The Warhawks have had 7 practices for players to improve this spring. Both veterans and newcomers have had their chances in individual workouts to prove their worth to the coaching staff, but today was the first day the offense and defense battled in an extended scrimmage. The defense was stingy early and held the advantage over the offense. As the scrimmage progressed and the quarterbacks settled in, the offense was able to get several explosive touchdowns. While there are no winners and losers in a team scrimmage, several players stood out with their performance today.

1. Linebacker David Griffith was one of the impact players of the 2016 season, and he's continued that performance into the spring workouts. Griffith is a menace coming off a blitz, but he is also dangerous in the running game as he rarely misses a tackle. Griffith will be one of the most important players on defense this season, so his performance today is definitely a good sign for ULM.

2. Wide Receiver Markis McCray has crazy top-end speed. If he gets behind the defense, very few players are going to catch him. That speed was on display today as he caught a 45 yard TD pass from Will Collins where he got behind the defense. He also took a reverse 40 yards for a TD. McCray is also extremely valuable in the kickoff return game. He brought two kickoffs to midfield today and may have scored on one if the play was not blown dead. Look for McCray to be one of the breakout stars for ULM in 2017.

3. Running Back By Committee isn't exactly a player, but all the running backs that played today ran well. Duke Carter continued to show good speed and acceleration, while big bruisers like Austin "Bus" Vaughn, Ben Luckett, and Kayin White all showed the ability to consistently turn a small opening from the offensive line into a 5+ yard gain. With Thomas Koufie and transfer Derrick Gore in no-contact jerseys, the remaining backs will need to continue to impress to earn playing time this fall.

COACH V ON THE FIRST SCRIMMAGE...

"We want to see what done we've done so far this spring and see what kind of job we've done coaching. We saw some good things today and some things to correct, but I thought we ran well on defense early and made some big plays on offense. We're making a lot of progress and played a lot of guys today."

ON MARKIS McCRAY'S PERFORMANCE...

"We think Markis is going to continue and get better and better. He's a young kid who contributed some last year. He has a lot of speed and has the ability to help us. He had a good kickoff return and ran a reverse for a touchdown. He has that home-run potential we're looking for."