NEW ORLEANS - Defensive end
Ken Dorsey and safety Darius Prelow led a group of six ULM Warhawks on the 2011
Sun Belt Conference all-conference football teams, the league office announced
Wednesday morning.
Dorsey and Prelow, who were
both second team selections last season, represented the record-breaking ULM
defense on the All-Sun Belt First Team. Wide receiver Brent Leonard and return
specialist Luther Ambrose were named to the second team, while linebacker Jason
Edwards and defensive end Troy Evans were honorable mention selections.
The ULM defense finished
eighth in the NCAA in rush defense after allowing only 100.0 yards per game and
22nd in total defense after allowing only 326.2 yards a contest -
the Warhawks finished second in the Sun Belt in total defense by 0.5 yards per
game or six yards total. ULM established a new Sun Belt record with its rushing
yards allowed this season.
Dorsey finished fourth in the
conference with 13.5 tackles for loss and ninth with 4.5 sacks. The senior from
New Orleans led all ULM defensive linemen with 45 tackles and was tied for the
team lead with seven quarterback hurries. Dorsey - a converted linebacker - led
the Sun Belt with 11.5 tackles for loss during league play. He finished his
career with 26.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.
Prelow was a dangerous weapon
for the Warhawks in the secondary both against the pass and the run. The senior
from Shreveport, La., finished the season tied for 23rd in the NCAA
with four interceptions and was fifth among Sun Belt defensive backs with 77 tackles
on the year. Prelow came up with 11 tackles at Iowa and intercepted passes
against Florida State, Arkansas State, Western Kentucky and Grambling State. He
finished his career with six interceptions and 232 tackles.
An All-American on the track
in the 100m dash, Ambrose took over the kickoff return duties in week five and
exploded into one of the top returners in the NCAA. The senior from St. James,
La., led the NCAA in returns of 40 or more yards with six and in returns of 50
or more yards with four. Ambrose returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns to
set the ULM school record for a single-season and career (3). He became ULM's
career leader in kickoff return yards with his 100-yard return for a touchdown
at North Texas and became the first player to ever take a return for a
touchdown against FIU with his 98-yard dash down the sideline. Ambrose finished
the season fifth in the NCAA averaging 31.2 yards per return.
Leonard, a former walk-on for the
Warhawks, caught the third most passes in a single-season in ULM history with
69 and had the second most receptions in a game in school history as he pulled
down 13 passes at TCU. The junior from Keller, Texas, finished the season
second in the Sun Belt and 45th in the NCAA averaging 5.8 receptions
per game. Leonard had 10 catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns against SBC
champion Arkansas State and hauled in eight passes for 113 yards at North Texas.
He finished the season with 751 yards receiving and four touchdowns.
Edwards led ULM in tackles for
the second straight season and became just the seventh Warhawk to reach 100
tackles in the Sun Belt era. The senior from Baton Rouge, La., recorded exactly
100 tackles on the season and finished 65th in the NCAA and sixth in
the Sun Belt with an 8.3 tackles-per-game average. Edwards added 3.5 tackles
for loss, 1.5 sacks and seven quarterback hurries. He finished his career with
205 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
Evans bounced back from an
injury that kept out of most of the 2010 season to finish third in the Sun Belt
in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss. The senior from Shreveport, La., led
ULM with 6.5 sacks and added 12.0 tackles for loss to go along with 43 tackles
and seven quarterback hurries. He was named the Louisiana Defensive Player of
the Week after recording 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks against Grambling
State. Evans finished his ULM career with 22.5 tackles for loss and 13.0 sacks.
