On a cold, dreary December night, Louisiana found itself watching the Marshall Thundering Herd celebrate their conference championship on the rain-soaked Cajun Field turf. It was a tough pill to swallow, especially after witnessing Chandler Fields suffer yet another injury, effectively shutting the door on Louisiana's championship hopes.

The 2025 season approaches with renewed hope and anticipation: an upgraded stadium, highly touted transfers, and the desire to not only make another appearance in the championship game, but to win it all after being so close last year.

In the first of this two-part review of the Ragin’ Cajuns, we'll break down each of the offensive position groups.

Quarterbacks

Louisiana's string of bad luck on the injury front these past three seasons was no more apparent than at quarterback, where both Ben Wooldridge and Chandler Fields stepped in for injured starters, and became starters themselves. Lunch Winfield saw limited time under center, and Redshirt Freshman Daniel Beale found himself as the signal caller during the championship game vs. Marshall.

The Cajuns hope to reverse their fortunes on the injury front this season and will do so with a deep roster of quarterbacks. Both Beale, who gained valuable experience late in the season, as well as Winfield, who saw limited action and flashes of brilliance, return to Louisiana and provide depth behind Ole Miss transfer Walker Howard.

Howard, a highly touted 4 star recruit out of STM, returns home after limited playing time at his two former SEC schools. The 6'0, 190 lb. Redshirt Junior was impressive in the spring, showing confidence and poise under center, and a deep ball threat that opposing defenses will have to respect. Whispers of his strong leadership in the locker room and ability to sustain drives in scrimmages brings us excitement for what Howard can bring to the table in the fall.

With Winfield's triple threat ability, we'd like to see him under center in the Wildcat more this season, but also understand after the rash of Quarterback injuries these past few seasons, why Desormeaux would want to be especially cautious.

Let's not forget that Daniel Beale has thrown more passes as an FBS quarterback than Howard, who only has 10 passes in the last three seasons. As mentioned, Beale gained valuable experience in his three appearances last season, and we expect him to continue to improve during his Cajuns career. While Howard is the clear #1 on the depth chart, Beale will continue to learn and mature and will be more prepared in 2025 if needed.

Wide Receivers

The excitement surrounding Louisiana’s wide receiver corps is palpable.  One big reason is LSU transfer Shelton Sampson, Jr. whose impressive receptions from Howard in the spring game have been circulating in videos around social media.

Sampson, like Howard, was a highly touted four-star high school recruit who joined LSU in 2023, seeing limited action for the Tigers behind a crowded wide receiver room.  But the talent is there.  Just two years ago in his senior season at Catholic High School – Baton Rouge, he hauled in 79 passes for 1159 yards and 18 TD’s, earning several national awards and a top 50 prospect ranking.

Sampson’s size (6’4, 190 lbs.) and speed will be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses, and his ability to complete contested catches is something we look forward to in the upcoming season.

If teams are planning to double team Howard’s #1 receiving threat this season, they’ll find themselves covering veteran players in three wide sets, as both Jaydon Johnson and Robert Williams saw extended playing time in ‘24.  Just two years ago, Williams was second on the team in receptions, but saw his opportunities decrease last season with Terrance Carter, Harvey Broussard, Lance LeGendre and Jacob Bernard getting most of the targets.  With all four players departing, we expect both Johnson and Williams to see solid numbers as Howard will spread the ball around to his top receivers.

Furthermore, Landon Strother has impressed as a backup to Johnson, providing further depth in a talented unit.

The coaching staff is also excited about the spring performances of Charles Robertson, who returns after missing the 2024 season, and Rahji Dennis, who runs a 10.4 100m and will be a deep threat to keep an eye on. KeDarius Wade and Landon Baptiste should also see playing time in the fall, and we look forward to seeing some freshman talent, namely Russell Babineaux from Acadiana, get opportunities in the receiving game.

Running backs

Louisiana is historically known for its elite talent at the running back position, and this year is no different.  Two veteran backs, Zylan Perry and Bill Davis, return to action for the Cajuns and provide a one-two punch that we expect to take another step forward this season.

Notably, Perry is appearing on several preseason teams after posting 695 yards on 112 carries last season to go along with his kick return duties (423 yards on 17 catches.)  With only 4 touchdowns on the season, Perry’s elusive running was often used between the 20’s, where Davis’ bruising approach saw more action in the red zone.

Davis isn’t being mentioned individually in most preseason publications, but the boys at Ragin’ Review are THRILLED at the fact that other folks might be sleeping on Bill in 2025.  We’re hesitant to mention his last season stats (796 yards on 163 carries, 9 TD’s) but will do so in order to take credit after Davis blows it up on the ground this season.

The elusiveness of Perry and the thunderous bulldozing of Davis complement each other as well as any other running back tandem in recent memory.  We’ll see what other tricks Coach Des has up his sleeve in the running back room as Redshirt Freshman Steven Blanco has emerged as a potential number three back while true Freshman Darrell Smith is expected to get a fair share of carries as well.

Tight Ends

Any regular listener of Ragin’ Review knows our motto… “THROW TO THE DAMN TIGHT END.”

And we will continue to echo that sentiment in ’25 as Louisiana’s tight end talent gives us plenty of reason to be excited.

Leading the group is Sophomore Caden Jensen, who at 6’6, 264 lbs. played more like a senior than a true freshman for Louisiana last season.  The impressive big man was targeted 19 times for 138 yards and 2 TDs in 2024.  His receiving opportunities were limited as he was playing behind All-Conference TE Terrance Carter who saw 48 targets through the air, second on the team.  Jensen’s talents were on display often in blocking packages, but with Carter departing the team we think Jensen will be targeted much more in the passing game.  A 6’6 Jensen opposite a 6’4 Samson is not something we would want to gameplan for as a defensive coordinator.

Jensen will be joined by newcomer Brock Chappell, a 6’5 245 lb. Jr. transfer from Furman, where he caught 22 passes for 214 yards and 2 TDs last season.  Chappell will complement Jensen well as both are reliable pass catchers and can be called upon to throw key blocks in both running and pass protection situations.  We’re most excited to see them line up against each other in two tight end sets to keep opposing defenses guessing.

Trey Miller and Teddy Gawlik also provide plenty of key depth at that position, which gives us even more encouragement to say… “THROW TO THE DAMN TIGHT END!”

Offensive Line

While we don’t expect the offensive line to take a step back this season, Louisiana will lose some key talent at that position as Landon Burton, AJ Gillie and King McGowan have all ended their careers as Cajuns.  From our perspective, the biggest question mark this season will be at center, as Burton provided key stability at that position through several different quarterbacks.

Redshirt Sophomore Cooper Fordham will be stepping into that role, previously serving as a backup for Burton.  Fordham made three starts in place of an injured Burton in 2023, and his impressive performance earned him a start in the New Orleans Bowl vs. Jacksonville State.  Fordham’s prior starts give us encouragement for us to take another step forward at the center position.

Sr. Jax Harringon returns at Right Guard in 2025 and provides key stability and leadership for a line that only sees two returning starters.  Harrington had 12 starts in ’24 and is known for his intensity and technique which will be key to building cohesiveness on this reloaded line.

Kaden Moreau will have the tough job of stepping into the Left Guard position opposite Harrington that was previously handled by Gillie, an All-American Honorable Mention player.  Moreau appeared in 13 games last season and has the experience to step up to the challenge.  Mackey Mahillo is expected to also get playing time at that LG, and we want to see the 6’8, 363 lb. beast play up to his size in his Senior season.

Left Tackle Bryant Williams will see action as the starter this season, replacing McGowan at that position.  The 6’7 Jr. saw playing time in 12 games last season, earning a 100 percent rating in 41 snaps against South Alabama in 2024.  Opposite Williams is Sr. Right Tackle George Jackson who also saw appearances in 12 games last season.  Jackson's longest appearance was vs. Southern Miss where he had 4 takedowns in 76 snaps.

While the O-Line does lose some key contributors, it also introduces new starters with plenty of playing time and experience, which gives us encouragement heading into the fall.

Placekicker

We may never see another Lou Groza Award Winner at Louisiana, as Kenneth Almendares, now with the San Francisco 49’ers, left UL as one of the most decorated football players in school history.  Junior Tony Sterner and Sr. Logan Klotz may battle it out for the starting role this season, with Sterner seeing his only action as a Cajun in ’24, a successful 27-yard field goal.  Both have seen action on kickoffs, which have been a pain point for Cajuns fans over the past few seasons.  Even though it will be hard to replace Kenny the Kicker, we’re hoping our field goal unit can be as reliable as years past.

Punt Team

Aussie punter Nathan Torney returns to Louisiana after averaging nearly 40 yards a punt in 2024.  Our hope is that we don’t see much of Torney in ’25 (because of elite offensive production, of course), but if called upon he is a reliable punter that has been included in an all-SBC preseason pick.  Joining Torney on the all-SBC team is long snapper Carter Milliron, who provides stability in his fourth season at Louisiana.  

Final Thoughts

While there are a lot of question marks on offense in key positions, we see no reason for Louisiana fans to be concerned.  The Cajuns return a ton of experience with newcomers that have the pedigree and local connections to excite our fanbase.  And with the new tools and experience in his fourth year as head coach, we can’t wait to see what Des has in store for us on the offensive play calling side of things.  Expect some growing pains with units that will be introducing several new starters but look for them to adapt quickly and provide plenty of fireworks that Louisiana fans will enjoy.