For the Destrehan Wildcats, spring practice brings the first opportunity for the team to put what’s been its focal point into practice.
“Physicality,” said Destrehan head football coach Marcus Scott. “That’s the main thing – it’s the word of the spring.”
Scott said the goal is to maximize physicality in all three phases of the game, and after his team was able to puts the pads on for the first time in a long time, the takeaway is: so far, so good.
“In pads for the first time with the heat, obviously some fatigue is going to set in, naturally. But overall, I’m pleased with the effort,” Scott said early into the spring session. “We have a long way to go in terms of execution, but I thought the effort was there.”
Destrehan is coming off yet another deep playoff run, as the 2024 Wildcats reached the Division I non-select semifinals. The season ended on a bitter note, a 44-7 loss at third-seeded Ruston. Nonetheless, Destrehan won eight games in a row on the way to the semifinals, including a trio of largely dominant wins in the first three rounds of the playoffs.
It was also a run that likely few in the Destrehan community would take for granted, even given the team’s frequency of playoff runs over the past decade. The Wildcats began the season 2-3 and played several weeks without starting quarterback Jackson Fields as well as other key pieces. Running back Shane Ward missed the entirety of the 2024 season, and defensive back Jhase Thomas – who is headed to LSU post graduation – missed much of the season as well.
Fields, wide receivers Jabari Mack and Greg Wilfred and breakout running back Malachi Dabney are among the returning leaders for a talented Wildcats offense.
Defensively, there are a lot of positions up for grabs. Scott said competition will be fierce at linebacker and in the secondary for a defense losing several starters.
“We actually talked about it (Monday),” Scott said. “This is competition, and if you do it better than the guy in front of you, you’ll be elevated. It’s that simple. If you’re playing best, it will be rewarded.”
There may be a few more opportunities than usual to land playing time after a season that saw more instances of players taking snaps on both sides of the ball.
Of course, on the heels of an NFL Draft that just saw a player – Colorado’s Travis Hunter – who played both sides of the ball at an unprecedented clip, there’s nothing that says fans won’t see more two-way play this season for the Wildcats.
Scott certainly won’t rule it out – it’ll happen as needed, he said – but not right now.
“We don’t like to do that in the spring because we want guys to focus on one side of the ball in terms of install and learning,” he said. “As we move into the summer, then we’ll continue to play guys both ways. That’s something we’ve always done, and when needed, we need our guys to be ready to go.”
Destrehan will face off with Karr Wednesday at 6 p.m. for spring game competition.
