In many ways, Michael Desormeaux’s tenure as the head coach of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns has been confusing.
The team’s overall record is 29-25. Three of the four full seasons he has have finished 6-7 with a bowl loss. Those numbers don’t compare to what the previous staff with Billy Napuer did. That’s the negative.
The positive exists as well though. The Cajuns have made a bowl in every season, four straight under Des and eight straight overall. The one season that was not 6-7 was 10-4 with a trip to the Sun Belt Championship Game. The first year consisted of a decimated roster. Every season has seen multiple quarterback injuries.
Still, Louisiana has a 19-13 record in the Sun Belt. That isn’t to mention all of the financial issues the University has dealt with, making spending in the football program a more difficult thing to do.
Despite the challenges, Desormeaux and company are trying to do a lot with a little. And there is reason to believe they can pull it off. The Cajuns retained many of their key pieces from last season, including their breakout quarterback Lunch Winfield. If they can keep him healthy, a position that has not made a full season under Des, they have a chance to contend in the West.
Despite a lot of youth in other places, Des thinks this group has the abilkity to grow up quick.
“If we can handle some things with maturity and grow our team up as fast as possible… we have a chance to be a good football team,” Desormeaux said at his podium appearance during Sun Belt Media Days on Thursday.
Key contributors like Brent Gordon Jr and Shelton Sampson Jr were big to get back in the mix. They join Lunch and a young but talented core of this team that feels it can do damage in the Sun Belt.
Additionally, they lived through last season, a year that started slow but finished strong.
“You have to learn from the past. Last year we got off to a really slow start… But 90% of our building was a part of the strong finish,” Coach Des mentioned about this year’s group. “These guys have been a part of what it feels like to have your backs against the wall, rally around each other, and win.”
While we expect the offense to look pretty similar with the signal-caller back, the defense has more variables. With a player like Gordon back along with some other talented defensive backs, Desormeaux says the play-style might look different.
“We’re going to challenge our secondary to play tight coverage,” he said about the defense. Look for players like Avery Demery and Kody Jackson to be keys around Gordon.
On another note, Media Days introduced a new team into the league: Louisiana Tech. Despite the long-running bad blood between UL and Tech, it seems both sides can see this is beneficial.
“Louisiana Tech is a great add for us… It’s nothing but good for our conference,” Desormeaux said of the addition.
The hope is that another regional rivalry will be a good thing, and the removal of Texas State makes an already geographically tight division even tighter.
Despite all the changes in college football, Michael Desormeaux is still sticking to his principles.
“I believe in our ability to evaluate and develop,” he said.
A roster with plenty of youth and returners should be the perfect way to test that theory for UL in 2026.