Louisiana (Lafayette) held its first scrimmage of fall camp Friday, an extensive intrasquad practice session in which coaches got looks at a wealth of snaps for players up and down the roster.
Each defensive group from the starting unit well into the reserves managed to keep its corresponding offense out of the end zone the bulk of the evening until the a string of four late touchdowns.
The Cajuns’ offenses moved the ball at times, but had most drives ultimately stall with a combination of a few miscues and largely a solid defensive effort all-around, including good coverage down the field and some timely pressure up front.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Altmann, the former St. Thomas More star, eventually popped a long run to the end zone.
Starter D’Wanye’ “Lunch” Winfield, the junior from Lutcher, and redshirt freshman Coleman Carter found junior tight end Caden Jensen and freshman wide receiver Kristion Brooks (Zachary), respectively, on back-to-back plays for scores through the air.
And redshirt sophomore running back Steven Blanco (St. Martinville) managed to punch in a late score in a heavy set near the goal line.
Here are a few of the notes and takeaways from the evening overall with a season-opener against Lamar three weeks away.
BLANKET DOWNFIELD
The Ragin’ Cajuns quarterbacks didn’t air much deep downfield, but credit to the secondary as a big part of that equation as particularly the first-team group appeared well-positioned in coverage, keeping plays in front of them and forcing settles for check-downs.
Safeties Collin Jacob (Loreauville) and Kody Jackson (Evangel Christian) and corners Avery Demery, Brent Gordon Jr. (Cecilia) and Maurion Eleam (Neville) return nearly 100 combined games and nearly two dozen starts of experience and should be a strength of the team and largely looked that part.
PRESSURE UP FRONT
Working hand in hand with the good coverage down the field, the Ragin’ Cajuns’ big athletes up front were able to apply some pressure at times as well.
East Texas A&M transfer Tito Chikere was a standout with a sack or two in first-team action from his defensive end spot. Edge rushers Priest Ashe and Ashley Williams Jr. (Zachary) are imposing athletes off the outside. Linebackers Jake St. Andre (Haughton), Ethan Veal (Zachary), Princeton Malbrue (Lafayette Christian) and Micah Johnson (Parkview Baptist) flew around. And a few defensive linemen had their moments during rotations in that group, including familiar names in Maxie Baudoin IV (Ascension Episcopal) inside and Lance Williams (Holy Cross) at end.
HANDFUL OF QUARTERBACKS
Five different quarterbacks took snaps during the scrimmage from Winfield on to freshman walk-on Alex Munoz, the local star from nearby Teurlings Catholic and son of associate head coach Jorge Munoz.
As mentioned above, not much appeared to be available downfield, but Winfield was largely efficient in finding his options underneath and moving the ball in smaller chunks at times with his biggest connections coming to the tight end.
Also of note, the scrimmage dynamic and desire to keep him from taking hits inherently diminishes a key element of Winfield’s game with the scramble. But he and several of the reserves did have moments to showcase some of their athleticism with their legs in limited doses.
INJURED, BUT DEEP WR CORPS
The Cajuns are replacing the majority of their receiving production from 2025 and are already dealing with injuries again to standouts Shelton Sampson Jr. (Catholic-Baton Rouge) and Landon Strother (St. Thomas More), who have both been sidelined.
But the team maintains some good talent, depth and versatility at the position with upperclassmen Jaydon Johnson and KeDarius Wade leading the way, but a lot of good reps for sophomore Rahji Dennis (Edna Karr) and redshirt freshmen Russell Babineaux (Acadiana) and Trenton Chaney (Lutcher) — all of whom have speed that the staff was clearly working to weaponize in various ways in the screen and sweep games.
Former Tioga star Ja’Corian Norris, who worked primarily as a dangerous return weapon as a redshirt freshman in 2025, also received more opportunities on offense, and Brooks appears to be working himself quickly up the depth chart in his early months on campus.
Jensen led a deep tight end group that the Cajuns also clearly want to prioritize with at least four different players making catches on the night.
RUNNING BACK ROTATION
Redshirt freshmen Darrell Smith and J.J. Garner appeared to lead the charge in the ongoing running back battle, but Blanco was the player to eventually power his way into the end zone behind defensive lineman Brodrick Stewart.
And true freshman Ke’Rynn Smith (Holy Cross) had some really exciting moments with his elusiveness with the ball in his hands. He could be an interesting name to watch if he can crack his way into some reps this fall given the aforementioned trio and Howard transfer Anthony Reagan Jr. in the backfield or certainly somehow to keep in mind moving forward.
TRUE FRESHMEN ENJOY CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MOMENTS
A slew of young Louisiana natives provided memorable flashes further down the depth chart, particularly on the offensive side.
Brooks hauled in the longest pass play of the day, making a catch over a defender deep downfield near the goal line for the aforementioned score, and Jayden Lewis (Cecilia) was another tall, athletic target on the outside who was active throughout the scrimmage.
Alex Munoz and running back Owen Morris, the freshmen from Teurlings Catholic and Catholic-New Iberia, connected on a couple of passes as well, including one fairly early on down the sideline that stood as the longest offensive play for much of the evening.
Another freshman running back, Ke’Rynn Smith, had some electric moments on which he shook and burst by defenders for additional yardage.
Former Slidell tight end Jerry Birdlow was among the long list of tight ends who contributed.
Former Teurlings Catholic offensive lineman Drake Perry stood out with a couple of extended blocks on which he kept defenders neutralized even as plays took more time to develop.
Former Parkway star Antonio Gladney Jr. made a great catch on a throw behind him during pre-scrimmage practice reps and looked good getting free in his routes during the scrimmage, including a catch.
How much any of the 2026 signees — safeties Jayden Reed (Neville), Roderick Bingham (Plaquemine) and Luke Green (Lafayette Christian) would be a few to include on the other side of the ball as well — manage to work their way onto the field as true freshmen will remain to be seen over time. But there were certainly some nice, early confidence-building moments for several members of the class to build upon.
