The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Louisiana-Monroe – INSIDE SLANT
With his team sitting out the first weekend of college football, Louisiana-Monroe coach Todd Berry spent a lot of time channel-surfing from game to game to game to various telecasts.
“I flipped through a bunch of them,” Berry said.
Berry also asked his players to watch games as well in the hope they might learn something to take out of their open date before taking on Arkansas in Little Rock.
“It did give us the opportunity to watch some games and not make some of the same mistakes that some other people made in those early games,” he said. “But you always recognize that first game there is going to be more of those mistakes.
“We’ve got to do the best we can to avoid those. Obviously, we’re playing against a really outstanding Arkansas team.”
This will be the second time in three years that the Warhawks have had an open date on the first weekend, and their first opponent in 2010 was Arkansas as well.
Berry was beginning his first season with ULM in that game, won by Arkansas 31-7.
“I think we are a better football team that what we’ve been,” Berry said. “I don’t think there’s any question about that.
“We’ve certainly got more depth. We’ve got a lot of guys who have played an awful lot of football.
“But I think Arkansas is better, too. So it kind of goes both ways. They’ve got a high ranking, and deservedly so.”
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NCAAF Team Report – Louisiana-Monroe – NOTES, QUOTES
ULM has yet to beat Arkansas in nine opportunities, but came close in 2008. The Warhawks led the Razorbacks 10-6 at halftime and 27-14 early in the fourth quarter before giving up two touchdowns, the last with just 1:22 remaining. The Hogs got the 28-27 victory when Jeremy Gener’s 45-yard field goal attempt with just seconds remaining was short and to the right.
–Two former Razorbacks likely will see action for the Warhawks in Little Rock. Senior RB Mitchell Bailey, a backup, was an invited walk-on at Arkansas in 2008. He redshirted in 2009, then transferred to ULM and sat out the 2010 season. Last year he rushed for 212 yards on 64 attempts. Junior LB Austin Moss played 11 games for Arkansas in 2009, sat out the 2010 season, then played at Navarro (Texas) College in 2011 before coming to ULM.
–ULM is opening against a ranked opponent for the fifth consecutive year. Arkansas brings a No. 10 national ranking into the game. Last year, the Warhawks opened at Florida State (No. 5). In 2010, it was No. 14 Arkansas, in 2009 No. 2 Texas and in 2008 No. 10 Auburn.
SERIES HISTORY: Arkansas leads ULM 9-0 (last meeting, 2010, Arkansas 37-14)
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: The Warhawks return starters at quarterback (Kolton Browning), running back (Jyruss Edwards), wide receiver (Brent Leonard, Colby Harper, and Tavarese Maye), tight end (Keavon Milton), and the interior line (Joseph Treadwell, Ben Risenhoover, and Jonathan Gill). That should help them establish a more reliable running game. The Warhawks average over 150 yards a game rushing last year but were inconsistent.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: Only four starters return on defense, and one of them, Kentarius Caldwell, is moving to a new position (to end from nose tackle). All three linebackers are seniors, however, with Cameron Blakes a returning starter. Redshirt freshman Mitch Lane is slated to start at the hawk position, a combination strong safety/linebacker and critical spot in the unit.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “They going to be well-prepared against us. They’re not going to overlook us or any of those other kinds of things.” — Coach Todd Berry, on his opening opponent, Arkansas.
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NCAAF Team Report – Louisiana-Monroe – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK’S GAME: ULM at Arkansas, Sept. 8 — The Warhawks make a belated season debut against one of the top teams in the country. The game is the last of a five-game series of games played in Little Rock that are designated “home” games for the Warhawks, allowing them to include the turnout in their “home” attendance.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Eliminate mistakes. Typically, teams are susceptible to making enforced errors — false starts, missed assignments — in openers, but the Warhawks can’t afford any of those things against the Hogs. The defense must avoid giving up big plays to the Arkansas passing game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
QB Kolton Browning — Now a seasoned veteran with two years as a starter, Browning is a running threat as well as a passer. He threw for 2,483 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 443 yards as a sophomore last year after passing for 2,552 and running for 385 as a redshirt freshman in 2010.
RB Centarius Donald — A knee injury cut short his season last year, but he returns to share the rushing load with RB Jyruss Edwards. Donald ran for 414 yards in seven games.
DE Kentarius Caldwell — Caldwell moves into a new position after recording 3.5 sacks at the nose tackle spot in 2011.
ROSTER REPORT:
–Senior S Khairi Usher sustained what was described as a lower body injury in the fall camp and will miss at least the first month of the season.
–Sophomore P Connor Fryoux is listed as the backup for sophomore PK Justin Manton, and Manton is Fryoux’s backup.
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