Nicholls football eyes big-time turnaround in ’14

The Nicholls State University football team had one of the worst statistical defenses in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2013 – a unit that allowed a dismal 43.3 points per game.

It’s no secret that this has to change if the Colonels hope to get out of the Southland Conference doldrums and into the top-half of the league standings.

But after a long, diligent offseason and a fruitful recruiting class, Nicholls thinks it has the chops to hold teams out of the end zone in 2014.

The Colonels were picked to finish ninth at this past week’s Southland Conference Media Days – not a big shock considering the team’s tough 2013 year.

But that’s no bother to them, as they aim to shock the world and show that they are a better team.

“It’s going to be a tough conference,” Colonels linebacker Davin Bovie said. “Everybody’s going to be good this year, but we definitely have a chip on our shoulder. We’re always trying to prove ourselves.”

To make the shift from pretender to contender, it all starts with the defense, and everyone in the Colonels’ locker room knows it.

For starters, there’s a new boss on that side of the football, as outgoing defensive coordinator Jeremy Atwell departed Thibodaux to be the head football coach at Vandebilt Catholic High School.

In his absence, Stubbs opted to promote from within, hiring Steve Adams to man the defense. Adams was the Colonels’ special teams coordinator a year ago – his first season with the team.

In addition to Adams’ promotion, Stubbs made it a point to stock his coaching staff full of defensive minds.

The Colonels now employ a position coach at every, single defensive position – something the team has never had in Stubbs’ tenure.

This setup has allowed for more one-on-one teaching between players and coaches, something Stubbs hopes will alleviate some of the communication issues the team had on that side of the ball in ’13.

The coach said far too often players were out of position on the field in Atwell’s scheme – something that the team hopes it can correct this year in its effort to limit quick scoring drives.

“While I would like to see our defense be sound, lined up correctly, fly to the ball and create turnovers, the biggest thing is that I don’t want them to get scored on so quickly,” Stubbs said. “The game has changed a lot, but I want us to be very sound in everything we do. I want to simplify the defense and have our best athletes out on the field.”

If Nicholls can improve even just marginally in its efforts to keep opponents out of the end zone, the team has a shot at a turnaround. That’s because the Colonels return one of the best offenses in the Southland Conference.

Nicholls scored more than 30 points per game in 2013 – a number that is made even more impressive when one considers that the team fell behind early in several games and had to alter its gameplan and play-calling.

The Colonels have three quarterbacks with loads of game experience, including Beaux Hebert, Tuskani Figaro and Kalen Henderson.

Each player owns a unique skillset, and each may be relied upon to help the team succeed in the fall.

Hebert is more of a pocket-passing threat – the slowest of the three in terms of running ability.

Figaro is a run-first option who rushed for a school-record 1,103 yards and seven touchdowns, while still throwing for 1,135 yards and eight touchdowns.

Henderson is sort-of a mixture of both styles – a polished dual threat option. In 2013, he was well on his way to securing the job as the full-time starter, anchoring the Colonels to a victory against Football Bowl Subdivision foe Western Michigan before being sidelined several weeks with a leg injury.

Stubbs said Figaro enters camp as the starter, but competition is always welcome.

“(Figaro) will enter fall camp as our No. 1 guy,” Stubbs said. “Henderson is a very talented quarterback who transferred in from Tulsa a few years ago, and then I have Hebert, who also has starting experience. The hardest thing will be dividing up the reps to get them all ready. But I’ll have to make some tough decisions, and they know that going in.”

What should aid Stubbs’ decision is the team’s newfound depth in the trenches. Once a thin spot on the depth chart, the Colonels now enjoy quality and experienced depth along its offensive line with several starters returning from a group that performed above expectations last year.

Senior offensive lineman and South Lafourche High School graduate Rafe Plaisance is one of the anchors of that unit, which also will include senior Davin Bovie.

Plaisance said he thinks the team will be strong in the trenches, despite graduating Abasi Salimu, who is currently taking part in his first NFL training camp with the St. Louis Rams.

“Our main focal point going into fall camp is to get our tackles right,” Plaisance said. “I believe we have the guys who can do it, and with our three main interior linemen returning, it will only help.”

And the motivation of being picked No. 9 in an 11-team conference helps, too. The Colonels started last season 4-2 but didn’t win another game en route to a 4-8 season.

Plaisance said that sour taste is all the motivation the team needs to break the ice and move forward – both offensively and defensively.

“It was a tough way to end the season last year after starting 4-2 and winning our first conference game,” Plaisance said. “That was excellent for us, but we need to learn how to continue that success and finish.”

Nicholls State University quarterback Tuskani Figaro moves through the pocket, looking for a place to throw the football. The Colonels took part in 2014 Southland Conference Media Days this week. They are picked to finish No. 9 out of 11 teams in the conference. 

LOUIS TALBOT | NICHOLLS ATHLETICS