PINEVILLE, La. – When you’re blocking for an offense that scores nearly 40 points per game, sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the shadows of skill players.
Yet, as the Wildcats prepare for their 2010 kickoff with a visit to Belhaven in Jackson, Miss., Saturday night at 7 p.m. (listen live online at 1055kbuck.com or on local radio at 105.5 FM), it’s the offensive line that’s been on fifth-year coach Dennis Dunn’s mind.
“Our offensive line can be all that they want to be,” Dunn said. “They have the size, the speed, the skill and the physicality up front that you need if you’re going to be a successful line.”
The starting line is indeed massive, with no player standing shorter than 6-foot-1 and no one lighter than 275 pounds.
The largest of the large, however, is sophomore left tackle Jeremy Vujnovich (Belle Chasse, La./Belle Chasse HS) who, at 6-5 and 280 pounds, is still packing on quality pounds as he heads toward his first collegiate start.
The leader up front will be three-year starting center and junior Ben Feibel (Shreveport, La./Northwood HS), who figures to be one of the select few linemen in LC’s history to start all four years of his college career.
“He’s like a coach on the field,” Dunn said. “He’ll make all of our calls and line adjustments up front.”
The remainder of the starting line will consist of sophomore Darin Moore (Ponchatoula, La./Ponchatoula HS), junior Hunter Crowder (Zachary, La./Zachary HS) and sophomore Shaun Cook (Dutchtown, La./Dutchtown HS).
The reserves are no slouches either and include several players with game experience, chief among them senior Cody Wilson (Kentwood, La./Jewel Sumner HS), a player who started all of 2008 and 2009 before being derailed by a foot injury, as well as senior Kevin Maddox (Loranger, La./Hahnville HS), senior Kevin Bryson (Pasadena, Texas/Sam Rayburn HS/Bethany College) and sophomore Sydney Williams (Dallas, Texas/Mesquite HS).
Throw in two versatile tight ends in Austin Proctor (Breaux Bridge, La./Teurlings Catholic) and Jesse Browder (Denison, Texas/Denison HS), both of whom played in 2009 and proved proficient both as blockers and receivers, and you’ve got the foundation for what Dunn believes can be a special offense.
“Our line is a special group,” Dunn said. “A lot of that has to do with our offensive line coaches, Justin Webb and Mike Richard. Coach Webb played here and has been with us as a coach for three years. We added Coach Richard (most recently the head coach at Pineville High) in the offseason and he’s been an amazing addition to our team.”
Of course, true to the blue-collar form of most offensive linemen, perhaps sprung from the personalities of their coaches, none of the men in the trenches expect or desire too much credit heading into or during the 2010 season.
“We’ve got some big guys with a great work ethic and two amazing coaches,” Wilson, the only lineman who’s been at LC for four years, said, “but I don’t any of us are too comfortable getting much of the credit. We only look good because of all the great skill players we have.”
Wilson is not along in his admiration of the skill-position players.
“We’ve got some talent at the skill positions,” Dunn said. “We return a lot of talented and experienced players and have some transfers who have come in and really added quality depth.”
Chief among the skill players, for the fourth consecutive year, will be AFCA All-American Jordan Rideaux (Carencro, La./Carencro HS), who can set a new career record for receptions at LC with 11 versus Belhaven.
Four-year starting quarterback Ben McLaughlin (Dierks, Ark./Dierks HS) is back for one last ride as is two-year starting tailback Chad Hindman, although both signal caller and ball carrier have new backups.
McLaughlin’s projected backup, Jamie Bunting (Alexandria, La./Alexandria Senior High), is sitting out the 2010 season recuperating from shoulder surgery. Thus, the second-string quarterbacking duties have fallen to true freshman Terrance Dorsey (Tioga, La./Tioga HS), who complements McLaughlin’s pocket-passer style, with an ability to make plays with his feet and arm.
“Ben McLaughlin is our guy,” Dunn said. “He’s a coach on the field and, frankly, I think he’ll become a great coach once his playing career is over. Terrance will back him up. Terrance is a true freshman, but he’s exceeded all of our expectations in terms of what he can do at the position. We had our eyes set on him as a skill-position player, but he’s proven himself as a quarterback and we plan to let him play. He’s very dangerous with the ball in his hands, so we plan on getting him into the game, just to give our opponents a different look.”
In the backfield, Hindman will be joined by two transfers, junior Daron Bartholomew (Edgard, La./West St. John HS/Arkansas-Monticello) and redshirt freshman CerDerrick Tyson (Shreveport, La./Evangel/Louisiana Tech).
Fullback Orry Landry (Cecilia, La./Cecilia HS), who missed most of his true freshman season with an injury, has returned as a redshirt freshman.
The strength of the offense, though, will likely be the receivers, where McLaughlin will have a bevy of targets to choose from, beginning with Rideaux and running through fellow starters like junior Davonne Lumar (Edgard, La./Lutcher HS), sophomore Cortland Bell (Oakdale, La./Oakdale HS) and junior Justin Usey (Belle Chasse, La./Belle Chasse HS)
Reserve wide-outs will also see plenty of action and will include the likes of junior Dayne Reeves (Longville, La./South Beauregard HS), senior Matt Albrecht (Slidell, La./Pope John Paul II HS), junior transfer Mike Thompson (New Orleans, La./Frisco Centennial HS/Trinity Valley CC), sophomore Preston Coleman (Bastrop, La./Bastrop HS), junior transfer Bryan Sampson (Slidell, La./Salmen HS/Southeastern Louisiana) and junior transfer Darnell Williams (Gulfport, Miss./Winter Park HS/Trinity Valley CC).
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
No unit was harder hit by graduations than the Wildcats’ defense, a unit that is replacing seven starters from 2009.
But, according to defensive coordinator Buck Buchanan, times are not as tough as they might seem.
“One thing we’ve tried to do over the years, especially the last four years, is play more than one deep throughout a season,” Buchanan said. “By doing that, we’ve made sure that, even when we have to replace a lot of starters, we’re replacing them with guys who have experience.”
Nowhere is this theory more noticeable than along the defensive line where four senior starters- Daniel Hathorn (Monroe, La./River Oaks), Ty Webb (Oak Grove, La./Oak Grove), Brandon Davis (Lafayette, La./Acadiana) and James Fowler (Montgomery, La./Montgomery) – have all been replaced by lettermen.
Redshirt Josh Montgomery (Texarkana, Tex./Pleasant Grove HS) and senior Charles Cloman (Shreveport, La./Evangel) have taken over as full-time starters on the interior while senior Robert Wilson (Shreveport, La./Southwood) and sophomore Logan Bonnette(Shreveport, La./Calvary Baptist) will start at the ends.
“The four we have starting are the best at their positions,” Buchanan said,” but there is a lot of quality behind them. We’ll continue to play at least two-deep up front.”
Perhaps the only question mark on defense will be found in the linebacking corps, where returning middle linebacker Taylor Cottano (New Roads, La./Catholic-Pointe Coupee) will be book-ended by two new starters, sophomore Nate Janzen (Pottsboro, Tex./Pottsboro HS), who played mostly on special teams in 2009, at weak-side linebacker and either junior Micah Cotton (Foley, Ala./Foley HS) or freshman Peter Ford (New Orleans, La./Teurlings Catholic) at strong-side linebacker.
“Cottano is one of the best read linebackers I’ve ever had the pleasure to coach,” Buchanan said. “He’s a heart and soul player, who’s all-in, all the time. We’re hoping that he continues to grow and develop into a leader on the defense. As far as our Sam and Will linebackers, Nate Janzen is a hard-nosed player with experience and a great work ethic. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him.
“Of course, Sam linebacker is a key position on our defense and we’re trying to replace (D3 Senior Classic All-Star, first-team All-Conference and current pro-player) Donavan Williams. Right now, we’ve got Micah Cotton and Peter Ford sharing the job and we think they will be able to handle it. Micah was banged up his first few years with us, but he’s healthy and looking better than ever. Peter was injured for most of fall camp, but he’s done great in the time he’s had on the field. Physically, he looks better than most of the guys you’ll find at the D-III level. He can run with the receiver of blitz the passer. I’m excited to see what he can do once he gets to full strength.”
The LC secondary, traditionally the Wildcats’ strongest defensive position dating back to the rebirth of football at the school in 2000, should again be a strength.
Sophomore Reggie Calhoun (New Orleans, La./Slidell HS), an all-conference performer in 2009, is back at corner along with second-year starter DeMel Dumas (Vacherie, La./St. James HS).
“Our secondary will be a strength for us,” Buchanan said. “Reggie is back and a year older. I believe he and DeMel are at the point now that they will be some of the best corners in our conference. Reggie is a hitter, one of the best hitters you’ll find, and DeMel is a technician who’s steadily improved since he got here.”
The pair will be joined by two new starters, sophomore free safety Chris Warrick (Pittsburg, Tex./Pittsburg HS) and sophomore strong safety Richard Logan (Coushatta, La./Red River HS), both of whom have coaches at LC raving, as well as LC Football’s version of the utility player in senior Jason McMillan (Church Point, La./Church Point HS).
“Richard Logan is special,” Buchanan said. “He’s big (6-1, 220) and fast and has an intense desire to win. There’s no telling how far he can go. Warrick is a big, physical safety. Last year, he played on special teams for us and had at least one big hit every game. He and Richard really play well together, they have a great chemistry. Then you throw in J-Mac. He’s been with us for four years now and, honestly, we consider him a starter. He might not line up on defense on the first play of the game, but he’ll be out there a lot. He can play free safety or rover affectively.”
SPECIAL TEAMS OUTLOOK
There are no real changes to report in the Louisiana College special teams, where senior leadership is the norm and talent the trend.
Punter John Babineaux (Cecilia, La./Cecilia) and place kicker John Michiels (Shreveport, La./Captain Shreve),each a three-year starter, are back to handle the kicking duties for LC while Browder will enter his second year of full-time service at long snapper.
Rideaux, the three-time American Southwest Conference Special Teams player of the year, will still handle the majority of the Wildcats punt and kick-return duties.
The only real change in the special teams will be in Rideaux’s second on kick returns and backup on punt returns.
Detric James (Shreveport, La./Evangel/TCU) held both jobs in 2009. In 2010, Calhoun and Tyson will share the duties.
2010 Louisiana College Football Schedule
2010 Louisiana College Football Roster