last year. We can't count on what we did last year to help us this year. We have to go and get the job done."

Senior running back Dwight Lindon said last season's near misses was a catalyst for the entire team during the offseason.

"Looking at last year there were a lot of games that we should have won, but we came up short in," he said. "I think a lot of guys took that into consideration, tried to turn that around and learn from it. That's why there were so many guys committed to the weight room. Everybody's working harder and harder each day."

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By WILLIAM WEATHERS
wweathers@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter

William Weathers interviews UL Fullback Dwight Lindon

[UL_Cajuns]

who is ull?

[Hammer58]

They seem to have a stuttering problem in Refineryville, must be the fumes. Gllen Guillbeau does it all the time.

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. — If given an option, UL safety C.C. Brown would be seen and rarely heard off the football field.

On the field is another matter entirely.

Either with pre-snap chatter or delivering a big hit from his safety position, Brown always makes his presence known.

“I’m speaking more now on the field,” Brown said. “Around here (seated inside the UL athletic complex) I’m quiet, back to my old self.”

Brown is careful to preserve his energy for the field, especially on game days on the road.

“When we get in and get something to eat, I’ll just watch TV to take my mind off the next day,” Brown said. “Then on game day, we’ll have breakfast and I’ll go back to the room and watch TV to take my focus off the game so I won’t be nervous.

“But when we get to the stadium, my personality totally changes. It’s more like an attack mode. I’m generally laid back, but once the game starts I transform into something else.”

That transformation paid handsomely in 2003 for the junior college transfer, who started 11 games after missing the season opener at South Carolina.

Brown finished with 67 tackles and a team-best 6.1 stops per game, notching five or more tackles in nine of his last 10 games.

He became the first Cajun to earn Defensive Player of the Week in the Sun Belt Conference with three tackles and a pair of interceptions against Idaho.

Also, the Greenwood, Miss. product had 11 tackles at Southern Miss, 10 each against Houston and UL Monroe and was third on the team with 7 1/2 tackles for losses.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was a big reason the Cajuns won four of their last five games in 2003 as he became familiar with UL’s defensive scheme.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

CC Brown demonstrating his trademark pose from 2003

[NewsCopy]

Demons' Pittman dislocates elbow

NATCHITOCHES - Preseason All-America cornerback David Pittman suffered a dislocated right elbow Saturday afternoon midway through the first full-contact practice of preseason for the Northwestern State football team.

Pittman, a 6-foot junior from Lutcher who had 55 tackles and 4 interceptions along with 7 pass breakups a year ago, was injured while colliding with two other defenders as they tried to break up a pass to sophomore flanker Derrick Doyle. Pittman may miss three weeks or could be out indefinitely, depending on the severity of the injury, said NSU athletic trainer Ed Evans.

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Town Talk sports services
Posted on August 15, 2004

[Doug]

"CC Brown demonstrating his trademark pose from 2003"

Can I get a reference?