Wednesday was Report Day and Media Day for UL Football, as they get ready for Fall Camp.
Michael Desormeaux enters year two as Head Coach and it will also be the second season that a quarterback competition is happening. But this year it feels different.
Coming into camp, it's Ben Wooldridge's job to lose. He'll battle against Chandler Fields and Zeon Chriss. Wooldridge solidified himself as a QB1 in 2022, as he played in 10 games while starting in 5, and threw for over 1600 yards and 15 TDs. His coaches and teammates say that it's his work ethic that has allowed him to return so soon from ACL tear and separate himself from the group.
“Everybody kind of sees how it works,” senior wide receiver Peter LeBlanc said. “It's kind of inspiring. To come back as fast as he did from ACL surgery and everything and as strong as he is right now like, it's hard to even tell that he had ACL surgery.”
“He takes it upon himself to be at the front of every of every drill of every sprint of everything,” senior tight end Pearse Migl said. “I think having all those aspects of a quarterback is only grounds for success as a team.”
The QB picture may be the headline, but there are a lot of other competitions happening in camp.
Plenty of new faces will touch the field, as UL only returns 8 starters from last season. But plenty of those guys touched the field, whether as a backup or rotating in situations. Head Coach Michael Desormeaux is confident in the development of his young players and believes they will be ready to step into starting roles.
“We have guys that are extremely talented in that group,” head coach Michael Desormeaux said. “I think the most fun thing about today is that we are young, but they have a lot of experience. Those kids took a lot of snaps last year and they played. Everybody's sitting on go because we know the work that's been done, and that's the biggest indicator of what's going to happen is what you've done to get to that point. I'm proud of the work our teams put in since February.”
“Everybody in the secondary and on defense is hungry,” junior safety Tyrone Lewis said. “I think that overrides nervousness or butterflies in your stomach. It overrides all of that. Those guys are hungry and have been working their tails off to get in position. I feel confident in those guys.”
Now this will be the beginning of what UL calls a revenge tour, after the Cajuns finished last season 6-7.
UL Football will begin Fall Camp practice tomorrow at 6:30 pm. This is all leading to their season debut on Saturday, September 2nd, when they host Northwestern State at 6 pm.
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