There’s a growing list of UL football players who have stood out during spring practice, but the spring game is largely about seeing how the quarterbacks respond.
That’s certainly the case for the Ragin’ Cajuns going into Saturday’s spring game, which will be played in the indoor facility and closed to the public.
A lot of the focus will be on junior-college transfer Samari Collier and redshirt freshman D’Wanye Winfield.
“We’ve got to get the coaches off the field and out of the way and they’ve got to go run the show,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said.
Senior quarterback Chandler Fields won’t play at all.
“He’s had a great spring and we’re going to keep him healthy going into the offseason,” Desormeaux said of the decision to sit Fields.
Desormeaux said he wasn’t pleased with how either Collier or Winfield played in the scrimmage two weeks ago, but both improved in last Saturday’s scrimmage.
The spring game’s agenda will include a red-zone period, a field goal drill and one half of live football with running time until the final two minutes.
“We’re going to find out if they’ll hang in there,” UL offensive coordinator Tim Leger said. “We don’t blow the whistle. It plays to their strengths.
"Both guys (Collier and Winfield) can run the football. We’re going to let them run some zone reads, run some quarterback draw and some straight designed quarterback runs.”
The coaching staff is also hoping some of the spring standouts produce. Topping that list is sophomore wide receiver Harvey Broussard.
“He’s improved by leaps and bounds,” Leger said of Broussard. “He’s pushing for the Michael Jefferson-type mismatch — always wining the one-on-ones — just different. He’s moving different, his play speed is different and his understanding is different.
“His press release has come so far in the past year. If you pressed him last year, you pretty much got him. If you press him now, you might be in trouble.”
Leger said the top three running backs — Elijah Davis, Dre’lyn Washington and Zylan Perry — have stood out throughout the spring.
In particular, Perry has demonstrated improved ball security.
“We told him, as much natural ability as he has, that’s the thing that, ‘You have to fix that,’ ” Desormeaux said. “Once he fixes it, you feel really good about him being out there. He’s made some electric plays for us in the past. His ball security has been great this spring.”
On the offensive line, Desormeaux said tackle Quinton Williams won’t be available with a hand injury. George Jackson has looked comfortable moving from right to left tackle.
Also, 6-foot-8, 363-pound redshirt junior Mackey Maillho has made huge strides during the spring.
“Mackey’s finally turned the corner for us,” Desormeaux said. “From the time we signed him, we felt like he had some tools and some ability for us. Right now, we’re really excited about what he’s doing.
“He’s getting himself in position to compete to be in the top seven or eight. He’s swinging a little bit from tackle to guard, and he’s doing good stuff at both.”
Desormeaux also said that tight end Terrance Carter “is a different dude. He’s a different guy — more than anyone we’ve had since I’ve been here or anywhere else.”
Leger said new offensive line coach Steve Farmer's tweaks have led to "much improvement in some areas — our screen game, our counter game are leaps and bounds from where it was."
On the defensive side, Courtline Flowers moved from safety to cornerback.
“If frees up some options for us,” Desormeaux said of the move. “He’s played a lot of boundary and nickel, but he can play the field, too. We’re actually trying to get away from that. We’re trying to get to where we can just play left and right.”
Desormeaux also said Missouri transfer linebacker Carmycah Glass “flashes every single day,” as does new linebacker Terrence Williams.
Leger said the biggest issue from the spring has been issues with pass protection.
"We’ve struggled, to be quite honest, in pass protection," he said. "That’ll be a good test for everybody out there. I think we have some guys who can really rush the passer. Some uniquely different guys that we’ve had and guys who we’ve had who have developed.
"We’ve run the ball effectively on most days, but we have not protected that great every day, especially with the young guys. There’s a lot of work to be done."
