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ULM Football Notebook: Sun Belt Commissioner Visits The Warhawks

ULM Football Notebook: Sun Belt Commissioner Visits The Warhawks

Football Oct 06
By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist
 
MONROE, La. – A big showdown brought in a big name guest as Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill attended his first ULM football game Saturday.
       
Although, ULM dropped a 52-33 non-conference game to No. 23 Memphis, the first ranked team to visit Malone Stadium in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision era, Gill was encouraged with what he saw during his stop.

"I think with the RV lot and tailgating in the Grove, I feel like there's a lot of pregame energy in that area," said Gill, who made his first preseason visit to Monroe in August. "You can see it's a football culture. Obviously it's Louisiana, it's the South. People obviously enjoy football and come out early to get ready for Warhawk games." 

Gill said he's also been impressed with the dedication to the school and the area by members of the ULM Athletics Department.

"I was just visiting with Coach (Matt) Viator and he was talking about his love of this area and how when he's looking to recruit student-athletes or coaches for his staff, a commitment to the area is important," Gill said. "When you talk to the AD Scott McDonald, he loves this place. He loves this town and he loves this area. I feel like person after person that I meet, there's this connection to Monroe, to the school and to the area, that's really a neat thing to see."

Gill said he's attempting to enjoy a football home experience at every school in the Sun Belt this season and appreciates seeing the campuses around the league. A return to Monroe in the future for another sport is likely, he said.

"I'll certainly be back, probably for basketball or some other point in the future," Gill said. "I do want to get out and get around and see what game-day opportunities are like and get to know the campuses even more."

Run to daylight: Josh Johnson (19 carries for 119 yards) and Caleb Evans (118 for 112 yards and two touchdowns) both topped 100 yards against Memphis. The last time two ULM players went over 100 rushing in the same game was Nov. 3, 2018, against Georgia Southern when Evans (15-102, 2 TDs) and Derrick Gore 19-114, 1 TD) accomplished the feat.

Big plays came out of the running game too, as Johnson had a long run of 31 yards and Evans a long of 45 yards. ULM ran the ball 44 times for 256 yards and averaged 5.8 yards per attempt.

For the season, Johnson leads the team with 598 yards on 84 carries with four touchdowns. Evans has a team-high five rushing touchdowns.

Keep it tight: Junior tight end Josh Pederson had another solid all-around game with a career-high seven catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns, but it was his arm that earned special mention in the postgame press conference with Viator. 

The son of former ULM quarterback Doug Pederson completed a pass of 33 yards to Zach Jackson to keep a drive alive in the fourth quarter. Pederson's connection came on third-and-7 from the ULM 10 and was part of the six-play, 93-yard scoring drive that made it a 39-33 game with 8:27 remaining.

"That's one that's been run now since the last week of camp," Viator said on Pederson's pass. "You just have plays like that that you run and we needed a play. Coach (Matt) Kubik dialed it up. I've been watching it for weeks now. The guy can throw the football. I was afraid he would overthrow him, because he can throw it about 60 or 70 yards. He's a great athlete."

Fittingly, Pederson ended the march with a 36-yard touchdown grab from Evans. Pederson is enjoying a breakout season with a team-leading 23 catches for 283 yards and five touchdowns. 

Enemy lines: "That was a good offense, but we did enough things good to win that game," – Memphis coach Mike Norvell after ULM gained 575 total yards against the Tigers

Quick turnaround: ULM (2-3, 1-0) is back in action at Texas State on Thursday night for another nationally-televised game. Kickoff for ULM's second Sun Belt Conference game on ESPNU is 8:17 p.m.

"We're done with out-of-conference games, so it's just straight conference games for now," Evans said. "We just have to regroup for tomorrow, get our bodies right and get ready for Texas State."

Tail feathers: ULM scored on four of five red zone opportunities against Memphis with two touchdowns and two field goals. ULM has scored on 17 of 21 red zone chances this season with 12 TDs and five field goals. … Linebacker Cortez Sisco Jr. led ULM with 11 tackles while recording one forced fumble, one quarterback hurry and a pass breakup. … Defensive lineman Donald Louis led the team with two sacks for 10 yards and forced a fumble. With 4.5 sacks, Louis leads the team through five games. … Memphis kicker Riley Patterson recovered his own onside kick in the second quarter after the Tigers had taken a 21-10 lead. The last time the Tigers recovered an onside kick was in 2016 against USF.
 
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