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Football: ‘Selfless’ Calais runs crazy in UL win over Georgia StateTim Buckley, The Advertiser, Nov. 11, 2018
Click here for the game photo gallery. But as UL’s No. 3 running back behind Trey Ragas and Elijah Mitchell, Raymond Calais Jr. had only 53 carries over nine games this season — about a third as many as Ragas, and 22 fewer than Mitchell. With an average like that, Ragin’ Cajuns coach Billy Napier knew he had to get Calais — the speedster among the trio — more touches. And soon. Like, in-a-flash soon. He did just that, and — with Ragas ailing — Calais made the most of his 13 rushes, one of which broke a long-standing school record. The junior from Cecilia High finished with a career-high 186 yards and three touchdowns, including a 92-yarder in the opening quarter of UL’s 36-22 win over Georgia State on Saturday afternoon at Cajun Field. More: UL-Georgia State live blog That’s the longest run in UL history, topping Reggie Dupre’s 90-yarder at Southeastern Louisiana in 1971. “It’s very humbling to me,” Calais said of the new mark, “but I’m not really harping on it. “I’m just trying to get this next few wins, so we can hopefully play for the Sun Belt championship.” Now 5-5, UL needs one win in its next two games — Saturday at home vs. South Alabama and Nov. 24 at UL Monroe — to become bowl-eligible and two to guarantee itself a spot in the Dec. 1 SBC title game as Sun Belt West Division champ. Without what Calais did Saturday, when he averaged a whopping 14.3 yards per carry, the Cajuns might not be in position to say that. After Calais’ record run, Andre Nunez threw a 32-yard TD pass to Ryheem Malone to make it 13-0. And Mitchell added 136 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries, giving UL two 100-yard rushers in the same game for the third time this season — matching Mississippi State for most in the country. But whereas Mitchell provided the punch after Ragas got hurt, it was Calais who ignited UL’s offense. More: Defense brightens Cajuns’ outlook in win His 92-yard run ties for third-longest by an FBS running back this year, and his 186 yards are the second-most by a Sun Belt rusher this season — trailing only Mitchell’s 191 in a win at Texas State. “As soon as Trey Ragas went down, he (UL running backs coach Jabbar Juluke) just told me and Elijah (Mitchell) to pick it up,” Calais said after UL ran for a season-high 351 yards. “So I was just trying to play for my brother.” Napier said season rushing-leader Ragas, who took a cart up the Cajun Field tunnel after the win, had a “lower-leg injury” of undisclosed extent. The fourth of Ragas’ four carries came in the second quarter, and Georgia State got to within two at 16-14 late in the third quarter. But UL pulled away after Calais got on the edge and ran in from 26 yards out in the first minute of the fourth. Mitchell followed with a 1-yard TD to cap a drive in which he accounted for all 63 yards including a 57-yard gain, and Calais’s 5-yard TD run made it 36-14 with less than eight minutes left. “We talk all the time about getting those guys to the second level,” Napier said, “and those guys can finish the deal.” Related: With Elijah Mitchell ailing, UL rushing depth valued
For Calais, who said he’s never actually been caught from behind, it’s just been a matter of getting a chance to do so. He now has TD runs of 61, 72 and 92 yards this season. But with five games in which he’s had just six carries or fewer — including one, at Mississippi State, with only one — opportunities sometimes are few and far between. Napier knows. “Raymond is a great teammate,” he said. “There were times there where he’d go in the locker room and maybe have three or four touches. Not one whisper out of the guy, you know? “I think he’s a guy who’s got some character and integrity about him. He’s selfless,” Napier added. “He just continued to come to work, and he’s earned it through proving that he can do it.” But how did he stay in the right frame of mind? “I just took it one day at a time,” Calais said. “Some nights, whenever I’d walk off with two or three carries, I would just go back to work the next day. Sunday I would just go back to work, and Coach Juluke would always tell us just to ‘be ready.’ “So I practice how I play,” he added. “We practice tough; we practice physical. This is a grown-man sport, so we just have to bring it every day.” More: UL football, what you need to know The 5-foot-9 Calais does. “Raymond is a guy who really has developed over time,” Napier said. “You can see he’s not just a perimeter runner, he’s not just a returner. “He’s a guy who has terrific vision, really has developed as an inside runner. He’s more physical; he’s gained weight – bigger, stronger. But he’s got elite speed.” Does he ever. And now he’s getting more shots to show it. Napier, in fact, suggested extra touches for Calais were in store long before Ragas got hurt. “(Saturday morning) I told the staff we’ve got to make sure we leave the park every week,” the Cajuns coach said, “and this guy (Calais) had his opportunities to affect the game. “He’s earned it, man. He’s worked. He’s been patient in his career. He’s done a really outstanding job for us, and hopefully we’ll continue to get that production out of him.”
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