ULM Warhawks College Football Preview 2023
ULM Warhawks College Football Preview 2023
Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Record: 4-8 overall, 3-5 in Sun Belt
Head Coach: Terry Bowden, 3rd year: 8-16, 28th year overall 183-130-2
@ColFootballNews | @PeteFiutak
Keys To Season, Top Players, What Will Happen
- ULM Schedule, Picks For Every Game
Terry Bowden keeps on fighting the good fight as he tries to come up with something big at ULM, but the program has run into a big issue - the Sun Belt has become nasty.
The expansion of the league raised the overall game for the conference, and in a someone-has-to-lose sort of way, it’s been a rough run over Bowden’s first two seasons as he and the staff try to come up with an identity.
The team was competitive over the back stretch of 2021, and pulled off a few shockers here and there - beating Liberty two years ago and winning at Georgia State and taking down Louisiana last year - but this season the team has to start winning every game against the mediocre. That's the problem - there isn't a lot of that on the Sun Belt slate.
It’s one thing to not be able to get through South Alabama, Troy, and Coastal Carolina last season - those three were killers - and paycheck games and Texas and Alabama certainly didn’t help the record, even though they were great for the bottom line, but the Warhawks have lost four games over the last two seasons against teams that finished with losing records, including giving Arkansas State two of its five wins over the two years.
This year’s team got hit hard by the transfer portal, and the depth isn’t there, but …
ULM Warhawks Preview: Offense
No matter what, the offense has to start working better. ULM’s defense isn’t going to be able to pick up the slack, so the O that finished 111th in the nation overall and 102nd in scoring has to be more explosive. The balance is there, but the playmakers have to emerge starting with the …
Quarterback - the Warhawks are very, very thin. Chandler Rogers left for North Texas, leaving former JUCO transfer Jiya Wright as the lone option with any experience in the attack. He’s a decent runner, but he needs to rise up fast as a consistent passer. The receiving corps should help with deep threat Tyrone Howell still around after leading the way with 50 catches for 852 yards and six scores, and Aired Luke is a quick inside target who needs the ball more.
The line got hammered hard by the transfer portal. Left tackle Victor Cutler is off to Ohio State, massive guard Peyton Dunn is a Houston Cougar, and now the patching begins. 6-6, 316-pound OT Keydrell Lewis entered the portal but stuck around, and the interior of the line should be okay. Now the running game has to follow.
Wright will be dangerous on the move, but the running backs have to emerge with Malik Jackson (Jacksonville State) and Andrew Henry (New Mexico) gone. Charlie Norman and Hunter Smith should be okay in a rotation, but there’s not much experience overall in the bunch.
ULM Warhawks Preview: Defense
The ULM defense that finished 109th in the nation and couldn’t do anything against the run has to start making big plays. It couldn’t come up with third down stops, and it didn’t help the cause overall with just eight takeaways. There’s hope overall for a little bit of improvement, and it starts with …
The secondary - it should be the team’s biggest early strength. It’s getting help through the transfer portal - FIU’s Andrew Volmar will be a factor - to go along with a decent corner tandem of Lu Tillery and Deuce Mayberry. They’ll be great if they get any help whatsoever from the pass rushers. The safeties have a few options - Car’lin Vigers can play just about anywhere - but there aren’t a slew of thumpers. That’s why …
The linebackers and front six have to be far stronger. The line is the biggest early concern with little depth and losing tackles Quincy Ledet (Texas Tech) and Anthony Campbell (Miami) certainly didn't help.
Former Texas A&M superstar recruit Donnell Harris is coming in to work on the edge, and hybrid Kenard Snyder might be the team’s best player after making 61 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss.
Bringing in former big Texas recruit Trevell Johnson helps the linebacking corps, and safety/linebacker Tristan Driggers stuck around after entering the portal.
Keys To Season, Top Players, What Will Happen
- ULM Schedule, Picks For Every Game
Latest News
