ULM Warhawks

It took Matt Viator just three seasons to revitalize the ULM football program. After laying a solid foundation during his first two years, Viator had the Warhawks in a position to challenge for the Sun Belt Conference West Division crown last season. With an experienced team returning in 2019, there is every reason to believe ULM is poised to make its presence felt once again in the conference race this fall.
 
ULM opened the 2018 campaign with back-to-back victories over Southeastern Louisiana (34-31) in the season opener and at Southern Miss (21-20). The Warhawks made plays late in the fourth quarter to seal both of those games. Caleb Evans capped off a seven-play, 63-yard drive with the game-winning 11-yard touchdown run with 37 seconds left and R.J. Turner blocked a potential game-tying field-goal attempt on the game’s final play. A week later, Cortez Sisco Jr. intercepted a pass and returned it 46 yards in the closing seconds to ice the road win in Hattiesburg.
 
After the 2-0 start, the Warhawks dropped their next four games, with three losses coming on the road and a 35-27 setback against Troy in the Sun Belt Conference opener.
 
With the season at a crossroads, ULM responded with the calm and confidence of its veteran head coach and reeled off four-straight league wins. With a 38-10 victory at South Alabama, the Warhawks became bowl eligible for the first time since 2013. ULM entered the final weekend of the regular season with a chance to claim at least a share of the West Division title.
 
During its four-game winning streak, the ULM defense limited its opponents to 17.3 points, 156.5 rushing yards, 122.3 passing yards and 278.8 total yards per game. In addition, the Warhawks were disruptive, recording 38 tackles for loss (152 yards) including 17 sacks (107 yards). ULM’s offense also has found its stride during the four-game winning streak, averaging 36.8 points, 220.5 rushing yards, 265.3 passing yards and 485.8 total yards per game.
 
Once again, ULM finished among the Sun Belt leaders in passing offense (second at 247.5 ypg.) and total offense (414.8 ypg.). However, the Warhawks displayed its biggest improvement on the defensive side of the football in 2018, allowing 111 fewer points (9.2 per game) than the previous season. ULM also ranked second in the conference and No. 22 in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, averaging 2.8 sacks per game.
 
In his first three seasons, a total of 21 ULM players have received All-Sun Belt recognition, including two-time first-team selection Marcus Green (2018: wide receiver and all-purpose player; 2017: return specialist and all-purpose player). Green, who amassed a school-record 5,287 career all-purpose yards, was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 2019 National Football League Draft, becoming ULM’s 42nd all-time draft choice and its first since 2016.
 
The Viator era opened with back-to-back 4-8 seasons; however, the Warhawks displayed significant improvement in 2017, losing four games by 10 points or less. ULM also produced a .500 record (4-4) in Sun Belt games in 2017 after going 3-5 in his first season.
 
In 2017, ULM ranked among the Sun Belt leaders in total offense (second at 458.2 yards per game), scoring offense (second at 33.9 points per game), passing offense (third at 287.9 ypg.) and rushing offense (fourth at 170.3 ypg.). The Warhawks also ranked among the NCAA FBS leaders in total offense (No. 21), passing offense (No. 24), scoring offense (No. 25) and passing efficiency (No. 29 with a 146.2 rating).
 
ULM amassed 500 yards total offense or more in five games in 2017: at Louisiana Lafayette (season-high 593), at Texas State (589), at Idaho (509), vs. Appalachian State (569) and vs. Arkansas State (590).
 
The Warhawks produced five 200-yard rushing games in 2017, including a season-high 307 yards at South Alabama (41 rushing attempts).
 
ULM scored 50 or more points in a school single-season record four games in 2017 (previous record: 1992), including its last two home games against Appalachian State (W, 52-45) and Arkansas State (L, 50-67). Earlier in the season, ULM scored 50-plus points in back-to-back games (56 at Louisiana Lafayette and 51 vs. Coastal Carolina) for the first time since October 1992 (52 points each vs. Delta State and McNeese State).
 
In addition, Green became only the second ULM player to earn first-, second- or third-team All-America recognition since the program moved to the NCAA FBS (formerly known as Division I-A) in 1994. The 5-foot-8, 191-pound Green was named Second-Team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (all-purpose player), Sporting News (athlete), CollegeFootballNews.com (kick returner) and Pro Football Focus (kick returner). He also was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team as both a return specialist and all-purpose player, as selected by the league's head football coaches and media panel.
 
Viator came to ULM after 10 seasons as head coach at McNeese State where he compiled a 78-33 record (.703 winning percentage) from 2006-15, including three 10-win seasons, four Southland Conference Championships and five playoff appearances. He was selected Southland Conference Coach of the Year on three occasions. Viator also was named a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors three times.
 
During his tenure as head coach, McNeese averaged nearly eight wins per season and never finished with a losing record. His 78 wins are tied with Bobby Keasler for the most in program history. Viator produced an impressive 54-18 record (.750) in Southland Conference games during his 10 seasons, and his 54 league wins are the most in SLC history.
 
In 2015, Viator led the Cowboys to a 10-0 regular-season record and an appearance in the second round of the FCS Playoffs against Sam Houston State. It marked the fifth time in McNeese history that a team had posted a perfect regular-season record and the fifth time a squad had produced double-figure wins in a season. Viator, who led the Cowboys to a perfect 9-0 record in Southland Conference play, was named the league’s Coach of the Year. He also was a finalist for both the Eddie Robinson and STATS FCS National Coach of the Year awards.
 
A total of 13 McNeese players were named All-Southland following the conclusion of the 2015 regular season. During his tenure in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Viator had a total of 97 players earn All-Southland accolades, including 53 named first-team all-conference selections.
 
The three-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year helped develop three SLC Players of the Year, two SLC Offensive Players of the Year, two SLC Defensive Players of the Year, one SLC Offensive Lineman of the Year, one SLC Newcomer of the Year, and two SLC Freshmen of the Year. Viator also had a total of 28 student-athletes earn All-Academic honors from the Southland Conference and five earn Academic All-America recognition. 
 
McNeese nearly pulled off a monumental upset in the 2014 season opener at No. 19 Nebraska, but the Cowboys fell just short as Ameer Abdullah scored on a 58-yard touchdown reception with 20 seconds to play in a 31-24 Cornhusker win. The 70,000-plus in attendance gave a standing ovation to the visiting team.
 
The 2013 season saw the Cowboys post their second 10-win regular season under Viator at the time, eighth in school history, when they finished 10-3, including a 6-1 record in the conference. And for the second consecutive year, McNeese defeated an FBS opponent when it clobbered South Florida, 53-21. It was the first-ever win for McNeese over a BCS conference opponent. That win set a NCAA record as well as the 53 points scored by the Cowboys were the most-ever scored by an FCS team over a BCS team while the 32-point margin of victory also was an NCAA record.
 
His teams were ranked in the Top 25 in six of the last eight seasons and climbed to as high as No. 4 in the national polls for a couple weeks late in the 2013 campaign.
 
His offenses led the league in scoring five times, and in 2013, McNeese set school single-season records for total points scored (520) and ended the regular season ranked No. 4 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging a league-best 42.5 points per game. The Cowboys also set a school single-season record by scoring 50 or more points in five games.
 
Prior to begin promoted to the head coaching position, he served as an assistant coach at McNeese for eight years from 1999-2006, including seven seasons as offensive coordinator.
 
Viator took over head-coaching duties four games into the 2006 season and led the Cowboys to a 7-5 record as they captured the Southland Conference title and appeared in the FCS Playoffs. He served as the team’s linebacker coach in 1999 before assuming offensive coordinator duties in 2000.
 
Viator launched his coaching career at the high school level, first as an assistant coach for two seasons at Sam Houston High School from 1986-88. He spent 10 seasons as a high school head coach, including stops at Vinton (13-9 record from 1989-90), Jennings (38-12 from 1991-94) and Sulphur (30-16 from 1995-98). Viator won nearly 70 percent (81-37) of his games as a high school head coach, winning one state championship and five league titles while averaging more than eight wins per season. He was twice named Louisiana High School Coach of the Year (1992 and 1998).
 
His late father Nolan Viator was a three-time letterman (1959-61) at quarterback and two-time captain (1960-61) at McNeese. As a senior in 1961, he was named team MVP after leading the Cowboys to a 7-2 record and the Gulf States Conference Championship. Nolan, who later served as the backfield coach for the Cowboys for five seasons from 1982-86, was inducted into McNeese Hall of Fame in 1998.
 
Viator and his wife Schantel reside in Monroe.