Welcome everyone to the latest edition of the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns Position Preview! This week, we look at the wide receiver corps.
There isn’t a lot of turnover, but there are some clear changes to the position headed into the 2018 season.
Departing Players:
A notable departure from the program was Devin Scott who was primarily used as a reserve wideout last season, catching three passes for 45 yards. It seemed like the product out of West Jefferson had a good sophomore campaign but his knee injury in 2016 really hurt him with the young talent that came in during that time.
While he didn’t leave the program, Michael Jacquet moved over to the defensive side of the ball during spring practice as a part of the secondary (we’ll get to them). Losing a productive wideout like Jacquet is going to hurt, but there’s some wideouts in the room that will likely make an impact.
Returning Players:
When you talk about returning wide receivers for the 2018 season, you have to start with Ryheem Malone. The transfer out of SMU was an absolute monster with 676 yards and four touchdowns, leading the team in receptions. His ability as a slot receiver for the Cajuns is going to be crucial in establishing the passing game.
You also can’t go without bringing up Ja’Marcus Bradley. The junior had another good year for the Cajuns with 475 yards and two touchdowns. You put that with Keenan Barnes’ 539 yards from 2017, it’s a solid combination of veterans that will help out whoever the quarterback is this year.
Jarrod Jackson wraps up the returning players of note and will be some added depth to the roster with 219 yards last year.
The Other Guys:
When you look up and down the Cajuns roster, there are a lot of wide receivers on the roster to talk about and one player that caught a lot of people’s attention is Jalen Williams. He had a long journey to the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns program that saw him as part of the Boston Red Sox farm system before coming on as a walk-on. He had a solid performance in the spring game and earned a scholarship at halftime along with several other players.
Meanwhile, Kadon Harrison is making the switch to wideout this season, trying out the new position back in spring practice. He could make some waves in the depth chart this season along with a player like Earnest Patterson, who was largely used as a punt and kick returner.
Overall Thoughts:
The strength for the Cajuns in recent years has been the run game and the wide receivers have played second fiddle. This might be the year where they start to make an impact with the amount of talented wide receivers on the roster.
-Clint Domingue