Quarterback no more: Caston ready to be a receiver

Nicholls State senior LaQuintin Caston says that he is a team-first kind of guy.

His actions this offseason show that he practices what he preaches.

After three seasons as the Colonels’ starting quarterback, the senior agreed to move away from under center and become a starting wide receiver.

Heading toward his final collegiate season, Caston said he embraces the new challenges he faces as a playmaking passing threat.

“I’m a team player,” Caston said. “I will do whatever we have to do to help our team be successful. I feel like this is a great opportunity for both myself and my teammates to progress and be better.”

Caston’s path to Thibodaux was paved by being a quarterback – sort of.

Caston passed for 1,200 yards as a senior at Scotlandville High School, while rushing for more than 600 yards.

Despite the success, he was recruited as an athlete because of his small stature.

Caston stands just 5-feet, 11-inches and weighs 195 pounds.

“I played safety in high school, and they listed me as an athlete,” Caston said. “Not many people believed I had the size and everything like that to be a college quarterback.”

Caston signed with Nicholls and then-coach Jay Thomas, who executed a triple option attack – a system that fit the Baton Rouge native’s skill set.

After a redshirt year in 2008, Caston started seven games as a freshman and found success, tossing eight touchdowns compared to just three interceptions in the 2009 season.

But that offseason the Colonels replaced Thomas with current coach Charlie Stubbs.

With Stubbs at the helm, Nicholls was going to transition from the run-based veer offense to a spread-based pocket passing attack.

“I never doubted myself,” Caston said. “But with a new coach coming in and everything, you are definitely wondering what’s going to happen because this system was very different from what we were used to.”

The plan when Stubbs took the helm in Thibodaux was for Caston to be a halfback or receiver alongside prototypical quarterbacks like Landry Klann or Beaux Hebert, who signed with Nicholls in the new coach’s first recruiting class.

But that strategy changed when the Colonels’ option-based line proved unable to protect a pocket passer.

That thrust Caston back into his role as a quarterback.

“We needed his mobility, quite frankly,” Stubbs said last season. “We needed a guy who could get out of the way a little bit and make some things happen.”

The transition for the option quarterback to a pass-oriented offense wasn’t easy. It was laced with several ups and downs.

Caston completed 191-of-365 passes over the past two seasons for 16 passing touchdowns.

He was also a threat in the running game, compiling more than 1,200 yards.

Caston’s ability to be a dual threat earned him the distinction of Southland Conference Player of the Week two separate times in his career.

“I’ve always been comfortable with LaQuintin under center as our quarterback,” senior offensive lineman Gerald Gruenig said. “He can move around and make plays with his arm or with his feet. He’s just so athletic.”

But while Caston wowed opponents and teammates with his athleticism, Nicholls hasn’t won many games the past few seasons.

The Colonels have been just 5-17 in the past two seasons.

Following last season’s final game, Caston said he was called into Stubbs’ office.

“I thought I was just going in for my exit meeting,” Caston said looking back. “It ended up being a different kind of conversation.”

Knowing that the Colonels would have a better offensive line in 2012 and anticipating development from Klann and Hebert, Stubbs asked Caston to shift to wide receiver.

The senior accepted without hesitation.

“He told me it wasn’t a demotion or a knock against me or anything,” Caston said. “And I understand the reasons why we’re doing this. We’re trying to have more weapons on the field at one time. Now, we can do different things and we can increase our ability to make plays.”

“He’s been very unselfish about it,” Stubbs said. “We had no problem with the way LaQuintin played the position for us. He did a nice job. He’s just a playmaker. We wanted to give him an opportunity to get the ball in space more often.”

Knowing he would be a receiver in 2012, Caston got to work.

He said he ran thousands of routes in the offseason to perfect his craft.

The senior said there was rust initially, but he eventually realized that the two positions are not dissimilar.

He looks at himself as a “quarterback on the edges.”

“I say I’m going to play receiver like I’m a quarterback,” Caston said. “What I mean by that is I know and understand how to read defenses. After the ball is snapped, I will know the coverages presented to me and I will be able to react and get to open space to help our quarterbacks.”

Caston won’t be totally away from his former post, either.

He still will line up as a Wildcat quarterback when the situation presents itself and the Colonels can exploit advantages within an opponent’s defense.

“That’s not just to run, either,” Caston said. “Both Coach Stubbs and I know that people will be keying on the run when I’m in there. There will be opportunities for me to get outside the pocket and make plays with my arm in the passing game.”

Anything to help the team win games.

It’s been a long road for Caston – one he said has gone by too quickly.

“It feels like yesterday was my first day here,” he said. “It’s all gone by really, really fast.”

Despite all the changes, he has no regrets about his decision to become a Colonel.

“I love this place, and I love this program,” Caston said. “If I had the ability to rewind my life and do it all over again, I’d make the same decision. We have faced some adversity here, yes. But it’s made me stronger.

“Now I’m at a new position with a new opportunity and some new challenges. I want to make my final year here count. I want to go out with a bang. That’s the plan – to go out swinging and to leave here with no regrets.”

Nicholls State wide receiver LaQuinton Caston has worn many hats during his career with the Colonels. To start his career, Caston was a quarterback. At left, he fires a pass during a practice last season. But because of the team’s offensive line depth and the development of Landry Klann, Caston will now be a wide receiver. 

LISA NEAL PHOTOGRAPHY