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Tuesday, August 21, 2018
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THE DEMONS LAST SEASON: 4-7 (4-5 SLC) COACH: Brad Laird (first season, 0-0) LEADER: Even though he’s a first-time college head coach, Brad Laird’s energetic and disciplined approach could get Northwestern State on the path to success rather quickly. There is even optimism he can steer the Demons to their first winning season since 2008. RETURNING: The most dynamic Demons back are the defensive end combo of Obinna Iheoma (eight sacks) and Zak Krolczyk (five sacks). In the scheme run by new coordinator Mike Lucas, the former Southeastern head coach, the pair could be more productive as seniors. BREAKOUT: Former four-star recruit and LSU wide receiver Jazz Ferguson, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior from West Feliciana High, is now eligible. He immediately gives Demons quarterbacks an immensely talented — and large — target in their up-tempo offense. ISSUE: Depth on the offensive line. Offensive coordinator Brad Smiley‘s high-tempo offense, based on his long track record piling up big numbers at Trinity Valley Community College, will be productive unless there are a few injuries up front. OUTLOOK: Despite their 4-7 record last season, the Demons aren’t a total rebuild. They had late-game leads on the road over FCS playoff entries Sam Houston State and Nicholls and won three of their last four games.
theadvocate.com
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The Advocate
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NORTHWESTERN STATE
Always at home on Front Street Laird’s Natchitoches roots run deep as he takes over at his alma mater
BY SHELDON MICKLES
smickles@theadvocate.com Upon being named head football coach at Northwestern State in November, Brad Laird didn’t really need to have the obligatory introductory news conference. It was more like “hello, again,” for Laird, the school’s all-time passing leader who had spent eight seasons in three stints as its defensive coordinator after making the move to that side of the ball back in 2003. The only thing new for Laird was becoming a college head coach for the first time when athletic director Greg Burke chose him to take over after Jay Thomas’ contract wasn’t renewed in the wake of a 1-6 start last fall. Considering he served as defensive coordinator for a team that won three of its final four games to finish 4-7, the transition was a relatively easy one for Laird. With a good head start on his new job, which helped him hit the ground running without having to completely revamp the program, Laird’s primary task is ending a string of nine consecutive non-winning seasons. “I really looked at it that way,” Laird said, when asked about having a leg up from day one. “Being there last year and seeing how this team ticked, and how it didn’t tick, helped in what we needed to do moving forward. “The thing that was easy for me, moving into this position, was I knew the players. I saw them on the practice field … I saw how they handled adversity. It’s not like I had to come in and learn and build relationships with the guys.”
PROVIDED PHOTO BY NORTHWESTERN STATE
Brad Laird is a first-time head coach at Northwestern State, where he is the school’s all-time leading passer.
The 45-year-old Laird, who starred as the Demons’ quarterback from 1991-95, believes he has the recipe for success with two former college head coaches as his coordinators. Laird said the addition of Brad Smiley, who coached the past 11 seasons at Trinity Valley Community College, and former Southeastern Louisiana head coach Mike Lucas will benefit both sides of the ball — specifically when Smiley installs the Demons’ new up-tempo offense and Lucas implements his swarming, ball-hawking defense. “When I got the job, we had to hit the ground recruiting,” Laird said. “But first and foremost was hiring a staff.
“Bringing in two guys with head coaching experience wasn’t a necessity. But at the end of the day, they sat in the same seat that I’m sitting in now. It’s been great to be able to lean on those guys these last few months.” Smiley takes over an offense that finished in the middle of the SLC in most categories last season, but he will be looking to take the next step with the fast-pace style he used to roll up huge numbers at Trinity Valley. The big question at quarterback may not be one at all. Shelton Eppler, who came with Smiley from Trinity, not surprisingly held the edge over returning starter Clay Holgerson coming out of spring drills to run the Demons’ new offense. Experience at running back and wide receiver, where former LSU signee Jazz Ferguson has added quality depth to the mix, will be pluses for Smiley even though offensive line depth is a question mark. On the defensive side, Lucas’ top returnees are ends Obinna Iheoma and Zak Krolczyk, who combined for 13 sacks a year ago. Lucas returns to the job he held in 2014 before he left to become the defensive coordinator at UL-Lafayette. When he was last with the Demons, his unit created 30 turnovers to rank among the FCS leaders. “I see a lot of similarities in our thought process,” Laird said of how Lucas fits in. “We want to be very aggressive, and that’s the thing he brings along with stressing turnovers. We want to be great tacklers, but we want to create turnovers and that’s what he really emphasized in the spring.”
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time 8.30 at Texas A&M 7:30 p.m./SEC 9.8 Grambling 6 p.m. 9.15 at Lamar* 6 p.m. 9.29 at Southeastern* 7 p.m. 10.6 Nicholls St.* 6 p.m. 10.13 Sam Houston St.* 6 p.m. 10.20 at Central Arkansas* 6 p.m. 10.27 Houston Baptist* 6 p.m. 11.3 at Abilene Christian* 2:30 p.m. 11.10 McNeese St.* 6 p.m. 11.15 at Stephen F. Austin* 6 p.m. *—Southland Conference games
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