For most of UL's football history, success and star quarterbacks have pretty much gone hand in hand.
From Roy Henry to Brian Mitchell to Jake Delhomme decades ago to the likes of Michael Desormeaux himself, Blaine Gautier, Terrance Broadway or Levi Lewis this century, the quarterback has almost always been the centerpiece or one of the primary stars of the offense when the Ragin' Cajuns enjoyed team success.
For years, my conclusion was the Cajuns required a shooting guard at quarterback to be dynamic.
One could argue Lewis was the first exception, depending on how you viewed his raw skills.
Then there's Ben Wooldridge.
No, the redshirt senior doesn't have the athleticism of Mitchell or Broadway, nor does he display the pure passing flair of Henry or Delhomme.
Neither does it tell the entire story to simply label Wooldridge's play so far this season for the Cajuns (6-1, 3-0) as a pure point guard heading into Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. ESPN2 showdown at Texas State.
If so, it's point guard quarterback play at the doctorate level.
"He's setting things up for the way his eyes see things and it matches up with what we're asking him to do also," UL tight ends coach Jorge Munoz said. "He's doing things at an extremely high level, probably more so than we thought he was going to be doing."
It's Wooldridge's extra attention to detail that wows his teammates.
"I don't know of another quarterback maybe in the whole country that pays more attention to detail like he does," left guard A.J. Gillie said. "I sit besides him on the plane. Like the whole time we're on the plane or on the bus, he's watching film, studying the defense and seeing how they do different techniques and how they play different stuff. His attention to detail is insane. I didn't think a person could actually buy into the game that much, but he does and I respect that a lot."
It appears the painful, frustrating road that got Wooldridge and the Cajuns to this point has somehow worked in his favor.
Without either or both of Wooldridge's two unfortunate season-ending injuries, his collegiate career would have ended prior to his wonderful season he's enjoying.
In the mind of many UL fans, this was supposed to be the Zeon Chriss era in full swing this fall.
But after Wooldridge's season ended in week 3 last season with foot surgery, Chriss had a season-ending knee injury himself five weeks later, before transferring to Houston in the offseason.
It's hard to believe UL's offense would be operating this well without the seasoned Wooldridge at the helm. Sometimes perceived bad breaks are simply gems in disguise.
As a former quarterback himself, wide receiver Lance LeGendre can appreciate what his teammate brings to the table.
"He's a conductor man," LeGendre said of Wooldridge. "If we had a choir, he'd be the orchestrator. He's a good game manager. The coaches believe he's going to put us in the right position for the plays. He's earned his trust with the team."
As a former star UL quarterback, Desormeaux can also recognize each time Wooldridge exceeds the norm.
"There were two of them last game that he .... they would have gotten me to be quite honest with you," Desormeaux said. "He goes to the right side of the ball and makes good decisions. He's taking care of the football, but he's being really aggressive down the field too."
For the season, Wooldridge has thrown for 1,785 yards with a Sun Belt-leading 69.6% completion rate with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. The single-season school records are 3,050 yards and 26 TDs - both Lewis in 2019.
The 6-foot-4, 218-pounder's 8.8 yards per attempt and 163.5 rating also lead the Sun Belt.
That's definitely more than the common point guard who just distributes the ball to his star teammates. His mastery of the play book is what's allowing for the offense's consistent success.
For example, the Cajuns have scored points in 21 of their last 22 quarters.
"He goes to the right side of the ball and makes good decisions," Desormeaux said. "He's taking care of the football, but he's being really aggressive down the field too.
"He's just playing the game at a really high level."
In many ways, Wooldridge is simply taking advantage of a unique opportunity. Because of the extra Covid season and his injury, the Fresno State transfer essentially has the understanding of a third-year NFL quarterback at the collegiate level.
Usually quarterbacks with his understanding of the game are out of eligibility or playing professional football.
"He's taken advantage of his years of college football to bank a lot of reps," Desormeaux said. "His study and preparation habits are as good as I've ever been around. He's just playing with a lot of confidence."
None of that, though, explains his innate toughness - first to endure the years of painful rehab, but also playing through injuries most don't even know about.
"He's about the toughest guy I've ever been around," Desormeaux has said numerous times.
And while no one would label Wooldridge a runner, he's got 411 career rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, including five this season.
"Players like him just will you to win and that's what we have right now," Desormeaux said. "When he's got the ball, you always feel like you've got a chance. It doesn't matter the down and distance ... you always feel like you've got a shot."
After the roller coaster of emotions Wooldridge has endured to get to this point, don't expect a 373-yard, three-touchdown passing performance to distract him.
"We've got to keep our foot on the gas pedal and keep it going," Wooldridge said shortly after the 34-24 win at Coastal Carolina.
"We didn't come here to win six games. We've got to get to work. We've got to put our head down and work.
"We've got to be efficient on offense on first and second down, so that we can manage third down and keep moving forward."