Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns DLine Compared to '72 Dolphins (VIDEO)

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns will need to revamp their defensive line for the upcoming season. Gone are veterans Andre Jones, Jr and Zi'Yon Hill-Green. Coming up behind them is a young, but talented group. Listen to DL Coach Dennis Thomas and Lineman Mason Narcisse.

DENNIS THOMAS - DL COACH

The biggest thing I think moving forward from last season, when we played in the bowl game last year, we were down to three guys. I was down to three scholarship guys that played in the game and two preferred walk-ons. That’s all we had for the Houston game.

So just leaving out of that game, just developing depth. That was the biggest thing. Going into the season you never know who is going to get injured. We were still battling some COVID issues.

Looking back on it, take a young man like Zi’Yon (Hill-Green). He played for me last year and I limited his snaps, but then you look back on it, he still probably played too many snaps at times when it came to playing regular downs, then on 3rd Down, he is still in the game.

The biggest take is developing guys to be able to stay fresher during the game.

Photo courtesy of Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

MASON NARCISSE - DL

I feel like I’m having a good camp. There is a lot of stuff that I need to improve on, but overall I feel like I’ve been taking a lot of strides and just steps to move forward.

DENNIS THOMAS - DL COACH

I’ve got probably 3 or 4 guys up front, they are a little different. Meaning, when you look at D-lineman, sometimes you see a guy, he’s strong, but he’s not twitched up. Or you’ll see a guy that’s really twitched, but he’s weak.

Antonie (Baylis) is a guy that has a little bit of both. In football, it’s hard finding guys that have both. That’s what I see in him. Not putting a lot of pressure on him, but when I first saw his film, we had a guy at South Carolina, Melvin Ingram. And Melvin has been a pro for I don’t know how many years, but Melvin had both. He could hit you with power, he could hit with you speed and he could hit you with twitch. He had a little bit of everything.

And I think Antonie is in that mold. He’s got a little bit of everything. The thing he doesn’t have right now that we continue to try to grow is from the neck up. Understanding what’s around him, but he’s working towards that.

MASON NARCISSE - DL

I’m just excited to get out there. I was behind Z for almost 2 or 3 years. I learned a lot from him, because he was a great player. I just think I need to go out there, hold my own and show everybody what I can do.

DENNIS THOMAS - DL COACH

To be honest with you, last we had Andre Jones, an NFL guy, a lot of length, a strong guy.And Zi’Yon, smart, with a lot of experience.

Photo by Benjamin Massey/UL Athletics

This group right here, when people look at the ’72 Dolphins, you really don’t have names, but we have a lot of twitch and ability.

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