In his two seasons with the University of Louisiana, Vernon Wolfe has suited up for games at Nebraska and Georgia. His favorite trip, however, was back home.

The former Vicksburg High and Hinds Community College wide receiver made his first start for Louisiana — formerly known as Louisiana-Lafayette — two weeks ago at Ole Miss. While the 43-21 loss is something to forget, Wolfe was elated to play in front of fans from his home state.

“Usually, all of these road games are like business trips for me,” Wolfe said. “That’s how you have to approach it. But I have to say being at Ole Miss is special. I’m like, back in the house. It’s definitely my favorite trip.”

After an injury-plagued junior season, Wolfe slowly worked his way up the Ragin’ Cajuns depth chart. When Louisiana went to play Western Kentucky, Wolfe got the break he had been waiting for.

Starting wideout Javone Lawson went down with an injury on the first series. Wolfe took his place and had a career game, catching four passes for 94 yards.

“(Lawson) went down on the first series at Western Kentucky, so I had to just go in and let it go,” Wolfe said. “I just had to go and make plays.”

Louisiana coach Rickey Bustle was glad to see Wolfe step up.

“Well, he’s figured out how to play in our system,” Bustle said. “He’s grown up some. He made some big plays in the Western Kentucky game.”

Wolfe followed up his effort against Western Kentucky with another strong game at Ohio. He made five catches for 58 yards. The two solid performances were enough to earn him a start for the Ole Miss game, and another last Saturday against Florida Atlantic.

Wolfe caught only two passes against FAU, but one went for a 43-yard touchdown that pulled the Ragin’ Cajuns within a point with 1:45 to play. A two-point conversion pass failed and the Cajuns fell to 2-8 on the season with a 24-23 loss.

“He started to make plays and that was enough for us to give him the start,” Bustle said.

Getting on the field was nothing new to Wolfe. He started two years for Vicksburg High and earned all-county honors both seasons.

At Hinds, he started 14 games. As a freshman, he caught 24 passes for 268 yards and two TDs. He was the state’s second leading receiver in catches (6.6) and yards per game (79) after five games of his sophomore season, but an academic suspension cost him the final four games.

In the spring of 2009, Wolfe had a decision to make. Should he go out and play a sophomore season with Sam Temple’s baseball team at Hinds, or enroll in school in Lafayette and get an early start with spring football practice?

Wolfe was a good, rangy outfielder for coach Jamie Creel at Vicksburg.

He stayed with baseball for one season under Temple, seeing duty in the outfield and as a pinch-runner. The decision to give up baseball to concentrate on playing Division I football was hard, but one he felt he had to make.

“It was hard. It’s still tough,” Wolfe said. “Baseball has always been a passion of mine. I still wonder if I still got it. I think I still have the natural talent to play it. But the situation going into the spring semester was, do I go with Coach Temple and play baseball? Or do I go on to ULL and start spring training? I felt if I didn’t go now, I would get too far behind on the depth chart. I feel that coach Temple gave me the best advice.”

Wolfe joined the Ragin’ Cajuns football team and had a good spring. When fall practice began, however, an illness dashed his hopes of breaking into the lineup.

“I got a staph infection two weeks before the first game,” Wolfe said. “I missed the first two games and then came back and was able to get on the field at Nebraska. The illness put me behind on the depth chart. I was behind a senior who had been here for five years.”

Wolfe finished the season with eight receptions in a reserve role. He did score touchdowns in games against Middle Tennessee and Troy.

Wolfe got into the wide receiver rotation as the 2010 season began.

“We have a rotation here. One series you might be in and then the other guys get the next two, and so forth,” Wolfe said.

Against Ole Miss, Wolfe caught an 11-yard pass on UL’s first series for a first down. It was his only catch of the night. The Ragin’ Cajuns had three straight turnovers, including an interception on a pass intended for Wolfe. Ole Miss scored on three breaks and won easily.

Wolfe’s last home game in Lafayette is this Saturday against Florida International. Strangely, his last game with the Ragin’ Cajuns will also be a homecoming of sorts. They finish the season at Louisiana-Monroe, just an hour west of Vicksburg, on Nov. 27.

After that, things could get interesting as Wolfe once again faces a choice between football and baseball.

“It’s a good question,” Wolfe said. “I’m going to keep working hard and stay in shape. I’m definitely going to go the batting cage and see where my (batting) swing is at. If its still there, I may go ahead and go out for baseball.”