LAFAYETTE, La. - Buoyed by the play of the defensive line, the Ragin' Cajuns defense turned in another strong performance on Monday to start the second week of preseason practice.
"The defense came to play today," head coach Mark Hudspeth said. "They owned the goal line series, playing very physical, especially on the defensive line.
"Part of it is that we have installed most of our scheme already so the guys have picked things up and are starting to feel comfortable. Our practice is starting to pay off," Hudspeth added.
The Cajuns were on the field at 8:30 a.m. for the first session of the day, a 150-minute full contact practice that built upon the full-scrimmage that was held on Saturday.
With camp at the halfway point, Hudspeth is happy with the defensive progress.
"I like where we are right now, we are much further along than we were at the end of spring practice," Hudspeth said.
"We have built some pretty good depth on the defensive line and at linebacker and the secondary is coming together nicely.
Hudspeth singled out the effort of sophomore Marquise White and junior Christian Ringo among the defensive linemen.
"Marquise is starting to settle in and has been getting better and better every practice,: Hudspeth said. "Christian was an absolute beast out there today. He makes me glad that he is on our team."
The bigger battle brewing was the inaugural offense vs. defense battle scheduled for Tuesday night in NCAA Football 14, playing on the big screen in Moody Hall.
Each team will select a head coach, and offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators to play the game. The room will be split in two with the both teams playing as Louisiana in the game and the contest held in the cyberspace version of Cajun Field.
"We've got to do something to break up the time during camp and make things fun," Hudspeth said. "All the guys play video games so this will be a great team building exercise and provide everybody with a fun night."
And, more importantly, the winning team will get out of the Wednesday extra conditioning period.
After a break for lunch, the Cajuns players returned to the Cox Communications Athletic Center for the afternoon round of team meetings, followed by the 10th practice of the camp late in the afternoon.
Unlike the morning practice, it was a no contact session with the Cajuns dressed in shorts, jerseys and helmets.