Louisiana Tech: Rise of the Bulldogs

[thedudedominick]

For this dynasty I am doing coach mode with Louisiana Tech. I simmed through the first season as I noticed the team had 27 seniors on it so I wanted to recruit and make the team mine going into season 2.

Using sydeburnz coach mode sliders.

First season the team went 9-4 with a WAC championship and Bowl Win.

After each season I will post awards and post season information. I will add the links to those posts on this post here so it's easy to find everything. Also if you have any team you want me to track the progress of let me know and I'll give updates for them.

Also a house rule I give myself is no cutting incoming freshman. It keeps me from over-recruiting.

Louisiana Tech Recruiting Classes
2013

Louisiana Tech Pre-Season Report
2013

Louisiana Tech Season Results

Louisiana Tech Post-Season Report

[thedudedominick]

Louisiana Tech Brings in #24 Recruiting Class for 2013

-Coach Bellini hit the recruiting trail hard over this past season. The team lost 25 seniors to graduation and had some holes that needed to be filled especially with a pro style offense being run. Two of the big position needs were fullback and tight end and Louisiana Tech filled those spots with guys that can step in and play right away.

Possible the biggest grab for the Bulldogs was 4* ATH Thomas Jackson. He is expected to start at quarterback for this team in the coming season.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Recruiting - 2013
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Derrick Clark	G	HS	Winnsboro, LA	6'6	299
J.B. Clarke	WR	HS	Aldine, TX	6'5	217
Kelly Nelson	QB	HS	La Puente, CA	6'4	223
Thomas Jackson	ATH	HS	Rayville, LA	5'11	220
Leroy Bell	HB	HS	West Monroe, LA	6'0	221
Dane Merriman	TE	HS	Jasper, AL	6'8	242
Vince Williams	MLB	HS	Eunice, LA	6'1	240
Benn Lott	SS	HS	Red Chute, LA	6'0	187
Chris Washington	WR	HS	Berwick, LA	6'1	194
Alex Sykes	DE	HS	Dyer, IN	6'7	244
Cameron Mosby	TE	HS	Friendswood, TX	6'2	231
Robert Chandler	QB	HS	San Diego, CA	6'2	205
Aaron Colbert	TE	HS	Westwego, LA	6'8	257
Lance Tucker	DT	HS	St. Rose, LA	6'3	300
Paul Robinson	OLB	HS	Spring, TX	6'2	227
Shane Howe	T	HS	Baltimore, MD	6'4	298
Wali Vaughn	ATH	HS	North Fort Myers, FL	5'11	187
Shane Young	FS	HS	Amarillo, TX	6'4	221
Jeff Dunlap	ATH	HS	St. Charles, MD	5'11	207
Jack Roberson	ATH	HS	Elmira, NY	5'10	189
Manuel Brown	P	HS	Sweetwater, TX	6'2	219
Darius Pitts	FB	HS	Destrehan, LA	6'1	232
Kenneth White	FB	HS	Plantation, FL	6'2	231

Other Incoming Players:
FR(RS) WR Brandon Sheperd- Transfer from Texas
SO CB Charles Jackson- Transfer from Nebraska
*Both players will sit out a year per NCAA Rules.

Notes on Incoming Athletes
Thomas Jackson expects to fight for the starting QB position in camp.
Jeff Dunlap will be playing TE. This move might allow the LaTech coaching staff to move incoming FR TE Dane Merriman to the OL for depth.
Wali Vaughn should compete for the starting FS spot this season.
Jack Roberson will most likely redshirt but looks to be playing HB.

[thedudedominick]

2013 Louisiana Tech Season Preview

-This Louisiana Tech team won the WAC Championship as well as the Idaho Bowl last season, but lost 25 seniors off of that roster. It is a new look team this season with new guys all over the place on the depth chart. The coaching staff has the task of getting these young guys ready to play right away, especially with the move to C-USA.

Offensive Outlook
-Only 3 players return from an offensive unit that was middle of the pack in the NCAA last season. The biggest question mark going into the offseason was at the QB position. Coach Bellini had said he wanted more of a pocket passer but when the opportunity to recruit ATH Thomas Jackson came up he jumped at the chance to bring him in to run the offense. He has been a starter from the day he arrived and even though he has made some freshman mistakes he brings a dual threat element to this pro-style offense that coach Bellini never envisioned. This offense will start a FR at QB, FB, and the entire depth chart at TE is filled with FR. JR HB Hunter Lee will carry the load for this team after only getting 14 carries last season. FR HB Jack Roberson will handle the number 2 spot at HB. The WR group is deep, but no stand out talent here. The offensive line returns the only 3 starters of the entire offense, but an injury up front could derail this offense.

Defense
-This defense like the offense is only returning 3 starters. The Bulldogs expect to start FR at OLB, FS, and SS. This might leave the back end vulnerable in the passing game but the coaching staff has been impressed with FR safeties Wali Vaughn and Ben Lott. If these two aren't ready to play big it could be a long year in C-USA for LaTech. The strength of the defensive line could mask the issues in the secondary for this unit. If they can get pressure on the opposing teams, the secondary could have some time to adjust.

Special Teams
-SR Kicker Matt Nelson will handle both the kicking and punting duties this season. He is a consistent kicker who is accurate and reliable from 45 on in. SO KR Tevin King will continue to handle all return duties. He averaged 20.8 yards a return on kickoffs last year.

Prediction

-Despite all the changed the coaches believe LaTech to be a top 3 team in the C-USA this season, but expect FIU to beat out the Bulldogs for a C-USA East division title.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 2013 Roster/ Depth Chart
#	OFFENSE	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	HOMETOWN
12	Thomas Jackson	QB	5'11	220	FR	Rayville, LA
16	Taylor Burch	QB	6'2	227	JR(RS)	Kenner, LA
9	Zach Griffith	QB	6'3	187	JR(RS)	San Dimas, CA
11	Kelly Nelson	QB	6'4	223	FR*	La Puente, CA
10	Robert Chandler	QB	6'2	205	FR*	San Diego, CA
36	Hunter Lee	HB	5'10	202	JR	N Richland Hills, TX
24	Jack Roberson	HB	5'10	189	FR	Elmira, NY
2	Lyle Fitte	HB	5'9	193	SR(RS)	Houma, LA
23	Kenneth Dixon	HB	6'0	213	FR(RS)	Bentonville, AR
25	Leroy Bell	HB	6'0	221	FR*	West Monroe, LA
31	Kenneth White	FB	6'2	231	FR	Plantation, FL
32	Darius Pitts	FB	6'1	232	FR	Destrehan, LA
5	DJ Banks	WR	5'9	186	JR(RS)	Aldine, TX
81	Scott Cathcart	WR	6'5	221	SR(RS)	Cerritos, CA
8	Jacarri Jackson	WR	6'2	185	SR(RS)	Winnsboro, LA
88	Ian Soignier	WR	6'0	175	SO(RS)	Bayou Cane, LA
18	DJ St. Julian	WR	6'0	187	JR(RS)	Cut Off, LA
82	Jon Greenwalt	WR	6'3	201	JR(RS)	Grambling, LA
85	J.B. Clarke	WR	6'5	217	FR*	Aldine, TX
89	Chris Washington	WR	6'1	194	FR*	Berwick, LA
87	Brandon Sheperd	WR	6'3	187	FR(RS)**	Austin, TX
44	Jeff Dunlap	TE	5'11	225	FR	St. Charles, MD
42	Aaron Colbert	TE	6'8	257	FR	Westwego, LA
45	Cameron Mosby	TE	6'2	231	FR	Friendswood, TX
74	Barry Banks	LT	6'4	325	SR(RS)	Latimer, MS
73	Shane Howe	LT	6'4	298	FR*	Baltimore, MD
76	Zeke Alsander	LG	6'6	301	JR	Amite City, LA
69	Vincent Cano	C	6'2	307	SR(RS)	San Antonio, TX
72	Derrick Clark	C	6'6	299	FR	Winnsboro, LA
66	Matthew Sheppard	RG	6'3	306	SR(RS)	Waco, TX
63	Dane Merriman	RG	6'8	277	FR	Jasper, AL
77	Jens Danielson	RT	6'5	293	JR	Ripley, MS
68	Josh Robinson	RT	6'4	302	SO(RS)	Port Allen, LA
#	DEFENSE	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	HOMETOWN
22	Kendrick James	LE	6'1	242	SR(RS)	Arabi, LA
92	Carter Street	LE	6'2	252	JR(RS)	Austin, TX
35	Jeremy Lagarde	LE	5'10	237	SR(RS)	Moss Bluff, LA
37	Lloyd Grogan	LE	6'0	212	FR(RS)	Old Jefferson, LA
41	Ik Enemkpali	RE	6'2	247	SR(RS)	Portland, TX
30	Harrison Lewis	RE	5'11	220	SO(RS)	Gainesville, TX
93	Alex Sykes	RE	6'7	244	FR	Dyer, IN
40	Kevin Kisseberth	RE	6'1	228	JR(RS)	Corpus Christi, TX
70	Justin Ellis	DT	6'2	332	SR(RS)	Lake Charles, LA
54	Shakiel Lucas	DT	6'2	282	SR(RS)	Mansfield, LA
84	Andre Taylor	DT	6'5	252	JR(RS)	Kirby, TX
90	Tyler Porter	DT	6'0	314	SO(RS)	EL Dorado, AR
98	Vontarrius Dora	DT	6'4	256	SO(RS)	North Gulfport, MS
59	Stephen Gibson	DT	6'4	235	FR(RS)	Prien, LA
58	Lance Tucker	DT	6'3	300	FR*	St. Rose, LA
46	Rufus Porter	LOLB	6'1	213	SR(RS)	Westwego, LA
48	Andrew Wiggins	LOLB	6'2	203	SO(RS)	Vidalia, LA
50	Ches Morrison	MLB	5'11	243	JR(RS)	Baker, LA
52	Ty Hook	MLB	6'0	212	SO(RS)	Pearland, TX
43	Vince Williams	MLB	6'1	240	FR*	Eunice, LA
38	Paul Robinson	ROLB	6'2	227	FR	Spring, TX
6	Beau Fitte	ROLB	6'1	213	JR	Marksville, LA
14	Craig Johnson	CB	5'8	175	SR(RS)	Abbeille, LA
15	Brice Abraham	CB	5'11	176	SO(RS)	Winnfield, LA
13	Levander Liggins	CB	5'11	185	JR	Lafayette, LA
7	Mike Schrang	CB	6'1	205	SO	Ponchatoula, LA
4	Kentrell Brice	CB	5'11	175	FR(RS)	Lamesa, TX
21	Charles Jackson	CB	5'11	176	SO**	Houston, TX
28	Wali Vaughn	FS	5'11	187	FR	North Fort Myers, FL
20	Shane Young	FS	6'4	221	FR	Amarillo, TX
29	Benn Lott	SS	6'0	187	FR	Red Chute, LA
27	Quinn Giles	SS	5'11	195	SR(RS)	Avondale, LA
19	Adairius Barnes	SS	5'11	179	FR(RS)	Gray, LA
#	SPECIAL TEAMS	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	HOMETOWN
33	Matt Nelson	K	5'10	162	SR(RS)	Brownwood, TX
51	Manuel Brown	P	6'2	219	FR*	Sweetwater, TX
26	Tevin King	KR/PR	5'7	164	SO	Jennings, LA

*Player Redshirting
**Transfer Ineligible This Season
***layers are listed in order of depth chart at each position.

Recruiting Preview

-The Bulldogs will lose 15 seniors this season. Expect Coach Bellini to go after multiple offensive linemen and linebackers to fill in this holes. A Kicker is another key target for this coaching staff. Coach Bellini likes recruiting athletes so we can expect a handful of them to be targeted as well.

2013 Schedule

Saturday, August 31, 7PM Rice at Louisiana Tech
Saturday, September 7, 12PM Louisiana Tech at Fresno State
Saturday, September 14, 4:30PM Louisiana Tech at Southern Miss
Saturday, September 21, 3:30PM Louisiana Tech at UL Monroe
Saturday, September 28, 6PM Louisiana Tech at UTEP
Saturday, October 5, 8PM Tulsa at Louisiana Tech
Saturday, October 12, 8PM Louisiana Tech at UAB
Saturday, October 19, 1PM Louisiana Tech at Tulane
Saturday, October 26, 3:30PM ECU at Louisiana Tech
Saturday, November 2, 1PM FIU at Louisiana Tech
Saturday, November 16, 4:30PM Louisiana Tech at Florida Atlantic
Monday, November 18, 1PM Marshall at Louisiana Tech
(Thanks EA for the one day of rest)

*Conference Game
*Rivalry Game

[thedudedominick]

2013 Week 1

-Louisiana Tech came away with a win in their first C-USA game against Rice. The Bulldogs got the win at home behind some big plays in the playaction passing game. The running game wasn't as efficient as the coaching staff would have liked but it set up the passes. FR QB Thomas Jackson ended up throwing for 244 yards and 3 touchdowns but did have an interception. The coaching staff would like to see him more effective in the running game though as he only had 8 yards on the ground. JR HB Hunter Lee ran for 102 yards but it took him 30 carries to get there. Expect to see him getting some relief from FR HB Jack Roberson in the future.

Rice Owls at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Aug 31, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Rice Owls (0-1(0-1))	0	0	3	0	3
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-0(1-0))	7	7	7	14	35

Team Stats Comparison
	RICE	LT
Total Offense	140	373
Rushing Yards	27	129
Passing Yards	128	244
First Downs	9	11
Punt Return Yards	12	47
Kick Return Yards	115	21
Total Yards	267	441
Turnovers	4	1
3rd Down Converstion	2-12	6-17
4th Down Conversion	0-1	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0-0-0	0-0-0
Penalties	3-20	4-35
Posession Time	11:57	20:03

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		RICE	LT
0:17	(LT) D. Banks, 42 Yd pass from T. Jackson (M. Nelson kick)	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		RICE	LT
1:20	(LT) S. Cathcart, 69 Yd pass from T. Jackson (M. Nelson kick)	0	14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		RICE	LT
3:54	(RICE) C. Boswell, 41 Yd FG	3	14
0:31	(LT) M. Schrang, returned interception 34 Yds (M. Nelson kick)	3	21
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		RICE	LT
6:12	(LT) B. Abraham, returned interception 39 Yds (M. Nelson kick)	3	28
3:54	(LT) S. Cathcart, 74 Yd pass from T. Jackson (M. Nelson kick)	3	35

Week 2 Preview

Matchup Preview *|* September 7, 2013
	@
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 Away)		Fresno State Bulldogs (1-0, 1-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 35 Points Per Game 38 373 Total Offensive Yards 395 129 Rushing Yards 139 244 Passing Yards 256 Defensive Stats Comparison 140 Total Yards Allowed 324 12 Rushing Yards Allowed 71 128 Passing Yards Allowed 253 Injury Report Game Notes This is an old WAC rivalry game. Louisiana Tech will head to the West Coast for the first in line of 4 straight road games and 6 of the next 7 on the road.