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Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes was selected WAC Coach of the Year, and the Bulldogs led the league with seven first-team selections, the conference announced Monday.

Utah State running back Robert Turbin was selected Offensive Player of the Year, Louisiana Tech linebacker Adrien Cole earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, and Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo was selected the Freshman of the Year.

Dykes earned his first WAC Coach of the Year award in just his second season as a head coach after leading Louisiana Tech to an 8-4 record and its second WAC title with a 6-1 mark. Louisiana Tech is playing in its first bowl game since 2008 and won its first WAC title since 2001.

Turbin ranks 10th in the nation in rushing with 118 yards per game and is fifth in scoring with 11.5 points per contest. Turbin has rushed for 1,416 yards and 19 touchdowns to help the Aggies make first bowl appearance since 1997. He also is the first Utah State player to win WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Cole has 121 tackles this season, including 13 for a loss. He also has two sacks, one interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and three blocked kicks on the season. Cole is the first player from Louisiana Tech to win WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Fajardo became the starting quarterback for the Wolf Pack in October and has thrown for 1,647 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 680 yards and 11 more scores in nine games played. He is second in the WAC in passing efficiency with a 145.8 rating and is seventh in the WAC in rushing with 75.6 yards per contest. After a 1-3 start, Fajardo helped the Wolf Pack to a five-game winning streak that allowed them to make their seventh straight bowl appearance.

Here is the WAC first-team:

Offense

WR Jalen Saunders, Fresno State

WR Rishard Matthews, Nevada

WR Quinton Patton, Louisiana Tech

TE Ryan Otten, San Jose State

OL Bryce Harris, Fresno State

OL Stephen Warner, Louisiana Tech

OL Kris Cavitt, Louisiana Tech

OL Chris Barker, Nevada

OL Tyler Larsen, Utah State

OL Philip Gapelu, Utah State

QB Bryant Moniz, Hawaii

RB Robbie Rouse, Fresno State

RB Robert Turbin, Utah State

Defense

DL Logan Harrell, Fresno State

DL Matt Broha, Louisiana Tech

DL Brett Roy, Nevada

DL Travis Johnson, San Jose State

LB Travis Brown, Fresno State

LB Aaron Brown, Hawaii

LB Adrien Cole, Louisiana Tech

LB Bobby Wagner, Utah State

DB Terry Carter, Louisiana Tech

DB Isaiah Frey, Nevada

DB Donyae Coleman, New Mexico State

DB Duke Ihenacho, San Jose State

Specialists

PK Kevin Goessling, Fresno State

P Ryan Allen, Louisiana Tech

ST Taveon Rogers, New Mexico State

WAC commissioner Karl Benson issued an apology for an instant replay review that delayed play 22 minutes in Hawaii's 44-26 win over Louisiana Tech.

The review happened early in the second quarter after a Hawaii punt. On the preceding series, Hawaii called a timeout as a third down play was being run. The officials on the field granted the timeout and the play did not count. But the replay official thought the timeout was granted after the the play was finished. After an incomplete pass on the next play and the punt, the replay official buzzed the field to inform the referee that five downs had occurred and the plays needed to be reviewed.

“I apologize to the Louisiana Tech and Hawaii student-athletes and coaches, fans and members of the media who had to sit through this excessive delay,” Benson said. “It was an embarrassment to the WAC and steps have been taken to prevent something like this from happening again. The instant replay official failed terribly in managing the review process as we have policies in place that state if a particular call can’t be overturned in two minutes, the play in question must then stand.”

Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes said during his news conference Monday that the delay was "a bit bewildering" and "not good for college football."

"They were going to give us the ball on Hawaii’s end of the field and I tried to tell them that it wasn’t the right thing to do," Dykes sad. "I and (Hawaii) coach (Greg) McMackin knew what the right thing to do was after 15 seconds -- so if they asked us we could have saved them 21 minutes and 45 seconds.”

The 22-minute delay was one of several issues with the officiating in last Saturday’s game. There was confusion with the coin toss, two Louisiana Tech penalties offset one Hawaii penalty, and the first down chains were moved incorrectly on one drive, allowing Louisiana Tech to benefit from a first down.

Let's get geared up for awards season. Just two days until the "Home Depot College Football Awards Show" on ESPN.

Kellen Moore is Boise State's first ever Heisman finalist.

San Diego State coach Brady Hoke could earn up to $1 million a season with incentives. The Aztecs also unveiled a plan to upgrade its facilities.

TCU's respect level is gaining.

Utah is eager to face the challenge of playing Boise State in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas.

Nevada coach Chris Ault said it was classy of the WAC to name Colin Kaepernick and Kellen Moore Co-Offensive Player of the Year.

Hawaii reacts to its all-conference selections.

No decision yet on who will coach Northern Illinois in the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl.

Perseverence, leadership have been the keys for Navy OT Jeff Battipaglia.

Todd Graham is committed to Tulsa.

Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild knows he needs some positive results.

Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes expects his players to have a better grasp of the offense next year.

The Boise State starters have had little to get excited about lately. Sure, their team is No. 3 in the BCS standings and they still have hopes of playing for a national championship.

But because they have faced the worst of the WAC early in their schedule, Boise State starters have only played two complete games. The last time they played all four quarters was against Oregon State on Sept. 25.

Since then, they have beaten their three opponents 164-14.

They are looking forward to playing even more now that the meat of the conference schedule begins tonight against Louisiana Tech (3-4) on ESPN2.

“We’ve been waiting for this part of our season for a while,” receiver Austin Pettis said. “The most important thing is playing for that WAC championship, and now we get to be able to play some pretty good teams here in the next couple of weeks.”

Pettis said he did not think going a month between playing a full game would affect the starters too much. Of course, there are no guarantees the starters will play the entire game against the Bulldogs, either.

“I know we still get a lot of that work in practice,” Pettis said. “We've got a great defense we go against -- that's like getting game reps. We have an experienced enough group to turn that switch on when we’re faced with a challenge against a better team and play a lot more.”

Louisiana Tech has been inconsistent this season, and that is mainly because it took them a while to settle on a starting quarterback.

Ross Jenkins started the season, got benched, and has returned to the starting lineup. He is looking a lot more comfortable and confident in the new spread offense coach Sonny Dykes has brought with him. In their last game against Idaho, Jenkins threw for 422 yards and three touchdowns. They have won two in a row with him as the starter.

“He’s a senior and he’s played a lot and he’s won a lot of games,” Dykes said. “To his credit, he didn’t get his head down. He continued to work hard, continued to learn the offense, to ask questions to be involved.”

If the Bulldogs throw it around as much as they did against Idaho, this could be a good test for the Broncos as they head toward their game against Hawaii on Nov. 6. The Broncos, of course, have to keep winning to have any shot at becoming the first team from outside a major conference to play for the national championship.

They should get some help in the computer average from the upcoming competition, but it is unknown how much of an impact that is going to have on their BCS ranking. Boise State has four teams left on its schedule with a winning record, including a game at No. 24 Nevada on Nov. 26.

The Broncos are in a race against TCU for that top non-AQ spot. While they are still ahead in the human polls, the computers like TCU better. The Horned Frogs have a big game at No. 8 Utah looming, so that could be a factor as well.

Boise State has maintained it does not look at the rankings. Coach Chris Petersen says he does not check to see where his team is, and will only care in December.

“The rankings and the polls have a lot of twists and turns that nobody can control,” Petersen said. “We’re not going to get too hung up on that type of stuff at Game 6 in the season.”

As for the way his team is playing, Petersen is always looking for improvement, but did acknowledge that his players have done a good job of staying focused. No matter the record of an opponent, no game is a gimme as we have seen throughout college football this season.

“Every coach in America knows the pitfalls of what they’re facing each week,” Petersen said. “It’s hard every week to come out with razor sharp focus and great energy. We still have a lot of the season left to play with many tough challenges. We’ll see how our team responds from here on out.”

It's easy to imagine a Hollywood version of Arizona's Nick Foles coming off the bench against Iowa last year. Mike Stoops, played by Russell Crowe, would toss his headset to the ground in frustration over the Wildcats' offensive ineptitude. And as he picked it up, amid the din of Kinnick Stadium, he'd catch sight of Foles, played by Kip Pardue, looking chill but also engaged.

"Foles!" Stoops/Crowe would bellow. "Son, the Wildcat nation is depending on you!"

Cue inspirational music.

And, of course, Foles would lead the Wildcats to a comeback win, all the while looking chill but also engaged.

Not what happened. The unsentimental reality: A coach -- Foles doesn't remember who -- told him to warm up after Iowa took a 20-10 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

"And as I was warming up, they said, 'you're going in'," Foles recalled.

He led the Wildcats to a first down. And then they punted. After an 8 1/2-minute touchdown drive from Iowa made it 27-10, Foles led the Wildcats 62 yards for a TD that made the score more respectable. That was it.

Foles would arrive at the football offices early the next day, a Sunday. He watched film. After that, he went out to throw into a net on the practice field. Then he was summoned by then-offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes, who told him he would make his first start at Oregon State. Against the Beavers, Foles completed 25 of 34 passes for 254 yards with three TDs and no interceptions in a 37-22 victory.

And away he went. Nothing Hollywood about it, really. But by remaining chill and engaged and not letting the frustration of initially losing out a close quarterback competition to Matt Scott drive him to distraction, Foles set himself up to be ready when called.

"I was just continuing to work hard, preparing like I was a starter," Foles said. "I knew at any moment I could get an opportunity to play. My big thing was just staying focused, staying ready. I didn't get frustrated because I knew I might eventually get a chance."

Now Foles is something of an X factor in the rematch with Iowa on Saturday in Arizona Stadium. A lot of the same players will be on the field for both teams, but Foles went on to become one of the nation's best quarterbacks after the Iowa game.

Of course, the Iowa defense, which welcomes back eight starters, including all four members of what is probably the nation's best defensive line, is a year older and a year scarier.

"They are very disruptive," Stoops said. "They took away a lot of stuff we thought we would be able to do [last year]. We've got to come up with a better game plan. But they do that to a lot of people. They are so good inside and up front they limit what you can do."

Stoops even specified what Iowa does: While most defenses need seven (or eight) guys to stop the run, Iowa can do it with six, which is not unlike what Nebraska did in the Holiday Bowl -- sorry for bringing that up, Wildcats fans. More guys playing in space makes it harder to throw the ball.

"[Foles] is going to have to play much faster," Stoops said. "Things have to happen a lot faster this week. The windows are going to be a lot tighter to throw in. So we're going to need his accuracy and our players are going to have to make a lot of tough, competitive catches."

Accuracy? Foles is completing 83 percent of his passes.

But Foles is going to need plenty of help. He's going to need his receivers to be aggressive with the ball in the air, his line to stand up to the Hawkeyes' front and he needs running back Nic Grigsby to be a threat on the ground. Also, he needs his guys to remain chill but engaged, because Iowa is going to make big plays on defense. The unit, led by future NFL first-round draft pick Adrian Clayborn at end, is too talented not to.

Foles is the right guy to role model that state of mind.

"I just try to keep it level. I think that's the key to being successful," he said. "You are going to have highs and you are going to have lows but you've got to keep steady. I tell the guys all the time during a game you can have some bad plays and you have some great plays, but the key is to stay steady, to stay mentally focused. That's how I go about it every day. Just have fun. That's a key. Play the game. Just let it come to you."

Arizona defensive end Brooks Reed let the Iowa game come to him last year. It gave him a high ankle sprain early in the second half that pretty much ruined his season. Remember that long, back-breaking Iowa drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter that made it 27-10? Reed tried to come back and play during it. Bad idea.

"I think they noticed I was limping around, and they started running power to my side," Reed said. "Got a few yards, and I got taken out."

Reed and fellow end Ricky Elmore are the best DE-tandem in the Pac-10, and the Wildcats' secondary is good enough to mute Hawkeyes quarterback Ricky Stanzi and his solid crew of receivers. But the big question is how the two new tackles and three new linebackers will handle the power running game, which is Iowa's primary mode of travel.

"They like to run guys over -- that's their deal," Reed said. "This is our first real test as a defense. The first two games kind of got us warmed up."

Reed has seen encouraging signs in the first two games, in which Arizona gave up eight points (two came on a safety) and just 177 yards per game. It reminds him of his first year as a starter in 2008 when the Wildcats had to replace eight starters on defense and ended up ranked 24th in the nation in total defense.

But this is a major step up in competition. And opportunity. The Wildcats have become a top-25 program under Stoops. The next step means entering a rarefied atmosphere.

"That's a hard place to get, but we're fighting like mad to get there," Stoops said. "This is another opportunity. Hopefully, we take advantage of it."

Steve Ensminger has been tabbed as starting quarterback at Louisiana Tech, winning the job over Ross Jenkins and Colby Cameron.

Coach Sonny Dykes made the announcement before practice Sunday. Ensminger, an Auburn transfer, was a tight end last season under former coach Derek Dooley. But under the new spread system Dykes has installed, Ensminger began to emerge during spring practice. Jenkins had been the starter for most of the past two seasons.

“We felt like it was the best time to name him the starting quarterback,” Dykes said in a release. “There is still a possibility that it could change but he has done enough to distance himself from the other quarterbacks. We need time to invest a number of reps in our starting quarterback and want to do that as quickly as possible. By naming Steven our starter now, he will have some extra time to make sure he is on the same page with the rest of our offense.”

During spring practice, Ensminger said of 2009: "Last year at this time, I was on the depth chart as a tight end. And I wasn’t having any fun playing the game. I would be ready to go to practice and thinking that it wasn’t going to be fun because I wasn’t going to be playing anyway.”

Ensminger's dad, Steve, is a former starting quarterback at LSU and current tight ends coach there.

Let us recap what happened at media days for the non-AQ conferences. Today we feature the WAC.

Preseason favorite: No surprise here. Boise St. was the unanimous choice among coaches to win the WAC. The Broncos were a near-unanimous choice in the media poll as well, receiving 42 of 43 first-place votes. The other first-place vote went to Nevada.

The rest: Here is the rest of the preseason order, as selected by the coaches:

2. Nevada

3. Fresno State

4. Utah State

5. Hawaii

6. Idaho

7. Louisiana Tech

8. New Mexico State

9. San Jose State

Preseason Players of the Year: Boise St. QB Kellen Moore, offense; Nevada DE Dontay Moch, defense.

Seen and heard: The hottest topic, of course, is what would happen to the league once Boise State jumps to the Mountain West in 2011.

Commissioner Karl Benson said the league would not expand until 2012 at the earliest, meaning it would have eight teams for next season. Conference athletic directors are meeting Aug. 19 to begin evaluating future membership.

"Is there another Boise State out there?" Benson said. "I think there is. I also think there's another Boise State among the eight schools here today."

He also took a shot at the Mountain West and its drive to become a BCS conference. "We believe the AQ standard is almost impossible to meet by any of the non-qualifying conferences," Benson said. "Now, with losing Utah, they are not even close to meeting the criteria. I don't think they have a chance."

Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson retorted during his conference’s media day: "I don't know what numbers he's looking at," Thompson said. "Boise State has finished sixth and ninth in the last two years in the BCS final rankings. Utah has finished sixth and 23rd. I'm not a mathematician but six and nine is better than six and 23."

Side note: Even with Boise St. the MWC would fall short in one of the three required categories.

Benson also said he would be paying attention to how his schools fare vs. the Mountain West. There are 12 games between them this year.

As for the coaches, all of them said the league would be fine without Boise State.

"The WAC is a survivor, obviously," Fresno St. coach Pat Hill said. "I've seen so many changes in this league, it's amazing. But the resiliency of our conference, the ability to keep playing at a high level, is good."

Well, at least somebody else would have the chance to win the conference. Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes said, “I hate that they're leaving, but I'm excited that it gives everyone else the chance to become the next Boise State.”

News and notes: It appears Utah St. RB Robert Turbin won’t be able to play this season after tearing his ACL in offseason drills. Coach Gary Andersen expects him back in 2011.

Nevada coach Chris Ault is going into his 26^th year at Nevada. When asked whether he would coach into his 80s, Ault said, "No. I'm not Bobby Bowden or Joe [Paterno]. I'm not doing that."

Should Fresno St. redshirt Derek Carr, the backup to Ryan Colburn would be Kelly O’Brien, son of former New York Jets QB Ken O’Brien.

San Jose St. leading tackler Tanner Burns has left the team and transferred to Kansas St. WR Marquis Avery, who led the team with 6 touchdown receptions last season, is academically ineligible.

Louisiana Tech hasn’t chosen a starting QB yet. The race is between Ross Jenkins and Steve Ensminger.

A Utah St. student journalist took on various players in arm wrestling, thumb war and rock, paper, scissors. The video is pretty funny.

Previous recap:

Mountain West

Louisiana Tech had so many injuries last season that the word “depth” was omitted from its depth chart. However, it did give several young players a chance to get on the field, which will help first-year head coach Sonny Dykes find some added depth. The Bulldogs are in the midst of transitioning to a spread offense. Dykes hasn’t named a quarterback and is still looking for replacements for running back Daniel Porter and tight end Dennis Morris.

Here’s a look at the strongest and weakest positions for Louisiana Tech this spring:

Strongest position: Linebacker

Key returners: Senior Tank Calais (77 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack), junior Jay Dudley (75 tackles, four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks), junior Adrien Cole (93 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks)

Key departures: None.

The skinny: Linebacker is the only defensive position that returns every starter from a year ago and some backups that have emerged in the spring. Sophomore Solomon Randle actually surged ahead of Adrien Cole this past spring, giving the Bulldogs four competent linebackers. Randle finished with 30 tackles as a redshirt freshman a year ago. The Bulldogs ranked second in the WAC in total defense last season and should have similar success in 2010. A lot of attention is being paid to Jay Dudley, who is poised to have a big 2010.

Weakest position: Punter

Key returners: Sophomore Cade Glasgow (37.3 yards per punt)

Key departures: None.

The skinny: Cade Glasgow ranked fifth in the WAC last season, but had a rough spring and slipped to third string behind walk-ons Jared Hylander and Stuart Scurria. The punting game has been a source of consternation for new head coach Sonny Dykes and his coaching staff as none of the three competitors has shown the consistency to be effective once the season starts. The Bulldogs did not recruit a punter in this class, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them shopping for one.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer likens 2010 season opener against Boise State to past openers against Alabama and USC.

• Tony Petersen will once again be in charge of Marshall’s quarterbacks.
• New Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes is readying for spring recruiting, which begins in May.
• The Fayetteville Observer breaks down what East Carolina football will look like under new coach Ruffin McNeill.
• Former Hawaii center John Estes isn’t getting a lot of NFL Draft buzz, but Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Observer thinks he might be overlooked.
• The Utah State defense was a focus this spring and it showed up during the scrimmage this past weekend.

It’s not too often that insight is shared regarding how a coach is hired, but on Monday, former Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw spilled the beans about the hiring of coach Sonny Dykes.

Bradshaw, who was speaking with members of the media during the Bradshaw-Brooks Golf Tournament at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, La., said that when he heard Derek Dooley was leaving for Tennessee he immediately offered to help the Bulldogs find a new coach. Bradshaw also enlisted the help of former Louisiana Tech coach and current FOX broadcaster Jimmy Johnson.

Johnson began his coaching career at Louisiana Tech as an assistant in 1965 before going on to coach at Oklahoma State and Miami (Fla.) where he won three bowl games and the 1987 national championship with the Hurricanes.

Johnson’s probably best known for winning two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

"We had to get a coach," Bradshaw said. "I had talked to Steve [Davison, current member of the LA Tech Athletics Council] and I called him from the FOX broadcast booth. I said, 'I am going to get Jimmy [Johnson] involved,' and he said 'Would you?' I said yeah. So I got Jimmy involved and we went to work making phone calls. Two or three more people that Tech had looked at and one in particular. So Jimmy Johnson was working hard for our school and giving us recommendations. It's hard to find a good coach. They have to fit what we do here."

Bradshaw and Johnson, who are both broadcasters on FOX NFL Sunday, had become good friends with former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. Johnson also knew Dykes’ father, Spike, well. Johnson had heard good things about Sonny Dykes, who was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona, and decided to pursue him as the new coach.

“When Sonny’s name came up -- Jimmy loves Mike Leach. Jimmy and I had taken Mike Leach fishing, the old Texas Tech coach. When Sonny’s name came up, Jimmy knew his dad and loved his dad and heard nothing but great things. So Jimmy made phone calls to make sure what he was hearing was validated and it was. The Sonny hire was approved wholeheartedly by Jimmy Johnson. I didn’t know anything about Sonny but I knew he ran the Texas Tech offense which I think is perfect for us.”

Sonny Dykes is currently in the midst of his first spring football season with the Bulldogs and is changing the offensive scheme to a spread style, which will be somewhat unique in the WAC. Bradshaw thinks that style and Sonny Dykes' background will help attract better recruits to Louisiana Tech and help it challenge for conference championships.

"There is a lot of interest in our school now because of Sonny Dykes," Bradshaw said. "Kids are realizing they are not going to play at Michigan, they are not going to play at Kansas. We're getting a lot of phone calls now because of kids wanting to transfer here. We have a former Tennessee wide receiver and a former LSU wide receiver. We want to start getting those kids out of high school and not get them from a transfer. The quarterback is the same thing. We have to start getting those guys and with Sonny, we will. We'll start getting those people."

As Louisiana Tech heads continues with the latter half of spring football, two quarterbacking prospects have emerged to run coach Sonny Dykes’ new spread system -- Ross Jenkins and Steve Ensminger.

Jenkins was last year’s starter and the favorite to win the starting spot this year, but Ensminger has emerged out of quarterbacking oblivion to put up a fierce challenge.

“Last year at this time, I was on the depth chart as a tight end,” Ensminger said. “And I wasn’t having any fun playing the game. I would be ready to go to practice and thinking that it wasn’t going to be fun because I wasn’t going to be playing anyway.”

But with a new coaching staff, Ensminger has a very real chance of leading the Bulldogs when they open the season in September.

Dykes said while Jenkins and Ensminger have separated themselves from a pack that included Colby Cameron, last year’s backup, Doak Raulston and Randy Hardin, who has taken up student coaching because of a shoulder injury, the competition will continue through the next six practices and the spring game.

“It is going to be a good competition between all of these guys and those two specifically have been more consistent right now but we’re going to keep competing for spots,” Dykes said. “I like that we’re starting to develop a little bit of depth at the skill positions. It is a competition and that is what makes you better.”

Jenkins returned to practice Monday after missing the last two weeks to be with his family during his father’s passing. Jenkins father suffered a stroke on March 18 and he was buried last week.

In Jenkins’ absence, Ensminger has really taken to Dykes’ up-tempo offense and shined in passing drills and scrimmages. It’s given Ensminger a renewed sense of not only what he can do on a football field, but what he can do for Louisiana Tech.

“It’s a fun time and not just because of what I’ve been able to do,” Ensminger said. “We’re all enjoying being a part of this offense that is fast-paced and quick attacking. It’s made it fun for everybody.”

1. When Florida coach Urban Meyer took a leave of absence after the Sugar Bowl, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio took over as interim head coach. Addazio, having seen Meyer get overwhelmed by the workload, surely would know what not to do. Instead, for two months, he said, his workdays often lasted until nearly midnight, he stopped working out and he gained weight. No wonder head coaches don’t last as long as they once did.

2. New Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes is the son of former longtime Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes. Sonny has been in coaching for two decades. And yet he said that when the Bulldogs began spring practice, he didn’t know what to do. “The first day I seemed a little bit lost but since then I’ve felt more comfortable,” Dykes said. “I’m just like the players in that I am learning the style of practice and getting more comfortable with my role.”

3. After Colt McCoy finagled use of the Texas Memorial Stadium scoreboard to propose to girlfriend Rachel Glandorf in January, he received an e-mail from Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds. Congratulations, Dodds wrote, and oh, by the way, you’re the last one who will ever do that. Dodds, seeing a possible inundation of requests, made the practice one-and-done.

With three practices in the books after this weekend, Louisiana Tech was able to install the final third of its new spread offense.

However, it did so without its starting quarterback.

Ross Jenkins missed Friday and Saturday’s practices after learning that his father suffered a stroke and passed away Thursday evening. Jenkins, a native of Houston and whose brother Max plays quarterback at Army, should be back this week.

“[The thoughts of everyone in our program] are with Ross and his family right now,” coach Sonny Dykes said. “I know it is very difficult for him but I know his teammates and the coaches are certainly here for Ross and his family. It is really sad about what happened.”

Colby Cameron, Steven Ensminger and Doak Raulston were the only quarterbacks available for Friday's and Saturday’s practices. Reserve Randy Hardin suffered a shoulder injury and opted to be a student coach in lieu of surgery.

With the third and final part of the offense in, the goal is now adjusting to the offensive tempo, which is a little quicker than what Louisiana Tech ran in the past.

Last season, Louisiana Tech offensive coordinator Tony Franklin ran an average of 73 plays per game while at Middle Tennessee. Louisiana Tech managed 68 plays per game.

While it might not seem like that big of a difference, those plays could mean more opportunities to score.

Louisiana Tech is even practicing faster to train its players to get into the quick tempo mindset.

“I think the players are just starting to get more comfortable with the way we practice and the speed of the practice. That is something we are continually getting used to, coming out here and understanding how quickly we move. That is something we really made progress on today. We are still learning the whole practice process –- and it is a process.”

Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes knew installing a new offensive system and learning his new personnel wouldn’t be easy during 15 spring practices, but he was pleasantly surprised to learn after the first day of spring ball that the cupboard isn’t bare.

“I think we have a lot of skill, offensively,” Dykes said after Wednesday’s practice, his first as the Bulldogs new coach. “That is one thing that I have been really impressed with, the number of skill position players that we have with a lot of talent. Now, they are raw. We will have to do a really good job of developing them and bringing them along, but we have some guys that have a chance to be pretty exciting players.”

Louisiana Tech will transition from a traditional offense to a spread no-huddle similar to what is run at Texas Tech. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin installed about a third of the offensive gameplan on the first day and another third will be added when practice resumes Friday.

Of course the main goal is to get the offensive skill players used to playing at a faster pace and throwing and catching the ball more than they’re used to. The coaching staff even brought in tennis ball machines to shoot tennis balls at players so they could work on their hands.

“I was really happy with our skill positions today, but again, we didn’t do a lot today,” Dykes said. “We dropped a lot of balls, ran the wrong route several times and did a lot of things mentally that we have to improve on. But the overall athleticism [was there] and [the players were] responding to what the coaches were telling them.”

Most of the practice was concentrated on the run game and screen passes. While there were a few deep balls, Dykes said he wanted to start with the shorter plays.

Dykes said he is concerned with throwing too much at the players too soon because he doesn’t want them to get overwhelmed. It’s easy for a player to get caught up in remembering what to do rather than just doing it.

Overall though, Dykes is pleased with the early direction his new team is taking.

“What happens, just like with everything, is that they start to get a little mentally tired and worn out and start busting a bit more,” Dykes said. “The big thing that we need to do with this football team is finish. We need to finish our practice a little better than we did today. It looked like we got a little tired and we didn’t finish as strong as we should have but I thought it was a good day.”

Louisiana Tech has named Pierre Ingram its new running backs coach, head coach Sonny Dykes announced Tuesday.

Ingram spent last season as the tight ends coach at Villanova where he won an FCS National Championship.

Ingram's hire is pending approval of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.

“Pierre comes from a winning program and he will bring tremendous energy to our program,” Dykes said in a statement. “He loves the game and I’m looking forward to him bringing his energy and passion to the program. He will also be a great recruiting asset for us.”

Ingram, a former four-year letterman wide receiver at Middle Tennessee, has also worked as a wide receivers coach at Cortland State and Texas A&M-Commerce since graduating from Middle Tennessee in 2006.

Dykes also announced that Zach Yenser has joined the program as a graduate assistant for the offense and defensive GA Trey Haverty has left the program for a full-time position as Millsaps College.