Those of you thinking about ULL beating OM

[PassInterference]

...will like Pete Rousell's view of ULL. He's got them in his top-10-best-off-season-improvements list.

"4. UL-Lafayette: The Ragin? Cajuns came close to losing defensive coordinator James Willis to Florida State, but Willis decided to ride this train with Mark Hudspeth. Did you know that eight of the nine assistants are entering their fourth year with Hudspeth? There weren?t any academic casualties (the team actually tallied its highest ever overall GPA in the spring semester) and there weren?t any transfers. No off-the-field distractions, either. To boot, Hudspeth didn?t bring in any immediately eligible transfer which may actually be a good sign. The Ragin? Cajuns return 20 starters. The momentum continues to rise and Hudsepth expects overflow sellout crowds at newly expanded Cajun Field for the first two games against Southern and LA Tech."

He's got us #2 for keeping Collins, Mullen taking the offense, Knox coaching ST, starters returning, and Dak showing out at the Manning Academy.

http://coachingsearch.247sports.com/Article/Ten-college-football-programs-that-had-the-best-off-season-29729740

[engie]

I'm pretty wooly about ULL. Had no idea they brought back that much. That said, I'd be shocked if they beat OM. May keep it close for 3 quarters...

[War Machine Dawg]

I'm pretty wooly about ULL. Had no idea they brought back that much. That said, I'd be shocked if they beat OM. May keep it close for 3 quarters...

I won't be shocked. Once again, I just don't see all this incredible talent that you, C34, and others seem to think they have. Sure, they've got a few great first team guys like Conner, Paidwell, Big Little Kimdeechee, Tunsil, and Prewitt. But there's almost no depth anywhere and they've moved a DL to OL for help there. That alone tells me how worried they are about the OL. Just one injury to the OL and they're likely staring a 3-4 win season in the face.

[engie]

It's pretty unfair to assume Bouldin and Johnson aren't close, while having confidence in Senior, Thomas, and Flowers...

Who did they move from dl to OL? They've got sec depth everywhere but OL and Qb...

[GreenheadDawg]

It's pretty unfair to assume Bouldin and Johnson aren't close, while having confidence in Senior, Thomas, and Flowers...

Who did they move from dl to OL? They've got sec depth everywhere but OL and Qb...

I think DB can be included in that group

[Covercorner2]

Difference is right now Ole Miss only has 6 guys on their roster that have EVER played a down of offensive line SEC football...

They literally had first year walk ons on their 2 deep during spring practice.

Carlton Martin moved from DL to
OG

[War Machine Dawg]

Difference is right now Ole Miss only has 6 guys on their roster that have EVER played a down of offensive line SEC football...

They literally had first year walk ons on their 2 deep during spring practice.

Carlton Martin moved from DL to
OG

This. They are extremely thin. Hell, I've said I thought we were a bit thin on OL, but the fact Senior played some last season and no one noticed makes me feel a little better about it. And Bouldin & Johnson may be close, but close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear devices. Close in the SEC gets you run the F over by the grown ass men on SEC DLs.

Once aGAIN, I just don't see all this supposed depth. They've got a bunch of good first team players. But only about 5-6 of them would start for us - Tunsil, Paidwell, Prewitt, Conner, Big Little Kimdeechee. Gross, Marry, Shackelford, Bryant and CJ would probably play for us, but wouldn't start. That's it.

[RougeDawg]

This. They are extremely thin. Hell, I've said I thought we were a bit thin on OL, but the fact Senior played some last season and no one noticed makes me feel a little better about it. And Bouldin & Johnson may be close, but close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear devices. Close in the SEC gets you run the F over by the grown ass men on SEC DLs.

Once aGAIN, I just don't see all this supposed depth. They've got a bunch of good first team players. But only about 5-6 of them would start for us - Tunsil, Paidwell, Prewitt, Conner, Big Little Kimdeechee. Gross, Marry, Shackelford, Bryant and CJ would probably play for us, but wouldn't start. That's it.

I'm with you on the talent/depth discussion. I don't see it either. They are very top heavy when speaking of talent. Have a handful of guys who are really talented, then a pretty steep drop-off after that. They will struggle in the meat of the schedule because this is the SEC and every team will have injuries. Game 1 will tell a lot about OM and I believe ULL will hand Bucky his initial pink slip letter.

[SDDawg]

This. They are extremely thin. Hell, I've said I thought we were a bit thin on OL, but the fact Senior played some last season and no one noticed makes me feel a little better about it. And Bouldin & Johnson may be close, but close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear devices. Close in the SEC gets you run the F over by the grown ass men on SEC DLs.

Once aGAIN, I just don't see all this supposed depth. They've got a bunch of good first team players. But only about 5-6 of them would start for us - Tunsil, Paidwell, Prewitt, Conner, Big Little Kimdeechee. Gross, Marry, Shackelford, Bryant and CJ would probably play for us, but wouldn't start. That's it.

WMD, you *GET IT*!!! 6 wins is a real scenario, they may not get there though. Couldn't happen to a "nicer" bunch...

[War Machine Dawg]

Another reason I think ULL could get the job done: Hud is going to have that teamed PUMPED to beat the BearSharks. That guy is a ridiculous motivator, and that's really the primary duty of a HC nowadays. ULL is going to come out and punch the BearSharks in the nose early. They'll believe they can play with the big boys and beat them. And should they grab an early lead, that confidence is going to skyrocket. Also, I think Hud is a better coach than Freezus as a whole. His offense isn't limited to the bubble screen and tempo.

Note: I'm not predicting they will beat Mississippi, by any stretch. But I wouldn't be surprised, either.

[BeastMan]

I agree with a lot of what everyone is saying in this thread. OM does have some thin spots but Engie is dead on that some folks are going way over board with it.

I learned my lesson with ULL last year. I had them pegged to beat Arkansas and they got ran off the dang field. ULL is a really good Sun Belt team but that doesn't translate well to an SEC team.