Welcome everyone to the final edition of the Cajuns position preview! We close it out with a look at the secondary headed into the 2016 season.
Who Left After Last Season?
A couple of notable players on the secondary side of the ball are departing after last season like TJ Worthy and Zachary Degrange. Both players had a fairly significant role with the Ragin Cajuns in 2014, but saw their role be decreased in 2015. Despite this, the team will be missing these veterans.
Who’s Coming Back?
The Cajuns may be losing some players but there are a few notable returning players from last season. Starting things off is Tracy Walker, who will be seeing playing time at the linebacker position along with being listed as a defensive back. He was second amongst the team with tackles in 2015 with 74 tackles and with the new role he could be in for 2016 basically being plugged into multiple positions as needed, that number will be going up. But that’s not the only talented player in the secondary as you’ve got Savion Brown, who performed well late in the season, and (hopefully) Simeon Thomas finally getting on the field. Thomas hasn’t gotten on the field since 2013 when he was a freshman due to a number of issues in terms of eligibility, but it’s beginning to look a lot like he will be playing for this squad. There’s also players like Troy McCollum and Travis Crawford that could be used for this team in 2016 to round out the secondary. All that being said this team has the potential to be lethal as they shift from man-to-man to the zone under co-defensive coordinators Melvin Smith and Charlie Harbison.
The Other Guys
The freshmen class for the Cajuns on paper looks pretty deep and you can expect some of these players to show up in some way in 2016 and into the future. But the only way I could see them seeing playing time is if this team is bit by the injury bug. I would love to see a player like Deuce Wallace show up and start as a freshman, but it just doesn’t look like it will happen in 2016.
Conclusion
The Cajuns secondary will be very different because they are adjusting the style of defense and that is a very good thing. Last season’s experiment playing man-to-man was a complete and utter disaster. The shift to the zone is a good fit and shows that the coaching staff is willing to fit the system according to the level of talent. This isn’t to say that the Cajuns aren’t talented, it’s saying that the Cajuns can’t perform well in a defensive setup that is normally devised for an SEC-caliber defense.
-Clint Domingue
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