Louisiana Tech is scheduled to report for fall camp on August 2nd, with the first practice being held on Friday morning, August 3rd.
The Bulldogs are looking to build on four straight bowl wins in Skip Holtz’s sixth season as Head Coach.
Let’s take a look at five things to watch this fall:
Will J’Mar Smith take the next step at quarterback? J’Mar Smith put together a solid season in 2017 accounting for 22 total touchdowns and five interceptions. With 14 starts now under his belt, Smith will be relied on to play a bigger role in the Bulldog offense in 2018. While his top two running backs are gone, Smith’s top two receivers returning in Teddy Veal and Rhashid Bonnette, in addition to four starters along the offensive line, big things are expected from the Bulldog passing game this season.
With Jonathan Barnes gone, who wins the kicking job? Jonathan Barnes was rock solid for Louisiana Tech for four years. In fact, Barnes is the program’s all-time scoring leader. Replacing Barnes will not be easy. Brady Farlow and grad transfer kicker, Brady Hale, will battle it out in fall camp for the starting spot.
Who will replace Jarred Craft and Boston Scott at running back? Jarred Craft and Boston Scott accounted for over 1,800 yards of offense and 14 touchdowns in 2017. The duo is now gone, and the Bulldogs will look to Jaqwis Dancy, Kam McKnight, Justin Henderson, and Israel Tucker to replace that production. Dancy had a solid spring, showing a great deal of explosiveness that has Bulldogs looking forward to seeing him on the field in a more expansive role.
Secdrick Cooper, Deldrick Canty, Josh Outlaw, Jarred Craft, and Boston Scott are gone from 2017. Who steps into leadership roles in 2018? All great teams have leaders that players gravitate towards. Losing the five seniors mentioned above will obviously hurt. Who will replace those guys? Offensively, J’Mar Smith, Teddy Veal, and O’Shea Dugas will be counted on to take on more of a leadership role. Defensively, Jaylon Ferguson, Dae’von Washington, and Amik Robertson will be the obvious candidates to lead on that side of the ball. Will others step up and lead? We’ll see.
The defense was improved in 2017. Will Blake Baker’s unit become dominant in 2018? Louisiana Tech allowed only eight points per game on average in the last two games of the 2017 season. The Bulldog defense on paper is expected to be even better in 2018. The unit has the potential to be a dominant unit that is the best in Conference USA.
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