The Third Annual Women’s Football Clinic may not have been everything head coach Rickey Bustle wanted, but it was successful. Bustle said since the start of the program, he has been hoping more students would get involved. Throughout the years, a few students have attended, and Bustle expressed his gratitude to them, however, he said he would like to see more.

“Anytime we can get some Ragin’ Cajun fans together, it’s a good time,” said Bustle.

The clinic adds a few additional treats each year. This year, the coaches decided to tie the clinic in with spring practice. This meant that the women interacted with the football team.

Before the mingling began, the ladies were educated in football fundamentals. They started off by learning the rules of the game, followed by short explanations from a team of coaches that included offensive line coach Mike Gibson, wide receivers coach Brian Crist, tight ends coach/ recruiting coordinator Troy Wingerter, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Brent Pry and head coach Bustle.

All of the presentations were interesting, yet, two stuck out.

Gibson’s wit drew the women into the “inner circle” of football fans. He explained how his men are the smart men on the field because they have to think the most; they have to be able to adjust and change things around quickly. Gibson backed this up with his analogy that anyone can “go and find five drunks on the street to play defense” because all “you are doing is telling them what to do.” He said this is not possible for a “smart lineman” position because linemen have to think. As if his wit were not enough, Gibson decided to take it a step further. He chose four women from the audience and had them act as coaches. They wore headgear and listened to the offensive lineman coaches communicate to them what the coaches were supposed to communicate to the team. One of the participants said it just sounded like a lot of yelling. Then, there was Crist’s presentation. Crist spoke at the women’s clinic for the first time this year about throwing and pass receiving of the football.

“If you don’t want to hear what I’m talking about and you have a question about something else, stop me and ask your question,” Crist said to the ladies.

Crist got as far as his outline. He had to take down his ball catching illustrations and draw illustrations to answer the question-and-answer session his comment ignited.

After a lunch break, the group went to the practice field and watched the football players, all bundled up in their uniforms, strut across the field. The team formed a line and greeted each woman individually with hand shakes and thanks for their attendance.

During the team’s routine afternoon practice, the women were suppose to coach them, but decided to suit up and join the team instead. The drills included duck walking, hitting the sled, driving, hands on the run, inside and out, field goals and holding and securing the ball. All of this led to the middle drill, where the offense and defense go at it. On this day, the offense won the hearts of the women as they overpowered the defense.

The clinic ended with a friendly scrimmage.

“There are major improvements on both sides,” said running backs coach Brian Jenkins.

Names to look for this season are Abdule LeVier, Bruce Taylor and Torres Kingsby. All of these players have shown major improvements since spring practice began.

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