Louisiana Tech will open the 2023 football season with a primetime matchup on Saturday night versus FIU in Ruston.

Game Time | Saturday @ 8 PM

TV/Radio | CBS Sports Network/KXKZ 107.5 FM

Louisiana Tech HC | Sonny Cumbie (3-9 record entering 2nd season)

Louisiana Tech OC | Jake Brown & Scott Parr (entering 2nd season)

Louisiana Tech DC | Scott Power (entering 2nd season)

Florida International HC | Mike MacIntyre (4-8 entering 2nd season)

Florida International OC | David Yost (entering 2nd season)

Florida International DC | Jovan Dewitt (entering 2nd season)

Bulldogs Projected Starters

*Offense

QB | #19 Hank Bachmeier (RS Senior) --<Boise State

RB | #22 Charvis Thornton (RS Junior)

WR | #16 Tru Edwards (RS Junior) --<Navarro CC/Hawai’i

WR | #6 Smoke Harris (RS Senior)

WR | #1 Cyrus Allen (Sophomore)

TE | #17 Nate Jones (Junior) --<Trinity Valley CC

LT | #68 Dakota White (Junior)

LG | #79 Bert Hale (Junior)

C | #62 Abe Delphin (Graduate Student)

RG | #75 Jerren Gilbert (Junior)

RT | #65 Carson Bruno (RS Sophomore)

*Defense

DE | #88 Mykol Clark (RS Junior)

DT | #5 Deshon Hall Jr. (Senior)

DT | #93 Rason Williams (Senior) --<Stephen F. Austin

DE | #20 J’Dan Burnett (RS Sophomore)

LB | #9 Hugh Davis (RS Senior) --<Boston College

LB | #6 Brevin Randle (RS Senior) --<Stephen F. Austin

CB | #11 Cedric Woods (RS Junior)

CB | #1 Willie Roberts (Senior) --<Stephen F. Austin

S | #0 Myles Heard (RS Senior) --<Stephen F. Austin

S | #2 Cecil Singleton Jr. (RS Senior) --<Miami (OH)

NK | #8 Demarcus Griffin-Taylor (Senior) --<Houston

*Special Teams

K | #35 Jacob Barnes (RS Junior)

P | #31 Blake Oschendorf (RS Senior) --<Eastern Michigan

Panthers Projected Starters

*Offense

QB | #3 Grayson James (Junior)

RB | #0 Shomari Lawrence (RS Sophomore) --<South Dakota

WR | #11 Dean Patterson (RS Sophomore) --<Findlay

WR | #14 Jalen Bracey (Senior) --<Mississippi Gulf Coast CC

WR | #10 Kris Mitchell (RS Junior)

TE | #88 Josiah Miamen (Junior) --<Iowa

LT | #77 Travis Burke (Sophomore) --<Gardner-Webb

LG | #50 Naeer Jackson (RS Freshman)

C | #62 John Bock II (Sophomore)

RG | #66 Jacob Peace (Senior) --<Virginia Military Institute

RT | #54 Phillip Houston (RS Sophomore) --<Navarro CC

*Defense

DE | #8 Jeramy Passmore (RS Junior) --<Indiana

DT | #0 Jack Daly (Senior) --<Bryant

DE | #99 Jordan Guard (RS Sophomore)

LOLB | #18 Khaya Wright (RS Sophomore) --<Georgia Tech

MLB | #42 Reggie Peterson (Junior)

MLB | #10 Donovan Manuel (Senior) --<East Tennessee State

ROLB | #97 Alex Nobles (Graduate Student) --<North Carolina

CB | #6 Adrian Cole (RS Junior) --<Syracuse

CB | #12 Hezekiah Masses (Sophomore)

S | #3 JoJo Evans (RS Junior) --<Marshall/Kent State

S | #24 D’Verick Daniel (Senior) --<Catawba

NK | #7 Jamal Potts (Junior)

*Special Teams

K | #37 Chase Gabriel (Junior)

P | #25 Daton Montiel (RS Junior) --<Marshall

Scouting the Bulldogs

Coming off two straight 3-9 seasons, Louisiana Tech has an excellent opportunity to turn things around in 2023 and return to a bowl game as well as conference championship game contention. On offense, the huge acquisition of Hank Bachmeier at quarterback provides veteran leadership and experience for the Bulldogs have desperately needed it since the departure of J’Mar Smtih after the ’19 season. Smoke Harris and Cyrus Allen return and are expected to have tremendous roles at receiver alongside 6’3 Tru Edwards. At tight end, Nate Jones and Ryan Rivera should both see significant reps, with Jones being more of a receiver and Rivera being more of a blocking type. With Marquis Crosby out for the game and transfer Tyre Shelton, Charvis Thornton will get the first start at running back after a solid 2022 season that saw him efficiently rush for 500 yards. Abe Delphin returns at center after an injury-plagued ’22 season to provide a veteran present next to Dakota White, Bert Hale, Jerren Gilbert, and Carson Bruno.

On the defensive end, the main theme by far is the grand number of transfers that entered the program. It was no secret that last year’s defense was flat-out unacceptable, particularly against the run. To combat this issue, the Bulldogs brought in DT Rason Williams from SFA, LB Brevin Randle from SFA, LB Kolbe Fields from LSU, LB Jeslord Boateng from Akron, LB/NB Zach Zimos from Arkansas, NB/CB Demarcus Griffin-Taylor from Houston, and SS Myles Heard from SFA. These new additions plus the incumbent pieces in Deshon Hall on the defensive line, Hugh Davis at linebacker, as well as Willie Roberts and Cecil Singleton in the secondary, should provide a much faster and more physical defense. Improving the pass rush is essential in 2023, and DE Mykol Clark and DE J’Dan Burnett will be heavily relied upon to help improve this aspect of the defense.

Switching to special teams, Jacob Barnes and Buck Buchanan return to provide consistency in the kicking units. Last year Barnes was mostly used for extra points and field goals under 40 yards, and Buchanan was used for field goals 40 yards and further as well as serving as the kickoff team specialist. Eastern Michigan transfer Blake Oschendorf is expected to get his first collegiate opportunity as a starting punter, backed up by redshirt freshman Patrick Rea. Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year in CUSA Smoke Harris will bring back his explosiveness as the primary punt and kick returner, backed up by speedy freshman Dedrick Latalus from Westgate.

Scouting the Panthers

Looking to build off a 4-8 season, FIU was tasked with replacing the array of transfers on the offensive side of the ball. The Panthers lost both of their starting tackles to Florida and Middle Tennessee and lost their two biggest weapons in the passing game to Maryland and Auburn. Brought in to start at LT was 6’9 Travis Burke out of Gardner-Webb from the FCS, surrounded by LG Naeer Jackson, C John Bock, veteran RG Jacob Peace, and RT Phillip Houston. Former Iowa TE Joseph Miamen will transition into a starting role this year after the departure of Fairweather. The leading receiver remaining from last year’s roster, Kris Mitchell will be outside as the Z-WR, the Panther’s best route runner Dean Patterson will start at the X-WR position, and 5’10 Jalen Bracey will be a weapon in the slot. Due to the unfortunate season-ending injury to starting running back Lexington Joseph, South Dakota transfer Shomari Lawrence is expected to carry the load out of the backfield. Returning at quarterback is dual-threat Grayson James, a junior out of Texas powerhouse Duncanville. James had an inconsistent 2022 campaign with 11 passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions but did torch a weak Tech defense for over 300 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a double-overtime win.

On the defensive side of the ball, Florida International is coming off a lackluster year as well, surrendering over 37 points per game a season ago. Starting with the defensive line, DE Jeramy Passmore is easily a breakout candidate, DT/NT Jack Daly from Bryant is expected to be an anchor at the core of the defense, and DE Jordan Guerad is looking to build off a 3-sack season as a rising sophomore. Donovan Manuel and Reggie Peterson are likely to return as the starting MLBs, with Peterson being the much better but Manuel being the better coverage backer. In the 3-4 scheme, graduate student Alex Nobles and former Georgia Tech transfer Khaya Wright are expected to start at OLB. The Panthers return several of their key pieces from the secondary from last season, including starting corners Adrian Cole and Hezekiah Masses, as well as solid nickel corner Jamal Potts. There is a higher probability that FIU will utilize a four-man rotation at safety with D’Verick Daniel and C.J. Christian returning from last year and adding Kent State transfer JoJo Evans and Memphis transfer Ladarian Paulk into the mix.

Starting kicker Chase Gabriel returns for the Panthers after connecting on 7 of 12 field goals with a long of 49 and converting on 23 of 24 extra points from a season ago. Daton Montiel will be the primary punter again this season, after averaging 42.1 yards per punt with a long of 64 yards in 2022. WR Jalen Bracey and RB T.J. Snowden will be the primary returners on the kick return team and WR Dean Patterson and Memphis transfer WR Eric Rivers will carry the majority of punt return duties.

Matchups to Watch

1) Smoke Harris vs Jamal Potts

2) Willie Roberts and Cedric Woods vs Kris Mitchell

3) Mykol Clark vs Travis Burke

4) Nate Jones vs Donovan Manuel and Reggie Peterson

5) Brevin Randle vs Joseph Miamen

Prediction

The things that I will be paying the closest attention to on Saturday night are first and foremost, the tackling, and second the pass rush. If the transfers can translate the potential that they have flashed during fall camp onto the field, then we should see a much-improved unit in 2023. On offense, I will be interested in seeing how quickly Bachmeier meshes with his receivers and the structure of the Air Raid offense versus FIU. Predicting games in the first week of the season is always the toughest outcome to guess, but I believe the Bulldogs will pull away in the second half and the final score will be: Bulldogs 41 Panthers 24.

CUSA Preseason Rankings

Louisiana Tech #4

Florida International #8

University Comparison

Louisiana Tech | Location: Ruston, Louisiana | Conference: CUSA | Enrollment:11,037

Florida International | Location: Miami, Florida | Conference: CUSA | Enrollment:56,664

Stadium History

Joe Aillet Stadium

Opened in 1968

Capacity of 28,562

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