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The Southland Conference’s coaches apparently don’t have much respect for the Nicholls State University football team in advance of the 2013 season.
The league’s coaches picked the Colonels to finish last place in their preseason predictions, which were unveiled at the league’s media day event last Wednesday.
Nicholls received just eight points in the poll – a mark that placed them comfortably in last place in the eight-team league.
But with the first game exactly a month away, the Colonels said they are prepared to right the wrongs that plagued the team in the past two seasons – years that saw Nicholls post a combined 0-14 record in conference play.
“I really want to win a conference championship,” senior defensive back T.J. Lumar said at media day. “I won’t talk about individual accolades because that really doesn’t matter to me. I’m going to lay it all on the line and just do whatever I need to do for our team to win. Whatever it takes, I’ll do.”
Doing the little things is something that is on a lot of the Colonels’ minds in preseason practices.
Nicholls was 1-10 last year with seven of the defeats coming by 19 or more points.
But those numbers are a little bit skewed when one takes a deeper look into the stats.
Nicholls was within striking distance at halftime in several of its Southland setbacks.
But in the second half, the team would often find itself victimized by a turnover, missed coverage or some other play.
Once the momentum shifted hands and the opposing team took the lead, tight end Nick Scelfo said the team got down on itself and lost focus.
That is something that needs to be rectified in the new year, according to the Preseason All-Southland tight end.
“We just need to instill a sense of confidence in our whole program,” Scelfo said. “A lot of times, we’d get down in games and guys would tank. We just have to change that mentality. I think we did that this offseason. We bonded more together as a team, and we have the right guys to lead the program in the right direction – including myself and T.J. We feel confident in ourselves and our abilities to compete better in our conference.”
The Colonels may have their new mentality. But they also have a slew of able bodies in 2013 – that helps, too.
Because of a combination of inexperience and injuries, Nicholls played a slew of underclassmen at key positions in 2011 and 2012.
With inexperience comes growing pains – Nicholls experienced a ton of those in the past two seasons.
But with inexperience also comes growth.
Colonels coach Charlie Stubbs pointed out at media day that he was excited about the new season because of the high number of returning starters within the program.
Stubbs also said that because of the team’s enhanced recruiting efforts, Nicholls will now also have more players within its program than at any other time.
The numbers in Thibodaux are so thick that the Colonels are employing as many players as they possibly can – literally.
They have no more locker room spots to give.
“When I first took over the program, we had 56 players available, and now we built the program up, and it has taken time,” Stubbs said. “Now, we’ll have 95 reporting on Aug. 1 and then we’ll add 15 additional players when school starts to bump that number up to 110. That’s the most that we keep because of locker room space.
“We do have a lot of guys back with playing experience, and retaining those athletes is extremely important for the success of the program. You have to have some continuity, and having guys with experience is very valuable.”
But for it all to come together, Nicholls will have to navigate a schedule that is loaded with challenges.
The Colonels open the 2013 season on the road against Oregon – one of the preseason favorites to win the BCS National Championship.
From there, the team will travel to play Western Michigan on Sept. 7 and then two-time reigning New Orleans Bowl champion UL-Lafayette.
Stubbs said the Colonels’ goal is to win every game that it plays.
But the coach conceded that the first five games of the season (non-conference play) are about more than wins and losses – they are about maintaining health, as well.
“We want to win games, but staying healthy is key,” Stubbs said. “(Injuries are) what I think has held back the development of the program. We haven’t been consistently able to keep them healthy and playing on a regular basis. If we can minimize those and not have to play freshmen and be able to coach and team to prepare them for action, then I think we will be able to turn the corner.”
If it’s up to Lumar, it will happen.
He said he’s willing to do anything it takes to right the ship.
“It’s my last year,” Lumar said. It’s my last go-around. I’ll play every play like it’s my last.”
Nicholls State football coach Charlie Stubbs paces the sidelines during a game last season. Stubbs and the Colonels’ players said they believe they can turn around their recent string of bad-luck after two-straight winless Southland seasons.
