|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Football: Three Ragin’™ Cajuns Named on Reese’™s Senior Bowl Top 250LAFAYETTE – Levi Lewis, Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas were recognized as three of the top seniors ahead of the 2020 college football season after landing on the Reese’s Senior Bowl Top 250, the organization announced on Thursday. Louisiana’s three selections are tied for the most in the Sun Belt Conference and the second most amongst Group of Five opponents, while the Ragin’ Cajuns are just one of three programs with two running backs named to the list along with Alabama and Baylor. Lewis has garnered plenty of recognition during the preseason, having been named to the Manning Award Preseason Watch List, the Davey O’Brien Award Preseason Watch List, the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Watch List. During his junior campaign, he threw for 3,050 yards and 26 touchdowns, both of which were single-season school records. He went on to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns to 11 wins and a thrilling 27-17 victory over Miami (Ohio) in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl, where he was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Lewis enters his final season ranked ninth in program history with 4,012 career passing yards and fourth in total passing touchdowns with 35. On top of his stellar performances through the air, Lewis added 195 yards and three scores on the ground, aiding in the team’s school-record 42 rushing touchdowns. With his help, Louisiana finished the season with 6,918 total yards of offense and 69 total touchdowns, the most in a single season in school history. Louisiana’s running back tandem has also been highly touted entering the 2020 season, having been named to the Doak Walker Preseason Watch List for the second consecutive season. Mitchell was a huge part in the group’s success a year ago after he galloped for 1,147 yards and 16 touchdowns. His yardage total ranked fourth in the Sun Belt and made him just the sixth player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark, while his touchdown total ranked 11th nationally. On the year, he notched five, 100-yard games and four multi-touchdown games. His best performance came at Ohio on Sept. 21, 2019, when he toted the ball 17 times for 143 yards and three scores before earning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors. He finished the year with Second Team All-Conference honors. Ragas also played a big role in the backfield, toting the ball 116 times for 886 yards and 11 touchdowns. The New Orleans native joined Mitchell as one of the most productive backs in the conference, ranking fifth in touchdowns and eighth in rushing yards. He had a huge game on the road against Georgia Southern (Sept. 28), rushing for a season-high 131 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Ragas finished the season with Third Team All-Conference honors. The pair helped Louisiana set the school record for the most rushing yards (3,604) and most rushing touchdowns (42) in a single season. The Reese’s Senior Bowl is the nation’s most prestigious college all-star game, as it annually serves as the first step of the NFL draft process, which explains our hashtag, #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE. The Reese’s Senior Bowl has had 93 total players and 40 selected in the first three rounds each of the past two years, including 10 first-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. The 93 figure represents nearly 40% of the total draft these past two years. One thing that differentiates the Reese’s Senior Bowl from other all-star games is the participation of two full NFL coaching staffs. Last year, the two teams were coached by the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals and there were over 900 credentialed NFL personnel in Mobile, Ala for game week. The Ragin’ Cajuns are set to open the 2020 campaign on Saturday, September 12, when head coach Billy Napier‘s squad make its first-ever trip to Ames, Iowa, to take on Iowa State.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
