Football: Hudspeth plans to play Fuselier, Thomas more at Tulane

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, Sept. 23, 2016

With the high-tempo pace UL’s offense showed in last Saturday’s win over South Alabama, especially during a second half filled with big plays and short drives for the Ragin’ Cajuns, not everyone was able to get on the field nearly as much Cajuns coach Mark Hudspeth would have liked.

Gabe Fuselier falls into that category, and Hudspeth vowed this week that Fuselier — a versatile receiver who began the season in the slot but now is playing on the outside — will play more when UL visits Tulane on Saturday night.

“Our two-deep — it’s almost to the point to where we don’t even know who’s in, don’t even care,” Hudspeth said of a receiving corps now starting sophomore Keenan Barnes and redshirt freshman Ja’Marcus Bradley on the outside with Al Riles backed up by Gary Haynes in the slot. “Our two-deep are rolling pretty well.”

That being the case, why didn’t Fuselier — and to a somewhat lesser degree backup wideout Michael Jacquet, a redshirt freshman who had a first-half touchdown catch Saturday — play much more against South Alabama?

“We didn’t substitute as well as we would have liked,” Hudspeth said. “Keenan Barnes and Ja’Marcus Bradley went way too many snaps. Gabe (Fuselier) should have gotten more snaps (last week). He will get more (this week).”

Fuselier, a junior from Catholic High in New Iberia and a frequent starter for the starter for the Cajuns, has one catch for 11 yards this season.

Riles has a team-high 12 catches for 194 yards; Bradley has 10 grabs for 161 yards; Barnes has a team-leading two touchdown receptions, and Jacquet has three catches.

“Sometimes coaches, just in the heat of the moment, you’re trying to get them in, but you want to play with tempo,” Hudspeth said. “So if you substitute, they’ll stop the game and give everybody a chance to get lined up.

“We got our tempo going in the second half (last Saturday), and just didn’t want to substitute,” he added. “But we’ve got to get those guys in when there is a dead ball, because those guys (Fuselier and Jacquet) are good players, too.”

The Cajuns, according to Hudspeth, experienced a similar situation on the other side of the ball.

Cornerback Simeon Thomas lost his starting job after UL’s first game of the season.

But Hudspeth still intends for him to be part of a three-man rotation with current starters Troy McCollum and Christian Goodlett, and the Cajun coach didn’t feel Thomas played nearly enough against South Alabama.

That also could change Saturday at Tulane.

“Simeon has played well,” Hudspeth said of Thomas, who missed the last two seasons due to mostly academic-related reasons, “and should have gotten more reps the other night.

“Sometimes as coaches you get caught up in the game, in the situations, and you don’t do a good-enough job substituting.

“He (Thomas) understands that he needs some work, and it’s gonna come,” Hudspeth added. “He should have gotten more of it last week, and it will come this week.”

   NO STARTER NAMED

According to NOLA.com, Tulane coach Willie Fritz declined to name a starting quarterback Thursday and will not do so before the Green Wave plays host to UL on Saturday.

But Fritz, according to the website, did say both Glen Cuiellette and Johnathan Brantley will play against the Cajuns.

Cuiellette started Tulane’s first two games of the season, and Brantley — a true freshman — opened the Green Wave’s 21-14 loss to Navy last Saturday.

   BIG CROWD

Hudspeth anticipates a big crowd Saturday night’s at Tulane’s 30,000-capacity Yulman Stadium.

UL will be paying its first visit to the on-campus stadium, and Hudspeth expects plenty of Cajun fans will be on hand.

UL played four straight New Orleans Bowls from 2011-2014, but after going 4-8 last season they were denied an opportunity to play in the Crescent City in 2015.

“We love making that trip,” Hudspeth said, “and our fans love making the trip, and I really think we’ll have … a great turnout.