University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Spring Football Nearing End
4/2/2011 12:11:00 AM | Football
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns continued to wind down spring football with practice No. 11 on Friday afternoon. After a cold and rainy Wednesday workout, weather conditions returned to as they had been all spring with sunny skies and warm temperatures on Friday.
The team moved around for over two hours, covering 24 periods of work. Practice included several team periods with first down, third down, red zone and goal line emphasis.
"I liked the enthusiasm today," head coach Mark Hudspeth told his team after practice. "We are doing a good job with the little things. I like the way we moved around.
"I thought we had a good tempo. Offensively, we picked it up from the last practice."
The team used Friday to install some new offensive and defensive plays, which generally means the players have to think about what they are doing, instead of just doing it.
"We're still installing a lot of plays," Hudspeth stated. "The best thing for us is to watch the film and learn from it. That will make us a better football team."
The Cajuns have a closed practice on Sunday as Coach Hudspeth plans to use the practice time to work on game procedures.
"Sunday is going to be a game day dress rehearsal for everyone. It will be live and intense.
"We plan to practice everything from pregame routines to game communication and substitutions. I'm anxious to see how it unfolds."
Players have been competing for jobs everyday during the spring and Sunday's final scrimmage will not mark any type of deadline to decide roles on the football team. Players have constantly moved up and down the depth chart and Sunday will just be another day for individuals to make their case for playing time.
"We have a lot of jobs that are going to carry over into the fall," Hudspeth explained. "Some jobs are so close they may not be decided until the week of our season opener.
"I'm in no hurry to make a decision. Guys will really work hard in the summer if they know a job is on the line."
The team's last practice in pads will be on Wednesday, April 6 at 3pm. Hudspeth expects the coaches to finish installing both the offensive and defensive playbook on that Wednesday.
The Cajuns have a walk-through scheduled on Friday, April 8 before finishing spring practice with the Spring Game on Saturday, April 9 at 5pm.
