The Cajuns spent Wednesday afternoon completing a two hour practice session in full pads.  The team worked the first half on the practice fields before transitioning to Cajun Field for the final hour of practice.

Once on the game field, the team did two periods of skeleton work and pass rush before ending with an extended live period.

The live work consisted of multiple red zone series from the 25-yard line and the six-yard line, as well as a pair of two-minute drills.

The defense held the offense out of the end zone on eight of 10 possessions, including several first-and-goals.  Gerren Blount and Junior Jean each collected an interception.

The lone scores for the offense came via a third-down run by Chris Masson and a pass from Masson to Marlin Miller.  The offense was also hurt by four penalties.

“I thought it was an outstanding practice for the defense,” Cajuns defensive coordinator Kevin Fouquier said.  “We got after the offense and accomplished our goals of keeping them out of the end zone.  We had some turnovers and sacks and made them kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns.

“The defense is playing fast and being physical.  I’m very pleased.”

The Cajuns continued to allow their two kickers opportunities.  After a tough outing in Saturday’s scrimmage, Tyler Albrecht came back with a 3-for-3 day, all from 40+ yards.  Brett Baer was 2-for-4 on Wednesday.

Traditionally, the defense is ahead of the offense in spring football, but that hasn’t been the case in recent years for the Cajuns.  With mounting injuries on offense and several new personnel in key positions, the Cajuns defense has been able to dominate practice at times.

“We have almost the same group on defense and they understand what we are trying to do,” Fouquier stated.  “We expect to set the tone of every practice.”

In the two minute drill, the first group rallied to kick a field goal with seven seconds remaining.  Facing a third-and-12 after a false start and a sack, Masson hit Richie Falgout with a 35-yard completion to the 27-yard line.  Two plays later, Albrecht connected from 42 yards.

The second two minute drill went to the defense, twice.  Blaine Gauthier connected with Jawanza Mitchell for 21 yards and bailed the offense out with a 16-yard pass to Rico Joseph following a sack.  The offense moved near field goal range but could get the field goal off before time expired.  Baer was allowed a 43-yard attempt anyway, but missed.  

The team will have a lighter practice on Friday, going over corrections from Wednesday’s practice and preparing for the Spring Game.  The Spring Game will be held at Cajun Field on Saturday at noon.  The format for the Spring Game will be announced on Friday.

Day 12 

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns held spring practice No. 12 on Monday afternoon.  The team has just two more practices remaining before the Spring Game on Saturday.

The Cajuns worked for two hours over 11 periods on Monday.  Practice started with an accountability session where the team corrected various problems from Saturday’s scrimmage. 

Monday’s work concluded with three consecutive team periods, including a pair of two-minute drills.

“I didn’t think we were very consistent on Saturday,” offensive coordinator Ron Hudson stated.  “We were sloppy with our execution, so the focus today was to fix that problem.

“We shifted some offensive lineman around to correct some of the procedural problems we were having.  I thought our execution was good (in practice), even with some guys in new positions.

“We were more physical from the start and it showed.”

The offense found success against the defense in the team varsity periods and it was evident their confidence was growing.

“We scored right away in the first team period,” Hudson said.  “I thought we moved the ball well all day.  The guys took what they learned on Saturday and focused during practice.”

Usually the first two-minute drill of the spring is very difficult on the offense.  Players are still learning the hurried formations and that works to the advantage of the defense.  On Monday, the offense was able to move down the field during both two-minute drills and kick a short field goal with time to spare.  Sophomore quarterback Chris Masson directed one drive, while redshirt freshman Blaine Gauthier found success on the other.

“The defense came at us,” Hudson explained.  “I’m proud of our offense for the poise they showed.”

The team will practice on Wednesday at 3:30pm and on Friday at 3pm.  Spring football will come to a close with the Spring Game on Saturday at noon.