Jay Boudreaux
February 11, 2015
Man accused of cutting off two puppies’ heads, killing others
February 11, 2015
Nicholls State University football coach Tim Rebowe’s first signing class was a big one – both in quality and also in the sheer size of the players involved.
Rebowe announced the Colonels’ 26-player signing crop on Wednesday afternoon – each member of the class hailing from Louisiana.
The sheer number of signees is a plus for Rebowe, who touted that he needed new blood in his efforts to revitalize the Colonels’ program. Also important is that 11 of the 26 signees are linemen – stocky, muscular guys who will give Nicholls much-needed depth on both the offensive and defensive lines.
All-in-all, Rebowe said he’s happy with how the class fared out.
“We wanted to target certain positions – we knew we needed some help on both sides of the ball on the lines, both the offensive and defensive lines,” Rebowe said. “And we did that…. We think there are a lot of awfully talented football players in this class.”
The local flavor within the group is hard to ignore.
All throughout his introductory press conferences and interviews, Rebowe said he wanted to take a more local approach to Nicholls
football, touting that Louisiana had some of the best talent in the country – plenty enough players to stockpile the universities across the state.
So with that philosophy in mind, the coach said that he and his assistant coaches hit the road hard in the past few weeks. Rebowe said the Colonels had a loose recruiting boundary of any high school player within two hours of Thibodaux in any direction.
The end result is a class that indicates that exact philosophy – a list of players glittered with Houma-Thi- bodaux kids, as well as players from the River Par ishes and the Greater New Orleans area.
“Our staff really got out (and recruited),” Rebowe said. “We were starting a little bit late. We started a little bit in December, but we didn’t have a full staff until after January 5th. From there, we started putting it together…. We’ve got some good football players who want to be a part of something special in Thibodaux, Louisiana…. We have some players who we think will be able to come in and help us next year.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Colonels inked six linemen, three receivers, two quarterbacks and a fullback.
Three of the incoming Nicholls linemen will enter campus already weighing 285 pounds or more – including Dutchtown’s Hunter Austin, Franklinton’s P.J. Burkhalter and Tara’s Al Wilson.
Burkhalter was an All-State selection at Franklinton – one of eight All-State winners in the Nicholls class.
At the quarterback position, Rebowe may have tipped his hand as to his offensive philosophy going forward. Where former coach Charlie Stubbs used to target bigger, pocket passing quarterbacks, the Colonels’ 2015 class features a pair of kids with running ability.
Thibodaux High’s Peyton Bonvillain and Woodlawn’s Charles Brooks are the Colonels’ two signees – each standing less than 6-feet tall and weighing less than 200 pounds. As seniors, the two players combined for 1,800 yards rushing and more than 20 combined rushing touchdowns – a mark that seems to indicate that the Colonels may utilize a zoneread type of offense in the future.
Rebowe said in an interview in January that he’s open to several formations and sets, touting that he is willing to fit the system to his personnel.
“We are going to run multiple formations,” Rebowe said in January. “We are going to run some spread, I’d bet, and truly a diverse set of formations. We want to do things to get our playmakers the ball in space.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Colonels also added beef, inking Assumption’s Jair Joseph, Sillman Academy’s Jordan Talley, Ponchatoula’s Julius Ashton, Tara’s Brandon Fontenot and Plaquemine’s Kenny Dotson.
Arguably the team’s biggest defensive get is John Curtis linebacker Mikey Corcoran. A 6-foot, 215-pound standout, Corcoran started three seasons for the Patriots, causing chaos to opponents throughout his career. The new Nicholls linebacker was a Class 3A All-State performer this past season after recording 56 tackles (17 for a loss), and nine sacks.
Patriots’ coach J.T. Curtis said Corcoran is a gutsy player who finds a way to get to the football.
“He has that nack to make plays,” Curtis said of his standout earlier this season. “He’s a good tackier and a great kid.
With the recruiting season out of the way, Rebowe said the focus has now firmly shifted toward the 2015 season. The coach said he plans to have a successful set of spring practices, which would carry momentum into the summer. Once summer gets here and the new recruits arrive, the team’s competition will be fierce.
Rebowe said he was honest to recruits, telling each that there is a lot of work that needs to be done to turn the Colonels into a contender.
But he added that all 26 players in this class accepted the challenge of being a part of history.
“We like these guys – all of them,” Rebowe said. “Now, we need to get them here and get to work.”
‘We knew we needed some help on both sides of the ball on the lines, both the offensive and defensive lines.’
Tim Rebowe
