Football: Cajun lineman Quave’s absense bigger than he is

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, October 15, 2015

 

UL senior offensive guard Mykhael Quave has been lost for the season with an injury.(Photo: Advertiser file photo)

 

Senior offensive lineman Mykhael Quave’s absence is being felt on the field, with the Ragin’ Cajuns having to shuffle their offense line – more than once – in light of his loss.

As big as Quave is at 6-foot-5 and 294 pounds, though, the bigger void to fill may be the one he leaves off the field after exiting early with a Cajun career-ending shoulder injury.

Prior to UL’s 43-14 loss at Louisiana Tech early this month, UL coach Mark Hudspeth challenged fifth-year senior receiver Jamal Robinson, an NFL prospect, and junior running back Elijah McGuire, the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, to raise the level of their play and their leadership.

Afterward, even with the loss still stinging, Hudspeth praised Robinson for breaking multiple tackles on one of his two catches against the Bulldogs.

He had props for McGuire too.

“Look at what both those guys did,” the Cajun coach said then. “I was really proud of them. They showed they’re ready to take that next step.”

The two did just as UL, now 2-3 as it prepares to play Arkansas State on Tuesday night, bounced back to break a two-game losing skid with a 49-27 victory over Texas State at Cajun Field.

McGuire ran a career-high 28 times for a season-high 170 yards and one touchdown against the Bobcats, while Robinson had four receptions for 67 yards and two TDs, including a 17-yarder with 35 seconds to go in the first half that helped tie the game at 14-14 and made its way onto an ESPN top plays highlight reel.

That’s leadership in a by-example sort of way from Robinson and McGuire, neither of whom is the talk-it-up-loud type.

Also, after the loss at Louisiana Tech injured senior running back Effrem Reed – who has been sidelined all season by a shin injury – spoke and showed some leadership in his own way by asking Hudspeth if he could “holler” at the then-down-in-the-dumps team.

“I stepped out and let him have it,” said Hudspeth, who used the “holler” tag. “That was great to see.”

After the Cajuns practiced last Thursday, meanwhile, Jalen Nixon – UL’s new starting quarterback, having won the job from early season starter and team captain Brooks Haack – stood up and stood out as a leader in a subtle yet volumes-speaking manner.

It was a simple but meaningful gesture.

The Cajun starters and backups had already finished their final full practice prior to opening Sun Belt play against Texas State on Saturday night, and many headed toward their plush locker room inside UL’s newly constructed athletic performance center.

Some talked and joked among themselves as they took off pads and cut off tape.

But Nixon stuck around as UL’s scout team players – made up mostly of freshmen, walk-ons and other youngsters – got their usual weekly chance to impress Cajun coaches with an abbreviated scrimmage.

The fourth-year junior stood behind UL’s offensive players and appeared to be offering Cajuns QB Dion Ray – a true freshman – words of encouragement.

Yet even with all that, UL still has a big leadership hole to fill after losing Quave, whose voice in the locker room carries about much weight as the 294 pounds he does.

Quave, an NFL prospect expected to go the Senior Bowl and the NFL Draft Combine before he got hurt, had not missed a start since he began playing for the Cajuns as a redshirt freshman in 2012.

That streak ended, though, at 43 games – nine shy of his brother Daniel Quave’s school-record 52 – due to a torn rotator cuff sustained in the loss at Louisiana Tech.

The Lombardi Award national watch list member was injured in the first quarter at Ruston, yet finished the game even though he really couldn’t lift one of his arms without almost-unbearable pain.

When Nixon threw a costly pick-six on the last play of the half against Louisiana Tech, Quave was sent barreling backward into the Cajun QB – only because he, for all practical purposes, had only half of a properly functioning body to block his man.

The tear, which typically requires 9-to-12 months of recovery time, potentially puts Quave’s pro future on hold.

One thing Hudspeth does not want shelved, though, is Quave’s presence.

The Cajuns still are growing accustomed to life without him on the line, as center Eddie Gordon moved into his old spot at left guard against Louisiana Tech, left tackle Grant Horst moved to center and backup D’Aquin Withrow moved in at left tackle – only to have Hudspeth say earlier this week that Gordon will be back at center against Arkansas State and that the makeup of the rest of the line is up in the air.

Simply put, Hudspeth is not quite ready for his club to be without Quave – on any level.

“I did have a conversation with (him),” the Cajun coach said, “and talked about (how) we need him to still have a big role on this team.

“Now it’s going to be more of a player-coach, be a leader, an encourager,” Hudspeth added. “Because he still can have a big influence on this team. This team looks up to him that much.”