RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech continued preparations for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Monday as the team practiced for two hours under the lights at Joe Aillet Stadium. The Bulldogs will face Arkansas State on Dec. 19.
The game will be the final one for former Strong standout Kenneth Dixon, who is part of a senior class that is seeking its 31st victory.
“I think he has been huge to the program,” said Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz. “He is a special talent and a special young man. I have talked a lot about his talent. People talk about his size, quickness and athleticism, but I talk more about the intangible things and the type of character that he brings to the program. You have to look at the passion he plays with, the leadership he brings and almost youthful innocence he plays the game with.
“He plays it with such a hard passion. He loves the game. I wish he would not have had to play with this ankle. I think it slowed him down a little bit, but we have had a little time to get away and we are going to have an opportunity to see Kenneth Dixon play a lot healthier than he was at the end of the season. That is the way we all want to watch him go out, because he has been huge for this program.
“We have talked about a lot of the things this team has accomplished and has a chance to go out as one of the winningest Division I football teams in the Louisiana Tech history. He is a big part of that. He almost has rock star status at Louisiana Tech because of what he has done on the field, but also the way he plays the game. People love to watch him play and have great respect for him. He plays the game so hard, physical and with such passion. He is fun to watch play.”
Although Holtz knew of Dixon’s early accomplishments, the Louisiana Tech coach has come to appreciate the senior both on and off the field.
“When I came in, I knew he had done incredible things, breaking Marshall Faulk’s record as a freshman for number of touchdowns,” Holtz said. “I was really excited to watch him play. I had a chance to watch film as soon as we got here. When we first got here, we got into recruiting. For the first two months, we did not watch any game film. I had an opportunity to meet Kenneth and be around him. I got more impressed with him as a person, because I got to know him as a person first. When I went back and watching the film I said, ‘Wow, I would have been a lot nicer to him had I known he was that good.’ I think for me, it was just, wow this is going to be a lot of fun. He is a joy to coach. He is a lot of fun to coach because of the things I talked about in the way he goes to work and practices every day.”
Louisiana Tech entered bowl season with a different schedule than most teams as the University, a quarter system school, remains in session until Dec. 18. Until the team’s departure for New Orleans on Wednesday, the student-athletes have been operating on a schedule similar to any normal game week during the regular season with classes in the morning followed by meetings and practice.
The difference came last weekend when the team practiced with focus on fundamental work for the younger players.
“It has been a little bit different, because we lost a week later last season, being in the championship game,” Holtz said. “We came out and practiced on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the following week. We worked a lot with the younger guys. We got some good fundamental work for these guys that haven’t got as many reps. You felt like it was a spring practice, with the bowl still being a little ways away. A lot of the leaders were not practicing as much as the younger guys were. It was a little bit of a spring ball mentality, and I felt like it probably drug a little bit more than I wanted it to.”
Now that the team has officially entered game week, the excitement is ramping up for players and coaches alike.
“Now that it is the bowl week, I think there is a lot of energy and a lot of excitement. I thought we had one of our best practices on both sides of the ball today. We finished with a really spirited team period at the end,” Holtz said.
Holtz added that the senior class is ready to go out on a high note.
“You have two teams in this bowl game that are really excited about it,” Holtz said. “Sometimes, when you see a team maybe get snubbed from a bowl, it can show up. Before the bowl, I met with the seniors and they just wanted to play. Dallas, Fort Worth, St. Pete, New Orleans, Miami or wherever it is. They just wanted to play. They were excited to get back on the field. By evidence of what I have been seeing with bowl practice this weekend, I would second that. I think they are really focused and dialed in with what we have to get done. They are really excited to get back on the field. That has been this team’s makeup.”
An excited and focused mentality is important if a win will come to be as Arkansas State, champions of the Sun Belt Conference, brings a talented team that has won eight consecutive games into Saturday’s matchup.
“They have good personnel,” Holtz said of the Red Wolves. “I think their secondary runs well. They have a really good defensive front and they are a really good defensive football team. They lead the country in creating turnovers and creating interceptions. Their defensive line is good and can pressure the quarterback. They do not do a lot of blitzing outside of third down, but they can get after you. They have proven that with everyone they have played.”
Tickets for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl still remain on sale from the LA Tech Ticket Office. Louisiana Tech has sold out of its allotment of the $60 price range and has $40 price level tickets currently on sale.