Bulldogs look for fast start to open 2024 season

The talking is over. Louisiana Tech’s opportunity to show if its offseason optimism is warranted begins Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Bulldogs’ season opener at Joe Aillet Stadium versus Nicholls State.

Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie, entering year three at the helm after back-to-back 3-9 campaigns, knows excitement for the Bulldogs’ chances in 2024 may start subdued given where the program has been in recent years. But he believes starting Saturday night, Tech fans will see the Bulldogs have learned some new tricks.

“There’s a lot of excitement and a lot of momentum going on at Louisiana Tech,” Cumbie said. “I know everybody is well aware of our video board and the game day experience that I think it’s going to provide. And ultimately, I’m looking forward to the game day experience our football team provides. We’ve had a great fall camp. We’ve got a great group of young men.”

Nicholls State, an FCS program, should give the Bulldogs a springboard to the strong start they’re hoping for, especially on the defensive side of the ball under new defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson — brought in to fix a bad run defense that never seemed to improve over the last two years.

In 2023, Tech’s defense gave up 33.4 points per game (114th nationally) and 418 yards per game (107th), all while giving up 232 rushing yards per game — the second worst nationally.

The Colonels appear to have just the right test out of the gate for Tech to test itself and see if its talk of defensive buy-in and reactive play have paid off.

Nicholls is led by 2023 Southland Player of the Year and FCS All-American running back Jaylon Spears, who put up 753 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground to go with 260 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. And if that wasn’t enough, the Colonels can hand off to First Team All-Southland tailback Collin Guggenheim (833 yards, 11 TD), who led the Southland in rushing yardage and touchdowns in 2023.

“I think they’re different-type players,” Cumbie said of Nicholls’ tailbacks. “One of them is a home-run hitter in the Spears kid and then the other back is a bigger, physical back. You compare them to thunder and lightning type combination. We’re going to be challenged early on in the run game and being able to run the football, having great eye discipline at linebacker and being able to tackle well as a team. That’s one of the things I have seen from our defense is just in terms of our overall speed that we’ve got on the field.”

Tech linebacker Zach Zimos, a redshirt senior, will begin his sixth and final college football season Saturday well aware of the challenges Nicholls presents.

After giving up a Conference USA record 522 rushing yards to Jacksonville State to close out the 2023 season, Zimos and the defense want the start of 2024 to have a much different tune.

Zimos, who put up 60 total tackles and a sack last year, isn’t underestimating the Colonels.

“They got four out of their five offensive linemen returning. Obviously, two great backs that coach Cumbie talked about. Quarterback that’s pretty gritty as well,” Zimos said. “They do a lot of different things from motions, unbalanced gap schemes. I think coach (Cortez) Carter, coach [Jeremiah] Johnson, and the rest of the defensive staff are definitely going to have us ready.”

Tech hopes its offense can create similar challenges for Nicholls as redshirt junior Jack Turner makes his fifth career start behind center for the Bulldogs on Saturday. After flip-flopping with Hank Bachmeier last fall, Turner will lead a new-look offense on the field Saturday, looking to build off his 2023 season of 1,017 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

Donerio Davenport from Texas State and returning talent Marquis Crosby will lead the running back room, while the wide receivers look to sort themselves out.

Tru Edwards, one of the few returning wideouts for the Bulldogs, is confident in Turner’s ability to command the offense. Two years at Tech and a year at Navarro Junior College with Turner will do that.

“I believe in Jack a lot,” Edwards said. “He used to be my roommate, so I’ve seen how much he studies the game and just takes the game seriously. We used to just go over plays every single day — morning, night, all the time. I’m really confident in him. If there’s anybody that I know can do it, it’s for sure Jack.”

Cumbie trusts in Turner as well, betting on his three years in the system to give him confidence in the operation. Leadership has been consistent for Turner as he’s grown in the program, and Cumbie has no doubt he’s the right choice to lead Tech on Saturday and beyond.

“He handled himself well last year throughout the whole situation between him and Hank and when he played and when he didn’t,” Cumbie said. “I think there’s an air of confidence about him. He’s bouncing around at a really good pace. I try to push and prod at that every single day that I can. I think he has a lot of great leadership skills. I think our kids rally around him. He’s probably one of the best leaders we have on this team.”

Louisiana Tech faces Nicholls State Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.