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ULM Spring Football Spotlight: Defensive Line

ULM Spring Football Spotlight: Defensive Line

Football Apr 11
By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist
 
MONROE, La. – Spend a little time watching the ULM defensive line progress through spring drills, and a thought emerges. 

This group passes the eye test. 

ULM coaches have assembled an impressive talent pool recruiting and restocking a position that requires multiple skill sets and body types. On the field in games last year and scrimmages too, they've shown flashes of their potential,

"I do have some veteran guys and I expect a lot of them," second-year defensive line coach Anthony Camp said. "Those guys have picked up where they left off last season, and it's really allowed me not to have to rep them to death and get these young guys a lot of good reps. It's helping them and it's going to help this season with depth."  
  
Even with end Kerry Starks (5 sacks, 5 quarterback hurries, 39 tackles) and tackle Jaylen Veasley (1 sack, 34 tackles) out this spring serving indefinite suspensions, there's solid mentorship from players like Sam Miller, Donald Louis and Larance Shaw to guide a promising core of future stars, including Ty Shelby, Dayonte Roberts and Myles Cole. 

"I've been really impressed with some of the younger linemen, like Myles Cole, Brandon Nettles and Dayonte Roberts and some of those guys," ULM head coach Matt Viator said. "They've come in there and competed." 

The veterans have tried to set the right pace in practice.

"We're out here working on the basics," Miller said. "That's what spring ball is all about, just getting back into it. We've got a lot of younger guys coming up and getting them a lot of reps and building depth on the defensive line. We're just working on the craft."

Said Shaw: "Just do your job. We're here to get the basics down right now before we progress into other things like more pass rush." 

Like every ULM defensive position group, these linemen want to do their part to boost the takeaway count. It's been a common refrain and point of emphasis across the roster this spring. 

"You look up and we're 6-6 and we lose a couple of close games," Camp said. "Those turnovers become the difference. It's something that we as a defensive staff and Coach Mike Collins as the coordinator really put an emphasis on. We work it every day in practice and show clips of NFL teams and of us working the drills going after the ball. I think some of that stuff is starting to show up."  

Said Shaw: "We've been trying to make more plays because we didn't have enough turnovers last year. One of our goals is creating more turnovers, so our offense can have the ball more this year." 

For defensive linemen, the star-maker stat is the sack. ULM's defense tallied 34 total last season, including at least one in every game. Applying that pressure leads to interceptions and disrupts drives. 

"This spring, we're working even more on our pass rush," Shaw said. "We've been focusing on getting back to the quarterback as fast as we can, so we can help those guys on the back end."

Forced fumbles, fumble recoveries and creating controlled chaos are also high priorities on their to-do list. 

"Another big emphasis we've been pushing is retracing to the football," Camp said. "We've got a lot of ways we can affect the quarterback, with the offensive lineman's body, with hands in his face and obviously hitting him. What a lot of guys don't account for if a ball breaks or a short pass is thrown, we need to retrace to the ball and get to the ball from behind to strip the ball loose. You can make a lot of big plays like that. Having that intensity and fire to get to the football is something we preach daily."

Miller should be a big playmaker at defensive end as a senior. He recorded three sacks, forced one fumble and recovered two with 16 tackles in 11 games last season. 

"Sam Miller is picking up where he left off," Camp said. "He's kind of a complete player. He has a lot good pass rush ability and has really solidified his run game and playing against the run with one-on-one blocks. We're looking for a lot of good things out of him."

Shaw has a knack for bulling his way into the backfield. He gave ULM 26 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack and three quarterback hurries as a junior. 

"He's the most explosive guy on the team," Camp said. "What he lacks for in height, he makes up for in being the strongest guy on the team. Having great explosion, he's a guy who is going to demand a double team. If guys try to block him one on one, it's not happening."

ULM cross-trained Louis (31 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for losses, 1 forced fumble) and Shelby (26 tackles, 5 tackles for losses, 2 sacks, 2 quarterback hurries) at defensive tackle this spring in an effort to insert more athletic players into the lineup at the same time.  

"We've been working Donald Louis a lot as a defensive tackle, along with Ty Shelby," Camp said. "Those guys are really doing a great job. They give us a different element inside when it comes to pass rushing because they have played at end. Now you take that quickness and twitch and put it inside on a less athletic guard and it really causes problems."

Shelby, a junior who practiced and played with the ULM basketball team over the winter, earned multiple plugs as an emerging star on the football squad. 

"One of the guys who I think has had the best spring is Ty Shelby," Camp said. "He's playing end and tackle. The basketball stuff has helped him tremendously. His quickness has increased, he's really, really good against the run, he's long and he's become a really good pass rusher. We're excited about him."

Said Shaw: "Ty has really come into his own. He played basketball, which I think helped and made him a little faster. He's been really killing it out here."

Mason Husmann, who made 31 tackles with one sack, 3.5 tackles for losses and recovered a fumble, has shown improvement this spring. 

"Mason has really grown," Camp said. "One thing I told him after the season was to work on foot speed and improve his overall quickness. He had a great overall (second) scrimmage on Saturday just hawking down guys and doing a great job against the run. He's starting to come into his own as a pass rusher, which was a weakness for him that he's embraced and done a great job trying to get better."

Red-shirt freshmen Brandon Nettles and Myles Cole are a pair of young players on the rise in the system. 

"They're two red-shirt freshmen who are going to be big-time players for us," Camp said. "They're getting better every day and doing good things."

At 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, Cole used his condor-like wingspan to block punts in ULM's first two spring scrimmages. 

"He's a kid with all the tools and runs like a deer," Camp said. "He doesn't even realize how good he can be right now. He's still kind of figuring out how to use his body and how to use his length. But the times he does is scaring me. He's an NFL talent."

West Monroe product John Washington joined the program as a graduate transfer from Tulane last year and has worked his way back into shape. 

"A local product at the back-up nose spot, he's dropped about 25 pounds and he's moving good now," Camp said. "He's showing a little twitch and he's got good pop. He's a bigger guy and is hard to move in there."

Junior college transfers Ivin White Jr. (Hinds CC) and Edward Haralson (Jones County) have come in and been quick studies in the defensive line meeting room. 
 
"The biggest thing for those young guys is learning what to do," Camp said. "It's a growing process for them, but they get better every single day. As they understand the scheme, it allows them to play fast. (White) was a guy who made a lot of plays in the scrimmage."

Freshmen Sir'Darrius Ellis and Dayonte Roberts have benefitted from their bonus reps this spring and both been active in scrimmages too. 

"Ellis is having a good spring and doing some good things," Camp said. "We're excited about him."

Like Shelby, Roberts has drawn praise from his coach and teammates. 

"He's really coming into his own," Camp said. "He's a talented guy and one who can play tackle or nose. He has good pass rush ability, but he's really evolved in the run game and is doing what I ask him to do. He understands that you have to play with technique at this level to be successful."

Said Miller: "Dayonte has been making a lot of plays. He's one of the younger guys getting some work in, and he's come a long way for us." 



This positional spotlight is part of a continuing spring series you can find at ULMWarhawks.com over the next few weeks. 
 
 
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