LAFAYETTE – Under the direction of first-year assistant coach Matt Bergeron, Louisiana's running backs room is positioned to impress this season despite only one major contributor returning from a season ago.
That returner is Chris Smith, who finished the 2021 campaign with First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors as a specialist and Third-Team honors as a running back.
Smith finished as Louisiana's leading rusher last season, totaling 855 yards on 153 attempts. The Doak Walker Award Watch List member and Preseason First Team All-League selection produced one of the top single-game rushing performances in Ragin' Cajuns history last season at Arkansas State, rushing for 238 yards on 24 carries and scoring a pair of touchdowns.