MONROE,
La. - The ULM football team opened preseason camp Saturday afternoon with a two-hour
session on the grass practice fields. The team battled scorching temperatures
with the heat index reaching 110 degrees during practice.
"All the guys that played last year -- all
the returning guys -- have got the right mentality," head coach Todd Berry said.
"I think everyone came back ready to play.
We'll find out which ones are going to play, and that's kind of what the
preseason camp is about. I expected
everybody to come back, be sharp, be in shape, and we did that."
The Warhawks began practice with stretching
drills that were led by strength and conditioning coach John Grieco before
splitting up into groups and working on 1-on-1 drills. The practice was
contact-free as the players were only allowed to wear helmets due to NCAA
rules.
"There's a lot of trash talk right now
(without pads), everybody is running free," senior safety Nate Brown said. "When
we put the pads on, it will expose who each person is, and who we can depend on
and trust."
Saturday marked the first college practice
for ULM's freshmen. Coach Berry noted the importance of getting the new guys
accustomed to the speed and pace of the college game during the first few weeks
of camp.
"The freshmen, their heads are swimming right
now. They don't have a clue," Berry
said. "We try to keep the freshmen off in their own group, so they won't look
bad in front of the other guys. We got a
lot in, and we'll find out a lot more about the freshmen once we get the pads
on."
The Warhawks will return to the practice
fields tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. for day two of preseason camp before splitting up
into two groups on Monday for four days. The varsity group will practice for
two hours in the morning beginning at 9:15 and the newcomers will hit the
fields for two hours beginning at 4:30 in the afternoon. The team will converge
as one unit again on Friday as they will begin two-a-day practice sessions.
Season tickets for ULM's five home games can
be purchased by calling 318-342-3ULM, by visiting the ticket office in Malone
Stadium or by logging on to ulmwarhawks.com.
