David Ducre never expected to change positions, especially not during his senior season.
After three years with only two catches for four total yards at fullback, Ducre is ready for a new challenge at tight end.
“Nothing really is that challenging,” Ducre said. “Probably the most major challenge I’ve had so far is learning the new blocking scheme. We’ve got a new O-line coach and all the blocking terminology and everything has changed. So, it’s been a little bit of time to learn the different calls.”
Ducre has had to make adjustments in his blocking, especially in pad leverage, he said. At six feel tall and 242 pounds, Ducre is one of the smaller tight ends on the roster and is now constantly blocking larger guys than he is used to.
“Blocking as a tight end the majority of the time I start off with no head of steam, and you have to basically fight for leverage, fight for hand position, and you have to dig them out pretty much,” Ducre said. “But from fullback, most of the time you have a full head of steam, you are able to square people up and just run through them.”
LSU was struggling for depth at tight end behind senior Foster Moreau in the offseason, and was further hindered when Jamal Pettigrew went down with a knee injury.
That’s where Ducre came in.
Before the first preseason scrimmage, Ducre was walking into the running backs room for position meetings when offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger sent him in the tight ends room.
“I was kind of ready for it, but it still caught me a little off guard,” Ducre said.
Ducre said sometimes the coaching staff would throw him into the position on third down to see what he knew, but otherwise, he had never played tight end.
The first day was hard as he struggled to keep up and learn as much as he could in a short amount of time.
“I’ve always been a smart kid,” Ducre said. “I’ve always knew the whole offense, even when I was younger I knew what everybody was doing, so even if I did have to make a move, mentally wise, it wasn’t going to be that difficult for me to make that move.”
Ducre, who played running back in high school and full back his first three years at LSU, believes he is a good fit at tight end.
He even believes he has the best hands within a tight end corps he joined only two weeks ago. Moreau emphasized Ducre’s speed and footwork after his years of working with LSU’s running backs coaches.
“I feel like calling him versatile is disrespectful,” Moreau said. “The dude can really do anything. He’s been a running back, he’s been a tight end, he’s been a Matt Canada H-back here. He can go line up outside the numbers and run the nine routes. The guy does a really good job, and he’s always accepted his role in the offense.”
Ducre believes he’s finally ready to make a difference on offense. Despite a few nagging injuries, the tight end group continues to develop alongside the new offense.
But in a fairly crowded tight end room, nobody’s position is guaranteed, and competition continues to be tight.
“Shoot, I mean if a guy stands out over me, he can take my job,” Moreau said. “The depth chart is etched in sand as Coach O likes to say. No position is promised on this football team, which really drives the competition. The tight ends have been doing well.”