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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. Travis Smothers
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Home Phone: 225-341-0065 Football: Smothers starts quickly September 08, 2004 – Bruce Brown September 8, 2004 LAFAYETTE � Travis Smothers knows how to make an entrance. As a late arrival to UL Lafayette’s football program in 2003, the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder rushed for 109 yards in 19 carries in the season opener at South Carolina. This year, after being switched to wide receiver in the offseason, Smothers caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jerry Babb that proved to be the difference in a 14-7 victory over Northwestern State. No matter what position he’s been asked to play, Smothers knows what to do with the ball. �It’s fun. It’s different,” Smothers said of the new position. �I played wide receiver in high school, so it wasn’t that big of a change.” He joins a receiver corps that is minus 2003 leader Fred Stamps, but still capable with veterans like Kemmie Lewis, Bill Sampy and B.J. Crist on hand. All of them are scrambling to be Babb’s main target, if possible. �We all can make plays,” Smothers said. �We try to get that first catch out of the way, to get the jitters out. There’s not enough balls to go around.” Babb completed 17 passes to nine different receivers in the win over NSU, a situation that’s unlikely to change soon. �There’s no primary target,” Smothers said. �Jerry is able to pick and choose, and go to whoever is open first. �We all want to have 10 catches a game, but we just have to go with the flow and be ready to contribute any way we can.” Smothers, Sampy and Lewis each had three catches last Saturday, all in short range. Cajun coach Rickey Bustle will be looking to stretch the field more in future games. �We’ve got to take more pops at it down the field,” Bustle said. That would be fine with Smothers, who has the speed to make that move pay dividends. For now, though, the plan is to do whatever is necessary to win games. �Starting 1-0 has given us some confidence,” Smothers said. �It shows us we can compete with anybody. �Our motto this year is �Unfinished Business’ and we want to keep this going. We’re playing more as a team this year, more focused. We have confidence that the next man will do his job, so we just focus on what we have to do.” The Cajuns are preparing for a road game with Louisiana Tech this week, and Smothers has an idea what to expect. Last year, after the Cajuns opened with a competitive 14-7 loss at South Carolina, they returned home and were throttled by Tech, 34-3. �I remember they move well on defense,” said Smothers, who netted 28 yards on 11 rushes that night. �They’re always around the ball.” Little has changed in Ruston. The Bulldogs held Nevada to just 7 yards on 34 rush attempts, including 12 for minus-32 for quarterback Jeff Rowe, in Monday’s 38-21 win. The Wolf Pack did throw for 244 yards, but was never in the game after trailing 21-0 at half. If the Cajuns are going to build from the momentum gained in their opening victory, they’ll have to rely on players like Smothers to keep making big plays. The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
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