JANUARY 31 FRIDAY

REMINDER: INDOOR TRACK MEET THIS AFTERNOON IN THE ARENA

The schedule is on the Thursday blog.

The meet will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Friday with the women’s weight throw and men’s shot put. Running events will kick-off at 4:30 p.m. with the men and women’s 55-meter hurdles and 55-meter dash preliminaries.

Joining McNeese on Friday will be: Arkansas Baptist, LeTourneau, Loyola-New Orleans, New Orleans, Nicholls, Southeastern La., Talladega College, UL-Lafayette, Wiley, and Alumni from McNeese and New Orleans will all be participating.

RECRUITING WEEKEND

Today and tomorrow will wrap up the final weekend to recruiting. I have not heard how many recruits will be visiting today, but the list has to be short. I am not in town this morning so I do not have access to many of my sites that I depend on. I hope to get back this morning and update the page as soon as possible.

UPDATE

BASKETBALL TICKETS ARE GOING FAST FOR LAMAR GAME. GET YOURS TODAY!

I have tried to piece together some recruiting information, but all I hear is crickets. I know that the possibility of inking New Caney athlete Zion Childress is pretty low.  I figure he visited McNeese last weekend, but the Texas State Bobcats are reporting he is headed to San Marcos today for a visit. There is something fishy about his recruitment, but I will refrain from discussing. All I am saying is don’t expect to see him as a Cowboy.

Greg Clayton of Trinity Valley has said he is considering McNeese, but he has other offers. SFA is once again cleaning house in Texas and could possibly have another great recruiting year. I have often wondered what the D2 coaches know that D1 coaches miss out on. I have heard GMs of baseball clubs talk about scouting and evaluations help poor clubs to make better decisions on money management than rich clubs like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers.

Just yesterday on Full Ride on Sirius radio the host discussed the most underachieving programs in America. Those with blank checks are programs like Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and others you can guess on. Texas has more than anyone to spend, yet they cannot make the right decisions on players, coaches, or administrators. If you go back to several years of MLB drafts, you can see which teams got great late round picks, and those that made stupid picks. In 1983 Houston was staring at a local product being available at #9 named Roger Clemens. Instead, they said they wanted catcher Robbie Wine. Robbie never amounted to anything, and I guess you know the rest about Roger.

My point is I hated Ron Roberts because he came from Delta State where he had only 36 scholarships and he would sign 30 guys for SLU with only 63.  They learn all the tricks of the trade in manipulating money management and working the eligibility list. Not everyone that jumps to D1 is successful, but there are a ton of them that have been. Ryan Ivy knew what Colby Carthel could do at Texas Commerce because he saw him take a 3-8 program and turn it into a national champion. Carthel had the #1 recruiting class in the nation last year. He signed 32 and brought in another 4 PWO. So the marketing of this past year was a “young SFA” team with few seniors who would take the field in Carthel’s first program.

Well, he signed 13 in December and has 9 commitments so far in January. They have 8 transfers enrolled as well.

Where does he get all of these scholarships? Oh well, just watch for SFA in the next two years.

McNeese has offered 5-star deep snapper Zane McCraken of Calhoun, Georgia. He is one of the best, but has other offers.

JANUARY 30 THURSDAY

COWBOYS VS COLONELS DID NOT DISAPPOINT

PHOTO BY RAYMOND STEWART

LAS VEGAS LINE:

PICK’EM(GAME CALLED EVEN), OVER AND UNDER 142 TOTAL WITH MCNEESE (71) AND NICHOLLS (71). UNBELIEVABLE AS THE GAME ENDED IN A TIE IN REGULATION AND 140 POINTS SCORED. THE FINAL SCORE IS WHAT COUNTS SO MSU COVERED AND THE OVER COVERED.

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN	9-1	18-3
SAM HOUSTON STATE	8-2	15-6
NICHOLLS	8-3	14-8
MCNEESE	7-3	12-9
ABILENE CHRISTIAN	6-3	11-9
NORTHWESTERN STATE	6-5	9-11
CENTRAL ARKANSAS	5-5	6-15
A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI	5-6	9-13
LAMAR	4-6	10-11
SOUTHEASTERN LA.	3-7	6-15
UIW	2-7	5-15
NEW ORLEANS	2-10	6-16
HOUSTON BAPTIST	1-8	1-17

7 IN A ROW

It is quite normal when a game gets a lot of hype that fans walk away disappointed because the game did not deliver the close, exciting conclusion they hoped for. I am not quite as demanding because frankly, I am there to see a win if it is McNeese, my favorite high school team, or a local pro team that I really care about. All the other games I attend are for entertainment purposes, or maybe to see an individual star athlete. I have no interest in the Super Bowl winner; but in this case, I do want a competitive game that goes down to the wire and may the best team win.

Last night’s game had the atmosphere we are trying to build for the future, and it had the drama of a big game. Honestly, it brought back memories of the McNeese vs Lamar series from the 1980’s and early 90’s when you knew there was little difference in the makeup of the teams. MSU had their two or three superstars; ditto for Lamar. It seemed every possession in the second half was crucial and in most cases, the final two or three possessions were high drama.

It takes years of rivalry to build up that much drama, so I am not comparing Nicholls to Lamar or the USL series, but it was a big game because it was a home game that needed to be won to stay in the SLC race. Did the lead every get past four points in the second half? I just felt every time down the court we either needed to score, or make a stop. I give Nicholls State a lot of credit for hitting some crucial 3 pointers and free throws in the clutch. However, it was McNeese that performed in the OT with a clutch performance. I know fans seeing McNeese for the first time probably were questioning why this Dru guy is considered a great shooter.

Well, thankfully they play two halves and even an OT. Dru went 0-3 and the crowd got restless. All he did was hit 6 consecutive three pointers after the slow start. I am not going to rehash the play by play; most of my readers either saw the game or will read Matt Bonnette’s description. It is time to give the “Player of the Week” honor to someone else rather than Sham Kennedy. All he did was have 16 points and 20 rebounds as well as three blocks. Roydell Brown had 15 points with 9 boards; Dru had 22 points with 4 clutch free throws and six three pointers. A.J. Lawson had 13 points and a solid 11 boards.

Since I had not seen video of Nicholls State, I imagined more man to man pressure than half court trap. Had I known this I may have included Dru more in the offense as a defense is more vulnerable to a guy getting open when two guys are trapping. I was very upset at the carelessness of the ball in the first half. The Pokes turned the ball over 13 times to NSU’s 5 at halftime. This was pure disaster waiting to happen. Part of the problem was the two point guards dribbling right into the trap and picking up their dribble. The length of the Colonel defenders really didn’t allow for sight angles for the two shorter guards.

Enter A.J Lawson into the picture and he was able to see the floor better and was more aggressive getting the ball into front court. With this change in strategy, came more turnovers due to A.J. getting careless in trying to run his motor too fast. Ultimately, he started playing under control, but he was still being aggressive to the basket. This led to some assist as well as layups.

It was not a perfect game by any means, but effort to the glass was exceptional as McNeese got several second chances due to aggressive work on the glass. The team is playing together and the players should understand their roles by now. I am concerned with lack of production from the bench. We are getting outscored just about every night with bench points. Last night we were outscored 29-12. Out top five are hammering some of our opponents, but the bench getting outscored by 10-20 points are keeping games like UIW and HBU too close. Sam Baker gave us some good production last night, but we have to get more inside help.

Thanks to the 3,623 fans that showed up and gave the gym a real atmosphere. Building a consistent fan base takes years, so don’t think we are there yet. However, attending becomes habit, just like staying home. The more pleasurable the experience, the more willingness to attend. Hopefully, Lamar will bring some people Saturday and help push the attendance to another big game. Last night was all McNeese because I saw only four Colonel fans behind the bench.

Hats off to Dr. Burckel for making the video to market the game, and hats off to the McNeese folks in Sports Information and Tanner Stines department for doing a great job in marketing this game.

Hey Poke Nation! Come out tonight and Saturday to cheer on @McNeeseMBB! Let's fill those seats! pic.twitter.com/xd353GbLnn

— McNeese (@McNeese) January 29, 2020

The players appreciated your support as well!

And the bell keeps ringing!
#GeauxPokes | #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/UiP3RQgE5c

— McNeese Basketball (@McNeeseMBB) January 30, 2020

COACHING SCOOP

Louisiana Monroe defensive line coach Anthony Camp has been hired as the new defensive line coach at LA Tech. Anthony played DE at McNeese and spent a year as a GA for Matt Viator. Camp coached DL at Nicholls before getting hired to replace Manny Michel at ULM.

McNeese is still looking for an OL coach and a DL coach or two.  This is the last weekend of recruiting as the dead period starts Sunday. National Signing Day will be next  Wednesday, but at this point the Pokes have few commitments.

TRACK HOSTS HUGE COLLEGE MEET ON FRIDAY AT THE ARENA

FRIDAY THERE WILL BE MORE THAN 300 COLLEGIATE ATHLETES COMPETING (LIST OF TEAMS ON FRIDAY)

Finals

11:00 AM Weight Throw Prelims
11:00 AM Shot Put Men Prelims & Finals
To Follow Women Weight Throw Men Prelims & Finals
To Follow Men Shot Put Women Prelims & Finals
1:00 PM Long Jump Women Prelims & Finals
2:00 PM Pole Vault Women Finals **Follow Shot**
3:00 PM Long Jump Men Prelims & Finals
3:00 PM High Jump Women Finals

Triple Jump Women Prelims & Finals

To Follow Women Pole Vault Men Finals
To Follow Women High Jump Men Finals
To Follow Women Triple Jump Men Prelims & Finals

Running Events
(Down Stairs)

4:30 PM     55m Hurdles W/M Prelims (8 Advance)
55m Dash  W/M Prelims (8 Advance)
6:00 PM      55m Hurdles W/M Final (A&B)
55m Dash  W/M Final (A&B)

(Up Stairs)

5:00 PM 1 mile W/M Final
5:20 PM 400 Meters W/M Final
6:10 PM 800 Meters W/M Final
6:35 PM 600 Meters W/M Final
6:55 PM 200 Meters W/M Final
7:55 PM 3000 Meters W/M Final
8:30 PM 4×400 Relay W/M Final

*Running events will go on a rolling schedule.
*Schedule is subject to change.

DUSTY BAKER HIRED IN HOUSTON

Houston is going “old school” with the hiring of 70 year old former Nationals manager Dusty Baker. I recall Dusty’s only daughter attending S.J.Welsh Middle School in Lake Charles with my son. She was a child of Dusty’s first wife. He has great talent to work with, but will have to answer a lot of questions this year that he has no relations with.

JANUARY 29 WEDNESDAY

NICHOLLS STATE VISITS TONIGHT 6:30 P.M.

Tickets have been reduced to $5 for general admission, so get your lazy butts off the couch and get out to the H&HP Center. This is going to be a very tough match-up for McNeese. Sure Nicholls is 8-2 in the league and in second place, but it is the match-up that I am worried about. Nicholls will have not one, but two 6’7 forwards that get on the boards and block shots. They actually lead MSU in blocks at 4.40 per game. They are allowing only 61.5 points per game and holding their opponents to 42% shooting percentage. They pressure the wings off the 3 point line, so opponents are only hitting 32% from behind the arc.

This team will be similar to SFA on defense. However, they will press the whole game and have forced a league leading  20 turnovers per game. The Colonels steal the ball at a rate of 10.2 per game which is unreal. My take is the Pokes are going to have to be aggressive on offense and not stand around and let the Colonels dictate the perimeter of our offense. If I were playing the Pokes, I would overplay the wings, switch off the moving screens, and front Jam Kennedy. If McNeese has another post player on the backside, then fronting Jam would give the defender help on the lob pass. However, you might see McNeese use something like a high -low post which makes it more difficult to front as well as put Jam one on one with his defender in the paint.

I have not seen Nicholls State on film, so I am only guessing by the turnovers and field goal percentages caused by their defense that they put a lot of pressure on the perimeter. I don’t expect Dru to be effective in this game unless the Pokes start having their way on the perimeter with guards taking the ball to the hole. If the Pokes are quicker, or more athletic, then the Colonels would either have to sag to help on the drives which frees up the 3 pointer, or pull those 6’7 guys into position of taking the charge or helping. Thus, assist to the open man(Kennedy/Brown) could certainly help out.

The rebounding is about even between the two teams, but turnover margin is where the biggest discrepancy lies. Nicholls is a plus 3.6 while the Pokes are minus 1.89. Think football and you will see why this is a telling sign. It will be interesting to see how the Nicholls game-plan affects the McNeese lineup. The Pokes could go with a 3 guard lineup so that A.J. Lawson does not have to be responsible handling the ball in back court. Lawson has a team leading 86 turnovers and a not too impressive 1 to 2 assist to turnover rate. Trey Johnson has protected the ball the best with a 2 to 1 assist to turnover rate. Miles Hutchison has matched his assists almost 1 to 1 with his turnovers.

Of course, it is all about match-ups. If at some point a taller, slower defender is pressing A.J. , then clear the others out and let him bring the ball up. To sum it up, protect the ball and if the Colonels spread the court and allow for some 3 on 2’s or 2 on 1’s, then make them pay by taking it to the hoop.

Even though I have not seen the Colonels play, I look no further than their schedule to see how good they are. They lost to Big 10 Illinois on the road in OT by the score of 78-70. Then they moved over to Pitt and upset the Panthers 75-70. One week later, they went to Baton Rouge and just drove LSU crazy. Nicholls led at halftime and was up by 9 at one point.Why? They forced LSU into 25 turnovers, the most the Tigers have had this year. Nicholls guarded the 3 point line like no other. LSU shot 18% from the three point line.

In the Southland Conference, the Colonels beat Sam Houston 70-58 in  Huntsville and then went to Beaumont and beat Lamar 61-52. Enough said.

The streak continues! 6️⃣⁣
Next up: Nicholls (𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭) ⁣
⁣#GeauxPokes | #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/S3pi6pOD9o

— McNeese Basketball (@McNeeseMBB) January 28, 2020

COORDINATORS HIRED

CAREER BACKGROUND
Seasons Team/School ……………………………….Title/Position Coached
2000-01 Jacksonville State………………………………………Wide Receivers
2002 Presbyterian College …………………………………Wide Receivers
2003 Ole Miss……………………………….Offensive Graduate Assistant
2004-12 Jacksonville State…..Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2013 Alabama ………………………………………………….Offensive Analyst
2014 Georgia………………………………….Director of Player Personnel

2015- Colorado State……………………………………………… Quarterbacks

Letson specializes in developing quarterbacks. In each of Letson’s five seasons coaching CSU’s quarterbacks the team has registered a top-10 mark in school history for touchdown passes, including the second all-time mark of 29 in both 2016 and ’17, the fourth-best figure of 26 in 2018 and the sixth-most, 24, in 2015.

In 2018 Letson managed two different starting quarterbacks and served as the play-caller for the first five games of the season while Coach Bobo recovered from an illness, as the Rams set school records for pass completions (303) and pass attempts (502). 

Letson was the OC at Jacksonville during their visit to Cowboy Stadium back in the early 2000’s.

Jacksonville State’s 2011 conference championship team was fueled by Letson’s powerful offense, which averaged 414.9 yards per game against conference opponents, including 245.0 yards on the ground and an OVC-best 148.8 pass efficiency rating. In 2010 Letson helped lead JSU to a 9-3 record and a No. 2 ranking in FCS. His offenses in 2004, ‘08 and ‘09 led the OVC, and the Gamecocks led the OVC in scoring offense in ‘04, ‘07, ‘09 and ‘10. Letson helped produce 2009 OVC Offensive Player of the Year Ryan Perrilloux and 2010 OVC Freshman of the Year Coty Blanchard.

2000-2007 Alabama State DB coach

2008 Texas Southern DB

2009-2010 LSU safeties

2011-2012 Southern Miss CB

2013-2015 South Carolina CB

2016 Birmingham Southern DC

2017-2018 Louisville – Recruiting Coordinator

2019 Old Dominion -Co-DC and CB coach

I have done my best to piece together Coach Brown’s resume. The years maybe slightly off, but as you see, he is a DB coach and known as a fine recruiter. His experience at DC is not as impressive as I would like, but I am sure that was the attraction of the job. He has worked with some very good coordinators in previous stops.

WIDE RECEIVER COACH BLAINE GAUTIER 

Former ULL quarterback who has been at LSU since 2015 as an offensive analysis.

COACHES STILL NEED TO BE HIRED

The hard part is over. The OC will need to find an offensive line coach. The DC still needs a DL coach and possibly a safeties coach. Deron Wilson could be that safeties coach. Brown may be looking for a DE coach as well as a separate DT coach.

It is my opinion that the offensive line coach is by far the most important hire remaining.

POKES OFFER ANOTHER QUARTERBACK     

 

Walker Wood of Lexington, Kentucky has been offered a scholarship by McNeese. Wood played quarterback at UK and has graduated. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

UPDATE 6PM

McNeese has hired a WR coach . Blaine Gautier is a former quarterback at ULL and has been an offensive analysis at LSU for the past three years. Jimmy Fowler is no longer the Football Operations Manager.

Blaine Gautier LSU

UPDATE: 9AM

Pokes hire former Colorado State associate head coach and offensive coordinator Ronnie Letson. The Ole Miss alum is a specialist in working with quarterbacks. Exciting times!!!

Brown comes from Louisville and Old Dominion and has been known as an excellent recruiter. He has spent time at LSU in prior years. I have updated the page to reflect that Brown joined Ole Dominion this year as the secondary coach and co-defensive coordinator after spending a year at Louisville.

JANUARY 28 TUESDAY

MOVING FORWARD WITH A NEW ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

If you did not get a chance to watch Dr. Burckel’s press conference on Monday, please take the time to view it. We learned that the president made this decision in the fall and it was prior to any movement by Sterlin Gilbert. Burckel’s vision is to improve relationships with the community, communicate directly with the booster club leaders, and improve the fund raising methods. Of course, on top of these important issues, the new leader must have good administrative skills in keeping an ear to all sports and their needs.

I think it is important to see what is going on here. The president is stepping up and taking responsibility to balance a strong academia with a financially strong athletic department. There have been questions raised about the timing of the event, but I fully understand the chronological order that had to be carried out. In a perfect world, the AD would have been hired first and then he could have been in charge of hiring the new coach. This all falls on Sterlin Gilbert, in my opinion.

It appears that Dr. Burckel was very aware of what his decision was going to be in 2020 because Bruce Hemphill’s contract was running out in June of 2020. He was not renewing the contract of the AD. He never anticipated his head coach dropping a bomb on him days after Christmas. In my opinion, it became a high priority to find a new coach as soon as possible. McNeese set a record in processing over 30 applicants in a matter of days in order to come to a quick decision. It must be noted that neither the committee or Dr. Burckel expected an applicant as strong as Frank Wilson to be interested in the job. Thankfully, it was to the benefit of McNeese that someone stood out in the resumes.

The importance of continuity to recruit current players on the roster and have a leader to greet them as the spring semester began was paramount. The fact that only two recruiting weekends were left was very important to a quick hire. We are currently down about 20-25 players off the roster who graduated or transferred. The last thing you want is to panic and just start offering recruits that you have little evaluation on. The good news is that there is always the transfer portal that will be available right up to the start of summer drills, as well as the JUCO qualifiers in May.

I do believe that it is more important to be selective in filling the needs for 2021 and beyond. With the exception of a couple of positions, most of this new class is building for the future. I have stated my opinion that we do need help in the defensive line for depth purposes and a couple of other spots that would welcome a transfer with three or four years to play.

I think we can admit that Burckel is in no rush to hire an Athletic Director because he is not going to be paying two ADs at the same time. Ideally a committee will be formed and they will do their diligence in finding the right guy. There is a way you can get a person in here in the spring to begin transitioning with Southland Conference spring meetings and meeting with current associate ADs and Bruce in making a smooth transition.

I am not worried about Frank Wilson feeling uncomfortable with working for an undetermined future AD.  Wilson was hired by the “main man” and that is all that matters.  Burckel will have his man before McNeese football even plays a spring football game. I have no doubt that these two gentlemen will see this as being partners in pushing this athletic department forward. I told one reader that I had interviewed with several job openings during my coaching career. My first job interview was with a superintendent in Webster Parish who thought enough of me to set up an interview with the principal.

The principal hired me before I ever met with the head coach. I learned the hard way that it is important to hit it off with not only your direct boss(head coach), but more importantly the principal. I once interviewed at LGHS because the head football coach called me and asked me to come visit. It was for the head basketball job, but he wanted a JV football coach as well. The interview went great, and I was offered the job. He walked me down to the principal’s office and introduced me to the big boss. After that interview, he told me that it was his decision and that the HC needed to worry about his own job. I was not hired.

So it goes both ways, but fans need not worry about the timing. McNeese is in position to put a cross section of people on the committee and take their time in interviewing a bunch of people. This hire will be in place in order to renew contracts, or not renew contracts for 2020-2021 in sports other than football and men’s basketball. A new AD will want to start with good communication skills and relations with his coaches and administrators.

Let’s pull together and support this whole process.

Speaking of pulling together, I always preferred bosses that let me do my job. My favorite would say “Do your job right, and I will stay out of your way.” I think we see this is some of our sports at McNeese. Every coach has a different motor when it comes to what they think their responsibilities are. The most successful ones don’t wait for the AD to make things happen. I have seen some unique techniques in sports like softball, soccer, track, and baseball that are developed within their own programs. Here is an example of connecting with the next generation of fans. Hats of to BahamaBucks and Justin Hill for thinking outside the box and promoting McNeese baseball.

 

 

Thanks for bringing snow to the south @bahamabucks @JustinHill @McNeeseBaseball
⁣#GeauxPokes | #PokeNation pic.twitter.com/JCkGhD4Gpa

— McNeese Athletics (@McNeeseSports) January 27, 2020

RECRUITING NEWS

One week from tomorrow will be national signing day. I have to admit I am concerned that the Pokes will have a smaller class than expected. This weekend will host a handful of new recruits; but if last weekend does not produce more than one commitment, we are behind. My math shows 8 players have signed, and two new commitments make 10 players at this moment. Josh Parker of Catholic has committed, and reports are that Frank Wilson IV has committed. My hope is that we can add another 7 or 8 to that figure and sign 9 or 10 players next Wednesday. This will leave the staff with 3-5 extra scholarships for May.

The important thing is to get the right guys. As I mentioned yesterday, there are a ton of guys all over the state who are sending video and tweets to these coaches for a chance. However, as nice as it is to be wanted, it is a two-way street and Coach Wilson has to draw the line where the talent marker is. I listed several players in Louisiana who have D2 and D3 offers that probably fall short of what it is going to take to compete for SLC titles.

We can add Chandler Rogers of Mansfield Legacy as a new offer from McNeese. Rogers is an athletic quarterback who can run and throw. He signed with Southern Miss, but transferred to Blinn this semester. I would assume he has four years to play four. I don’t think Wilson is looking for a starter at quarterback, but a future hope as well as insurance. Hopefully, someone will emerge from current quarterbacks on the roster.

REMINDER: MCNEESE BASKETBALL HOSTS NICHOLLS STATE TOMORROW NIGHT

UPDATE 10AM

BRUCE HEMPHILL HAS STEPPED DOWN AS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AT MCNEESE. HE WILL SERVE AS A SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. THIS IS THE NEWS THAT I HAD WRITTEN ON SATURDAY STATING BIG NEWS COMING THIS WEEK.

JANUARY 26 MONDAY

THE PASSING OF KOBE BRYANT

This is a major national news story so I am not going to be making comments about this tragedy other than to say the NBA lost one of their greatest players of all-time. His family lost a great dad and role model.

I failed to mention last week the passing of legendary high school basketball coach Morgan Wootten of DeMatha High School. Coach Wootten came to Lake Charles in the early 1980’s with his DeMatha team to play at the Civic Center in the Popeyes Classic. McNeese coaches Ron Everhart and Heath Schroyer both played at DeMatha under Coach Wootten. He was 88 years old.

 

WEEKEND RECRUITING ROUNDUP

I have not seen any public announcements of McNeese commitments from this weekend. There were about 50 announcements on 247sports that did include a couple of Southland Conference schools as well as LSU. The Tigers picked up 4-star RB Kevontre Bradford of Lancaster, Texas on Sunday as well as 3-star WR Alex Adams of South Pike, Mississippi.

I did find Corey Wren of John Curtis an interesting commitment on Sunday. The 5’9 170 athlete was rated 3 stars this year, but really did not pick up many offers in the Power 5 group. I am convinced that his speed moved him up the charts as it got closer to signing day. I have followed Corey since he burst on the scene as a freshman at the LHSAA Indoor Track Meet in Baton Rouge. He won the Indoor title and made it to state in the 100 meters. His speed peaked last spring when he ran a 10.43. I don’t know where he will play in college, but I suspect it will be slot WR. He committed to Florida State last night and I have to believe his track times helped him.

I did find some research on Southwest Louisiana athletes who have been offered football scholarships since January 2. I have always said that many athletes playing at a lower level from D1 go unnoticed in Louisiana. Since Louisiana has only one D3 football school and no JUCO playing football schools, most athletes go out of state. It might surprise you some of the names of colleges who have been in the area recruiting. There are others in SW Louisiana and at least 150-200 in the state of Louisiana being offered. Division 3 cannot offer athletic scholarships and often use football as a means to attract students.

I have had students sign with Austin College in Sherman, Texas who are outstanding students because Austin College is a great academic school. However, they have to get a lot of academic aid to be able to afford to play football.

Lake Charles College Prep has had 5 offers including Southern Arkansas, NE Mississippi CC, Highland College(3).

Lake Arthur has had two athletes offered to Louisiana College.

South Beauregard has an offer from East Texas Baptist.

Jennings has a couple offers from Louisiana College and Millsaps College.

St. Louis has an athlete offered from Louisiana College and ULL.

Kinder has a kicker offered at Southwestern College.

DeRidder has an athlete offered from McPherson College in Kansas.

Washington-Marion has an athlete offered at Itasca CC in Minnesota.

Hamilton has an athlete offered at Mayville St. in North Dakota.

 

MCNEESE TENNIS

I don’t know how you enter a spring season with only six players, but it appears McNeese is going to try. They had eight players last year which gives you a little room for injuries. McNeese has played three matches so far and has given away one point in doubles and one in singles due to being a player short. They have no chance if someone isn’t added soon.

MCNEESE BASKETBALL NEEDS YOU WEDNESDAY NIGHT 

The Pokes host Nicholls State (8-2) who is currently in second place in the Southland Conference. We need a home court advantage in this one!

THE DODGE BOWL

It has been announced that legendary high school coach Todd Dodge will bring his state champion Austin Westlake team to ATT Stadium on  August 28 to face his son Riley and his Southlake Dragon team.  Riley(#11) is shown celebrating with dad after a SLC state championship. Riley transferred to McNeese and was set to have a two year career as quarterback prior to the career ending targeting hit he took from an SLU Lion. He is a McNeese graduate.

 

COACHING SCOOP

Joe Wickline has been hired as the offensive line coach at Baylor. Wickline has been everywhere from the NFL to places like Baylor, Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma State, and Middle Tennessee. Dave Aranda got a good DB coach in Brian Stewart. With 10-years of coaching in the NFL and 28 years of coaching overall, Stewart joins the staff as the Bears cornerback coach. If you don’t like moving, you wouldn’t want to be Brian Stewart.

1993–1994	Cal Poly (WR/RB)
1995	Northern Arizona (TE/ST)
1996	Missouri (GA)
1997–1998	San Jose State (DB)
1999–2000	Missouri (DB)
2001	Syracuse (DB)
2002–2003	Houston Texans (Asst. DB)
2004–2006	San Diego Chargers (DB)
2007–2008	Dallas Cowboys (DC)
2009	Philadelphia Eagles (AST)
2010–2011	Houston (DC)
2012–2014	Maryland (DC)
2015–2016	Nebraska (DB)
2017	Rice (DC/CB)
2018–2019	Detroit Lions (DB)

 

TRACK AND FIELD PERFORMANCES FROM UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

This is the way I like to see total domination in the one mile run. McNeese has seven runners in the top ten. Joey Croft is in 2nd place here, but pulled away with a 4:14 mile.

COWGIRL WEIGHT THROW CHAMPION ALANNA ARVIE OF OBERLIN ROCKING THE HOUSE.

COWBOY FOOTBALL PLAYER DARION DUNN IN SECOND PLACE AS HE CHASES FORMER LSU ALL-AMERICAN AND OLYMPIC HOPEFUL RYAN FONTENOT RUNNING UNATTACHED.

 

 

 

 

 

JANUARY 26 SUNDAY

COWGIRLS AND COWBOYS DEFEAT HOUSTON BAPTIST

Congratulations to the Cowgirls  for a sound 88-72 win over HBU in the first game of a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. Regan Bolton led the women with 22 points that included six 3 pointers. Shaela Gardner added 17 points and Kyla Hamilton chipped in with 10 points. The Cowgirls hit a total of 13 treys during the game.

The Cowboys  defeated HBU by the score of 102-89 in the nightcap. Sham Kennedy scored 37 points and added 14 rebounds. I guess they are going to have to give the POW(player of the week) to somebody else. A.J.Lawson had 23 points and 6 boards and Roydell Brown added 12 points and 7 boards while Trey Johnson chipped in with 11 points.

This was a dangerous game and one that I was not real comfortable with. It reminds me of playing a service academy in football where they run the triple option. You are seeing a team that does the complete opposite of most teams and it can cause the favorite to fall into the trap of playing their style. HBU killed the Pokes on the offensive boards which allowed for them to shoot 30 more shots than McNeese. The Huskies plan is to spread the court and force the opponent to run to keep up with them and shoot within 10 seconds. Just as in football, defense usually suffers when a super fast pace is run.

The Huskies shoot fast and then all five crash the boards. They will fall short most nights because it is not a real sound game plan, but as with the academies, they give themselves a chance most nights out.

It’s the first six-game winning streak for the Cowboys since the 2011-12 season.
• McNeese is 9-3 since Dec. 1 and 8-2 at home on the season.
• The team’s 26 assists is the second-most this season and seventh time with 20 or more.
• The Cowboys turned the ball over just 11 times, the second-lowest on the year.
• Kennedy’s double-double is his third in the last four games.
• Kennedy’s 37 points scored is a career-high and ties the most points scored by a Cowboy this season (A.J. Lawson with 37 at Abilene Christian).

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR- JANUARY 29 3RD PLACE NICHOLLS STATE(8-2) IS COMING TO TOWN

If you don’t think the SLC race is going to be balanced, let me give you an example. When the MSU game was over, I went to the Southland website to check on scores. Lamar and SFA were tied early in the second half. ACU was down by 3 with UCA with 2 seconds left and ACU  hit three clutch free throws to tie the game. It went to overtime. At the very same time, I checked on Northwestern State and SLU. The Lions hit a 3 with one second to go to send it to OT. SLU won by three in OT.  ACU won by 1 in overtime.

In other games, Nicholls State beat UNO on the road 77-72, and SFA came from behind to beat Lamar 70-62 in Beaumont.

COWBOYS AND COWGIRLS SHINE IN HOUSTON INDOOR TRACK 

It was sure nice to see Grace McKenzie knock off some rust and run unattached at the Houston FasTrack Invitational on Saturday. Grace is done with indoor track, but will be eligible to join the team for the outdoor season. She won the 60 meter hurdles in 8.63 and finished 2nd in the long jump at 19’5″. I am also happy to see Darion Dunn back on the track this winter. I think it will help him immensely to get ready for spring drills and can be used as a resume builder for the NFL scouts next January.

Darion ran a very respectable 8.15 for his first meet and finished 5th in a photo finish that separated 3-5 by a .02 seconds. Darion broke 8.0 last season, so he will get better.

There were so many good times and distances that I cannot mention them all. I did notice that Joey Croft ran a 4.14.8 mile in his first meet of the winter, and Bonnie Andres ran a 5:11 for the Cowgirls. Alanna Arvie is going to be an absolute stud this spring if she continues on this path. She tossed the weight throw over 20 meters which means 65’9″ for a easy win in the weight throw.

It is only the second week of the season, so more improvement will be expected this weekend when the Pokes return to the Cow Palace to host their own indoor meet.

FOOTBALL VISITS WRAP UP

The second weekend of official visits has ended. I have been told by fans that the recruits were seen around town dining at a local restaurant. The numbers range from 7 to 10, so take your pick. I do expect a few commitments to be made public by a few of the players. That seems to be the system used these days. It is good to see the community welcoming Coach Wilson which sends the right message.

Several coaches have interviewed in recent days for vacant positions, but obviously he wants to hire his coordinators before filling in the other positions. The rumors are rampant that there will be a huge announcement coming out of McNeese very soon.  The process of the hiring, etc. is making more sense as I learn more. A head coach always wants to know who is hiring him and the future of that person.

COACHING SCOOP

Dave Aranda is putting together a good staff at Baylor. I have always said that head coaches want to hire coaches that they have coached with or have contacts with. Aranda will have several with LSU ties. He has hired Dennis Johnson away from LSU to coach the defensive line. Jorge Munoz was hired to be passing game coordinator . Former UNC head coach Larry Fedora will be the OC.

He has hired two analysis off the LSU staff and now has added a huge piece to the puzzle.

FOOTBALL SCOOP SAYS

Dave Aranda is set to hire a major figure in the world of SEC recruiting, as sources tell FootballScoop that Austin Thomas will leave Texas A&M to join Aranda in Waco.

Thomas has spent the past two seasons as the Aggies’ associate AD for football personnel. We’re told his title at Baylor will be general manager of football operations.

Thomas and Aranda worked together at LSU, where Thomas spent five years, rising to the role of general manager in 2016. He was the second personnel director in college football and the first in the SEC to hold the GM title.

PREDICTION

This is only an opinion, but I do think we will see the early signing period disappear in the near future. We are having so many coaches jump ship that recruited and signed players that it is causing great chaos. I have heard interviews on the radio with current coaches that say it has never been this bad. There are still about 150 openings that must be filled nationally.

The case of the Allen quarterback and SMU is back in the news in DFW and it is causing a great stir. SMU took his scholarship away with 10 days to go to signing day. The coach who recruited him has left for Baylor. It is a mess at many schools. Nick Saban said it is the craziest rule on the book. December 18 is right in the middle of coaches being fired, as well as others preparing for bowl games.

JANUARY 25 SATURDAY

FRIDAY LATE POSTING

I used a different format to edit my page on Friday morning and assumed it was posted at 7 A.M. when I entered the column. A phone call from a concerned reader tipped me off that the column was not up although it was showing on my page that it had  been posted.

HOUSTON BAPTIST VS COWGIRLS 1 P.M. H&HP CENTER

HOUSTON BAPTIST VS COWBOYS AT 3:15 P.M. H&HP CENTER

Coach Heath Schroyer will lead his Cowboys into today’s game searching to extend a winning streak to six games.  The last time McNeese won six straight was in 2011-12 when they captured 8 wins in a row from Jan. 25-Feb. 18. That was also the last time McNeese posted a winning season at 17-16 and played in the CollegeInsider.com post-season tournament. McNeese lost to Lamar in the conference tournament championship game that season.

HBU’s record is not impressive, but they opened the season with 9 road games against tough competition. They love to play a fast-paced game with plenty of three point shooting. The Huskies trail only McNeese in 3 point shooting percent(37%).

Proof that HBU loves to score is their 111-107 win over Central Arkansas, 92-102 loss to Lamar, 98-106 loss to UNO, and recently a tough 83-91 loss at Nicholls State. The Over and Under for this game is 178 which tells you that Las Vegas expects a high scoring game.

It should be an entertaining game and the Pokes need your support today in making it tough on the Huskies.

MCNEESE HOSTING FOOTBALL RECRUITS

This will be a small group of recruits visiting McNeese today as only 7 or 8 players were able to adjust their schedules to make the visit. I don’t know how many late offers affected the visit list, but I did notice a ton of late offers on Thursday around the country. The only name I thought that might be visiting who committed on Friday was Wagner HS wide out Josh Cobb who committed to Wyoming. There was a deep snapper who McNeese offered from Calvary Baptist in Bossier who committed to Les Miles on Thursday night.

The only confirmed visits that I have noticed have been Frank Wilson lV, Shamar Smith of St. James, and Josh Parker of Catholic. The Pokes signed 8 in December and have one commitment for February 5. There is still plenty of room for additional scholarships, but it is apparent they will be scholarships left over for the transfer portal.

I reported on Thursday that these changes have occurred on the coaching staff, but it is not official until FootballScoop reports it, so I guess it is official now.

Sources tell FootballScoop Frank Wilson is bringing much of his staff from UTSA to McNeese. Wilson offered the defensive coordinator role to Jason Rollins (his DC at UTSA); but Rollins is hoping to land a head coaching position with a Texas high school. Deron Wilson is expected to coach defensive backs and Will Thomas is expected to coach linebackers. Gary Hyman is likely to coach tight ends. As we reported when Frank was hired, he is retaining Landon Hoefer from the prior staff.

MCNEESE INDOOR TRACK AT HOUSTON TODAY

 

Coach  Wilson meeting with new Sulphur High football coach Chris Towery

COACH ORGERON GETS SIX YEAR EXTENSION

Ed Orgeron and #LSU have agreed to a 6-year contract extension valued at more than $42 million in total… Orgeron is 40-9 since taking over at LSU and is 11-1 in his last 12 games against Top 10 opponent. Orgeron went from being a huge value for LSU as one of the lowest paid SEC coaches to one of the best paid coaches.