Scouts tout Tigers’ class as among nation’s best
February 13, 2014Sheesh, there’s nothing to do without weekend football
February 13, 2014
In putting together the 24 members of his 2014 recruiting class, perhaps the largest in school history and certainly the largest under his watch, Nicholls State football coach Charlie Stubbs wanted to be sure to address two areas in particular.
The first was linemen on both sides of the ball, something Stubbs has always emphasized as the top priority for any football team. Nicholls helped to solidify that need by signing six linemen– three offensive and three defensive.
Next, Stubbs and his staff wanted more speed. They were able to address that by signing several players with backgrounds in track and experience returning punts and kicks in addition to playing natural speed positions such as receiver and cornerback.
Aside from that, the Colonels’ approach to recruiting was fairly simple in nature.
“I just wanted more good football players in the program,” Stubbs said.
What Stubbs hopes now is that this latest infusion of talent, which exceeds the Colonels’ 17-man signing class of 2013 and doubles the size of their 2012 coup, can help the team finish stronger than it did a season ago and eventually put them in a position to compete for Southland Conference championships.
Nicholls won four games last season, its most since 2007, and quadrupled its win total from each of the previous two seasons. But those four wins, which included victories over rival Northwestern State and FBS Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan, preceded a six-game losing streak to end the year.
For the school to take the next step, Stubbs knows the Colonels have to learn to finish.
“We really had a better squad than our record indicated,” he said of last year’s team. “It’s never easy, but a lot of (recruits) came and watched us play in the fall and they see that we’re not that far away. They also see that we’re willing to play the young guys, too, if they’re the best. It’s blended into a pretty good thing.”
Of the 24 players that make up the Colonels’ class, 13 are defensive players. Fielding a competitive defense is important for any team, but especially for Nicholls, which surrendered 49 points or more in five of its final six games.
This year’s class includes three defensive linemen, four linebackers, three safeties and three cornerbacks, giving the Colonels fresh talent at every position on the defensive side.
On the offensive side, the position breakdown includes three linemen, four running backs and four wide receivers.
Local prep talent also has a strong presence in this year’s class, as all but seven players come by way of Louisiana (three come from Texas, two from Alabama and two from Mississippi).
The four linebackers in particular are all from the greater Southeast Louisiana area: Victor Bimah of Thibodaux High, Jake Myer of Central High in Baton Rouge, Moroni Pointer of Tara High in Baton Rouge, and Hezekiah White of John Curtis.
All told, five players from the Lafourche and Terrebonne Parish area help make up this year’s class: Bimah and wide receiver Jason Richard of Thibodaux, offensive linemen Chandler Arceneaux (South Terrebonne) and Alex Bonvillain (Terrebonne), and fullback/tailback hybrid Mason Boudreaux (South Lafourche).
“It all starts here. We definitely want to have local guys making plays for the Colonels,” Stubbs said.
And there’s more help on the way.
As Stubbs noted, the Colonels can sign up to 30 players and have additional spots available for those who will be transferring from FBS programs beginning in May.
“We feel like we probably still have a good six to eight spots left that we’d like to fill,” he said.
Stubbs also noted that 78 players are currently participating in Nicholls’ off-season strength and conditioning program with spring practice scheduled to begin March 25.
2014 SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
With the finalization of the school’s signing class last week also came the announcement of its 2014 schedule. The Colonels are scheduled to begin the year on Aug. 30 at Air Force and will again face three FBS opponents all told: the Falcons, at Arkansas (Sept. 6) and at North Texas (Sept. 20).
The Arkansas game will mark Nicholls’ first-ever game against an SEC foe.
Five of Nicholls’ first six games to begin the season will be on the road, and despite not playing in back-to-back home games until mid-October, Stubbs said there was some payoff to the schedule.
“We’d much rather have more conference home games than (non-conference home games), so it’s a trade-off,” he said.
The Colonels’ home slate includes conference games against Stephen F. Austin (Oct. 11), Lamar (Oct. 18), Incarnate Word (Nov. 1) and Southeastern (Nov. 20).
Nicholls first scheduled home game is set for September 13 against Division II contender Henderson State.
Nicholls football coach Charlie Stubbs left National Signing Day pleased with a crop of 24 new players. The Colonels attacked the Tri-parish area hard in recruiting, hauling in several players from local high schools.
