Former Football: Moncla stayed home for good

Bruce Brown • bbrown@theadvertiser.com • September 15, 2010

Buck Moncla discovered what many outstanding high school football players discover: college football is a different world.

Moncla was a standout at St. Thomas More, helping that school to its first state playoff appearance and earning a scholarship with UL’s Ragin’ Cajuns. Once he hit college, the competition heated up.

"It was definitely a lot more challenging," said Moncla. "Players are bigger, faster. You have to dig deep and get hungry, then go get it. If you’re soft, you’re not going to survive."

For inspiration, Cajuns looked to quarterback Brian Mitchell, who would go on to become the most prolific kick returner in NFL history.

"All of the freshmen looked up to Brian," said Moncla, who played at UL from 1989-93. "He was so strong, and we learned from watching him in the weight room and watching his work habits on the practice field."

Current Cajuns can take shelter from inclement weather in the Leon Moncla Practice Facility, named after Moncla’s father, so it was no surprise when he signed with UL.

"It meant a lot for me to stay home," Moncla said. "I didn’t want to let my dad down. He never missed a game, was at all the practices and made most of the road trips. (Assistant coach) Steve Hale recruited me, and was a great guy."

Hale had an easy sell in Moncla, who began getting attention from other schools in his junior year at STM.

"My sophomore year, I spent a lot of time at defensive end," Moncla recalled. "I was one of the few sophomores to play. Then heading into my junior year I got letters from UCLA and Nebraska and started to think this (playing in college) could be real.

"So, that year, I started to hit the weights and tried to get faster. I gave it 100 percent, and the coaches really gave us a great foundation. That’s what got me where I am."

Moncla redshirted as a freshman in 1989, Mitchell’s final season with the Cajuns, but he could see the tight end was not featured in the Mitchell-led offense.

"Lucky for me, my second year the quarterback was (Ville Platte’s) James Freeman, and they switched to a pro set," Moncla said. "They changed the offensive formation, and I was the only tight end on scholarship."

Results on the field were not fortunate, though, as UL struggled to records of 5-6, 2-8-1 and 2-9 before finally breaking through with an 8-3 mark in 1993. Not surprisingly, some of Moncla’s memories of Cajun Field were not happy ones.

"I remember Brett Favre’s touchdown pass over Jonas Francois with 4 seconds left (1990 homecoming) and the (25-6) loss to Alabama," he said. "We had a lot of people there, but lost the game. We did put a whipping on La. Tech my senior year, though."

Moncla now runs Moncla Marine and has helped to coach sons Mack and Beau in SLYSI and at Fatima with former Cajun Chris Gannon. One more thing …

"I don’t miss a Cajun game," he said.

Athletic Network Footnote: Click here http://athleticnetwork.net/site274.php then click the 1989 – 1983 years for pictures of Buck Moncla and his teammates.