C-USA Media Day: LA Tech Bulldogs “hungry to win”

Frisco, Tx. (KTVE/KARD) –In this week’s edition of Bulldog Blitz sponsored by Jim Taylor Ford in Ruston the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs were in the Lone Star state for Conference USA Media Day and when it was their moment to take the stage, their message was straight to the point that it almost came off as a warning to the rest of the league.

The program and the fan base both know the team needs to show better results, and another season with a 3-9 record will not make the cut any longer. Louisiana Tech quarterback Jack Turner also knows it starts with him after being announced as the new signal caller this fall and he said wins are the main objective.

“Ultimately winning is big for us that’s something that’s a standard that we haven’t met for ourselves the past two years and that’s something that’s incredibly important for us, that’s the big focus this year as a team, making sure that we win a little more,” said Turner.

Louisiana Tech football head coach Sonny Cumbie is also optimistic about the progress the team is ready to take. He doesn’t need a thermometer to know the heat will be turned up on his coaching seat going into his third year at the helm if the team doesn’t see improvement, but his confidence in his players continues to spew out.

“You have two guys here that represent the 118 players that we have back [home] and the number one thing that they represent is a group that’s hungry to win, said Cumbie. “They’re a determined group, so that’s what I think that these guys represent on our football team and our staff as well. We’re hungry to win and we’re ready to finish games that we let slip away. I think we’re ready to do that on a daily basis with the intent of how we show up and work every day.”

One main player that will not be suiting for the Bulldogs next year that will make the journey a little tougher is former team all-conference first team wide receiver and return man and Smoke Harris who now plays in the Canadian Football League. He was a vital piece on Cumbie’s offense and a huge safety valve for when plays broke down. Replacing his lightning speed and innate ability to always make a play whenever the Bulldogs found themselves in trouble won’t be an easy task.

“You’re not going to have another Smoke Harris from the standpoint of the plays that he made. You want to try and use the guys that you have, and I think in the return game immediately Dedrick Latulas is a guy that comes to mind in the punt return game. I think you saw DeMarcus Griffin-Taylor emerge as our kick returner, and he did a phenomenal job from that standpoint, so I think you manufacture it in different ways. It’s not going to be as easy hey let’s throw the ball to smoke and let him break about eight tackles and get a first down. You play off the strengths of the other guys. The receiver room has a different skillset than what you saw, but you find a different way in terms of getting guys the football in space,” said Cumbie. “There’s a bunch of other coaches in this building right now that are glad that he’s gone. We wish we had him, but he did a great job in our program. We’re excited about the kids, players and people we have to replace him”

The defensive side of the ball also continues to garner a lot of intrigue with a new defensive staff bringing a new atmosphere that seems to allow players like Louisiana Tech defensive lineman Jessie Evans to attack the ball on a daily basis.

” I feel like it means a lot to know that we don’t have to think before we make a play, we just got to go. Our defense is basically–we have a lot of great athletes out there. Now to know that we can just go out there and play free and just make plays I feel like that will make our defense much better than what it was last year,” said Evans.

Training camp is coming up in less than a week and week one of the season is just over a month away on August 31 at Joe Aillet Stadium.