The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns held off the South Alabama Jaguars 20-18. Louisiana led 20-0 at one point.
Let’s look at what the top prospects did in this game.
LOUISIANA RAGIN’ CAJUNS
I was impressed at all with ULL QB Levi Lewis. He is already at a disadvantage being 5-9 185. Lewis is a hell of a runner. He is just wildly inaccurate both in and out of the pocket, in my opinion. I am just not sure he is an NFL player.
Being an NFL player shouldn’t be a problem for RB Chris Smith. The junior has bided his time behind Raymond Calais, Elijah Mitchell, and Trey Ragas. It is now his time to shine. Smith returned the opening kick over 80 yards and then finished off that drive with a TD. He will have value for one of the 32 NFL teams.
Senior TE Johnny Lumpkin is interesting. Not because he is a skilled catcher of the football. No. It is Lumpkin’s size profile that makes him intriguing. The 6’6” 275-pound native of Atlanta is about two bowls of jambalaya away from converting to offensive tackle. The precedent for success is obviously there. The most famous example of this is probably former All-Pro Jason Peters. Recently, then Western Kentucky tight end George Fant converted during the draft process and was signed by the Seattle Seahawks. He now resides in New York with the Jets. It will be interesting to see if he makes the move.
I was also impressed by the huge man that is junior guard O’Cyrus Torrence. The 6’5” 336-pound behemoth crashed down the South Alabama defensive line on Chris Smith’s opening drive TD. He also had a couple of nice combo blocks as well. Junior center Shane Vallot made some nice blocks during the night.
SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS
Arguably the best prospect in this game is Jags senior WR Jalen Tolbert. The 6’3” 215-pound pass catcher has nice combination of height, weight, and speed. Tolbert didn’t catch a pass until the two-minute mark of the first half. He had a couple of rare drops before that. Tolbert finished strong in the second half with a couple of big plays, including a 61-yarder where he beat a double team. Tolbert concluded the evening with eight catches for 158 yards.
18th year senior Jake Bentley (I kid, I kid) is what he is at this point. I am sure some NFL team can talk themselves into bringing him into a camp but Bentley isn’t more than a camp arm. He will make a damn fine coach someday I bet.