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For the second time in a week, the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns football program has dismissed someone from the program. Freshman running back Walter Williams has been dismissed from the Louisiana-Lafayette football program for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
Williams was an early enrollee at the school in the spring after playing his prep career at Vancleave High School in Vancleave, Mississippi. The talented 2-star recruit had an excellent spring game after an up and down spring that gave the Ragin' Cajun coaching staff hope that he was the running back of the future. With start running back Elijah McGuire back for the upcoming season, Williams was expected to redshirt this season. Williams, will have plenty of suitors as a transfer but his best bet may be to spend the upcoming season on a JUCO roster.
Williams' dismissal comes on the heels of the dismissal of wide receiver C.J. Bates and defensive end Marquis White. Bates was the Ragin' Cajuns sixth leading receiver in 2014 with 12 catches for 167 yards and one touchdown. He was expected to be a significant contributor for Louisiana in an effort to keep some of the pressure off of the rushing attack heading into the 2015 season. Bates, a junior has the ability to sit out a year at the FBS level and play his senior year or head to the FCS ranks and play immediately.
White, a senior, was moving quickly up the depth chart and expected to be a huge part of the Ragin' Cajuns defense. His dismissal will hurt depth on the defensive line but with the large group of big bodies on the defensive line, he should be able to be replaced. The dismissal of White also effectively ends his college career unless he can find a FCS program willing to give him a shot for one season.
With three players dismissed in seven days, what is going on in Lafayette? This is the scariest time of the year for college coaches as they wait for fall practice to start and players have plenty of time to get in trouble. Credit to the Louisiana coaching staff as all three players figured into the future of the program with Williams showing glimpses of being a special player.
As is the case with any dismissal, head coach Mark Hudspeth wished the outgoing players the best in the future and refused to comment on the reason for dismissal other than the traditional violation of team rules reasoning.