Saturday, August 09, 2008

Stoker on WWL with Hebert

It was fun listening online at wwl.com to Bobby Hebert and Deke Bellevia interviewing Coach Scott Stoker a few minutes ago.

After the interview ended, Bobby pointed out that Stoker broke a lot of his passing records at Northwestern and talked about him being a "little guy" and the "classic overachiever" as a player. Smart and tough and a great competitor, said Bobby.

The Cajun Cannon also bragged a lot on NSU, Natchitoches and the caliber of football in the Southland Conference.

One really interesting comment from Stoker in response to a question from Bellevia, who may be best remembered for his nearly heroic broadcasting turn on WWL in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:

Asked which position group was the Demons' strongest, Stoker listed two that were among the biggest concerns entering preseason camp.

He said the Demons were awfully good in the secondary. No surprise about the safety spots, which we knew were in good shape led by veterans Gary Riggs, Wesley Eckles, Justin Perry and Lance Lacoste. One corner was pretty secure with Kasey Brown, who had a great year last year. But Stoker said true freshmen Cassius Pollard and Jeremy Lane were great additions. Of course, with all the spread offenses, you need more than 5 starting DBs and it sounds as if the Demons are good there.

Then he mentioned the linebackers, and that was the no-brainer. The top four are two-year veterans. Mack Dampier, Blake Delcambre, Isaiah Greenhouse and Rogers Loche are productive playmakers for the Purple Swarm.

The offensive line was the big surprise. Stoker said the returning players were good and he was very pleased with the true freshmen coming along. He said NSU needs good fortune on injuries in this area, but he really feels good about the O-line.

Stoker once again said the 2008 recruiting class is looking better and better each and every day. He mentioned receiver/returner Calvin Stoker and pointed out he's no relation - Calvin has speed that coach dreamed about having!

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