Billy Napier is busy rounding out his coaching staff.
The University of Louisiana football head coach, who is entering his third season at the helm of the Ragin’ Cajuns, has announced the addition of two members to his staff.
Napier announced on Monday that Robby Discher has been hired as Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Assistant Coach. Discher is coming off his fourth season as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at Toledo.
From 2016-19, the Rockets averaged more than eight wins per season, including an 11-3 season in 2017 that featured a win in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game over Akron.
“Robby Discher’s experience and successful track record as a special teams coordinator is well documented,” said Napier in a statement. “We are thrilled to add him to our staff at Louisiana. He has a great pedigree and reputation in college football, and we look forward to his leadership of our Game Changers units. We are excited to welcome his family to Lafayette as we continue preparations for the 2020 season.”
During Discher’s tenure at Toledo, the Rockets’ special team were ranked No. 1 in efficiency from Phil Steele in 2018 and No. 2 ranking from ESPN.com. Toledo led the MAC in return touchdowns in 2018, taking three punts and one kickoff back for scores.
“My family and I are really excited for this opportunity,” Discher said in a statement. “I have always had an immense amount of respect for Coach Napier and Patrick Toney. I’m thrilled to get to work with these student-athletes and to be a part of the Ragin’ Cajuns Family.”
Prior to his time at Toledo, Discher spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma State (2014-15).
The Ragin’ Cajuns also added Austin Armstrong to the staff on Monday.
Armstrong, who spent the 2019 season at the University of Georgia has been hired as UL’s new Inside Linebackers Coach. Armstrong returns to the Ragin’ Cajuns after serving as a graduate assistant during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
“We’re extremely excited to have Austin Armstrong back at Louisiana on our coaching staff,” Napier said. “His experience working alongside some of the best coaches in the nation will serve him well going forward. He is familiar with our #cULture and process, and that will certainly help him hit the ground running as we continue to work hard on improvement. I am looking forward to seeing his impact on the Ragin’ Cajuns’ inside linebackers, and their growth and development this season.”
This past season, Armstrong served as a quality control assistant with Georgia’s defense this past season, assisting head coach Kirby Smart’s squad as they climbed as high as No. 3 in the national rankings. The Bulldogs finished the 2019 season with a 12-2 record and a win in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
“My fiancé, Tiffany, and I are extremely excited and grateful to be back in Acadiana,” Armstrong said. “It is certainly a tremendous opportunity to work for Coach Napier and Patrick Toney. I want to thank Coach Smart, Dan Lanning, Glenn Schumann and everyone associated with Georgia Football for making my time there very special.”
DOUCET EARNS SBC HONORS
Ty’Reona Doucet led the Ragin’ Cajuns in both scoring and rebounding this season. For those accomplishments, the Ville Platte native earned second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors on Monday.
Doucet is the 12th player in Ragin’ Cajuns women’s history to garner All-Conference recognition and the first since 2017 when Jaylyn Gordon and Simone Fields picked up first team and second team honors.
Doucet finished the regular season as the Ragin’ Cajuns’ leading scorer (12.4 ppg) and rebounder (7.4 rpg). During the course of the season, Doucet led the team in scoring 11 times and rebounding 15 times.
The Cajuns junior currently ranks fourth in the league and 51st nationally in field-goal percentage (57.1) and is eighth in the league in rebounding average. Doucet blocked 37 shots this season and she is tied her for ninth on the school’s single season blocks list with Anna Petrakova, while her 78 career blocks is good for sole possession of fourth on the program’s career blocks list.
Doucet was the lone Ragin’ Cajun player to earn All-Sun Belt honors.