Coaches routinely have to deal with roster changes after the school year comes to a close. With graduations, transfers and the distractions of high school all playing a part to remove players from the roster, it’s hard to fill the depth chart following the annual end of the year departures.

New Iberia Senior High head coach Josh Lierman had a leg up on previous seasons coming into the 2024/25 school year as all five of his starting offensive linemen would be returning for another year with the Yellow Jackets.

According to NISH o-line coach Brennan Robicheaux, the team is looking to keep up the momentum from last season, where they claimed the team’s only two wins of the season in Week 8 and Week 10.

“I expect us to just kind of pick up where we left off last year,” Robicheaux said. “We won two out of our last three games, so I think we will continue to do well up front. We have a bunch of guys that we’re going to lean on this year that are seniors and three-year starters, so they’re guys that we have a lot of faith in to lead the team.”

The five returning starters are senior Landon Harmon, left guard; junior Kordell Charles, left tackle; senior Kole Migues, center; senior Xavier Mogerman, right guard; and senior Miles Theriot, right tackle. Combined, the offensive line weighs just shy of 1,300 pounds and has almost two decades of varsity experience.

That experience makes Robichaeux’s job as a coach much easier than in year’s past.

“When we do our drills and stuff, I give them the information and then kind of just set it free,” he explained. “In the past, where we’ve had to walk them through each step, now you can see all the maturity and growth that they’ve had in the past year or so. It’s not just Landon and Xavier, all of them know their jobs. Miles has played a lot of positions for us and, even though he is playing tackle, he can tell you what the backside guard should be doing on any given play, so it makes my job a lot easier to be able to trust these guys and know that, no matter what is thrown at them, they can get the job done.”

The Yellow Jackets’ offensive line put their experience and coach’s trust to good use in NISH’s Week 1 win over Pineville. Against the Rebels, NISH scored 40 unanswered points and held the opposing offense to just 262 total yards. On Saturday, the team will expect more of the same when they host Franklin Senior High School in a last-minute hurricane makeup game.

For Robicheaux, the strength of his veteran corps doesn’t just lie in their performances on the field. As leaders on the team, they also go above and beyond to make sure those below them on the depth chart are ready to step into the spotlight without any issues.

“You can already see it,” Robicheaux said of the starters’ leadership. “We give a lot of reps to our starters, obviously, but when we let the younger guys get in and the starters are on defense, they always coach the guys and give them pointers. I’m not on the field on Friday nights, so all the information they can give them during the games or at practice is going to help them out in the long run.”

With one of the area’s best running backs behind them and a competent QB who can score in the air and on the ground calling the shots, the Yellow Jackets are poised to have their best season in years. Senior Landon Harmon said the work began as soon as the 2023 season came to a close and hasn’t slowed down yet.

“I expect nothing but greatness,” said the six-foot-three, 350 pound left guard. “We put in a lot of work over the summer and we’ve come together as a family. Instead of putting each other down, we’re actually lifting one another up. There is a lot of accountability in the group and that’s a good thing, it’s going to help us be a team.”

“I’d like for us to all see a playoff win. We have a really good team with a lot of talent. Individually, I’d like to be either second team or first team all-district and hopefully, get a scholarship to UL.”

Senior center Kole Migues agreed.

“We can go 5-5,” he said, confidently. “The big thing is that a lot of people don’t have hope in us, but if we can come together as a team and not get down on one another when we make mistakes, we can do well. I hope we will have a winning record and make a playoff push. Even if we don’t go all the way, just being in the playoffs would be big for us. Individually, I just hope that I play well. I don’t have any real goals as an individual, I just want to play well and help the team play well.”

An added bonus for the linemen is senior Miles Theriot’s long snapping ability. Rated as one of the top recruiting prospects in the country at his position, Theriot has attended national camps in several states and is able to take back high-level tips and training to his teammates.

“Throughout the past couple of years, I’ve really learned a lot,” Theriot said. “I try to use my knowledge of the defensive line to direct the rest of the offensive line as to what they should be doing and what assignments they have. If the defense tries to throw stuff at us, I’m usually the one who can break it down and let everyone know.”

Kickoff for the Yellow Jackets’ Week 2 matchup against Franklin Senior High is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14 at New Iberia Senior High. NISH will return to its regularly scheduled games next Friday when they travel to Lafayette to face former district foe Ovey Comeaux High School.