Logo from sportslogos.net
Special teams were a standard for Billy Napier when he was at Louisiana.
That certainly didn’t change in year one under Michael Desormeaux. Kenneth Almendares connected on 18-23 field goals, Rhys Byrns was an all-conference punter, and Eric Garror had a pair of punt returns for a touchdown to put the Cajuns as the third-best unit in the country according to Phil Steele.
However, with only Almendares returning, the group is expected to take a step back in 2023. But how far of a step back will it be?
Kenneth Almendares
Almendares has had a role in the Louisiana program since 2018 during his true freshman season. He was mainly on kickoffs for 2018 and 2019 before starting placekicking duties during the 2020 season.
In 2021, Almendares was red hot to start the season before going down with an injury and not returning until 2022. For his career, he’s 25-32 on field goals and has 48 career PATs. As a kickoff specialist, he had 93 kicks for 5550 yards and 40 touchbacks.
Almendares appears healthy and ready to roll for his senior season after being named to the Lou Groza Award watch list last week.
Thomas Leo
Leo spent last season as the kickoff specialist for Louisiana because the Cajuns had an All-Conference punter in Rhys Byrns. Now that Byrns has left, Leo will step into the punter role in 2023 and may still handle kickoffs. Leo, an FIU transfer, will finally have his opportunity to show what he can do from a punting perspective as this will be his first action at Louisiana in that role.
I’ve heard he has a cannon of a leg, so we’ll see if he can keep that special teams group rolling the way Byrns did while he was in Lafayette.