Ragin' Cajuns Place Four On 2023 All-Louisiana Football Team

BATON ROUGE – Highlighted by first-team selections Neal Johnson and Kenneth Almendares, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns placed four players on the 2023 All-Louisiana College Football team, which was released by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) on Saturday.

The teams were selected in a vote by the state football sports information directors and a statewide panel of media members.

Johnson, named the first-team tight end, and Almendares, the state's top kicker, were joined on the team by second-team offensive lineman AJ Gillie and honorable mention return specialist Zylan Perry.

Johnson, who earned third-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors, caught 29 passes for 356 yards and five touchdowns for the Ragin' Cajuns during the 2023 season. The Mesquite, Texas native led the team in touchdowns and ranked second in receptions.

Four of his five touchdowns came against Sun Belt opponents, while the senior capped off the regular-season with a season-high 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns against ULM.

Almendares led Louisiana in scoring on the season with 85 points making 46 of 47 extra points and 13 of 14 in field goal attempts. The Clute, Texas product was tied for sixth nationally in field goal percentage while tying the Louisiana school-record of 18 consecutive field goals made.

Gillie started all 12 games for the Ragin' Cajuns at left guard tallying 38 knockdowns on the season. The third-team All-SBC pick posted a season-high grade of 94 percent at Minnesota and earned a grade of 93 in the win over Texas State.

The Natchitoches, Louisiana native was a key member of the offensive line that ranked second in the SBC in rushing offense and third in scoring.

Perry, in his first season as a return specialist, averaged 24.9 yards per return to rank in the top-20 nationally among FBS players. The Franklin, Louisiana native ranked third nationally with 723 kickoff return yards on the season and had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Southern Miss.

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2023 LSWA All-Louisiana College Football Team

First Team Offense
Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes
OL/Mark Barthelemy, Nicholls/Sr./Opelousas, La./SLC Offensive Lineman of Year
OL/Will Campbell, LSU/So./Monroe, La./First Team All-SEC
OL/Sincere Haynesworth, Tulane/Sr./Pearland, Texas/First Team All-AAC, HM CFN A-A
OL/Emery Jones, LSU/So./Baton Rouge, La./Second Team All-SEC
OL/Cameron Wire, Tulane/Sr./Gonzales, La./First Team All-AAC
TE/Neal Johnson, Louisiana/Sr./Mesquite, Texas/29 rec., 5 TDs, 3rd Team All-SBC
WR/Malik Nabers, LSU/Jr./Lafayette, La./86 rec., 1,546 yds, 14 TDs, First Team A-A
WR/Brian Thomas, LSU/Jr./Walker, La./60 rec., 1,079 yds, 15 TDs, Second Team All-SEC
RB/Collin Guggenheim, Nicholls/Jr./Kenner, La./833 yds, 11 TDs, All-SLC First Team
RB/Makhi Hughes, Tulane/Fr./Birmingham, Ala./1,290 yds, 7 TDs, Frosh A-A, AAC Rookie of Year
QB/Jayden Daniels, LSU/Sr./San Bernadino, Calif./3,812 pass, 1,134 rushing yds, 50 TDs, Heisman winner

First Team Defense
Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes
DL/Sundiata Anderson, Grambling/Sr./College Park, Ga./60 tackles, 11.5 TFL, First Team All-SWAC
DL/CKelby Givens, Southern/So./Shreveport, La./61 tackles, 7 sacks, First Team All-SWAC
DL/Darius Hodges, Tulane/Jr./Montgomery, Ala./25 tackles, 7.5 sacks, HM A-A, First Team All-AAC
DL/Patrick Jenkins, Tulane/Jr./New Orleans, La./32 tackles, 5.5 sacks, First Team A-A, AAC POY
LB/Micah Davey, McNeese/So./Baton Rouge, La./153 tackles, 2.0 sacks, First Team All-SLC
LB/Jesus Machado, Tulane/Jr./Miami, Fla./98 tackles, 1 Int., HM A-A, AAC LB of Year
LB/Harold Perkins, LSU/So./New Orleans, La./71 tackles, 5.5 sacks, Second Team All-SEC
DB/Ian Conerly-Goodly, Southeastern/So./Covington, La./109 tackles, 1 Int., First Team All-SLC
DB/Tyler Morton, Nicholls/Jr./St. Rose, La./63 tackles, 4 Int., First Team All-SLC
DB/Lance Robinson, Tulane/Sr./New Orleans, La./39 tackles, 4 Int., HM A-A, AAC CB of Year
DB/Willie Roberts, Louisiana Tech/Sr./Fort Worth, Texas/38 tackles, 12 PBU, 1 int.

First Team Special Teams
Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes
K/Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana/Jr./Clute, Texas/13-14 FGs, 46 Long, 46-47 PAT, T6 NCAA FG Pct.
P/Blake Ochsendorf, Louisiana Tech/Sr./Savage, Minn./45.7 average, 15th NCAA, 17 punts 50 or more
RS/Smoke Harris, Louisiana Tech/Sr., St. Francisville, La./283 PR yards, 1 TD, C-USA Leader

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jayden Daniels, LSU

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Patrick Jenkins, Tulane
                Voting: Jenkins 17, Micah Davey (McNeese) 6, Logan Brimmer (La. Christian) 2; Willie Roberts (LA Tech) 2, Perkins (LSU) 1

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Makhi Hughes, Tulane
                Voting: Hughes 21, Michael Richard (LA Tech) 7

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Pat McQuaide, Nicholls
                Voting: McQuaide 11, Myles Heard (LA Tech) 9, Taevion Cunningham (La. Christian) 5, Shedro Louis (Tulane) 3

COACH OF THE YEAR: Willie Fritz, Tulane
                Voting: Fritz 14, Drew Maddox (La. Christian) 7, Tim Rebowe (Nicholls) 5, Brian Kelly (LSU) 2

Second Team Offense
Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes
OL/John Allen, Southeastern/Sr./Jackson, Miss./First Team All-SLC
OL/AJ Gillie, Louisiana/Jr./Natchitoches, La./Third Team All-SBC
OL/Cole LeClair, McNeese/Jr./Middleburg, Fla./Second Team All-SLC
OL/Evan Roussel, Nicholls/Jr./Lutcher, La./First Team All-SLC
OL/Charles Turner, LSU/Sr./Canton, Ohio/Started all games at center
TE/Jacob Ganote, La. Christian/Sr./Montz, La./30 Rec (team leader), 4 TDs, First Team All-SAC
WR/Chris Brazzell II, Tulane/Fr./Midland, Texas/44 rec., 711 yds, 5 TDs, Third team All-AAC
WR/Smoke Harris, LA Tech/Sr./St. Francisville, La./83 rec., 796 yds, 4 TDs
RB/Devin Briscoe, La. Christian/989 yds, 9 TDs, First Team All-SAC
RB/Jaylon Spears, Nicholls/So./New Orleans, La./753 yds, 6 TDs, SLC POY
QB/Michael Pratt, Tulane/Jr./Boca Raton, Fla./2,406 yds passing, 27 total TDs, AAC Off. POY

Second Team Defensive
Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes
DL/Logan Brimmer, La. Christian/Sr./Boutte, La./40 tackles, 9.0 sacks, SAC Defensive POY
DL/Devean Deal, Tulane/So./El Paso, Texas/40 tackles, 4.0 sacks, HM All-AAC
DL/Adin Huntington, ULM/Jr./Stafford, Va./63 tackles, 8.5 sacks, Second Team All-SBC
DL/Arlen Williams, Southeastern/Sr./Boothville, La./40 tackles, 6 sacks, First Team All-SLC
LB/Jeslord Boateng, LA Tech/Sr./Dublin, Ohio/93 tackles, 9 TFL, 1 sack
LB/Herman Christophe IV, Southeastern/Sr./Plaquemine, La./85 tackles, 4 TFL, First Team All-SLC
LB/Greg Penn, LSU/Jr./Baltimore, Md./83 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 int.
DB/Jordan Carter, Southern/Grad./Bryans Road, Maryland/63 tackles, 4 int, First Team All-SWAC
DB/Jarius Monroe, Tulane/Sr./LaPlace, La./48 tackles, 3 int, First Team All-AAC
DB/Kam Pedescleaux, Tulane/Sr./Houston, Texas/52 tackles, 2 int, AAC Safety of the Year
DB/Andre Sam, LSU/Sr./Iowa, La./74 tackles, 3 int

Second Team Special Teams
Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes
K/Damian Ramos, LSU/So./Baltimore, Md./12-15 FGs, 72-72 PATs
P/Austin Dunlap, Southeastern/Sr./Slidell, La./43.9 avg., 13 punts 50 yds or more
RS/Darius Lewis, Southeastern/Jr./New Orleans, La./221 PR yardage, long 44, First Team All-SLC PR

Honorable Mention
Offense
OL – Rashad Green (Jr., Baton Rouge, La.), Tulane; Bert Hale (Jr., Epps, La.), LA Tech;
TE – Lee Negrotto (Jr., Pass Christian, Miss.), Nicholls

Defense
LB – Andre "Bubba" Reed (Sr., Basile, La.) La. Christian
DB – Pop McGhee (Jr., Opelousas, La.) La. Christian; Kendarius Smith (Jr., Meridian, Miss.) Nicholls

Special Team
RS – Zylan Perry (Fr., Franklin, La.) Louisiana

Ragin' Cajuns Place Four On 2023 All-Louisiana Football Team

Players Mentioned

Kenneth Almendares

AJ Gillie

Neal Johnson

Kam Pedescleaux

Zylan Perry

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