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Barnstorming Bowden Spreading the Word about ULM Football

Barnstorming Bowden Spreading the Word about ULM Football

Football Jun 27
Purchase Warhawk Roadshow Tickets Here
Next Tour Stop: Houston, Texas (June 28, 2022)
 
Warhawk Roadshow Photo Gallery: Shreveport (June 21, 2022)


By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

SHREVEPORT, La. – A football coach by trade, Terry Bowden is no stranger to barnstorming efforts either.

With soaring temperatures and increasing football chatter, it's that time of year for those in Bowden's profession. The second-year ULM mentor is back on the campaign trail as the Warhawk Roadshow launched its summer tour on Tuesday, June 21 at Southern Trace Country Club.

"We want to get people excited about what's coming up," Bowden said. "Not just with our football program but Dr. Ron Berry talking about ULM. It's an exciting time to be at ULM. We're building new facilities. On campus, we have a new student union being built there. There's excitement about the school and everything going on at ULM right now."

If there's one thing Bowden has learned in more than a year at ULM, it's the importance of upselling the program.

"You don't want people to get back into that role of, 'Oh ULM again. We just don't quite do it. We don't quite have enough. We've been I-A 27, 28 years and we have one winning season,'" Bowden said. "I think you have to keep the adrenaline flowing. It's always big in football to poor mouth. 'Aw, we've got nothing.' But you can't do that at ULM. Everybody will believe you."

Upcoming stops include trips to Houston (1111 Studewood Place) on Tuesday, June 28, Dallas (Park City Club) on Thursday, July 7 and Fort Worth (The Petroleum Club) on Friday, July 8. The tour concludes with in-state destinations: Tuesday, July 12 in Alexandria (The Hotel Bentley); Thursday, July 21 in Covington (The Southern Hotel); and Friday, July 22 in Baton Rouge (Ruffino's at De La Ronde Hall).

The Warhawk Roadshow will feature updates from President Berry, Athletics Director Scott McDonald, Bowden, as well as other campus leaders and head coaches. Shreveport native Tim Brando, ULM football legend Tag Rome and head track and field coach J.D. Malone joined the festivities in Shreveport.

"The hiring of Terry Bowden is a galvanizing force in bringing all covenants of this university together," Brando said. "When the job opened up, I was pretty vocal about Terry Bowden being the right guy at the right time."

From the highs of upset victories to the disappointment in skidding to a 4-8 finish, Bowden's first ULM football team made progress coming off a winless 2020 campaign.

"We went through the spring with more starters that we'll have in the fall," Bowden noted. "After last spring, we had a lot of portals, so we didn't have a lot of starters playing. Now, all the newcomers are fighting for positions to compete with them. It's just a little more stability. We're a little bit further along in the development of our program."

Although ULM lost five-straight games to end the 2021 season, the Warhawks may have been a team greater than the sum of its parts. ULM went 2-6 in the Sun Belt while ranking near the bottom of the conference at 20.9 points and 328.4 yards per game offensively and 33.5 points and 452.3 yards allowed defensively. Helping the cause, ULM averaged just 32.6 yards penalty yards per game, best in the Sun Belt Conference.

"The biggest thing I see is more competition," Bowden said in assessing his second edition team. "The only way to make a team better or a player better is to have somebody compete with him every day. You don't get better if there's nobody pushing you."

Bowden enlisted a revamped coaching staff to help move the needle again following the off-season departures of both coordinators and several assistants. The hires include familiar returnees in offensive coordinator Matt Kubik, wide receivers coach John Carr and tight ends and tackles coach Kyle Segler, along with veteran defensive coordinator/outside linebackers coach Vic Koenning and defensive line coach Ricky Logo.

"That's always a different dynamic," Bowden said. "You get some energy and excitement."

ULM is better stocked at quarterback heading into the year with two prime candidates for the job. Quarterback Chandler Rogers, who appeared in 12 games and started six while former starter Rhett Rodriguez was out with a lung injury in 2021, completed 112-of-179 passes for 1,311 yards and nine touchdowns and provided a dual threat with 367 rushing yards and another score. Jiya Wright saw spot duty a year ago but also figures heavily into the mix.

"We know what we've got," Bowden said. "Last year, both of those quarterbacks joined our team in July from the transfer portal camp. We didn't know who they were. … You've got two talented guys who can run and throw. Chandler especially got a lot of game time. Jiya has pushed and gotten himself in competition."

In addition to the return of numerous starters and players with experience, Bowden will again utilize the transfer portal to infuse fresh talent into the program. The Warhawks conducted a portal camp in June as a way to identify potential additions.

"The portal is a two-edged sword and it cuts both ways," Bowden said. "We were able to get to the spring this year and have 11 on offense and 11 on defense that played a lot of football and understood what we were doing, unlike last year when we depended on portal transfers.

"Then at the end of spring, we gave them one more month to join the portal and we had three starters move on to Power Five schools, maybe just to be backups. I wasn't ready for that, so now, we've got to jump back in the portal to get that depth back. That's something new, but I think we've become very good with the portals. We'll probably get one or two more as people have to make a decision to renew or not renew 85 totals at the end of June."

After July 1, Bowden said, "I'm not saying we wouldn't grab one or two more. An offensive lineman, a rush end, a great cornerback, a guy that can make a difference in your team by the way he plays his position."

Only four of ULM's 2021 losses were lopsided outcomes. The Warhawks began their year with a 45-10 loss at Kentucky and were overwhelmed in defeats to Coastal Carolina (59-6), Georgia State (55-21) and Appalachian State (59-28).

ULM finished 4-2 at home with wins over Jackson State, Troy, Liberty and South Alabama. The Warhawks were 0-6 on the road but put up a fight in losses to LSU (27-14) and Louisiana-Lafayette (21-16) to close out the schedule.

"If you're building a program that's been down, it has a process," Bowden said. "My dad used to say, 'You lose big, you lose close, you win close and then you win big.' You hardly ever get to separate that. Last year, we won some close games and we lost some close games. The better teams in the conference got after us pretty good. Coastal Carolina and App State got after us pretty good. But within the conference, we played pretty dadgum good."
 
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