ULM Warhawks

By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist

MONROE, La. – ULM football appears poised to take the next step forward as head coach Matt Viator enters his third season.

The Warhawks posted back-to-back 4-8 records under his watch, but a 4-4 Sun Belt Conference mark in 2017 and the emergence of a dynamic offense suggest there are brighter days ahead.

"Last year, we kind of got into the mix and got into the discussion," Viator said. "Hopefully, we can continue that moving forward."

Players report for a team meeting on Tuesday before hitting the practice fields on Wednesday morning to open training camp. The Warhawks are less than a month away from the season and home opener against Southeastern Louisiana on August 30.  

"I think we have our program in place and I think we're headed in the right direction for sure," Viator said. "I still think we have some work to do. Since the day I got to Monroe, we've had great young men in our program. It's never been so much about getting our guys in as it was just to continue to improve the program."

The Warhawks were picked second in the Sun Belt's West division, behind Arkansas State. For the first time this season, the Sun Belt will have a championship game between the top teams from the East and West divisions. 

"It gives you another goal," Viator said. "Goals are great. Win a conference championship. Win the Sun Belt West. It gives you something else to gauge at. … The NCAA is about opportunity for these young men. Two teams in this league will get another great opportunity for their student-athletes."

Offseason workouts leading up to August went well, Viator said.

"Judging by the summers, we're a lot further along than we were two summers ago," Viator said. "It's been a lot of fun watching them."

The preseason gives the Warhawks their next opportunity to fine-tune and focus on the 2018 campaign.

"We have to be more consistent week by week in terms of what we were doing as opposed to last year," Viator said. "Last year if you watched us, I don't think we competed at the level that you have to every Saturday. If you're going to be one of the top teams in any league, you have to have a great competitive spirit about you."

A point of emphasis will be improved results on defense. The unit was ravaged by injuries and ineffectiveness in 2017.

"We lost some guys and have an opportunity to get those guys back," Viator said. "We had to play a bunch of other guys. I think it's important to stay healthy and to develop some consistency. If you looked at it last year, it became almost like musical chairs for some of those weeks in terms of who was getting hurt and who was going to be in. We just never really developed any consistency there, and as a result, I think we lost some confidence on that side of the ball."

ULM's defense looked better during the spring and Viator said he's confident he has the coaches and players to turn things around.

"All I can judge by is what we do against ourselves," Viator said. "The thing that gives me encouragement moving forward is, we had some good production last year on offense and have a lot of guys coming back. If you came out and watched us in spring ball, the offense is not dominating any of the scrimmages. We have guys on defense covering our guys and pressuring the quarterback." 

Confidence wasn't an issue for ULM's offense, where quarterback Caleb Evans broke loose with a monster year. Viator said he's seen continued growth from Evans this offseason and believes his evolving understanding of the offense will allow him to move the unit at a faster tempo.

"The second thing we've tried to work on him is becoming more comfortable at being in the pocket and being a pocket passer," Viator said. "What we don't want to do is take his athleticism away because he's such a good runner with the football."

Viator said he hasn't talked much about the leadership aspect of the position with Evans but noted changes there too.

"We felt like with the success he had and the type young man he was, he'd get better in that area and start to take more control of the offense and be more vocal in the program," Viator said. "He's done that as well."

Bird watching
QB Caleb Evans, Jr.: Named to the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List, Evans was ULM's breakout star as a sophomore and returns as the unquestioned starter. Evans threw for 2,878 yards and 17 touchdowns with six interceptions, along with 13 touchdowns and 573 yards on the ground.

WR/KOR Marcus Green, Sr.: Preseason All-Sun Belt selection and named to the 2018 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List. Second-team All-America selection had four kickoff returns for touchdowns and accounted for a school record 2,008 all-purpose yards as a junior. Led ULM with 55 catches for 847 yards and posted four 100-yard receiving games.

WR R.J. Turner, Jr.: Led the Warhawks in TD receptions with six, ranked second in receiving yards (686) and third in receptions 39.  Turner registered 13 catches of 20 yards or more. 

RB Derrick Gore, Sr.: Led ULM in rushing with 585 yards and scored six touchdowns after transferring from Alabama. Gore had 18 carries for his career-high 103 yards and a touchdown against Appalachian State. 

LB David Griffith, Sr.: Fifth-year senior enters his third season as a starting linebacker and has six games with double-digit tackles. Led ULM in tackles for loss with nine and finished second overall with 78 stops.

OL Devin Jackson, Jr.: Started 12 games and played 604 snaps in 2017. Tied for third on the team with 13 knockdowns and graded a team-best 96 percent on his assignments.

DE Donald Louis, Jr.: Former Neville standout started 12 games last year and finished with 32 tackles and four QB hurries.        

TE Josh Pederson, So.: Named to the John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List. Pederson made 12 receptions for 136 yards in his debut season.

By the numbers
Offensive returning starters (9): WR R.J. Turner; LT Trace Ellison; C Bobby Reynolds; RG Devin Jackson; RT Eastwood Thomas; TE Josh Pederson; WR Marcus Green; QB Caleb Evans; RB Derrick Gore.

Defensive returning starters (7): Mason Husmann; DT Jalen Veasley; DE Donald Louis; LB David Griffith; LB Chase Day; DB Marcus Hubbard; S Wesley Thompson.

Special teams returning starters (2): KO Matt Wylie; PK Craig Ford.

See you at Malone Stadium
ULM will kick off the 2018 football season against Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. CT in Malone Stadium.
 
The Warhawks open Sun Belt play Sept. 22 at home against Troy, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. ULM begins a two-game conference homestand Oct. 20 (Homecoming) against Texas State at 6 p.m., followed by Georgia Southern on Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. ULM concludes the regular-season by welcoming the Ragin' Cajuns to Malone Stadium on Nov. 24 at 2 p.m.
 
Meet the Warhawks
ULM football fans of all ages are invited to attend "Warhawk Rally at Antique Alley," scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 18 from 3-4 p.m. in West Monroe. Members of the 2018 ULM football team will be available for autographs and photos on the patio of Miss Kay's Sweets & Eats, located at 401 Trenton St. in West Monroe.

Season tickets
ULM football season tickets remain on sale. In March, ULM announced a new season-ticket pricing structure that featured a $20 savings per season ticket compared to a year ago. Season-ticket packages are available at $155 for lower chair backs, $105 for lower bench and upper chair backs and $70 for general admission. Faculty and staff season-ticket packages are priced at $135 for lower chair backs, $90 for lower bench and upper chair backs and $60 for upper bench.