Former parish football stars team up for Texans

The Houston Texans lost to the New York Giants 30-17 on Sunday, but two St. Charles Parish products made an impact for the Texans.

With Texans standout halfback Arian Foster nursing an injury, former Hahnville High School and LSU running back Alfred Blue became the starter for the Texans. Blue rushed for a team-leading 78 yards on 13 carries and caught a pass for 10 yards.

Former Destrehan High School standout Damaris Johnson, who was claimed off waivers by the Texans after he was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles, averaged 22.3 yards per kickoff return on three runbacks and returned one punt for three yards against the Giants.

Louisiana No. 1 in NFL players per capita

In six out of the last eight years, the state of Louisiana has led the nation, per capita, in producing players into the NFL.

It happened again in 2014.

Louisiana edged out South Carolina in producing players into the National Football League. To start the season, Louisiana had 59 NFL players.

And Hahnville High School led the state with the most players in the NFL with four.

Halfback Alfred Blue (Houston Texans), safety Dawan Landry (New York Jets), safety LaRon Landry (Indianapolis Colts) and wide receiver LaRon Byrd (Cleveland Browns) all made the final 53-man squads to start the season.

LSU leads all schools in college football with 40 players on NFL rosters today.

USC finished second with 37 players, Alabama is third with 36 players and Georgia is fourth with 34 players.

4 Things to watch for this weekend

•The New Orleans Saints play the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night, and while most of the attention in Big D is always on quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant, the key for the Saints defense is stopping DeMarco Murray and the Cowboys rushing game. The Cowboys offensive line is pretty good and Murray is a rushing load when healthy.

•I love the physical running style of Saints halfback Khiry Robinson. He is tough, has excellent field vision and finishes off his runs strong. Saints offensive line play in the rushing game has been the biggest plus in 2014 and Robinson looks to be the “finisher” type runner Sean Payton has coveted.

•LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings really struggled this past weekend against a stout Mississippi State defensive front-seven. Look for a lot more of freshman quarterback Brandon Harris against New Mexico State. Harris was impressive down the stretch against the Bulldogs. Wide Receiver Travin Dural is having an All-SEC season in 2014, but watch for the breakout moment really soon from true freshman wide receiver Malachi Dupre. He has great football field rapport with Brandon Harris.

•Former Destrehan High School product and coach Tim Rebowe looks to be a frontrunner for the head coaching job at Nicholls State. Colonel head coach Charlie Stubbs resigned two weeks ago and Rebowe, who currently serves as  UL-Lafayette’s safeties/linebackers coach, would be a great fit in Thibodaux to try and revive the Nicholls State football program.