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Sutherland Gives ULM Football A Leg Up in Kicking Game

Sutherland Gives ULM Football A Leg Up in Kicking Game

Football Aug 21
By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

As he began tinkering with the ULM football roster in 2021, head coach Terry Bowden quickly recognized one position already in great shape.

Placekicker Calum Sutherland was on campus and in the program after transferring to ULM from Oklahoma prior to Bowden's arrival. And as Bowden's first season played out, Sutherland emerged as one of the Warhawks' most valuable weapons.

"Calum Sutherland is as good as it gets," Bowden said this preseason. "He's got the ability to kick off without having to change kickers. He can make a 50-yard field goal and he's got ice in his veins. He's confident and confident when he plays. We think he has a chance to be an all-star."

Added ULM special teams coordinator Alonzo Hampton: "He doesn't sweat. Very even keel. If he makes it or misses it, you'd never know the difference. He's the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. That's what separates him from most kickers."

While Sutherland might have been an unknown to ULM fans a year ago, now there are loftier expectations. He's OK with that.

"You always want to do better than the previous year," Sutherland said. "But I just think that's part of it, especially as a kicker. We're expected to be perfect, but it's part of it. I don't see it as extra pressure. I see it as extra motivation to perform.

"I want my career to continue at the next level and the pressure is going to be more and more each time."

A Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Second-Team selection, Sutherland led ULM in scoring with 75 points in 2021 – tied for the ninth-highest single-season total in program history. He ranked third in the Sun Belt and 42nd in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision with 1.33 field goals made per game and also finished eighth in the league in scoring, averaging 6.25 points per game.

Sutherland hit 16-of-21 field-goal attempts (.762) and 27-of-28 extra-point tries. His 16 field goals made tied the third-best single-season total in ULM history. He made 8-of-12 field-goal attempts from 40 or more yards, including 2-of-4 from 50-plus. Sutherland connected on the two longest field goals (53 and 52 yards) in the Sun Belt during the 2021 season.

"I think I could hit a 60 for sure," Sutherland said when asked his maximum range. "It definitely depends on the wind situation and all that. But usually in pregame, I'm going back to around 60, 57 or 59. Warming up for the scrimmage last Saturday, there wasn't too much wind and I went back to 59 and had no problems."

Like many kickers before him, Sutherland was discovered on the soccer field.

"I played soccer my whole life growing up in Scotland," he said. "When I moved here in 2007, I continued to play soccer. One time in eighth grade, it was the athletics period and the football coach came out and said they needed a kicker. I said, 'Hey, I'll try that.' I didn't know much about football then, but after that everything just kind of fell into place.

"My dad's a soccer coach for younger kids in Texas. One of the parents is actually my kicking coach – Scott Blanton. I got in contact with him and started working with him. The rest is what's going on now."

Sutherland said after he left Oklahoma and was looking for a new home, former ULM recruiting coordinator Hunter Holmes put him in touch with ex-head coach Matt Viator.

"They took a chance on me and I decided ULM would be the best fit for me," Sutherland said.

After sitting out a year and weathering ULM's coaching change, Sutherland proved his worth early in his debut season.

When the Warhawks ended a 12-game losing streak with a 12-7 win over Jackson State, Sutherland accounted for all ULM's points with four field goals (29, 45, 42 and 49 yards). His 42-yarder early in the fourth quarter gave ULM a 9-7 lead and his 49-yarder with 2:24 left in the game provided the final margin. He tied the ULM single-game record with four made field goals and his six field-goal attempts tied the fourth-highest single-game total in Sun Belt history.

Sutherland also delivered a career-long 53-yard field goal with 1:44 to play in the game that gave ULM a 31-28 stunning victory over Liberty, which came into Monroe favored by more than 30 points.

"We finally saw as a team that if we all worked together and did our job to the best of our abilities, good things could happen," Sutherland said. "Me hitting that 53-yarder at the end helped the guys believe in me. We all believed in each other the whole game. Liberty wasn't an easy team. Their quarterback (Malik Willis) ended up getting drafted (by the NFL)."

Now as ULM prepares for the rigors of 2022, Sutherland's return gives the Warhawks a leg up in the kicking game.

"He's very consistent in his approach to the game of football," Hampton said. "From his practice habits to his warm-up routine, he's a student of the game. He gives you a lot of confidence as a coach. Obviously, he's been doing it for a while and he's had some really good coaches as he's grown up in the kicking world."
 
 
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