Ragin' Cajuns Add Mike Lucas To Football Staff

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns head football coach Mark Hudspeth announced on Tuesday that veteran collegiate coach Mike Lucas has joined the staff for the 2015 season where he will serve as an assistant coach.

The hiring of Lucas, a 36-year veteran in the collegiate coaching ranks including five seasons as head coach at Southeastern Louisiana, is subject to approval from the University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors.

"We're excited to have someone with Mike Lucas' experience joining our staff," Hudspeth said. "He is known as a great recruiter and has great ties in the state of Louisiana from being a head coach and has great recruiting ties in the state of Texas. He will be a great fit and a tremendous asset to our program and we're excited for him and his wife (Wendy) in joining our Ragin' Cajuns family."

Lucas spent the 2014 season at Northwestern State where he served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under Jay Thomas. In his lone season in Natchitoches, Lucas spearheaded a defensive unit that was fifth nationally among FCS schools in takeaways (36) and saw a pair of players – Adam Jones and Imoan Claiborne – rank among the national FCS leaders in interceptions.

Claiborne, who was invited to play in the 66th Annual Reese's Senior Bowl later this month, was a first-team All-Southland Conference selection and was joined by linebacker Marion Chapman.

Lucas, the 2009 All-Louisiana Coach of the Year, was head coach at Southeastern from 2007-11 after two seasons as the Lions' defensive coordinator. He earned a reputation as a dynamic coordinator under legendary coach Ron Randleman from 1987-2001 at Sam Houston State. Lucas spent the 2013 season as the defensive coordinator at Indiana State and earlier in his career coached at his alma mater, Liberty, along with William and Mary, UTEP, and Eastern New Mexico.

Lucas was defensive coordinator at Southeastern from 2005-06 before moving into the head coaching post on an interim basis for the last three games of 2006, and was head coach from 2007-11, recruiting players who contributed to SLU's 2013 Southland Conference championship.

Under Lucas' leadership, Southeastern improved its overall record each season from 2006-09 while the Lions, for the first time since their program was restarted in 2003, became highly competitive in the Southland. Southeastern developed a school-record setting offense and a typically tough-to-attack defense guided by Lucas.

During his tenure in Hammond, Lucas had 21 players earn All-Southland Conference honors, highlighted by safety Tommy Connors, who was a three-time selection and 2008 All-American. Among the players recruited by Lucas to Southeastern included wide receiver Simmie Yarborough, a four-time All-Southland Conference performer and the 2008 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, and defensive back Robert Alford, a current member of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

At SHSU as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach under Randleman, Lucas coached the Bearkats among the top 15 in FCS stat categories 11 times, and led the Southland Conference in defense five times. Among school records set under Lucas: 52 sacks in 2001, fewest points per game (13.2) in 1991.

His SHSU defenses produced 65 All-Southland Conference honors by 41 different players, among them seven who signed NFL contracts and two who were NFL Draft picks.

He was defensive coordinator at Eastern New Mexico where his unit led the Lone Star Conference in total defense and scoring defense, and ranked third nationally in punt returns. In 1984 he was wide receivers coach at UTEP. From 1980-83, he coached the secondary, defensive line and linebackers, and assisted with strength and conditioning, at Liberty. He began coaching as a defensive student assistant in 1979 at William and Mary.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Ragin' Cajuns Add Mike Lucas To Football Staff

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