Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks 2018 Football Preview

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: Matt Viator did well to win 4 games in his first season at ULM last fall, and the offense responded well to what he wanted them to do. Now, it is time to focus fixing a defense that allowed 41 points per game, while the offense scored 33.9 points per game. It would be expected, in year 2, to see more improvements coming, but the work in progress sticker still applies.

Breakdown Offense: Caleb Evans came through in 2017 as a sophomore, passing for 2868 yards with 17 TDs and just 6 INTs. He brought a stability to the QB position, and gave the Warhawks someone to trust in the pocket throwing the football. He completed 61.3% of his passes. Expect to see more improvements in his game in year 2 under the system in place. Garrett Smith returns as the primary backup, with Will Collins returning as the 3rd QB. In short, there is complete roster stability this season at the position, which is huge. Evans also gives the Warhawks a strong run threat, as he rushed for 579 yards and 13 TDs last season.

The RB situation may not be as good as one would think for a team that averaged 170.33 yards per game last fall. There is absolutely not one player who has stepped up to take the position by the horns, an we may see more of that in fall camp. Derrick Gore led the team with 585 yards and 6 scores, but he did no wow anyone by averaging just 3.57 yards per carry last season. Ben Luckett gives them a better breakaway caliber back, as he averaged 6.76 yards per carry last fall, and he looks like he may be ready to take on a bigger role. Kayin White, Duke Carter IV, and Austin Vaughan all give ULM some depth at the position, but a star must be born to make this unit fly.

Marcus Green was solid at WR last fall, as he led the team with a line of 55-847-5. He averaged 15.4 yards per catch, and gives ULM a solid threat to stretch the field. RJ Turner also had a solid year, posting 39-686-6, and averaged 17.59 yards per catch. D'Marius Gillespie and Xavier Brown also return, as they combined for 34 receptions last fall. Gillespie is a huge threat down the field, as he averaged over 20 yards per catch last fall. Brown is more of a possession type, as he averaged just over 10 yards per grab. Markis McCray, Jonathon Hodoh, Brandius Baptiste, and Darius Rodrigue all add depth.

Josh Pederson caught 12 passes in 11 games last fall as a freshman, and will start at TE. He averaged 11.33 yards per catch last fall. Sloan Spiller projects as the TE2, while Regan Heddins is the 3rd TE on the depth chart.

Trace Ellison left spring football as the starting LT, while Devin Jackson (LG), Bobby Reynolds (C), TJ Fiailoa (RG), and Eastwood Thomas (RT) all project as starters as well. Joq Savage is the top backup at OT, while Brandon Jones and Ben Moye are the key reserves at OG. Noah Ramsey and Brian Thlang are the backups at C.

Breakdown Defense: Kerry Starks led all D linemen last fall as a freshman with 6.5 TFLs, and will return to start at DE. He totaled 29 tackles last fall, and added 2.5 sacks. You can expect some improvement with more experience. Donald Louis will be the other end, or the hybrid HANK spot on the line. He played in 12 games as a sophomore last season. Sam Miller, Ty Shelby, and Shaquille Warren will provide depth off the edge.

Tyler Johnson projects to start at NT this fall, and he finished with 2.5 TFLs last fall. Derion Ford backs him up. Mason Husmann had a solid year last fall at DT, finishing with 4.5 TFLs, and will get a push from sophomore Jaylen Veasley, who finished with 1.5 TFLs in 12 games last season off the bench.

David Griffith is back at the WILL LB spot this fall, and finished 2nd on the team in tackles last fall with 76. He led the team with 8 TFLs, and added 2 sacks and 3 QB hurries. He is the leader of the front seven, and much will be expected of him in 2018. Chase Day is projected to win the MIKE job. He totaled 47 tackles last fall. Cortez Sisco and Rashaad Harding are expected to add some depth.

Kenderick Marbles and Corey Straughter are the starting CBs coming into fall camp, but they need to show major improvement after giving up 299.3 yards passing per game last fall. Straughter finished with 3 PBUs last fall, while Marbles did not do much as a freshman. Jarell Brown and JJ Dallas are the backups.

Marcus Hubbard is projected to start at the BUCK position, while Logan Latin looks for work at Safety as well. Wesley Thompson and Traveon Webster also return, and are looking for reps at the Safety spot.

Breakdown Special Teams: Craig Ford returns as the PK for the Warhawks, as he hit 10/13 FG attempts last fall. He also hit 45/47 on PATs.

Harrison Heim also returns as the Punter, as he averaged 41.95 yards per punt last fall.

Marcus Green is one of the most dangerous kick return men in FBS football, as he averaged 32.44 yards per return last fall, and scored 4 TDs on returns. Teams are crazy to kick the ball anywhere near him. He averaged another 7.77 yards per return on punts.

Final Analysis: The Warhawks were young last season, and they took their lumps in year one under Viator. He is a quality head coach who is trying to get something working at ULM, and it showed in conference play that some things are working. Expect more in the way of improvement this season, but don't expect too much. If the defense can improve on any level, the fortune of the entire team falls in line with that development. There is certainly talent to work with, but again, this is a building project. Take that into consideration when trying to parse out where this team heads in 2018.