Time will tell how many of the lofty expectations can be achieved, but there’s no denying the 2021 college football season is the most anticipated campaign in the history of the UL Ragin’ Cajuns.
For the first time in the program’s history, the Cajuns open the season ranked nationally at No. 23 in both the AP poll and the coaches poll.
There’s no secret what that top 25 ranking is based on. The Cajuns essentially have their entire team back from a squad that went 10-1 last year and finished No. 15 in the final AP poll.
On top of that, the prevailing notion is the most talented recruiting class in the Billy Napier era was added in the offseason to bolster the team’s depth chart.
“I think this is the best collection of players that we’ve had,” Napier said. “Can we win as many games, can we play as well? I’m willing to bet that we can, but we’ve got some work to do.
“It’s a new group of players, new roles. There’s a lot to be determined. Our ability to get the new people up to speed and continue to improve. We’ve got to get in contention, we’ve got to get to November and be relevant.”
Once again, the team will be led by senior quarterback Levi Lewis. The Baton Rouge native is on the verge of setting all kinds of all-time program records, including being 11 passing touchdowns shy of Jake Delhomme’s record of 64 career TD tosses.
Lewis threw for 2,274 yards on 59.6% passing last year for 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. That was with a depleted wide receiving corps filled with true freshmen a year ago.
“I continue to get better at knowing my teammates, knowing my guys on both sides of the football,” Lewis said. “Our receiving corps — even the tight ends and the running backs — knowing each guy and what they’re capable of.”
This year, Lewis possesses the deepest receivers room of his career, although it may lack a true No. 1 target.
“In the receiver room, it is deep and it’s competitive,” Napier said. “We’re probably catching and throwing the ball better at this point and time than we have in a long time.”
Redshirt sophomore running back Chris Smith, for one, isn’t concerned about the lack of a bell-cow receiver heading into the season.
“We can spread the ball around to really 10 or more guys we’ve got in the receiver group,” Smith said. “They’re all big, strong and physical. We’ve got fast guys too. Those freshmen that came in last year, they’re pretty good. We’ve got a couple transfers that are going to help us out a lot.
“We don’t really need a No. 1 guy. Everybody’s capable of doing anything we can do.”
Napier said the goal is to reduce that number to “six or seven” before the team leaves for Austin, Texas in the season opener on Sept. 4.
Another promising sign for Lewis having his best season is a more seasoned offensive line, which returns every starter and added second-team all-Sun Belt guard T.J. Fiailoa.
“We’ve got to make sure our communication is key for sure,” said guard O’Cyrus Torrence of the line’s focus during camp. “That’s the most important part, making sure our communication is right. That’s what we’ve been focusing on in our passing game. To make sure we’re communicating well, so we can always be able to adjust to any situation.”
The biggest question mark is replacing the rushing efforts of Trey Ragas and Elijah Mitchell after the duo combined for 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns on 272 carries in 11 games last season.
The top candidate is Smith, who rushed for 350 yards and a score on 62 carries while earning all-America honors as a kickoff returner last season, as well as freshman Emani Bailey.
On the defensive side, the only returning starter not back is linebacker Joe Dillon, and yet six players who have started games in their careers at UL are back in that spot.
Essentially, all the decision-makers and leaders in each key area returns.
“You talk about the signal-callers on defense and the offense — the center and the quarterback, the inside backers and the safeties,” Napier said. “Those are the communicators. We’re fortunate that we’ve got veteran players in those positions. The quarterback, the center, the inside backers, the safeties — all of those guys are some of the best that we have.”
Bralen Trahan and Percy Butler are back at safety to highlight a star-studded secondary.
“This year, it has changed,” Trahan said. “We’re not hunting. This year, now we’re the team getting hunted. We’re going to get everybody’s best.”
The preseason ranking is nice, but the 2021 Cajuns are squarely focused on one goal after being denied the opportunity to compete for the Sun Belt crown last season because of COVID-19 issues in Coastal Carolina’s camp.
“This year, we have something to prove,” redshirt junior center Shane Vallot said. “This year, we have something to prove. We want to go actually win the championship game.”