Ragin’ Cajuns sign 16 Players on National Signing Day

There isn’t a lot of flash that will be added to the Ragin’ Cajun football team via the 2018 National Signing Day. This group is centered around guys doing the work inside the hashes, as there are 6 OL/DL and 4 LB in the group, constituting nearly two-thirds of the signing class.

For new head coach Billy Napier, this is a smart way to go about re-energizing a Cajun team that has seen its fair share of struggles over the past few years. The Cajuns have a litany of talent on the offensive side of the ball, with a depth of wide receivers that rivals many teams in the country. Combine that with a group of running backs that can finesse you or pound you on any given play, and you have a seemingly foolproof route to success.

Seemingly is the key word here. Even with all of these parts, the Cajuns have struggled to remain consistent on the offensive side of the ball in recent years. If you already have the talent in the skills positions, perhaps it’s time to bolster the big boys and get some new girth in between the hashes. Enter the 2018 National Signing Day Signees:

Offense:

Christopher Smith (RB)

Max Yarbrough (OL)

Luke Junkunc (OL)

Johnny Lumpkin (TE)

Max Mitchell (OL)

Defense:

Percy Butler (CB)

Chauncey Manac (DL)

Timaje Porter (DL)

Jordan Cordova (LB)

Kendall Johnson Jr. (CB)

Lorenzo McCaskill (LB)

Garrald McDowell (DL)

Kris Moncrief (LB)

Andre “AJ” Riley (LB)

Asjlin Washington (DB)

Special Teams:

Rhys Burns (P)

The Ragin’ Cajuns will look to use this class to infuse some young talent on the defensive side of the ball especially, as they gave up 480 points in 12 games last season. This comes out to an embarrassing 40 points per game. A player that will expect to provide an immediate impact on the defense is signee Timaje Porter, the Cajuns’ highest-rated recruit for this class.

The Cajuns also added a punter out of Australia in Rhys Byrns. According to the Ragin’ Cajun athletic site, Byrns is a product of Prokick Australia, an organization that’s produced NFL kickers, punters, and even Ray Guy Award winners. Byrns will be the thrid Australian kicker to join the Cajuns, with Daniel Coudona and Steven Coutts preceding him.

This is the inaugural class for Billy Napier, and there is a lot of potential for the new head coach. If you want to see even more ways that this class can contribute to the Cajun team, check out the 2018 Ragin’ Cajun Football Preview the mothership produced earlier this week.