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Football: UL’s McGuire surpasses 1,000-yard plateau

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, December 6, 2015

 

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UL Ragin’ Cajuns running back Elijah McGuire (15) runs with the football before scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA football game against the Troy Trojans at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La., Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015.(Photo: Paul Kieu, The Advertiser)

 

He hit a major milestone, and moved up in the UL record books.

Junior running back Elijah McGuire might have done even more, too, had 2015 not ended for him very much like it started: with a terrifically sore shoulder.

“That shoulder is really bothering him, and so we finally just said, ‘Man, the guy, he’s given us everything he’s got,’ ” said Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Mark Hudspeth, who pulled the Sun Belt Conference’s reigning Player of the Year about halfway through the fourth quarter a season-ending 41-17 loss to Troy on Saturday night at Cajun Field.

“He had nothing left,” Hudspeth added. “Really proud of him. Now we need to get him back, get him healthy and get him in position to have an incredible senior year.”

McGuire — who underwent offseason shoulder surgery, missed spring drills and really didn’t hit during preseason camp — ran 14 times for 75 yards including an 18-yard touchdown as the Cajuns closed at 4-8.

He also caught four passes for 22 yards including a 7-yard TD.

McGuire finished with 1,047 rushing yards, giving him back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and putting him in the company of Tyrell Fenroy and Michael Desormeaux as the only Cajuns to surpass the plateau more than once.

His 1,047 becomes the seventh-best individual Cajun rushing season — trailing only Fenroy’s 1,375 in 2008, Brian Mitchell’s 1,311 (1989), his own 1,264 last year, Fenroy’s 1,197 (2006), Desormeaux’s 1,141 (2004) and Fenroy’s 1,053 (2005).

It’s one of just nine 1,000-yard rushing seasons in UL history, along with those seven, Desormeaux’s 1,035 in 2008 and Fenroy’s 1,021 in 2007.

McGuire also became the first Cajun running back with at least 100 career catches. His four Saturday gave him exactly 100.

ROBINSON HURT TOO

Fifth-year senior receiver Jamal Robinson also was done early due to injury.

Robinson played his final game as a Cajun despite turf toe and an ankle sprain that had him in a walking boot earlier in the week, and finished with two catches for 17 yards to give him 2,653 career receiving yards (third all-time behind Brandon’s Stokley’s 3,702 and Fred Stamps2,789).

But he couldn’t go in the second half.

“Early on, while it was still somewhat okay, he made a couple of nice plays,” Hudspeth said. “But as the game wore on, it just got worse and worse.

“Give the guy credit, man. He wanted to be out there, and he gave us all he had. He just went until it wouldn’t go no more.”

Robinson wound up with 824 receiving yards on the season — moving him past Harry Peoples’ 817 in 2012 for 10th place on UL’s single-season records list.

ALVAREZ SCORES

With Stevie Artigue battling muscle tightness, fifth-year senior Carlos Alvarez has been kicking off for UL the past few weeks.

On Saturday, Alvarez attempted both his first two career PATs and first career field goal, a 41-yarder. He made them all.

The West St. Mary High product got the call over walk-on Aaron Bird, who kicked PATs and field goals the past two games.

“(Alvarez) sort of got hot (this past) week at practice,” Hudspeth said. “I even (went) up to him and said, ‘Man, where did that come from?’

“He was really kicking the ball well, so I waited until pregame warmup and I just wanted to sort of see who had had the hot hand during pregame.

“They both were kicking well,” Hudspeth added, “and it just came down to he was a senior and I felt like he would do a good job. And he certainly did. … Really proud of Carlos Alvarez.”

BRAZIL SUSPENDED

Reserve defensive back/return specialist Jeryl Brazil was suspended Saturday due to what Hudspeth said was a violation of an undisclosed team rule.

Brazil also didn’t travel to Appalachian State one week earlier because of what Hudspeth called improper reaction to a prior loss to New Mexico State.

“His status on the team will be evaluated in the coming weeks,” Hudspeth said.