JDRAKE349's Dynasty - Operation Sports

Saturday, May 14, 2016

September Arrives, the Inaugural Season Begins

Posted on May 14, 2016 at 12:22 PM.

Spring and summer have come and gone in Lafayette, Louisiana and the Ragin' Cajuns are gearing up for kickoff. New recruits are now freshman in college, adjusting to their new lifestyle. Position battles have been fought and decided and the new playbooks have been implemented. It's time to go to work.

The position everyone had their eye on through spring practice and summer camps was quarterback. With a new sheriff in town and two seniors with similar skill sets vying for the job, it was going to come down to the wire. Brooks Haack, a 6'1", 217 lbs redshirt senior from Katy, TX is the incumbent. Though he was the starter, his numbers were dismal, giving him no right to the job in 2014. The challenger is Jalen Nixon, a 6'2" 218 lbs redshirt senior straight out of Carencro High, just down the road in Lafayette.

With no clear winner following the spring game, the battle raged on throughout the summer. Each quarterback took turns running with the 1s, making his case for the starting job. Finally, in the dog days of August, coach Drake decided enough was enough. By the end of the day, ULL was going to have its field general. Each quarterback was going to take the first team through 20 plays (10 passes, 10 option runs) and whoever had the most success (yardage, TDs) would be the winner. It was a little unorthodox, but Drake was looking to make his statement. He told the two men, "If you want it, go and get it."

First up was the hometown kid, Nixon. He put on a good show, making solid decisions in the option game and dropped a dime deep down the middle for a score, but was hurt by a few balls slightly off target that caused drops. Haack then took the reins and never looked back. He looked like a natural out there, moving from play to play with poise and precision while Nixon showed some nerves. By the end of the contest, it was clear that Brooks Haack would give the Ragin' Cajuns their best shot in 2014 and they began to gear for kickoff against FCS Southeast in Week 1.

Schedule:
Week 1: vs FCS Southeast
Week 2: vs Louisiana Tech (RIVALRY, Non-con)
Week 3: BYE
Week 4: @ Kentucky (Non-con)
Week 5: BYE
Week 6: vs UTSA (Non-Con)
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: @ Old Dominion
Week 9: @ UAB
Week 10: vs New Mexico State
Week 11: vs Western Kentucky
Week 12: @ Troy
Week 13: vs South Alabama
Week 14: vs Arkansas State

Louisiana Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns Depth Chart - 2014
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	JR Gabe Fuselier (79)	RSSR Jared Johnson (74)
TE	SO Carlos Robinson (72)	RSJR Nick Byrne (68)
LT	RSJR D'Aquin Withrow (79)
LG	RSJR Ian Bjuro (70)
C	RSSR Ethan Rosenbalm (77)
RG	RSSO Jesse Freeman (69)
RT	RSJR Grant Horst (74)
WR	SR Al Riles (81)	SR CJ Bates (76)
QB	RSSR Brooks Haack (81)	RSSR Jalen Nixon (77)
FB	RSJR Nick Byrne (46)
HB	SR Elijah McGuire (92)	RSFR Jordan Wright (72)	FR Jeff Haynes (68)
Base 4-2-5 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	RSSR Kevin Fouquier (83)	RSJR Blain Winston (70)
LDT	RSJR Jacoby Briscoe (79)	RSSR Karmichael Dunbar (74)
RDT	RSJR Rodrick Stephens (75)	JR Derrick Wilson (53)
RDE	JR Taboris Lee (77)	RSSR Remaine Douglas (75)
SLB	RSSR Tre'Maine Lightfoot (80)	JR TJ Posey (77)
WLB	RSSR Tyren Alexander (75)	RSSR Trey Granier (72)
CB	RSSR Dominick Jones (78)	RSSO Reginald Miles (72)
SS	RSJR Tracy Walker (80)	RSJR Simeon Thomas (69)
FS	JR Travis Crawford (77)	RSSO Corey Turner (72)
SS	SR Savion Brown (78)	RSSO Stephon Lofton (66)
CB	JR Troy McCollum (76)	RSFR Kamar Greenhouse (69)
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	FR Jerome Lundy (62)
P	SO Steven Coutts (78)
PR	SR Elijah McGuire (95)
KR	SR Elijah McGuire (95)	JR Troy McCollum (90)	SR Al Riles (92)

A New Coach Joins the NCAA Ranks

Posted on May 14, 2016 at 12:22 AM.

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We pick up this story in 2013 with coach Joe Drake and the Kent State Golden Flashes. Coach Drake is the offensive coordinator for KSU, under head coach Paul Haynes. The OC position at Kent State was coach Drake's first job at the coordinator level for an FBS school after climbing the ranks at his alma mater, Maine, followed by UConn. The 27-year old was ready for the big time.

Drake brought an aggressive power spread with him to Kent State and with it, he and Paul Haynes would take over the MAC. Based reads and options plays from the pistol and shotgun, Drake's offense uses the run to batter and befuddle opponents before ripping a play action pass down the field for a score. With so many different plays that look alike, by the time the fourth quarter rolls around, defenses can't tell what's coming until it's too late.

Given the keys to the offense, Drake, along with quarterback Colin Reardon and senior halfback Trayion Durham were ready to make their statement. And boy, did they. Reardon seemed to be a natural fit to run the offense. He could keep the ball on a triple option, make a linebacker miss and bulldoze a defensive back for a first down and then drop a 25-yard pass into a receiver's hands on the very next play.

While Reardon gave Drake and Kent State options, the biggest star was the halfback, Durham. Trayion Durham is built like a power back but has the speed and elusiveness to slip out of tackles as well. He became the bellcow for the Golden Flashes, barrelling between the tackles and taking pitches on the outside. It didn't matter where you gave him the ball, he could take it to the house -- and he did so often. With the defense needing to respect all the potential threats of Drake's offense, they could never fully commit themselves to containing Durham and he made them all pay.

Kent State rode the legs of Durham and the arm of Reardon to a ton of success in 2013. The dynamic duo helped bring home a MAC championship to Kent State, but was unable to earn a W in their bowl game. When all was said and done, the Golden Flashes posted an impressive 11-3 record, but the greatest achievement belongs Trayion Durham. Durham became the first player in Kent State history to win the Heisman Trophy. He racked up over 1600 rushing yards on just 211 carries (a YPC of 7.66) and found paydirt 27 times, leading the nation.

All good things must come to an end, though. As the Kent State faithful suspected would happen, their terrific season build on Drake's new offense would attract many suitors from around the country. After being courted by a few programs, coach Drake agreed to terms with the University of Louisiana-Lafayette to become their next head coach in 2014.

Now, the ink is dry and coach Drake is officially a Ragin' Cajun. The offseason for a coach changing jobs is even shorter than normal and coach is already immersed in the never-ending work of a head coach. We'll pick up the story after the preseason as he leads UL Lafayette into his inaugural head coaching season.