Southeastern Louisiana Quarterback Battle Intensifies Through Third Week of Spring Practice

Three weeks into spring practice at Strawberry Stadium, Southeastern Louisiana is running a new offense and chasing down answers at every position on the depth chart. Frank Scelfo, in his ninth season and a two-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year, likes what he's seen from a program that went 9-4 in 2025 and made its fourth NCAA FCS playoff appearance in seven years.

"We're seeing the growth and development come along," Scelfo said. "Our execution becomes sharper every day. We've got a new offensive system being installed and even though it parallels philosophically what we were doing before, our guys have done a great job learning the new terminology. We're further along at certain positions than others, but we're seeing an upward trend on both sides of the ball, which is what you're looking for during spring ball."

The new offensive system arrives with new offensive coordinator Matt Bergeron, who is also coaching the quarterbacks this spring. Bergeron's hire comes with pending approval from the University of Louisiana System's Board of Supervisors, as do the other staff changes Scelfo announced. Ryan Allgood serves as offensive line coach and run game coordinator. On defense, secondary coach Dustin Landry added associate head coach and pass game coordinator responsibilities, while defensive line coach Tom Rinaldi was elevated to assistant head coach. General manager David Mertens picks up tight ends coaching duties. Special teams coordinator Ed Groth returns to SLU after four seasons running his own room elsewhere, and Scelfo was direct about why that continuity mattered: "He knows our system, so having that continuity of terminology and schemes was really critical for us."

Special teams is showing real signs of life. Punter Jack Hunter drew specific praise from Scelfo, who called him better than ever from a consistency standpoint. Kicker Drew Talley missed most of last season after getting hurt early in the year when he was competing for the starting job out of fall camp. He's been healthy this spring. "He's back healthy and had a really good spring for us," Scelfo said.

With two weeks remaining before Super Lion Saturday wraps things up on March 28, Scelfo wants urgency to define the final practices. "We want to create competition at every position, so there's a sense of urgency," he said. "We just want to continue to grow and be more consistent in everything we're doing."

The Lions open the 2026 regular season August 27 at Strawberry Stadium against Houston Christian.