NSU stacks the defense on National Signing Day

Nicholls State’s football team added 16 players to its squad on National Signing Day last Wednesday. Throughout the recruiting process, the Colonels focused heavily on defense, bringing in 11 players on that side of the ball, including five defensive lineman, three linebackers and three defensive backs.

On offense, the Colonels added four offensive lineman and a quarterback.

Locally, the Colonels added one area player, bringing in former Thibodaux High defensive tackle A.J. Carter. Listed at 6-foot 3-inches and 285 pounds, Carter played just one season of football, but was productive, posting 66 tackles, three sacks and forcing two fumbles.

“A.J.’s played about a year-and-a-half, and he’s got a huge upside,” said Colonels’ coach Jay Thomas. “So we’re excited about him. He’s a big guy, he’s tall, he’s lean and he can run. So we’re really excited about signing another player from Thibodaux High.”

Thomas said it was crucial to recruit heavily on defense because of losses in last year’s graduating class. “We needed some depth at linebacker,” said Thomas. “We had five seniors at linebacker. Our secondary last year, we lacked some depth, so that was an area that we really wanted to focus on.

“Because of depth issues in the secondary, we were very fortunate that we made it through the … last two years with the lack of depth that we had back there,” he added.

Another spot of emphasis was the offensive line, where the Colonels added four players. Only two seniors were on last year’s offensive line; in contrast, however, this year’s unit will include four seniors.

“We needed to get some young guys in our offensive line and be able to start grooming these guys,” explained Thomas, “because we do have four seniors in the offensive line coming up (this season).”

Other highlights of this year’s recruiting class are four mid-year players, three of which come from Division I-A schools. Defensive backs Lance Moore and Ladarius Webb come from Southern Mississippi, while defensive lineman Solomon Ona comes from Mississippi State.

“Those three guys all got I-A experience and are really good players,” said Thomas. “Last year, (Greg) Casnave anchored our defensive line and graduated. With Solomon coming in, he brings SEC experience into our defensive line.”

The Colonels also recruited with an eye towards the future of the quarterback position, bringing in Tyler McAffe, of Victoria, Texas. “He’s a young man … went to Calhoun High School. Calhoun High School hadn’t been in the playoffs in 45 years,” said Thomas. “He led them to the playoffs this year, and they went to the second round. He had 42 touchdowns this year. He runs the triple option. He’s a big, strong, tough guy, a lot like Yale Vannoy.”

Perhaps one of the biggest offseason additions is the return of running back Joseph Tobias. Tobias sat out last season due to academics, but is back on campus and taking part in team activities. “It’s good to have Joe back around,” said Thomas. “Everyone remembers Joe from our Southland Conference championship year.”

In 2005, Tobias led the Colonels’ second-ranked rushing attack with 718 rushing yards. He also added seven touchdowns.

Overall, Thomas said he was pleased with this year’s class. “It’s kind of like Christmas,” he said. “You make this list, and it was really long. You didn’t always get exactly what you want, but you’re happy with what you got. We’re certainly very excited about what we got, and they’re all going to be good players for us.”