Waiting on the 2026 Roster to be released on ragincajuns.com
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Having all 3 of USM, ULM, and Jech on the road kinda sucks. But we’ll have em all at home the next year so not all bad.
Only 3 plane trips. 9 bus trips
Who is Coleman Carter, and how long has he been on the team for? I admit I hadn’t heard that name at all until very recently.
He’s a RS Freshman.
High School
A dual-threat quarterback and three-star prospect by 247Sports.com and on3.com … rated as the No. 57 overall product in the state of Mississippi … accounted for 3,765 total yards in 2023 … named the 2023 Natchez Democrat 2023 Offensive Player of the Year … threw for 2,515 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 1,250 yards and 13 TDs as a junior … helped lead the Rebels to the 2023 MAIS Class 5A state title.
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Interesting, thanks for the info. I’m curious to see what the Backup QB battle ends up being like. If I’m being honest, I don’t think our QB room outside of Lunch is very good (I mean this with all due respect towards these athletes). Then again, we haven’t seen Altmann or Carter play so I could be wrong.
Plenty of position battles to watch entering the UL spring football season
Redshirt freshman Darrell Smith (22) will be competing for much more playing time in the backfield this upcoming season.
With quarterback clearly not the most interesting position for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns entering the spring football season, which position battles are worthy of the most attention during the offseason?
For the first time in the Michael Desormeaux era, the starting quarterback was a done deal heading into spring.
So for fans wondering where to shift their focus, there are several options available.
One good place to start is at running back.
Last year’s leading rushers — Bill Davis and Zylan Perry — are now gone, which opens the door for new leaders to emerge.
Redshirt sophomore Steven Blanco probably leads the parade, but redshirt freshman Darrell Smith is expected to carry a much larger load this season and 5-10, 210-pound redshirt freshman JJ Garner also appears ready to impress.
“Steven played really well for us last year,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said. “Whenever he got in there, he had really good carries, had good production.
“Darrell didn’t have many carries … but we’ve seen a lot from him throughout the course of last year and his growth. I think Darrell’s going to be a really good player.”
Fans may remember Garner carrying a group of defenders into the end zone for a score in last year’s spring game.
“JJ Garner is probably one of the best athletes in that group, and that’s saying a lot to me,” Desormeaux said. “That group is really talented.”
And certainly don’t overlook Howard transfer Anthony Reagan.
“He’s come in and he’s got a different gear,” Desormeaux said of Reagan. “We haven’t seen him in pads yet, but he’s competing and making plays.”
Another key area on offense with even more questions on the depth chart is wide receiver.
Yes, Shelton Sampson returns as Winfield’s No. 1 target, but there’s nothing set in stone after him.
The addition of catch-and-run guys like Russell Babineaux and Trenton Chaney shifts the skill set of Winfield’s targets.
“We really haven’t had the ball-in-hand guy a whole lot — that has a little wiggle and makes you miss, really, since Ryheem Malone (2014-18),” Desormeaux said.
The coaching staff has been waiting on redshirt junior KeDarius Wade to take that big step for two seasons and is hoping this is the year.
Lance Strother was a steady force last season and remains in the plan. Rahji Dennis enters his third season and keep an eye on return specialist Ja’Corian Norris moving from defense to receiver.
“He is a really talented athlete who didn’t quite click on defense,” Desormeaux said. “It didn’t click for a guy named JaMarcus Bradley either, so we moved him to offense and he ended up being a darn good football player.”
Perhaps the trickiest position is at inside linebacker. Redshirt senior Kailep Edwards is back, but he’s had very few starts in his career.
Jake St. Andre established himself last season, but such developing players as redshirt junior Micah Johnson and redshirt sophomores Ethan Veal and Connor McPherson will have to take their turn.
“There’s a bunch of competition in that room, just not a lot of experience in the game,” Desormeaux said. “Every year, we’ve kind of had to do that a little bit … coach (Scott) Stoker does a good job with those guys.”
Another position in a similar position is cornerback. The staff and fan base were both elated when sophomore Brent Gordon returned.
After him, there’s a list of unproven options and several of those will need to step up. That group includes redshirt sophomore Avery Demery, redshirt junior Curley Reed, redshirt junior Jeremiah Moses and perhaps redshirt freshman Kevin Malone.
“Avery Demry is a guy that I think is as talented as any of the guys we’ve had here,” Desormeaux said. “Jeremiah Moses is competing really hard right now and it’s time for him. He’s competing really hard, got a really good skill set. He can run. He’s competing the right way.”
And Malone is “one that I’m excited about as a redshirt freshman. He’s kind of in that Eric Garror and Keyon Martin mold — little, but he’s a scrappy dog.”
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So are we down for a Ragin Review/Cajun ThREDs meetup for the Spring Game?
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Well…we may also have to end up finding out this season how good Lunch really is. Teams now have the film and are going to load the box with at least 8, quite a bit with 9, defenders. Lunch and our receivers are going to have to prove we can consistently complete passes, or it’s going to be rough.
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UL’s offensive line is better shape midway through spring than expected
UL offensive lineman Jakoby Isom (77), shown here blocking for quarterback Lunch Winfield against Southern Miss last season, remains in the Cajuns’ offensive line plans this season after a season-ending turf toe last season. STAFF PHOTO BY Brad Kemp
When we last saw UL’s offensive line, the unit was in shambles because of an historic amount of injuries during the 2025 season.
Making matters worse, starting left tackle Bryant Williams didn’t finish the season with the team after entering the transfer portal.
The number of offensive line injuries reached double figures, including some that required offseason surgery, so having enough bodies to put on a traditional spring game was on the table.
But halfway through the spring session, UL coach Michael Desormeaux says things are looking up.
Veteran tackle George Jackson and center Cooper Fordham have been sidelined so far this spring, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
The first thing is UL’s coaching staff reviewed last year’s chaos and elected not to alter the approach.
“Last year was the first year I’ve ever experienced anything like that,” Desormeaux said. “I mean, we didn’t change the way we practiced last year for all that stuff to happen. I mean, it’s football is just one of those games. It happens sometimes.
“We went back and looked at all the injuries and it was a different array of things. If there was a common theme, maybe there’s something there, but it is what it is. We’re going to practice hard, because I think we have to.”
So far, there have been some encouraging signs. For instance, redshirt sophomore Zay Alexander missed all of last season on the injury list has performed well, as has Tulane transfer Jayce Mitchell.
“I think Jayce is playing really well, and Zay is playing well,” Desormeaux said.
For many of the younger linemen pressed into duty last season because of the plethora of injuries – like redshirt freshman Baylynn Williams, redshirt sophomore Ryder Bentley and redshirt junior Andrew Martinez - the learning curve continues.
“We weren’t going to take a bunch of old linemen (in portal) just to have a better spring,” Desormeaux said. “I think it’s the great good in the long run and what these guys are going to be.
“Sure sometimes you wish you had some older, more experience players … but once some of these guys are back from injury, that creates more depth.”
Of the young players forced to play ahead of schedule last year, sophomore Jakoby Isom tops the list of those potentially pressing for playing time early on.
“I’d say Jakoby for sure,” Desormeaux said. “I think his play when we had to push him into action was really good. He played really well. There’s still a lot of things to clean up – he missed a bunch of time at the end of last year that would have been big for him – but he’s going to be ready to compete.”
Yes, Isom was pressed into action and then suffered a season-ender himself with a severe turf toe injury after playing five games at guard.
“He’s playing some center right now, which is good,” Desormeaux said. “It’s kind of what we thought maybe would be his best position, playing center and guard right now, playing well.
“But yes, Jakoby is certainly in the middle of it and so is Jayce.”
As we learned last season, versatility is critical once the injuries come. Jackson has experience at both tackle and guard and Desormeaux says Mitchell could play guard or tackle as well.
“So that gives you some swing guys in there that could make it better depth-wise,” Desormeaux said. “Ironically, we felt like we had 10 or 11 guys capable last year … but typically you always try to get eight that you feel really, really good about and I think we’ll be on track for that.”
In the big picture, redshirt junior Xzavier Brown at 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds was going to be in the picture as well, but he can’t shake the injury bug.
“Xzavier Brown’s out, which is unfortunate, because this was going to be a big spring for him,” Desormeaux said.