LAFAYETTE – UL linebacker Lorenzo McCaskill led the team in total tackles last year. Even after suffering a shoulder injury in week four against Coastal, the junior recorded two sacks along with 83 total tackles on the season.

The second-leading tackler for the Cajuns is fellow linebacker Ferrod Gardner.

McCaskill and Gardner’s lockers are right next to each other, and the wealth of experience between the two veterans has developed chemistry on and off the field. McCaskill says they have different strengths and different weaknesses that they feed off of to be successful.

“I mean I haven’t had that ever in my college career, to have somebody like that day in and day out,” McCaskill says. “We are on each other constantly about limiting mistakes, leading, just being as perfect as possible, even though perfect isn’t possible. We just try to strive for that every single day. He’s a great teammate on and off the field. He’s a great guy and we have similar stories when it comes to being off the field, so we really relate to each other.