Warhawk Inside Slant
The competition at quarterback between returning
senior starter
Advertisement
Trey Revell and redshirt freshman
Kolton Browning isn't the only issue new
Head Coach Todd Berry will have to settle as ULM
prepares for its fall camp next week.
Berry, who was named to replace Charlie
Weatherbie in December, is also seeking a backup
running back to veteran starter
Frank Goodin, shifting through a lengthy
list of candidates to handle the load at wide
receiver, and searching for a number of safeties
to do the job in ULM's 3-3-5 scheme.
"We're fortunate to have some depth at safety
and could see a number of players who could play
in ballgames for us," he said.
Still, there's no question what issue is
going to get the most attention.
"Certainly the highest profile battle is at
quarterback," Berry said, "and that's going to
be the one that's going to direct us kind of as
to which direction we want to head the offense."
Browning goes into fall camp listed ahead of
the veteran Revell, but Berry calls the
competition "close." Revell completed 57.6
percent of his passes last year for 1,739 yards
and 12 touchdowns, but he also had a dozen
interceptions.
The Warhawks also have a third candidate in
sophomore
Cody Wells, who started two games last year
when Revell was hurt. Wells completed 55.7
percent of his attempts for 762 yards and six
touchdowns, but he also had seven interceptions.
He was 1-1 as a starter with a win over Western
Kentucky and a loss to Troy, the last- and
first-place teams, respectively, in the Sun
Belt.
Assuming one of the quarterbacks delivers,
the Warhawks have the capability of doing some
damage on offense. Goodin ran for 1,126 yards
last year and is a legitimate threat to end his
career as ULM's all-time leading rusher.
Junior
Luther Ambrose is the top returning receiver
with 34 catches for 455 yards and four
touchdowns, and Berry sees potential in
receivers like junior
Tim Taylor, who hasn't seen a lot of time in
the past, sophomore
Brent Leonard and redshirt freshman
Tavarese Maye.
"I think we've got a lot of answers," Berry
said. "Now we have to see that they have the
opportunity to get the ball in their hands."
Defensively, however, there's no question of
the rebuilding that lies ahead. Preseason
All-Sun Belt selection
Troy Edwards is the only returning starter
up front. Senior
Theo Smith is back at linebacker, and
juniors
Nate Brown and
Darius Prelow return in the secondary.
NOTES, QUOTES
•Senior RB Frank Goodin goes into the
season with a career total of 2,505 yards
rushing and is well within reach of the school
record held by his former teammate Calvin
Dawson. Goodin was a redshirt freshman when
Dawson finished his career with 3,378 yards in
2007. Goodin is within 873 yards of catching
Dawson. He ran for 1,126 yards last year even
though, he said, he was "out of shape" entering
the season.
•Todd Berry may be in his first
season as head coach of the Warhawks, but he is
very familiar with the program. Berry was
offensive coordinator in 2004-05. The Warhawks
won the league title in '05 and QB Steven Jyles
was the Sun Belt player of the year and the
offensive player of the year.
•In a preseason oddity, returning
starter Troy Revell goes into the season on the
Johnny Unitas Award Watch List, which goes
to the top senior quarterback in the country.
But he is No. 2 on the depth chart behind
redshirt freshman Kolton Browning and also is
fighting off a challenge from sophomore Cody
Wells.
Spotlight On September: The Warhawks
have an opportunity to make a big early
statement. They open the season Sept. 11 against
Arkansas in a game to be played in Little Rock.
The Hogs, who open a week earlier against
Tennessee Tech, are looking to challenge Alabama
in the SEC Western Division. A week later, the
Warhawks are at Arkansas State for their Sun
Belt opener.
Keys To Success: The Warhawks have
some depth at wide receiver, and RB Goodin is
one of the Sun Belt's best. If he has a season
similar to last year, the Warhawks should be
able to move the football. Newcomers look to be
cast in key roles on a defense that loses seven
starters, but the secondary in the 3-3-5 scheme
looks to be solid with junior CB Nate Brown (two
interceptions in 2009) leading the way. The
unit's other three returning starters-DE Troy
Evans, LB Theo Smith, and S Darius Prelow-have
all-conference potential.
Areas Of Concern: The offensive line
faces rebuilding with the loss of three starters
and has only one senior, RT
Anthony Montgomery. The defense not only
loses seven starters but also is undersized up
front with the three starters averaging only 271
pounds.
Quote To Note: "I don't think it's
settled yet. I don't think any position on our
football team is settled."-coach Todd Berry on,
the situation at quarterback.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
Head Coach: Todd Berry, first year
(overall 5-42).
Most Important Player: RB Frank
Goodin-With senior QB Troy Revell facing a
challenge and actually entering fall camp behind
redshirt freshman Kolton Browning on the depth
chart, Goodin figures to have to carry a big
load, especially early in the year. He ran for
1,126 yards last year, averaging better than
five yards a carry. He also is a receiving
threat (18 catches, 138 yards).
Breakout Star: DE Troy
Edwards-Edwards had a solid sophomore season
with 6.5 sacks (fifth in the Sun Belt), two of
them on back-to-back plays on Arkansas State's
final drive in a 16-10 ULM victory.
Newcomer To Watch: C
Ryan McCall-With the attention given to
redshirt freshman QB Kolton Browing, McCall
could be easily overlooked. But the junior
college transfer (Northeast Oklahoma A&M), who
enrolled early to take part in spring drills,
needs to come through to anchor the middle of an
interior line that will have two new starters to
his right.
Projected Starting Lineup:
Offense-Qb Kolton Browning, RB
Frank Goodin, WR Anthony McCall, WR Luther
Ambrose, WR Tim Taylor, TE
Keavon Milton, LT
Justin Roberts, LG
Jonathan Gill, C Ryan McCaul, RG
Andrew Stout, RT Anthony Montgomery.
Defense-DE
Ken Dorsey, DT
Aaron Moore, DE Troy Evans, LB Theo Smith,
LB
Jason Edwards, LB
DaCorris Ford, CB
Nate Brown, CB
Robert Nelson, S Darius Prelow, S
Khairi Usher, H
Alex Ibe.
Roster Report:
- LG Jonathan Gill missed the spring
with shoulder surgery but is No. 1 on the depth
chart entering fall camp. He moves over from
right guard, where he started all 12 games as a
redshirt freshman last year.
-Three players go into the season with 23
career starts each. They are Goodin, Brown and
PK
Radi Jabour. LT Justin Roberts has 22 career
starts.
-
Michael Connor of Shreveport, La. is
expected to walk on and compete for punting and
kicking duties