Officially, it was the white team dancing as victors after the final whistle of UL’s spring game blew in the Moncla Indoor facility Saturday.
But coach Michael Desormeaux was more concerned with the details than which team got to eat ribs, chicken and grits instead of just red beans and rice.
“I thought offensively, we moved the ball well most of the night,” Desormeaux said. “We started really fast. I thought the defense did a really good job in the live scrimmage, kind of finding their bearings a little bit and getting their stops whenever they needed them.”
Like most spring games, there was one play that stood out above the rest. On Saturday, it was a long, diving touchdown catch by Rob Williams from newcomer quarterback Samari Collier.
“Just run by him,” Williams said. “I fell on top of the ball and knocked the wind out of me, but I had to make sure I secured the catch, though.”
At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, the redshirt junior certainly looked the part throughout the scrimmage.
“Yeah, he did a good job,” Desormeaux said of Collier. “We simplified some things with the white team on offense. Coach Leger called the white team’s offense and did a good job, kind of keeping it simple with things they knew.
“Some of it was RPO throws that he made good decisions on, but he operated really well. He ran the ball effectively as well and ran the offense really well. So a lot of bright spots.”
For Desormeaux, it was also encouraging for Williams to end the spring with a bang.
“This spring, he didn’t have a bad spring, but it just wasn’t Rob all the time,” Desormeaux said. “So to see him go make a play was huge — something that gets you really fired up, because we’ve seen so many flashes from Rob. That was big.”
For Williams, the spring was about consistency more than flash.
“It was just about every practice getting better at it,” he said. “I felt like that’s where we made the big jump, just being consistent every day. We were playing against a tough defense every day.
“Really just knowing what’s going on around me — what the other receivers have or what defense they’re in or just recognizing things before it happens. That’s the biggest jump I’ve made.”
The offense had its way early in the scrimmage, but the defense improved as the game went on.
“It was just the focus,” defensive lineman Antoine Baylis said. “We came out a little lackadaisical. We had a talk. We started off too slow. It was just a lack of focus.”
Overall, Baylis really likes the defense’s direction under new coordinator Jim Salgado, especially up front.
“He came in and we got straight to it,” Baylis said. “I feel like the learning part wasn’t really too bad. He kept it a lot the same, just little technique stuff that was really the only thing that changed.
“He’s trying to make it where we don’t have to think too much and we can play fast. He made it easy for us.”
Especially with the line, expect to see more pressure on the quarterback.
“Last year, we didn’t get an opportunity to rush like that to get our sack numbers up,” Baylis said. “People are going to see that this year, I promise you. Rushing … we’re getting real good at that. We’ve been getting active all spring on the pass rush.”
As for new names for fans to watch, Baylis said he likes what he sees from LSU transfer Fitzgerald West of Lafayette Christian, as well as 6-foot-3, 240-pound sophomore Lance Williams from New Orleans.
“I’ve seen a lot from Lance,” Baylis said. “His only problem is he’s got to gain weight. Once he gets that weight on, y’all are going to see for sure.”
The other area of emphasis was the offensive line. With much of the depth at tackle out injured, Desormeaux was pleased with the way the unit held up against the improved pass rush.
“I thought we ran the ball really well tonight,” Desormeaux said. “We protected the passer a little better tonight. Antoine Baylis is tough to handle on the edge and Jordan Lawson and you’ve got Cam Whitfield, he’s a problem on the edge. Mason (Narcisse) on the inside. A lot of guys who can really rush the passer.
“I’m excited about that (OL) group.”