Takeaways from Louisiana Football's Vermilion & White Spring Game
Abdul Abusada • April 25, 2026
Michael Desormeaux's Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns football team held their annual Vermilion & White Spring Football game today at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium. The White team won 24-14 over the Vermilion team.
Perhaps the most impressive performance today came from redshirt freshman running back JJ Gardner, who ran for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 70-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game. The Cajuns are in need of filling open running back positions left by Bill Davis and Zylan Perry due to transferring out, and Gardner made his case today. More than likely it will be a battle between him, Steven Blanco, Anthony Reagan Jr (who ran for 53 yards on 12 carries today), and Darrell Smith for the top spots come the fall.
Another impressive sight today was how consistent the quarterback room as a whole played. While a couple of bumps and bruises happened including an interception thrown by Lunch Winfield, all four quarterbacks (Lunch Winfield and Coleman Carter on Vermilion, Daniel Beale and Sam Altmann on White) played well and showed consistency.
It’s a good sign that this will be a reliable quarterback room should the starter (yet to be named) go down to injury. Coach Desormeaux did mention that the focus this offseason was to work on Winfield’s pocket passing ability, and that was evident today as he did not run much. But the other three quarterbacks today showed impressive movement getting yards on the ground.
That is not to mention, the offensive line today did not impress, and it still seems like lots of the inconsistencies from last season are carrying over. Quarterbacks were being pressured regularly today. Important to note however that a few of the notable offensive lineman (such as center Cooper Fordham and Xzavier Brown) from last season did not play due to recovering from injuries suffered late last season, so take any criticism made about this room right now with a grain of salt. Regardless, for a room that relied heavily on depth last season, this game mattered a lot in continuing to build that depth and find the right pieces to the puzzle.
On the defensive side, they played well flying around with lots of fight today, aside from a few big plays allowed. Safety Kody Jackson, who played on the White team, was the player to intercept Winfield’s pass in the first half. The defensive line showed lots of fight in getting through the offensive line and pressuring the quarterbacks. Coach Desormeaux was impressed this spring training season on how hard his defensive linemen have worked leading up to today, a promising sign after last season’s defense allowed nearly 190 yards per game on the ground. He emphasized how defensive players are taking accountability for mistakes and learning from them.
Overall, the team displayed a lot of positives to be hopeful for and a fair share of negatives that the team will use to learn from. The Cajuns kick off the 2026 season at home versus Lamar on Saturday, September 5th.
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If you have never shopped for deals outside of Black Friday, then this trade is not for you. The Saints have a big hole to fill in the edge room along their defensive front. They did not address this need in free agency or in the first two days of the draft. The expectation heading into the day was for the Saints to finish with someone new walking into that room. While there were some surprising edge rushers available in the draft today—for example, Joshua Joseph—the Saints decided to opt for a veteran who has the talent and is in need of a fresh start. Wilson was drafted seventh overall in the 2023 draft by the Raiders, and while he has appeared in fifty games over the span of his young career, he has only recorded twelve total sacks. He finished his rookie year with three and a half sacks, had a career high in 2024 with four and a half, and finished last season with four, with half of that total coming in the final game of the season against the Chiefs. The Raiders are noted as one of the most dysfunctional franchises in the league, and the instability Wilson faced could be a reason why he struggled to reach his full potential. Wilson had success at Texas Tech, where he finished with a career total of 122 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and 17 sacks. He has a great frame, measuring in at just under 6’6”, 271 lbs, with nearly 36-inch arms. He has the prototypical size that a defensive staff running a 3–4 scheme wants to see from an edge rusher. The Saints gave the Raiders their fifth-round pick in this year’s draft—which the Raiders used to select Dalton Johnson, a safety from Arizona—and the Saints not only received Wilson but also a seventh-round pick, which they used to draft Iowa defensive back TJ Hall. This was a really good trade. You get an edge rusher with experience and high potential, taking a flyer on him using a fifth-round pick, and you were still able to get another pick in return. This was elite-level Black Friday deal shopping from the Saints in April. While the future for Wilson and what he will be able to accomplish for the Saints remains uncertain, one thing is certain: he will be wearing a brand-new jersey number. Wilson has worn number 9 since he entered the league, but Saints fans around the world know that number 9 in black and silver may not be special. However, when you change the silver to gold, number 9 is placed into a realm where the only time a player wears it is in a video game. Follow Anthony on X.
New Orleans Saints ⚜️ Rd 5 Pick 172 Lorenzo Styles Jr 6-1/194 Safety/CB THE Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 #BuckeyeOrBust Scouting Report: 4.27 Forty • Blazing speed & explosiveness: Elite downhill mover who closes quickly on intermediate routes and in run support. Reactive play speed shines in man coverage and as a blitzer (quick hands off the edge). • Versatility: Projects as a nickel/slot DB or free safety with good zone feel underneath. Former WR background gives him natural ball skills and the ability to high-point passes or return kicks/punts. • Run support & physicality: Aggressive tackler who fits the run well, uses good form/leverage, and disrupts routes with physicality at the line. • Special teams ace: Proven contributor in coverage and return games, valuable immediate impact player. • High-upside developmental traits: Smooth short-zone movement, awareness, and improving technique after just 2–3 years on defense. NFL bloodlines and work ethic are pluses. Make sure to follow Patrick Harkness on X #GoBucks #WhoDat⚜️