Ragin' Cajun Blog: Football scrimmage report, Aug. 14

[zephyr]

_ I left the scrimmage thinking that either we have one of the better defenses in the country or our offense is in trouble. I know there were some players out with injuries and the defense is usually ahead of the offense at this point but if our QB cant get more protection we are in trouble. On several occasions our QB's has less than 2 seconds to get rid of the ball. I thought jordan topp and lance kelly looked good as well as devon lewis. This defense is definately fast, i hope they can play physical when we need them to. I think butler is going to be agreat receiver, he has great size and seems to have great hands. He looks like he is gaining the trust from the QB's to go up and get the ball. Hopefully the o-line can bounce back in the next scrimmage as i thought they are the biggest area for concern as well as the kicking game. Also, a player that intrigued me was brandon mccray, i thought he looked pretty good and he is a big guy. I think he will be a bright spot for the defense this year. I think by far this is the most depth we have had on defense. _

I would agree but I think it will work out better than most think on offense. Having the O-linemen out hurts chemistry up front and the defense knows this offense almost as good as the offensive players do so they have a step up on an outside team we would normally face. I do think this defense has some great leadership and speed but I've also said the same thing in years past and they've always struggled, especially against the run. I will say they are legit when I see them play MTSU and ASU early in the season at home. Outside of that, I will temper my enthusiasm.

McCray has some serious upside and the DL has some depth talent for years to come. Imagine he, Pryer and Hagans in the middle to go along with Dean next year! In that scenario, you could even see Pryer possibly moved to DE at times depending on personnel. That is a huge, physical presence in the middle with those guys.

[HoustonCajun]

_ I would agree but I think it will work out better than most think on offense. Having the O-linemen out hurts chemistry up front and the defense knows this offense almost as good as the offensive players do so they have a step up on an outside team we would normally face. I do think this defense has some great leadership and speed but I've also said the same thing in years past and they've always struggled, especially against the run. I will say they are legit when I see them play MTSU and ASU early in the season at home. Outside of that, I will temper my enthusiasm.

McCray has some serious upside and the DL has some depth talent for years to come. Imagine he, Pryer and Hagans in the middle to go along with Dean next year! In that scenario, you could even see Pryer possibly moved to DE at times depending on personnel. That is a huge, physical presence in the middle with those guys. _

Looking at our roster, we have a pretty huge, physical presence in the middle this year. That is 3 deep at every position. Looks great on paper. Is the talent there? Is the coaching there?

DT - Topp - 6'4" 299 Lbs., McCray - 6'4" 292 Lbs., Rogers - 6'5" 290 Lbs., Prior - 6'6" 296 Lbs., Green - 6'2" 285 lbs., Dean - 5'11" 287 Lbs.

DE - Richardson - 6'5" 260 Lbs., Gaddies - 6'3" 275 Lbs., Douglas - 6'2" 248 Lbs., Smith - 6'3" 235 Lbs., Tucker - 6'2" 260 Lbs, Onyenekwu - 6/5" 237 Lbs.

[zephyr]

_ Looking at our roster, we have a pretty huge, physical presence in the middle this year. That is 3 deep at every position. Looks great on paper. Is the talent there? Is the coaching there?

DT - Topp - 6'4" 299 Lbs., McCray - 6'4" 292 Lbs., Rogers - 6'5" 290 Lbs., Prior - 6'6" 296 Lbs., Green - 6'2" 285 lbs., Dean - 5'11" 287 Lbs.

DE - Richardson - 6'5" 260 Lbs., Gaddies - 6'3" 275 Lbs., Douglas - 6'2" 248 Lbs., Smith - 6'3" 235 Lbs., Tucker - 6'2" 260 Lbs, Onyenekwu - 6/5" 237 Lbs. _

The talent and size is there. However, Hagans is considered to be perhaps the most talented of the bunch, at least he was when he was recruited. Plus, losing Richardson would allow us to , at times, use Pryer at DE if the coaches feel he can play on the outside which he has in the past. In that scenario, you could see 3 guys near 300 pounds with lots of athleticism and a speed rusher on the other end in Douglas or Bernard Smith.

[HoustonCajun]

_ The talent and size is there. However, Hagans is considered to be perhaps the most talented of the bunch, at least he was when he was recruited. Plus, losing Richardson would allow us to , at times, use Pryer at DE if the coaches feel he can play on the outside which he has in the past. In that scenario, you could see 3 guys near 300 pounds with lots of athleticism and a speed rusher on the other end in Douglas or Bernard Smith. _

I agree. Next year we should be even better. The other question is, is the D Line coaching there? Even with someone like Hall last year, he had few sacks and from what I have read, the pros consider him to be talented but raw and needing a lot of work. My question is do we have the coaching to match the talent?

[zephyr]

_ I agree. Next year we should be even better. The other question is, is the D Line coaching there? Even with someone like Hall last year, he had few sacks and from what I have read, the pros consider him to be talented but raw and needing a lot of work. My question is do we have the coaching to match the talent? _

Well, that's the million dollar question. I know that Gerald B is highly regarded but you're right, our lack of production from the DL in recent memory concerns me. That's why I sort of questioned whether this defense will be better than last year's and the success of this defense will definitely depend on what the DL does this year in terms of sacks and run stopping in the middle. Hall Davis may have made Ciron Black look bad last year but this interior part of the defense also gave up monstrous yards to Alfred Morris, Sean Southward and Lance Dunbar. We stuffed LSU the entire first half and played really well but then just looked terrible against FAU and the other teams I mentioned. We need much more consistency.

[HoustonCajun]

_ Well, that's the million dollar question. I know that Gerald B is highly regarded but you're right, our lack of production from the DL in recent memory concerns me. That's why I sort of questioned whether this defense will be better than last year's and the success of this defense will definitely depend on what the DL does this year in terms of sacks and run stopping in the middle. Hall Davis may have made Ciron Black look bad last year but this interior part of the defense also gave up monstrous yards to Alfred Morris, Sean Southward and Lance Dunbar. We stuffed LSU the entire first half and played really well but then just looked terrible against FAU and the other teams I mentioned. We need much more consistency. _

Has Gerald B ever coached the D Line prior to coming to UL? To my knowledge, he has always been an Offensive player and coach. Could that be our problem? Just asking.

[zephyr]

_ Has Gerald B ever coached the D Line prior to coming to UL? To my knowledge, he has always been an Offensive player and coach. Could that be our problem? Just asking. _

Not sure to be honest. I always thought he was a DL coach. I would love to see Chris Gannon come in during the summer and work with these guys, especially the DE's. I wonder if he'd be willing to work with them.

[Parrott]

Not sure to be honest. I always thought he was a DL coach. I would love to see Chris Gannon come in during the summer and work with these guys, especially the DE's. I wonder if he'd be willing to work with them.

Looking back at his profile, Broussard had never worked as a defensive position coach.

[CajunT]

_ Not sure to be honest. I always thought he was a DL coach. I would love to see Chris Gannon come in during the summer and work with these guys, especially the DE's. I wonder if he'd be willing to work with them. _

Coach Fou has worked with the DE's more this year, then Broussard. Bernard Smith and Chris Tucker are his recruits and he has been working with the DE's since spring. Second thing to remember is quality interior DL is the hardest position to recruit, because guys with size and quickness usually play in BCS programs. This is why Troy has recruited JC's DL and gets transfers from BCS programs. Otherwise, we have to get kids that will take time to develop, like Rogers, Emeka, McCoy, Green,etc. The difference now is RB is willing to take on a few transfers, JC or others. That is the only way to improve your interior line talent quickly, otherwise it is a development process.