Welcome everyone to the latest edition of the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns Position Preview!
This week we put the microscope on a position that should be the highlight of the 2017 season: the wide receiver. Head coach Mark Hudspeth has said that the group he has this season is one of the best he’s ever had. Without further ado, let’s get into the preview.
Departing Players:
The biggest departure for the Ragin Cajuns has to be their star in Al Riles. The Covington native originally played on the defensive side of the ball before switching over to the position in 2014 as a sophomore. The rest is history for him as he ended his career with 1,560 yards and seven touchdowns.
Those numbers may not look fantastic, but being around other solid players like Jamal Robinson, Elijah McGuire, and several others. While he was the biggest player that left the program, there were a few other players that left the program to find greener pastures.
Returning Players:
The Cajuns have a wealth of experience this season with all three of their primary wideouts from 2016 along with one veteran that missed the season due to injury. Let’s first look at a pair of sophomores that came out of nowhere to get regular snaps in 2016 in Ja’Marcus Bradley and Michael Jacquet.
These two came on throughout fall camp thanks in part to Anthony Jennings working well with them. Bradley wound up having a little bit of a better season statistically and showed that he can be one of the starters in 2017. The same case can be made for Jacquet, but with some of the transfers becoming eligible this season, it’s a bigger hill to climb (we’ll get to that).
The Cajuns also have their receiving leader from last year in Keenan Barnes. Expect him to be the WR1 on the depth chart because of his ability on the field.
Finally, Devin Scott is returning from an injury he sustained last season during fall camp. While a senior usually has a shot at making in the depth chart, it’s the fact that there are some other strong players that will make his return a little bit more of a challenge.
The Other Guys:
There are a couple players that may not have had much experience, but will look to make waves in the depth chart. The first one caught quite a few people’s eyes back in the spring game and that was Ryheem Malone.
The transfer out of SMU showed a lot of speed during the spring game and wound up with 60 yards off of two receptions and a touchdown in the process. If he can keep that up during fall camp, expect him to skyrocket up the depth chart.
Another player to keep an eye on is Calif Gossett. He also had a solid spring game with two receptions for 49 yards. He’s another player to watch during fall camp this season.
Overall Thoughts:
What Hudspeth said about this wide receiving corps is 100 percent accurate. The depth that they have is pretty strong and with a new offensive coordinator in Will Hall, the sky is the limit for this squad.
-Clint Domingue