Game day in the swamp is just days away for the Louisiana football team as it prepares for its opening game of the 2024 season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Grambling State in the annual Herbert Heyman Classic.
The Ragin’ Cajuns ended last season on a sour note, losing 34-31 in overtime to Jacksonville State in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. That capped a solid season that finished with a 6-7 overall record and a 3-5 record in the Sun Belt Conference. Head coach Micheal Desormeaux and his staff went back to the drawing board and spent the offseason assembling a team that could take the UL above .500 this year.
“It’s finally here,” said Desormeaux. “There’s a lot of work that goes into preparing for Week 1 and it all starts in January every year. You work really hard every year to get a good starting position and we see each week as its own race.”
With the Tigers heading to Cajun Field on Saturday, here’s everything you need to know about the UL football team’s Week 1 game.
Grambling has a new look
The last time UL and Grambling met was in 2018, at the start of the Billy Napier era. In that matchup, the Ragin’ Cajuns were on top, scoring on five of seven drives to beat the Tigers 49-17.
This time around, things look different for both teams, especially the Tigers, who will be playing their first season under new head coach Mickey Joseph. In addition to a new head coach, Grambling has a handful of transfers and new coaches on both sides of the ball.
“They have four or five players back that played a lot of snaps like everyone else, and they just brought them in,” Desormeaux said. “On offense, they added three players that we think will start on the O-line to complement an all-conference player they have. There are a lot of new faces and we have to play good football.”
With some new faces, Grambling – like UL – is looking to build a winning record after finishing 5-6 overall and missing a bowl game. The Tigers added three notable Power 4 transfers in the offseason: defensive back Cisco Caston from Baylor, wide receiver Patrick Williams from Arizona State and kicker Reed Harradine from Alabama.
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The quarterback question is answered
Although Desormeaux and his team don’t have a lot of footage of the Tigers’ new faces, they have prepared their team to play in certain situations.
“You just have to be on top of everything and you have to go out there and the camp rules apply,” Desormeaux said. “We don’t know what the coverage is going to look like and we’re going to have things that you can adjust. The quarterbacks know the answers, the guys up front know how to block and you just have to let your guys go out there and play.”
Senior quarterback Ben Wooldridge will be the man leading the Ragin’ Cajuns’ offense this season, Desormeaux announced in Monday’s press conference. The 6-foot-3 thrower suffered a season-ending injury after just three games last year after rushing for 508 yards and five touchdowns.
Wooldridge will resume his role as starter this year, with senior Chandler Fields as his backup. The two have been battling for the starting spot all offseason.
“I know we can win football games when Chandler is our quarterback, but Ben has played better than him in camp. He’s protected the ball and they’ve both made a lot of plays,” Desormeaux said. “I think Ben has run our offense a little bit smoother day in and day out than Chandler has. So that’s where things stand and we’re looking forward to playing a game this week.”
Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Have questions about HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at [email protected].
