We’re onto Week 3 in my look into the biggest changes on each roster the Tigers will go up against this football season.
We started with a look at Central Arkansas, which you can find here, and last week we looked at the other side of the Border War, which you can find here.
So now we’re onto the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.
Let’s get started with the most important losses from last year’s roster.
Biggest losses
Ben Wooldridge, quarterback
The first one in football is always going to be losing a quarterback. It’s the most important position in sports for a reason.
Wooldridge played 11 of the Ragin' Cajuns last season, completing 65.98 percent of his passes (192-of-291) for 2,453 yards and 17 touchdowns to go with six interceptions.
Backup quarterback Chandler Fields is also gone as he ran out of eligibility and he played in seven games, completing 63-of-87 passes (72.41 percent) for 897 yards and five touchdowns with one interception.
So that’s a 3,400-yard passer combined with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions that the Ragin' Cajuns are going to have to replace.
Wooldrige is now a backup on the New England Patriots.
Lance LeGendre, receiver
This one is a story I find interesting. If you watched Netflix’s show QB1 a handful of years ago, you might recognize the name Lance LeGendre. That’s because he was featured on it as a four-star recruit heading to Maryland.
We had him as the No. 8 dual-thread quarterback in the class of 2019.
But after transferring to Louisiana, LeGendre was given an ultimatum, become a receiver or find somewhere else to play.
So he became a receiver, and a pretty good one.
Last year, LeGendre led the Ragin' Cajuns with 49 catches for 826 yards and six touchdowns, all team highs. Now, he’s hoping to get an un-drafted contract to attempt a run in the NFL.
Terrance Carter, receiver
Carter was the second best receiver on Louisiana last year, catching 48 passes for 689 yards and four touchdowns. He was the Robin to LeGendre’s batman, but he took his talents to Lubbock where he’ll play this season for Texas Tech.
K.C. Ossai, linebacker
It’s not all offense the Ragin' Cajuns need to replace. They also lost their top linebacker in Ossai.
Ossai by far led the team with 115 total tackles, next on the team was 76, to go with 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack. Ossai added one interception, two quarterback hits, three passes batted down and a fumble recovery.
He is now on roster with the Houston Texans
Tyrone Lewis, safety
And that next player in total tackles was Lewis, who had 76 from his safety spot to go with 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack. He added a co-team high four interceptions and two more passes batted, while forcing a fumble.
The safety is now on roster with the New York Giants
Biggest additions
Walker Howard, quarterback
Knowing there was a lot of production at quarterback to replace, Louisiana went after a previously highly-touted recruit in Howard.
They picked up Howard in the portal from Ole Miss. He originally went to LSU, where he went as a five-star pro-style high school recruit in the class of 2022. We had Howard as the No. 2 pro style quarterback in 2022 and the No. 20 overall player in the class.
It didn’t work out for Howard at LSU, where he spent one season, so he transferred to Ole Miss for two seasons, but he played in only four total games across his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons.
So now as a redshirt junior, Howard is looking to become the guy at Louisiana this season.
Shelton Sampson Jr., receiver
The Ragin' Cajuns took a similar tact to replace the production they lost at receiver with Sampson.
Coming out of high school in Baton Rouge, LA., Sampson was a four-star recruit rated as the No. 18 receiver in the class of 2023 and the No. 111 player nationally. He committed to LSU, appearing in 11 games across two seasons, including eight appearances and one start last season. But he did not record a statistic in either season.
He stuck close to home and is looking to find a regular spot on the field as he steps out of the SEC.
Curley Reed III, cornerback
How’s a former four-star cornerback sound to add to the mix?
Louisiana once again followed the path of former high-rated recruit as it looked to bolster the defensive backfield with Reed, who was the No. 25 cornerback and the No. 187 overall player in the class of 2023 coming out of high school.
He did not play as a true freshman in 2023 and played in one game in 2024, but did not record a statistic.
Now the Lake Charles, La., product is returning closer to home to try to find a spot on the field with the Ragin' Cajuns.
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