Warhawk Inside Slant
Junior quarterback Kolton Browning is listed No. 2 behind senior Cody
Wells on the depth chart for ULM's upcoming home game against North Texas.
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But it may be a forlorn hope for the Warhawks to get the Sun Belt
Conference's total offense leader back from the foot injury that sidelined him
for most of the loss to Louisiana-Lafayette and all of the game at Arkansas
State.
"I really don't know," Head Coach Todd
Berry said asked if Browning had a realistic chance to play. "I'm not trying to
mislead. He did practice yesterday, and he's not 100 percent. Is he going to be
close to that by the end of the week, I really don't know. Could he
functionally play, yes. Would he be better than Cody Wells, I don't know."
Since Browning went down, Wells has completed 55 of 84 pass attempts for 566
yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions. One big difference has
been in rushing. Wells is has a negative 11 yards rushing over that span.
Browning was averaging over 47 yards a game rushing before his injury.
Browing's absence no doubt was a big factor in the two losses, but it wasn't
the only one. The Warhawks also have shown defensive problems in the defeats,
which have dropped them to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.
"We've got to get back to tackling," Berry said. "We're going to tackle again
this week and get back to some fundamentals along those lines."
NOTES, QUOTES
•The defensive numbers have not been pretty for ULM in recent
outings. Over the last four games, teams have rushed for an average of 181 yards
against the Warhawks, who had held their first six opponents to just 104 a game.
Three of the last four opponents have thrown for over 300 yards after only one
of the first six foes managed to do it.
•Despite its two-game losing streak, ULM remains the highest-scoring
team in the Sun Belt Conference with 361 points in 10 games. That's 10 more than
second-place Arkansas State.
•ULM leads the conference in interceptions with 13, but eight of
those picks came in the first four games. The Warhawks have not had more than
one pick in a game over the last six games with none against Florida Atlantic.
Series History: ULM leads North Texas 15-13 (last meeting, 2011,
North Texas 38-21)
Scouting The Offense: If junior Kolton Browing is able to play, ULM
has a double-threat at quarterback, even though he would likely be limited by a
gimpy ankle. The Warhawks have a deep receiving corps, but the running back spot
has been depleted by injuries to Jyruss Edwards and Centarius
Donald. The Warhawks had 433 yards in total offense in their last game, but
only 76 of that came on the ground against Arkansas State.
Scouting The Defense: The secondary figured to be an area of concern
for ULM heading into the season, and it has turned into that as the season as
gone along. Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State combined to pass for 607
yards against the Warhawks in the last two games. But the two teams also had
success running the ball in combining for 434 yards rushing.
Quote To Note: "It's been tough. But I've said multiple times and I
hate to keep reiterating things, but the teams that are the mature teams in this
league-and I think it's a great league with great coaches and great parity-I
think it's the mature teams that can stay healthy are the ones that win the
league. Our players know that because they've heard me talk about it
before."-Coach Todd Berry, on the impact of the losses in the Warhawks' last two
games.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
This Week's Game: North Texas at ULM, Nov. 17-North Texas goes into
the game needing two win to reach the six-win level and bowl eligibility. The
Mean Green snapped a two-game losing streak with a 24-14 win over South Alabama
in its last game.
Keys To The Game: Get some stops. This should be an opportunity for
the ULM secondary to step up against one of the least effective passing attacks
in the Sun Belt. North Texas is only ninth in the conference in passing
efficiency and seventh in passing yards per game (217).
Players To Watch:
QB Kolton Browning-Browning sat out the loss to Arkansas State with an
apparent foot injury, and it will be a game-decision was to whether he will play
against North Texas. Browning remains the total offense leader in the conference
with over 301 yards a game passing and rushing.
WR Brent Leonard-Leonard is leading the Sun Belt in
receptions-per-game with his average of 7.6. They have been good for over 85
yards per outing.
LB DaCorris Ford-Ford is tied for first with (S Isaiah
Newsome) in interceptions on the team with three picks. He also has two
sacks among his 39 tackles.
Roster Report
•Junior QB Kolton Browning is day-to-day with his injury, described
as "lower extremity" but believed to be a foot injury.
• DB Mitch Lane, who plays the "hawk" position, a hybrid
linebacker-defensive back, is day-to-day but listed at No. 2 on the depth chart.
He also is limited in mobility, coach Todd Berry said.