UL football coach pleased with roster additions, not with dirty portal tactics
- BY KEVIN FOOTE | Staff writer Feb 4, 2026 Updated 14 hrs ago
UL coach Michael Desormeaux is pleased with the transition portal class added to the Cajuns’ roster. STAFF PHOTO BY Brad Kemp
Technically, it was national signing day Wednesday, but the UL Ragin’ Cajuns had no new signees to announce.
But that doesn’t mean coach Michael Desormeaux didn’t have plenty to talk about.
For one, he was pleased to discuss the additions of Teurlings Catholic’s duo of quarterback Alex Munoz and offensive lineman Drake Perry to the Cajuns’ roster.
Secondly, Desormeaux delivered his first public comments on UL’s five-player transfer portal class.
UL’s head coach also discussed the addition to the coaching staff in Marquase Lovings back as running backs coach.
“Those are two good gets for us,” Desormeaux said. “Alex is a kid I’ve known for a long time – watched him grow up. I love the way he plays the game. It’s pretty evident what he meant to his team and the run they were able to make.
“Drake has been a mainstay on that team for a long time. He’s a kid that we recruited – really their whole family since they were recruitable. To be able to add him to our team was really good.”
The first thing Desormeaux made clear was he wasn’t disappointed with only needing to sign five in portal.
“Unfortunately, the portal has turned into more of an obsession than there is about signing high school kids, and we just don’t buy into that,” he said. “We had 18 solid scholarship seniors and we signed 21 high school players. So you lose a couple in the portal, we don’t have many spots to fill, which is great, and we’re thankful for that.”
That transfer portal class for UL included: East Texas A&M edge Tito Chikere, LSU linebacker Princeton Malbrue, Tulane offensive tackle Jayce Mitchell, Howard running back Anthony Reagan and Tarleton State defensive lineman Brodrick Stewart.
“Losing Trey Fite late (at edge), it a good get for us,” Desormeaux said of Chikere. “He’s an older guy, senior that that comes in and gives us some experience in play. It just was a really good fit for us because what he’s looking for is an opportunity to come in here and have an impact.”
The former Lafayette Christian standout Malbrue gives UL’s defense more flexibility.
“He (Malbrue) gives us a lot of versatility in what he can do in his time at LSU,” Desormeaux said. “He’s played on the edge and he’s played inside, which is what we were kind of looking for. He’s a little bit of a hybrid, so maybe he can do some different things for us.”
Reagan added a running back with some college experience after losing Zylan Perry and Bill Davis in the portal.
“He’s got production, he’s got carries,” Desormeaux said. “We love our running back room, said that from the beginning. You just don’t have a lot of carries in there. So you got a guy that comes into the mix.”
Reagan will be coached by former UL running backs coach Lovings.
“He’s a sharp sharp dude who knows football,” Desormeaux said of Lovings. “He’s fiercely loyal. I saw that firsthand. He is a team-first guy. He’ll do anything you ever need him to do for the team and whatever you ask him to do. He knows his job and he does it really, really well.”
The need to add Stewart didn’t end up as critical as originally thought when Fitzgerald West return to the Cajuns after entering the portal.
West was the first player UL accepted back to the fold after entering the portal.
“You hear a lot of these things going on right now and it’s worse than what comes out in the media, is what I would say,” Desormeaux of portal battles. “The problem with it is it’s one thing if you’re going to try to get a kid to go in, and you’re going to come through and do your part and do what you said you’re going to do.
“It’s a whole other thing when you do that, and then you don’t come through on your end. That’s the biggest issue I have with the stuff that happens behind the scenes.”