Warhawks continue to rack up awards

BATON ROUGE -- ULM quarterback Kolton Browning was named Louisiana Freshman of the Year and four Warhawks earned All-Louisiana honors, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association announced late Saturday night.

Defensive end Ken Dorsey was a first team selection while Browning, wide receiver Luther Ambrose and offensive lineman Ryan McCaul were all second team selections. Browning is the first ULM player to earn Louisiana Player of the Year honors since Steve Foley was named Defensive Player of the Year in 1997 and just the second ever to earn Freshman of the Year (QB - Mike Howell, 1976).

Browning, who was named a freshman All-American by College Football News, tied Super Bowl quarterback Stan Humphries for the ULM record by throwing for over 200 yards in eight straight games. His 2,937 yards of total offense were the second most in a single-season in ULM history and the third most by a freshman in the NCAA this season. He led the league with a 61.9 completion percentage and finished with 18 touchdown passes and 2,552 yards through the air; he also rushed for 385 yards and four touchdowns.

The native of Mabank, Texas, tied the ULM single-game record with five touchdown passes against North Texas and finished the season ranked second in completions, fourth in pass attempts, fourth in touchdown passes and seventh in passing yards on the single-season ULM lists. Browning was voted one of ULM's permanent team captains by his teammates.

Dorsey, a junior from Homewood, Ala., finished the season fifth in the Sun Belt with 13.0 tackles for loss and eighth with 5.0 sacks - both career bests. He finished fifth among all defensive linemen in the league with his 4.3 tackles-per-game average and was voted one of ULM's permanent team captains by his teammates.

Ambrose, a junior from St. James, La., led the Sun Belt with 6.6 receptions per game and ranked second with five touchdown receptions in league games. An All-American in the 100m dash, Ambrose caught 65 passes for 752 yards and six touchdowns; he finished the season fourth on the ULM single-season receptions list and just missed out on the top 10 for single-season receiving yards by 32 yards.

McCaul, a junior from Moore, Okla., was an extremely valuable piece to the ULM offensive line as he started three different positions -- started four games at center, three games at left guard and five games at left tackle. He helped the Warhawks average 394.1 yards of total offense in Sun Belt Conference games and average 27.4 points per game against league foes.

All four of ULM's All-Louisiana selections will return next season as the Warhawks return 20-of-22 starters including all 11 on offense. The Warhawks finished the season 5-7 overall and 4-1 at Malone Stadium. ULM has the second best winning percentage in the state of Louisiana among FBS schools over the past five seasons.