Football: Hudspeth seems like right man for UL + press conference scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Monday

Daily Advertiser December 13, 2010

In a brief statement released Sunday afternoon, UL officials invited credentialed members of the media to attend a press conference at 10 a.m. today to introduce Mark Hudspeth as the 25th head football coach in school history.

The release came two days after The Daily Advertiser reported that Hudspeth, Mississippi State’s receivers coach/passing game coordinator for the past two years, had accepted the job.

UL’s decision to hire Hudspeth, who went 66-21 as the head coach at NCAA Division II school North Alabama from 2002-08, has already drawn rave reviews from the national media.

And it should.

Facing UL’s most critical coaching hire in recent memory — and perhaps ever — the trio of athletic director David Walker, senior associate athletic director Scott Farmer and university president Dr. E. Joseph Savoie hired an established coach. (They have a nice run going after getting another proven commodity last spring in men’s basketball coach Bob Marlin from Sam Houston State.)

Back in 1997, UL suffered one of the program’s most humbling losses at home against North Alabama. In a twist of fate, Hudspeth — a former North Alabama head coach — could be the man to get the Cajuns over the hump and back into a bowl game for the first time since 1970.

"He knows what it takes to run a successful program," said Tom Dienhart, the senior national college football writer for Rivals.com. "I’d think if you’re a fan of the program that you’re excited about the prospect of Mark Hudspeth being your head coach."

Dienhart is right. Ragin’ Cajun fans should be incredibly excited about this move.

If anyone wants to know exactly why, just take a look at Hudspeth’s resume.

Looking for experience? Check.

Hudspeth has 19 years of coaching experience — including a combined nine as a head coach. He has worked as a position coach for lower-level collegiate programs, as an offensive coordinator for D-II and FBS schools and as an assistant in the SEC.

Coming from that background, he knows how to deal with limited budgets and recruit student-athletes to a selective-admissions university like UL.

How about a track record of success? Double-check.

He went 25-1 and won a state championship as the head coach of his prep alma mater, Winston (Miss.) Academy, in 1996 and ’97. He was Delta State’s offensive coordinator (and strength and conditioning coach) in 2000 when the Statesmen won the D-II national championship. During his seven years as North Alabama’s head coach he won at least 10 games and advanced to the D-II playoffs five times.

Mississippi State, which was 5-7 last year, improved to 8-4 this season and plays Michigan on Jan. 1 in the Gator Bowl.

Want a keen offensive mind? That’s three-for-three.

Delta State broke a combined 39 records (21 school, 12 Gulf South Conference, six D-II) out of the spread with Hudspeth calling the offensive plays in 2000. UNA set 37 school records in ’03 and 50 records (44 school, six conference) in ’05 and ranked sixth nationally in scoring at 41.3 points per game in ’08. Mississippi State is 16th nationally this season in rushing (215.75 yards per game).

And how about this: Hudspeth is also only 42.

He is a young, eager and energetic coach and recruiter. The guy has worked his way up the ladder, and if he wins big here you’d expect him to be in the position to advance his career again.

Now it’s important to put things in perspective. Most programs go through a transition period following a coaching change. (Look at the UL men’s basketball team being 1-7 in Marlin’s first year, including a loss to Texas College on Sunday.) Plus, the Cajuns are coming off a 3-9 season.

With that said, there should be some expectations given Hudspeth’s track record and the state of the program that former head coach Rickey Bustle has left behind. It helps that Hudspeth takes over a program that has won six games in four of the past six years.

Some tweaks here and there and we could see the Cajuns contending for the Sun Belt Conference title and bowl bids in the immediate future. Remember, that’s exactly what college football expert Phil Steele, former Cajun quarterback Michael Desormeaux and a number of other people said after Bustle’s dismissal.

Steele said the Sun Belt is "wide open in the future" and with "the right coach you can make a very quick impact in the conference." Just look at what upstart Florida International did this year in winning a share of the Sun Belt and earning a bowl bid after joining the league to play football in 2005.

Today’s press conference to introduce Hudspeth is open to the public and will be held in the Cajundome’s Mardi Gras Ballroom. Cajun fans would be smart to show up. You might just witness the start of something big.

Joshua Parrott covers UL athletics for The Daily Advertiser. He can be reached at 337-289-6318 or jparrott@theadvertiser

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