By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist
MONROE, La. – ULM's offense feasted against opposing defenses last year, but it's possible that quarterback
Caleb Evans left a little meat on the bone.
"Most definitely," said Evans, who triggered an attack that averaged 33.9 points and 458.0 yards per game. "We look back at the film, especially me when I look back at the film of last year, and we had good moments but also bad moments. I see where I could have completed this pass for extra touchdowns or yards or whatever. There's always room for improvement, so that's what we're looking forward to do."
Evans completed 211-of-344 attempts for 2,868 yards and 17 touchdowns with six interceptions. His 13 rushing touchdowns led the team and he was second with 579 yards on 137 attempts with a long of 67.
Good as all that sounds and as fun as it was to watch, the Warhawks worked this spring to take their output to another level. That includes their rising star at quarterback, "C-Love" Evans.
"It comes down to knowledge of the offense, protections, making sure where you're protected from," ULM offensive coordinator
Matt Kubik said. "This spring, he's improved on all that stuff."
It's worth noting that Evans was a key player in organizing voluntary sessions in the offseason prior to spring ball.
"We started doing seven-on-seven early in February," Kubik said. "We give them a script and some drills to do and they go out there and run the practice themselves. The quarterbacks are in charge, and he did a great job. We got a lot of good work and got ahead of schedule being able to install some things in February because we've got some leadership on offense. He's a big part of that."
Evans was so eager to start throwing that he had his receivers out early just throwing against air. Gradually defensive players started to join the workouts too.
"Really, we started seven-on-seven before we actually started," Evans said. "It was like a pre-seven-on-seven. We built up chemistry before we got to work."
This spring, Kubik said he's encouraged Evans to hone his attention to detail and build on his valuable game experience from the past two seasons.
"Just overall consistency," Kubik said. "That's the thing about the quarterback position. In my opinion, you can come out and practice all you want, but you improve with those game reps. That's something he's got under his belt right now with one and a half years of game reps. I think if he'll just continues to improve his consistency and take what the defense gives him, then we'll be okay."
"I have the ability to make big plays, but it's just consistency and the small things," Evans agreed. "Don't make mistakes with the small things."
For those following the ULM positional breakdowns this spring, it's clear that Evans won't be flying solo. The Warhawks should be strong at receiver, offensive line and can offer a steady running game.
"That's real nice," Evans said. "Last year, I had a lot of weapons, but we were all young. We only lost one receiver, so everyone is young and eager to get out there and get better than we were last year."
Behind Evans, there's considerably less game experience. Unlike last year when Evans battled
Garrett Smith into the season, backups Brennen Wooten, J.T. Jackson and
Matt Gardner are largely untested at the collegiate level.
"They're doing really well," Kubik said. "We've got three guys in Brennen and Matt and J.T. that are all competing really hard. Brennen is the only new guy on the block. I know Matt and J.T. haven't seen the field yet, but they've been in the system for two years. It's their time to get an opportunity and they're taking advantage of that."
A 2018 signee from Tyler (Texas) Junior College, Wooten played in seven games as a red-shirt freshman and led the Apaches to five-straight wins to open the season. He completed 89-of- 159 passes (.541) for 1,003 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2017.
Wooten tossed 35 touchdown passes as a senior at San Angelo Central and originally signed with TCU before transferring to Tyler JC.
"Brennen, naturally is behind the other two from a knowledge standpoint, but the thing I like about Brennen is he has all the tools and is a headsy guy," Kubik said. "Once he gets comfortable with the offense, things will start clicking and going faster for him."
Monroe high school fans will remember Jackson as the quarterback, who led Neville to the Class 4A state championship in 2014. He transferred to ULM in 2016 after signing with Southeastern Louisiana.
"It's great to have local guys," Kubik said. "We'll take as many local guys as we can. J.T. has been in the big game and on the big stage in the Superdome, and he doesn't flinch very often. He has very calm feet in the pocket and throws the ball well. Just like the other guys, he has to focus on consistency."
Gardner is another Louisiana prep product, who joined the Warhawks as a walk-on from St. Thomas More in Lafayette.
Warhawks On The Rise: As a Class of 2018 signee who isn't enrolled at ULM yet, quarterback Colby Suits didn't go through spring ball.
But he'll be an interesting addition to the quarterback room when he arrives for his freshman year.
"Every year we're going to sign a guy that we hope is the quarterback of the future," Kubik said. "That's what we sold to him in recruiting. Obviously, Caleb has a couple of years left, and he'll come in and learn the offense."
Suits (6-3, 220) completed 326-of-601 passes for 5,622 yards and 65 TDs in 23 career games at North Forney (Texas) High School.
Said ULM coach
Matt Viator when he announced the signing: "Colby Suits is coming off one of the most productive seasons in the history of Texas high school football. He put up video game numbers and took North Forney deep into the playoffs. Colby is a winner in everything that he does."
As a senior, Suits accounted for 4,298 yards total offense and 61 touchdowns while leading the Falcons to a 10-3 record. His senior passing numbers included 3,442 yards, 43 TDs and seven interceptions.
"Obviously, we'd love to redshirt him, but if he's the second-best guy or gives Caleb a run for his money, there's no telling," Kubik said. "We're going to keep it wide open, as long as he comes in and accepts his role, whether that's redshirting or backing up or whatever. He's another guy that we're really excited about from a big-game standpoint and a knowledge of the game standpoint. He's a pretty headsy quarterback."
This positional spotlight is part of a continuing spring series you can find at ULMWarhawks.com.
