Louisiana Offensive Players To Watch vs. Texas In Week 1

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns come to Austin with a dangerous offensive attack, filled with experienced veterans

Matt Galatzan | Aug 31, 2021

The Texas Longhorns will open up their season against one of the toughest Group of 5 opponents in the country, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday, in what will be Steve Sarkisian's debut as head coach.

The Ragin' Cajuns, who are coming off of a 10-1 record and a second-place finish in the Sun Belt Conference (Coastal Carolina) under third-year head coach Billy Napier, will be a dark horse to challenge for a college football playoff spot in 2021.

Lousiana will be led by a dangerous offensive attack that returns 10 starters behind third-year starting quarterback Levi Lewis and ranked third in the Sun Belt in scoring offense (33.6 PPG), fourth in rushing offense (213 YPG), eighth in passing offense, (208 YPG), and fifth in total offense (421.5 YPG).

Make sure to stick with LonghornsCountry.com through our season preview series, where we will analyze every opponent on the Longhorns schedule in 2021.

On Monday, LonghornsCountry.com began its started its preview of Louisiana with an overview of the program, and will now take a look at some offensive players to watch when Texas takes on Louisiana on September 4 at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Now, on to the Ragin' Cajuns:

QB Levi Lewis

The undisputed leader of the Cajuns' offense, quarterback Levi Lewis returns to Lafayette looking to improve on a season that saw him take home second-team All-Sun Belt honors in 2020. The third-year starter led Louisiana to a 10-1 record, with their lone loss coming at the hands of college football cinderella Coastal Carolina, in a 30-27 loss at Cajun Field.

Last season, Lewis completed 177-297 passes (59.6-percent) for 2,274 yards and 19 touchdowns, with just seven interceptions, while also rushing for 335 yards and five touchdowns on 55 carries.

WR Kyren Lacy

The Ragin' Cajuns' leading returning receiver from 2020, Kyren Lacy exploded onto the scene during his freshman season last year catching 28 passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns. With some experience under his belt, as well as a full spring and summer with Lewis at quarterback, Lacy looks to be in line for an even bigger 2021.

WR Jalen Williams

As Louisana's second-leading receiver last season, senior Jalen Williams is a big-bodied threat that could cause Texas issues in the red zone. In 2020, the 6-foot-3, 218-pound senior had 20 catches for 360 yards and four touchdowns.

RB Chris Smith

After spending last season as the third option behind Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas, Smith will have his first opportunity to start for the Ragin Cajuns and looks to take full advantage. In 2020, he ran 62 times for 350 yards and one touchdown, while 16 passes for 170 yards and another score.

OT Max Mitchell

An All-Sun Belt performer in 2020, Max Mitchell will be charged with protecting Levi Lewis's blindside from his left tackle spot. Mitchell will have his hands full with the Texas pass rush but looks more than capable of handling his own against Pete Kwiatkowski's new defensive scheme.

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Published Aug 31, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.