Nicholls State began preparations for Saturday’s Southland Football League opener against Jacksonville State Saturday night.
The team went through a full-contact practice Monday night as coach Daryl Daye and his staff shifted their focus squarely on the Gamecocks.
“It’s no disgrace to get knocked down as long as you get back up and fight again,” Daye said. “We’ve had our backs to the wall since we’ve been here so we might as well get used to it and we need to keep working and continuing to get better.”
Playing for three quarters without starting signal caller Josh Son, NSU fought hard in its 20-0 loss to Division I-A member Louisiana-Lafayette last Saturday at Cajun Field.
Looking to tie the game at seven, NSU was stopped on a 4th-and-one from the ULL 1-yard line as freshman fullback Colt Colletti was denied on a controversial ruling. After a pair of Cajuns’ field goals made the score 13-0, the Colonel defense stood tall the rest of the way, allowing only a late touchdown.
Nursing a bruise to his high right shoulder, Son will likely return Saturday night and lead the triple-option attack.
Junior quarterback, Roy Burchett, who missed last Saturday’s game due to eligibility problems, has filed an appeal and will learn his status sometime this week.
Much like Son was last year, freshman quarterback Yale Vannoy figured he would spend his true freshman campaign as a redshirt, but instead, was pressed into duty. Vannoy and junior Josh Fontenot alternated the final three quarters on Saturday with the rookie from Kingsville, Texas taking a majority of the snaps.
Twenty-five players saw their first collegiate action in the Colonels’ 20-0 loss at Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday afternoon. Included in the staggering number are 18 true freshmen, most notably quarterback Yale Vannoy and defensive linemen Shane Kleibert and Corey Spears.
On special teams, true freshman LeJuan Walker took the opening kickoff 44 yards while fellow rookies David Plaisance and Wyatt Vial combined for 45 return yards.
“Seeing the number of newcomers that had to play really tells us where we are right now as a football program,” Daye said. “It just shows how hard we have to work to be where we want to be. Let’s just put it this way, we aren’t passing out many razors to this group.”
While a majority of the newcomers planned on seeing field time, unexpected injuries forced a number to be pressed into duty. Nobody was more surprised to hear his number called than Vannoy. The rookie from Kingsville, Texas replaced an injured Josh Son at the end of the first quarter and played the rest of the way, alternating briefly with junior Josh Fontenot.
The injury rash was even limited to offense and defense as long snapper Ryan Thibodaux injured his thigh in the fourth quarter, necessitating Thibodaux High product David Tucker to enter the game in his place.
Youth was especially evident along the defensive line as Kliebert, Spears and Ricardo Tender all saw extended action in relief of injured starters, Mike Kieffer and Michael Peck.
In the midst of a four-game road swing, the Colonels took Sunday off before beginning preparations for Saturday’s SFL opener at Jacksonville State.
Daye and his staff seem unfazed by Saturday’s defeat and are determined to return to the winning track Saturday night in Jacksonville, Ala.
“Usually it takes the players until Wednesday to shake off last week’s disappointment or come down from a big win,” Daye said. “We have an excellent group of senior leaders and they are keeping everything really positive. Our main focus right now is getting ready to play our first conference game.”
.
