New Receivers Stepping In and Stepping Up

Louisiana Tech brings back plenty of speed this season. Myles White and D.J. St. Julien are showing that Head Coach Sonny Dykes might just have an abundance of speed in his offense for 2011.

With Ahmad Paige, Tim Molton, and Lyle Fitte roaming the sidelines on Wednesday, there were plenty of opportunities for the new wide receivers to show what they can do. Myles White, in particular, continues to get behind the secondary and make plays.

Myles White

“Myles has been good for our football team,” said Coach Dykes. “I think Myles and Quinton (Patton) both are very competitive. They’re tough, they love to play football, and I think we get some carryover from those guys and the enthusiasm and toughness they play with. “ Freshman Quarterback Taylor Burch showed off his big arm in practice. The Neville product hot Patton on a long strike. He had previously over thrown White, which is hard to imagine as fast as White is. Patton, along with Eric Harper, Scott Cathcart, and Noah Cheshier, is giving the offense an added dimension of size and toughness across the middle. Burch threw the ball in place of a punter in punt drills, hanging several up in the air to allow the defense to get down the field. Richie Casey continues to be a playmaker for the offense. A new name to watch is former Acadiana speedster D.J. St. Julien. Both Zach Griffith and Colby Cameron found St. Julien for long passes. "He has really been a pleasant surprise," said Dykes of St. Julien. "He has really come on. He is one of those kids that really has talent but he just needs to learn to come out and compete at a high level every day. He is starting to come out with the right mindset and competing hard at practice, paying attention to details and starting to compete. That is the hard thing for some of these young players; they are used to getting by on talent, just showing up and going through the motions. At this level, we need these guys to come out every single day and compete hard and make themselves better and he is doing that." The quarterback race continues to be the focus of the fans and Colby Cameron seems to be a little ahead right now. It has been a nice surprise to these wide receivers playing so well and they surely have been a confidence booster for the quarterbacks. It has also been good for the new receivers to go up against the likes of Dave Clark, Ryan Williams, and Terry Carter. Williams had several pass breakups and an interception on Saturday. The former %%MATCH_14%% defensive back came on strong late last season and will likely be Defensive Coordinator Tommy Spangler’s first option when trying to shut down opposing receivers.

Practice Wraps Up

Three of my favorite Tech fans.