The end of the season marks the last time a group of defensive players will take the field for Nicholls football. For the collection of eight senior defensive and special teams players, their time at Nicholls was filled with memories, though the memories vary depending on the player.
Despite losing on the road, the game against Tulsa stood out as a great experience on and off the field.
“I enjoyed the Tulsa game,” punter Cory Kemps said. “They are a great team, and it was great to travel there. We didn’t have the best game, but I feel like we did break through a little bit on all sides of the ball.”
 Defensive lineman Marlon Williams enjoyed the travel and opportunity to play a challenging opponent.
“The best travel was probably Tulsa,” Williams said. “Just the whole experience was nice.”
For some players, it was their own standout performances or plays that stood out over the four years.
“My favorite memories were probably the game against Stephen F. Austin, when I threw a touchdown pass, or last year against Southeastern, when I had a 25-yard rush for fake punt,” kicker Ben Landry said.
Wins will be what linebackers Jordan Piper and Kerry Guidry remember most.
“When coach Stubbs came in and we won all three rivalry games, that was probably my favorite memory,” Guidry said.
“Against Texas State, we played four overtimes, and our team really came together,” Knight said. “It was a good victory after a long fight.”
After spending so much time together on and off the field, bonds form between players, especially those who play on the same side of the ball.
“I’ll miss the camaraderie of being with the team,” said defensive lineman Darrell Brown. “The one thing you always forget is being in the locker room.”
As a defensive unit, the players felt the game against South Alabama, when the Colonels never surrendered a touchdown and allowed only nine points, stood out as what they could achieve on the field.
“The South Alabama game this year I think was a real testament to our defense,” defensive lineman Fernandez Garner said. “We played the whole game through and came up short, but that happens.”
“My favorite game would have to be the South Alabama game, which was a close one,” said linebacker Rashar Knight. “I thought we fought hard and could have won that game.”
Many were at Nicholls before the hiring of head coach Charlie Stubbs and have noticed the change for the better since he took over.
“I was here when coach Jay Thomas was here, so I got to see the full change from coach Thomas’s era to Coach Stubbs’s era, and it’s night and day,” said Brown. “One of the first things he wanted to do was instill discipline in the team. He made more competition on the team. It was more of a football team.”
Stubbs brought a mentality that it did not matter how big Nicholls was compared to other schools, and the players took notice.
“It was good to see a big time coach from a big program come here to Nicholls and put in work,” Garner said. “He helped us know that we are just as good as bigger schools if we just put our mind to it.”
Records do not always reflect a team, and the players feel that rings true for their squad. Stubbs has been a big part of that, according to the players.
“It may not look good to everybody else on the win-loss column, but he has done a lot for the school,” Landry said. “He has done a lot for us individually in the locker room that fans don’t see.”
“Wins and losses don’t matter with the things he’s done respect-wise and getting everyone to come together as one,” Piper said.
Aside from changing the program on the field, Stubbs has influenced the seniors as not only players, but people as well.
“He is the first football coach I have ever seen that said be a student first, then an athlete,” Williams said.
“He is great person,” Kemps said. “He taught us to be good people.”
The defense feels the future is bright for the Colonels under Stubbs, even if their own playing days are over.
“They can turn a 1-10 team into a 10-1 team,” Knight said. “A couple of things, and they can get the ball rolling. I don’t think the record reflects the type of team that we really are.”
“People look at our record and think things aren’t going right here, but coach has definitely made a lot of adjustments,” Guidry said. “I think it’s definitely on the right path.”
Though each have different plans for the future, all of the seniors feel playing for Nicholls will help them, even away from football. Williams and Knight plan to become teachers themselves, and Knight hopes to coach one day, but even those who are undecided know the value of being apart of the team.
Playing has taught Williams how to work with people and care for his teammates, while Piper said the team has taught him to be responsible for his actions.
“It taught me that someone is always watching,” Piper said. “So regardless if you know, everything you do matters.”
What they learned on the field will continue stay with the seniors for the rest of their lives, according to Guidry.
“They teach us a lot out here,” Guidry said. “It’s not just football but how to succeed in life. I definitely think I will be successful from what I’ve learned from these coaches.”