ULM Warhawks

2022 Sun Belt Conference Football Media Days | One-on-One Interview with ULM Linebacker Zack Woodard

2022 Sun Belt Conference Football Media Days Photo Gallery

By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

NEW ORLEANS – ULM linebacker Zack Woodard shrugged off the Sun Belt Conference's preseason poll released this week, projecting a basement finish in the West Division for the Warhawks.

"Respect is earned," Woodard said while attending Sun Belt Conference Media Days. "As long as we do what we know we have to do this year, a lot is going to change."

Woodard transferred to ULM prior to the 2021 season from Jacksonville State, where he was a three-year letterman who appeared in 32 career games with 18 starts at Mike linebacker. He quickly became one ULM's most productive defenders.

Selected Team MVP and Defensive MVP by the coaching staff in 2021, Woodard led the Warhawks in tackles for loss (8.5 for 27 yards) and finished second in sacks (3.5 for 18 yards. Woodard ranked second on the team with 89 tackles (42 solos, 47 assists) and stood fifth in the Sun Belt in tackles, averaging 7.4 per game. He produced double-figure tackles in four games, including 11 stops (8 solos, 3 assists) at LSU.

Battling through an up-and-down 4-8 season that saw ULM lose five-straight games after opening 4-3 helped the seasoned player learn another lesson as the year unfolded.

"Not finishing," Woodard said. "The potential was there. We can do it. We're almost there, but we just have to get past it."

Now, after a year with boots on the ground in Louisiana, the Thomasville, Alabama, product is more comfortable in his surroundings.

"Instead of having to come in on Day One and meeting new players and new coaches and trying to catch up and coexist, now I've got good friends, lifelong friends," Woodard said. "I know how my D-line is going to play. I can play faster and more focused now."

The 5-hour drive from Monroe to New Orleans with head coach Terry Bowden and teammate Boogie Knight gave Woodard additional insight into ULM's football leader.

"Coach Bowden is an entertainer," Woodard said. "A true player's coach. He's truly there for us and knows how to motivate us."

Woodard added, "He has so much knowledge. He can go from football to something he did when he was in the media."

Woodard believes the defense will flourish under the tutelage of new coordinator Vic Koenning, one of six new coaches on the staff.

"After those first 12 snaps," Woodard said. "You've got a game plan and the other team has a game plan. What happens in the second quarter when they switch things up and you're adjusting? He's big on adjusting and has a lot of knowledge to weave it into the game."

Woodard enjoyed some of his brightest moments in ULM victories a year ago.
 
Woodard's interception with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter iced ULM's 12-7 victory over Jackson State in the 2021 home opener.
 
He made 10 tackles with a career-best 1.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry in ULM's 31-28 victory over Liberty. Notably, Woodard combined with Jahaziel Lee to stuff Liberty's Shedro Louis for no gain on fourth-and-goal from the ULM 1-yard line late in the first quarter, as the Warhawks turned away the Flames, who had four shots to score from the 2 after a 73-yard return after a blocked field goal. 

He also collected 13 tackles, including a half tackle for loss, to help lead ULM to a 41-31 victory over South Alabama.

"Highlights for me?" Woodard said when asked. "The pick was where I established myself as a new person coming to the team trying to show what I can do. The high point was Liberty, and the game at LSU. We were so close. Close doesn't mean a lot these days, but you go back and look at it, that was a winnable game."

The 2022 schedule is rugged for ULM, but Woodard isn't backing down. Six of ULM's 12 opponents produced winning records last season, including five postseason bowl participants and two teams that finished ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25: No. 2 Alabama (13-2) and the No. 16 Ragin' Cajuns (13-1).

"That's what we signed up for," he said. "Coming in here, this is what I wanted. How many opportunities do you get to play against Texas and Alabama?"

You can't shock the world without the opportunity.