A new position

LAFAYETTE -- Sitting out his freshman season at Louisiana-Lafayette as a red-shirt was frustrating at times for former Catholic High fullback Matt Desormeaux.

Missing all but the first two games the following year because of an injury was downright awful.

“That was horrible,” said Desormeaux at media day on Sunday. “It was just an unavoidable thing. I was blocking and someone rolled up on me.”

But the new year brings a new outlook and a new position for sophomore from New Iberia. The Ragin’ Cajuns are running a new offensive scheme under first-year offensive coordinator Ron Hudson and passing game coordinator Jorge Munoz, and instead of taking handoffs from older brother Michael or blocking for three-time 1,000-yard rusher Tyrell Fenroy, Desormeaux will vie for playing time at tight end, catching passes from his brother and blocking from a different position.

“It’s a little different,” said Desormeaux. “I’ve never really played tight end. The biggest difference was getting used to the snap at the line.”

The Cajuns worked all summer on their passing game in an effort to try to make the offense a little more balanced. UL-Lafayette rushed for 3,019 yards behind Mike Desormeaux (1,141) and Fenroy (1,021) and passed for 1,866.

“We passed all summer so I learned the routes,” said Matt Desormeaux. “It’s playing football, just from a different place.”

Heading into the final stages of fall camp, Desormeaux was second on the depth chart at the backside tight end. The Cajuns plan to use one tight end for most plays and two for some, a big change from last year’s more wide-open spread attack.

“As of right now, it seems like the tight ends will be involved a lot,” said Desormeaux. “We should be a big part of the offense this year.”

How much the tight ends are utilized will depend on the defenses the Cajuns face this year, said Munoz. Both he and Hudson like to take what the defense is giving up, so whether the ball is distributed to a running back, receiver or tight end will depend on the defensive scheme.

“I don’t care who I’m throwing the ball to, running backs, receivers, tight ends,” said Munoz. “We’re going to find the formations we feel are advantageous to us. We may have the best tight end in America (for example), but if they’re putting two or three guys on him, he’s not going to get the ball very much.”

Becoming more balanced can only help, Desormeaux said. His brother felt that though the team was able to run the ball well, the Cajuns struggled in the red zone and in third-down situations because opposing teams were able to load up the box, the area about five yards in front of the line of scrimmage and spanning the width of the offensive line, with enough defensive players to stop the run.

“(Having a better passing game) is not just so we can get the ball downfield passing,” said Matt Desormeaux. “It will open up the running game. During the summer we did a lot of pass skill (drills).”

Desormeaux, a math major who is considering becoming a teacher and coach after college, also will play on special teams, as he did last year before his ankle was injured.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said.