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Football: Trail tales – Hudspeth shares UL recruiting stories

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UL coach Mark Hudspeth gives fans the rundown on UL’s new additions at last Wednesday night’s signing bash. Feb 3, 2016.(Photo: SCOTT CLAUSE, THE ADVERTISER)

 

 

With 22 new Ragin’ Cajuns having joined the program on last Wednesday’s National Signing Day, another recruiting season is in the books for UL coach Mark Hudspeth.

After a weekend of rest, relaxation and recovery, it all starts again this week.

The trail is a long one – practically never-ending – and around every twist and turn, every bend and corner, there are anecdotes collected, memories made and tales worth telling.

On the day he signed his Class of 2016, Hudspeth took time to share a few.

Here are 10 to chew on:

   1. REPPING THE 662

Cajun signee Trevara Miller, a well-fed 283-pound defensive lineman, is an Itawamba (Mississippi) Community College who played his high school ball at Noxapater High in tiny Noxapater, Mississippi.

The population there is somewhere just south of 500.

“Trev comes from a town in my county (Winston), where I grew up, 15 minutes from my home,” said Hudspeth, whose hometown of Louisville is 10 times and change larger than Noxapater at 6,500 or so.

“He comes from what I call ‘The 662.’ … Me and him had a lot of good talks about Woody’s (Stop N Shop), right there at four-way stop in Noxapater.

“We have a lot in common,” the Cajun coach added. “So that was fun, especially when him and his mom came down (to UL) on the visit. We knew a lot of the same people, and that made it pretty neat.”

   2. DESORMEAUX DELIVERS

Hudspeth seems to like the fact UL quarterback signee Jake Arceneaux played under a former Cajuns QB at Ascension Episcopal School.

“Jake’s a winner,” the Cajun coach said.

“This guy has been coached by one of UL’s greatest, in Michael Desormeaux. So he’s already already got a great background as far the way he’s been coached, the way he’s been prepared.”

Hudspeth also likes the fact Arceneaux grew up playing basketball in addition to football.

“He’s a guy that grew up playing all sports. … So this guy loves to compete, loves the Ragin’ Cajuns,” Hudspeth said. “And his relationship with his high school coach, Coach Desormeaux, and us knowing Coach Desormeaux, we think he’ll be a great fit for us here at UL.”

   3. OFF THE LINE

Hudspeth bemoaned some UL could not sign, referencing Ponchatoula High defensive end Jahaziel Lee – who was flipped by Georgia Tech – in particular.

But it really stings, he suggested, when it’s a local product who is sought after but opts to leave anyway.“We try to recruit the local area really hard, and try to do a great job,” Hudspeth said. “You know, when some players get away, and they go to Texas Tech, or go off to other universities, yeah, that hurts us, because we want to keep those guys at home.”

He did not mention him by name, but Kevin Moore – a linebacker from Acadiana High who may play strong safety at the next level – was recruiting strongly by UL but wound up signing instead with Texas Tech.

   4. NEXT IN LINE

With Southern Mississippi on him hard and some SEC schools sniffing around late, including Ole Miss, the Cajuns had to work hard to land running back Trey Ragas out of Archbishop Bishop Shaw High in the New Orleans Area.

Part of the sell while pitching Ragas, Hudspeth suggested was the precedent sat by UL’s two most-recent starting running backs, Alonzo Harris and Elijah McGuire.

Harris played in six games last season for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.

McGuire is a senior-to-be who tested NFL Draft waters after last season before ultimately decided to stay for his final season with the Cajuns.

Both were first team All-Sun Belt running backs in 2014, and McGuire was the Sun Belt’s 2014 Sun Belt Player of the Year.

“He fits our mold as a running back,” Hudspeth said of Regas.

“He was pretty pleased with his visit here and what we had to offer him, and especially with the success our other backs have had.

“Both have been Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year. … So we’ve done well at the running back position,” the Cajun coach added, “and I think he wanted to be the next guy.”

Ragas, incidentally, is listed at 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds.

“I don’t see him getting much bigger,” Hudspeth said. “He’s already a pretty mature kid. … He comes in, you know, one of the most developed running backs at this point that we’ve had.

“Alonzo (Harris) came in thin and tall and lanky, and build himself into the 240-pound back that he is. Trey is not a 6-3 back. He’s already put together really solid, so for us I think he’ll play at that weight throughout his career.”

   5. BIG FELLA

Cajun signee Randon Haynes, an offensive lineman from Waxahatchie High in Texas, is listed at 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds.

Hudspeth agreed that based on that alone it’s probably safe to assume Haynes is not related to UL slot receiver Gary Haynes, who is very generously listed it at 5-9 and 175 – but perhaps is closer to about 5-7 and 150 soaking wet.

“You can say that’s true,” Hudspeth said.

Gary Haynes, though, is also from Texas. He played at Manvel High, the Houston area.

   6. QUAVE COMPARISON

Speaking of size, Akkai Ward – an offensive lineman from Brusly High – is listed at 6-3, 310.

Hudspeth sees in him a little bit of Daniel Quave, the ex-Cajun lineman who did not miss a start in four recent seasons at UL.

“He’s really wide, (has) a great base,” Hudspeth said. “Not quite as tall (as Mykhael Quave, Daniel’s younger brother and another former Cajun starter).

“Daniel was about that 6-2, 6-3 frame, and about 320. So he (Ward) fits that mold, and he has really good feet – a big, wide guy that has a lot of movement.”

   7. FAMILY TIES

Korey Louis, a linebacker from Breaux Bridge High, has some families that impress Hudspeth.

“What a pedigree this guy’s got,” the Cajun coach said. “His dad was a great basketball player at Louisiana Tech; his brother (Lamar Louis) was (a linebacker) at LSU.

“That’s a guy that I think is gonna come in and have a chance to play at the linebacker position, whether it’s inside or outside. He’s a guy that can run sideline to sideline. We’ve had a lot of good players from Breaux Bridge, and I think he’ll be the next one.”

Another linebacker, Breaux Bridge High product Tyren Alexander, finished his Cajun career in 2015.

   8. READY NOW

One question coaches always seem to get asked on signing day is the one about who might be able to play right away.

Hudspeth mentioned a few, including – perhaps – Cecilia High running back Ricky Calais Jr. as a running back and Magnolia, Texas, defensive back Damar’ren Mitchell.

There was another, too. But he has some unfinished business before turning to the football field for the Cajuns.

“Edward Hayes has a chance to play as a freshman,” Hudspeth said. “This kid is an exceptional player, an exceptional talent.

“He’s the best player on his basketball team right now who’s probably gonna make the state tournament. We felt like we snuck one out of Texas on that one.”

Hayes is a defensive back from Coldspring, Texas.

“He’s a heckuva player,” Hudspeth said.

   9. SLEEPER PICK

The signee Hudspeth feels may be most under-the-radar is Calif Gossett, a 6-5 receiver from Pensacola High in Florida.

South Florida and Central Florida supposedly jumped on him late, but when it comes to press clippings and awards Gossett didn’t even garner much attention in his local paper.

It perhaps doesn’t hurt, though, that UL picked up some decent hands from the Pensacola area several years back. That would be those belonging to Ladarius Green, now a tight end with the NFL’s San Diego Chargers.

“He (Gossett) has exceptional ball skills, and he can really run for a tall guy,” Hudspeth said. “When you see a lot of tall guys like that, you may not think they’re very dynamic.

“But he’s got some dynamic ability with that size. … We want our receivers big on the outside, and we’ve had some successful ones with Jamal (Robinson), Jared Johnson and even James Butler (who) was 6-2.”

10. HOLDING ON

With a late offer coming in from Florida, and some schools in Texas trying to snag him, the Cajuns fought to make sure Jasper (Texas) High tight end Cody Mitchell did not slip away.

Hudspeth credits inside linebackers coach Mike Lucas, who recruits the East Texas area for UL, for making sure he did not.

Lucas, a former head coach Southeastern Louisiana, was defensive coordinator at Northwestern State prior to joining Hudspeth’s staff following the 2014 season.

But there’s someone else too – and he’s a fellow Cajun signee, a linebacker out of Newton High in Texas.

“He (had) a lot of action,” Hudspeth said of Mitchell, “but I thought he had a great relationship with Coach Lucas.

“And then Tanner Holmes (the linebacker from Newton) and (Mitchell) are really good friends. … We had a lot of things in our favor for Cody, so that really worked out well.”

Mitchell, by the way, stands 6-5.

“He’s gonna fit into what we do,” Hudspeth said. “He’s a long, very athletic tight end that can really stretch the field. For what we’re gonna do with the tight end, that’s the mold that we were looking for.”