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ULM Football Camp Update: Excitement & Energy Intensifies During First Preseason Practice in Full Pads

ULM Football Camp Update: Excitement & Energy Intensifies During First Preseason Practice in Full Pads

Football Aug 12
ULM Football Preseason Practice No. 6 Photo Gallery

MONROE, La. – Under mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-80s, first-year ULM head football coach Terry Bowden sent his team through a 2-hour-plus workout in full pads on Thursday, Aug. 12 as the Warhawks completed their sixth preseason practice.
 
Immediately following the morning practice, Bowden departed for Tallahassee, Florida, for a weekend of services scheduled to honor his late father Bobby Bowden, who passed away Sunday at the age of 91.
 
With 377 career victories (stints at Samford, West Virginia and Florida State), Bobby ranks as the fourth-winningest head coach in college football history. The six-time National Coach of the Year led Florida State to 12 ACC Championships and two National Championships (1993 and 1999). Overall, Bobby Bowden guided the Seminoles to 31 postseason bowl appearances in his 34 seasons as head coach.
 
With the rising heat index combined with the added weight of the shoulder pads, Bowden posed this question to his team prior to Thursday's 8 a.m. practice: "Will you fight or will you quit?"
 
Following the practice, associate head coach and offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez provided this assessment: "I really liked the intensity, especially out of the defense. Early, it (the intensity) leaned a little toward the offense, but as practice went along and it got a little hotter, the defense cranked up the intensity and really dominated the rest of practice. And, that was fun to see."
 
Rodriguez noted that the first preseason practice in full pads is always physically and mentally demanding for the players.
 
"It's 100 percent different when they put the full pads on," he said. "We've preached since Day 1 that we have to become comfortable being uncomfortable. Football is a sport that will make you uncomfortable in a hurry. So, when it's 90 degrees and humid and there are a lot of bodies flying around the football, it's going to be uncomfortable. We've got to learn to relish being in that world. That's the one message we're trying to get to the team."
 
By donning the full pads, the players also acknowledge the need to approach each practice with an increased sense of urgency.
 
"It's still three-and-a-half weeks before we play a game, but at the same time, we really only have one true week of preseason camp," Rodriguez said. "Normally, you'd have two weeks of preseason camp, but this year, there's only one week. Once school starts, the guys spend half their time as students and the other half as football players. So now, there's a greater sense of urgency to get ready. There's also a sense of urgency to learn our schemes on offense, defense and special teams. And, the sense of preparedness will really ramp up in the next few days."
 
The team now turns its attention to preparing for its first preseason scrimmage.
 
"It will mark the first day we take the coaches totally off the field," Rodriguez said. "We've got to get off the field and allow them to run the scrimmage like a game. Right now, we're yelling instructions prior to the snap, telling our guys what to do. And after the play, we're pausing to help make corrections and that's all part of the teaching process. But when you go into a scrimmage, you've just got to let them go, so we can see what they have retained from a mental standpoint. It allows us to see how they would likely handle themselves on a game day."
 
The Warhawks return to the practice field on Friday (Aug. 13) for a workout in shorts, jerseys and helmets in advance of Saturday's closed scrimmage in Malone Stadium.
 
ULM opens the Terry Bowden era as head coach with a road game at Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET.
 
ULM Football Season Tickets Still Available
2021 ULM football season tickets remain on sale as the Warhawks prepare to usher in the Terry Bowden era as head coach with a six-game home schedule.
 
Season-ticket packages are available from $80 to $186. Faculty/staff discounts are available as well as flexible payment options.
 
ULM's home schedule includes non-conference games against Jackson State and Liberty as well as Sun Belt Conference matchups against Troy, Georgia State, South Alabama and Arkansas State.
 
Order season tickets online here: https://tinyurl.com/21FBSeason
 
Or to purchase your season tickets by phone call (318) 342-5417.
 
Parents don't forget about Ace's Kids Club when considering your ULM football season-ticket options. As an Ace's Kids Club member, your child (ages 4-12) will receive free general admission to every ULM home football, women's and men's basketball, baseball and softball game played during the 2021-22 season for the one-time cost of $40.
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