ULM has different kind of ?D? (ASU notes)

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Louisiana-Monroe?s new defensive scheme is somewhat of a mystery to Arkansas State.
The Warhawks employ a 3-3-5 scheme under new defensive coordinator Troy Reffett. ASU head coach Steve Roberts said the Red Wolves haven?t faced anything quite like ULM?s system.
?From an offensive perspective, looking at their defense, we really don?t know what to expect. They are extremely multiple,? Roberts said during his weekly press conference. ?They play a lot of man, press man, and soft man coverage. I think all 11 players on the field have lined up in different places versus the same formations through the year.

?They take a lot of chances defensively. They create a lot of negative plays. They give up some big plays as well. We?ve got to try and eliminate as many of those negative plays when they take chances defensively as we possibly can and still create some big plays.?

ULM ranks second in total defense among Sun Belt teams, giving up 374.4 yards per game going into Tuesday night?s game against ASU at Malone Stadium in Monroe, La. The Warhawks have forced 10 turnovers through five games.

Reffett ran a 3-3-5 defensive scheme at New Mexico before joining Charlie Weatherbie?s staff at ULM. He has described the scheme as a more attacking, more aggressive style than what the Warhawks have used in the past.

Weatherbie said ULM switched to a 3-3-5 scheme because it?s easier to recruit linebacker-safety types than defensive linemen.

?It?s a scheme that gives you a chance to not play four down linemen all the time,? Weatherbie said during a Sun Belt teleconference. ?That?s probably one of the hardest areas to recruit for a mid-major, the down line, and this gives you a chance to have six to have a first and second team, rather than eight.?

ULM?s defense includes three players ? senior tackle Aaron Morgan, senior linebacker Cardia Jackson and senior safety Greg James ? who were on the preseason All-Sun Belt team. The Warhawks also have the preseason All-Sun Belt punter in senior Scott Love.




Hard to catch

ULM junior running back Frank Goodin is averaging 92.2 rushing yards per game. Goodin has averaged 5.6 yards per carry while producing 461 yards and eight touchdowns through five games.
?Looking at film, he makes a lot of people miss. He?s a real shifty guy,? ASU defensive end Alex Carrington said. ?We have to keep our heads up and base tackle. You can?t go and try to get the kill shot all the time.?

Goodin earned Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors after running for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries in ULM?s 48-35 victory over Florida International.

The Red Wolves limited Goodin to 33 yards on 10 carries in last year?s 37-29 victory over the Warhawks at ASU Stadium, though he did catch a 25-yard touchdown pass. After falling behind early in the game, ULM wound up throwing for 309 yards.
Arkansas State had four quarterback sacks and the Red Wolves? defensive line knocked down five passes last year against Louisiana-Monroe.
?We?re going to have to be a factor as a D-line. We have to step up and make those extra plays like batting balls down,? Carrington said. ?We?re going to have to get fumbles and things like that because Monroe, they?ll hurt you if you don?t mess up their timing.?

Series history

ASU holds a 17-13 advantage against ULM in a series that dates to 1959. The teams were Southland Conference rivals from 1982-86, then became conference foes again in the Sun Belt in 2001.
The Red Wolves have won five of eight meetings against the Warhawks in Sun Belt play. Roberts holds a 5-2 record against ULM that includes victories at Malone Stadium in 2002 and 2004.
?It?s been a great game,? Roberts said. ?The teams always play each other well, whether we play here or down there. We have won down there before.?

 

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ASU-ULM Position Breakdown


ASU STAFF WRITER

Quarterbacks: ASU?s Corey Leonard is coming off his best game this season, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and more than 200 yards against then-No. 13 Iowa. He showed the Hawkeyes he could play at any level last Saturday. ULM?s Trey Revell is a redshirt junior who has been impressive, throwing for more than 1,000 yards and seven TDs while ranking second on the team in rushing. Leonard has been around the block a few more times.
Advantage: Arkansas State.


Running backs: ASU?s Reggie Arnold has been relatively quiet the past couple weeks, but the fifth-year senior is poised to finish the season strong. Despite a ?slow? start, Arnold ranks third in the Sun Belt in rushing behind ULM?s Frank Goodin. A junior, Goodin has already run for 461 yards and eight touchdowns. Arnold should break out this week, and ASU is much deeper with Don Jones in the backfield.
Advantage: Arkansas State.


Wide receivers: Four games into the season, ASU has only one receiver with more than 10 catches, senior Brandon Thompkins. The Red Wolves have just 720 yards total and the second-leading receiver in yardage is their tight end. ULM has six of its top seven receivers back from last year, with senior Darrell McNeal leading the way with 321 yards and four touchdown catches. Four of the Warkhawks? receivers have 11 catches or more.
Advantage: Louisiana-Monroe.


Offensive line: Arkansas State suffered another setback to its line last weekend, a season-ending injury to junior center Tom Castilaw. Senior guard Dominic Padrta was lost for the season in the opener. Redshirt freshman Eric Allen performed nicely in relief of Castilaw, but ASU is very inexperienced and depth is almost gone. ULM returns four starters on its line, and the Warhawks lead the Sun Belt in rushing, scoring and total offense.
Advantage: Louisiana-Monroe.


Defensive line: Arkansas State showed why it has one of the best front fours in the Sun Belt last week, limiting a solid Iowa ground game. The Red Wolves lead the league in rushing defense, allowing just 106 a game on the ground, and total defense. ULM returns three of its four starters up front and is right behind ASU in rushing and total defense. The Warhawks lead the league in sacks. ASU has superior depth and should prove a bit stronger.
Advantage: Arkansas State.


Linebackers: Arkansas State has found a special linebacker in sophomore Demario Davis. He leads ASU with 28 tackles and had a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown against Iowa. But the Red Wolves? other starting linebackers have combined for just 33 tackles. ULM is led by a veteran group that includes three seniors. All-SBC selection Cardia Jackson already has 38 tackles and Josh Thomas has 29, while senior James Truxillo has 26.
Advantage: Louisiana-Monroe.


Defensive backs: Opponents continue to light up ASU in the passing game. ASU ranks No. 107 nationally, allowing 266.5 yards a game through the air after Iowa passed for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns last week. ULM returns its entire secondary from last season, but isn?t faring much better. The Warhawks are No. 108 in the nation and giving up 268.2 yards a game.
Advantage: Even.


Special teams: ASU placekicker Josh Arauco hasn?t shown the consistency he had last year. Arauco missed a 26-yard field goal at Iowa. Ryan Wilbourn is averaging 37.5 yards a punt. The Red Wolves do appear stronger on punt returns with Daylan Walker. ULM placekicker Radi Jabour has made 6-of-7 field goals, including a 48-yarder, and he?s perfect on 21 PATs. Punter Scott Love is averaging 40.6 yards a punt.
Advantage: Louisiana-Monroe.


Intangibles: After a blowout victory in the opener, Arkansas State has lost three straight. The Red Wolves have lost their last two games at ULM, including a 30-13 setback in 2007. Louisiana-Monroe should have a large crowd dressed in maroon for a nationally broadcast game on ESPN2. The Warhawks started Sun Belt play with impressive wins over Florida Atlantic and Florida International. It should be a tough environment for ASU.
Advantage: Louisiana-Monroe.

 

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ULM has chance to impress national audience on ESPN2


ULM?s checklist is in pretty good shape heading into Week 6.


The Warhawks have won all their home games, thus far ? check.

They have won all their conference games to start out 2-0 ? check, check.

They have even slain some pretty hyped up players, including preseason co-offensive player of the year Rusty Smith, the senior Florida Atlantic quarterback.

Then followed that up by shutting down last season?s Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, T.Y. Hilton ? Florida International?s wide receiver, but more importantly dangerous return specialist.

So a few checks there, and possibly some gold stars.

Come Tuesday night at 7 p.m. inside Malone Stadium, ULM will face the other preseason co-offensive player of the year in Arkansas State quarterback Corey Leonard, another senior who has had two plus years of starting experience under center.

Then there?s the preseason defensive player of the year that the Red Wolves also claim in defensive end Alex Carrington.

What better way to exploit the tough match up but on national television in a primetime spot on ESPN2?

?It?s going to be a very high, energetic game,? ULM coach Charlie Weatherbie said. ?(ASU) Coach (Steve) Roberts does a great job with those guys. Our players know not to expect or think it?s just going to happen. We?ve got to make it happen.?

The Red Wolves have those same type of playmakers with preseason hype as the previous two conference opponents ULM has faced, but this week the Warhawk defense will have to adjust to more of a running game and the task of stopping running back Reggie Arnold.

The senior, who was also a preseason selection, ranks third in the national among active rushing leaders with a career total of 3,210 yards. Arnold can also become just the eighth player in NCAA history to post four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons if he reaches the mark again this season.

?We?ve done a good job this season of defending the run,? Hawk James Truxillo said. ?I?m confident in the run game. The passing game this year we?ve kind of been giving up more than average, but we?ve stopped the run.


?Reggie is a good back. He?s tough. He breaks a few tackles. He doesn?t do a lot of dancing. He can pick up as many yards as he can if you don?t wrap him up.?

The Warhawk defense ranks second in the league in rushing defense, just behind none other than Arkansas State by two-tenths of a margin.

Coincidentally, it?s ULM that has the best rushing offense in the conference going into this game just ahead of ASU with 208.6 yards per game on average.

Primary ULM running back Frank Goodin is ahead of Arnold at this point in the season with 461 yards on the ground ? 92.2 on average per game to put him second in the conference.

Arnold ranks third in the Sun Belt with 283 yards overall, averaging 70.8 a game.

?Goodin is a very good guy out in space,? Roberts said. ?He can make you miss. He has very good speed. He has tremendous vision. He is just a complete running back.

?They throw the ball out of the backfield as well, so he?ll get his hands on the ball a number of times.?

The Red Wolves come in 1-3 and 0-1 in the conference, but the losses they have suffered ? and by the slimmest of margins ? is enough to make any team take notice.

It also helps to have 10 days to prepare for them with both teams taking this past Saturday and next Saturday off because of the Tuesday match up.

Arkansas State started the year with a massacre over Mississippi Valley State 61-0 before a hefty schedule including trips to Nebraska and Iowa, with its conference opener at home against Troy sandwiched in between.

The Iowa and Troy games were decided by three points and keep in mind the Hawkeyes are No. 11 in the nation this morning, while Troy is predicted to win the Sun Belt for the second year in a row.

?I?m excited about the level of improvement of our team,? Roberts said. ?I?m excited about the progress that we?ve made and how we?ve continued to compete. Yes, we are 1-3, but we have lost to three teams with a combined 12-3 record.?





BY THE NUMBERS: A nationally televised match up could not be better for two teams in the Sun Belt at this time in the season.


ULM and Arkansas State statistically are so close that an exciting game could very well be in the works.

The Warhawks lead the conference in scoring offense with an average of 33.4 points a game.

Arkansas State is just behind averaging 29.5 points a game, but the Red Wolves lead the league in scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 23 points per contest. They also lead the pack in total defense, giving up just 372.5 yards a game on average.

They may have their work cut out for them though, considering ULM leads the Sun Belt in total offense with 418.6 yards a game, as well as rushing offense with 208.6 yards a contest.

COME ONE, COME ALL: The ULM community is hoping for one of the biggest crowd?s in football history Tuesday night.

With a national televised game in the works, the school is hoping to show off ULM and Northeast Louisiana at its best.

Everyone in attendance is urged to wear maroon to blanket the stadium for the ESPN2 cameras. Starting today, the ULM bookstore will be offering a 25 percent discount on all maroon shirts.

The bookstore will honor the discount all day today and Tuesday.

The Grove will open Tuesday at 8 a.m. for fans with reserved spots in the tailgating area with Louisiana performer Kyle Craft going on stage at 4:30 p.m. in the student grove.

All gates to Malone Stadium and the Kids Zone in the south end zone will open at 5:30 p.m.

 

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ULM coach Charlie Weatherbie is hoping for a break in the wet weather but he has prepared his team to play through the rain if needed on Tuesday night.

The Warhawks (3-2, 2-0) play host to Arkansas State on Tuesday in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Northeastern Louisiana has experienced plenty of precipitation lately and rain could be in the forecast again for the big date.

?We?ve been practicing in the inclement weather and the wet weather,? Weatherbie said Monday during the Sun Belt Conference?s weekly media call. ?We are prepared for it if it is raining out there. We don?t have a whole lot of hand in that. All we can do is pray about that. The good Lord will take care of the rest of it.?

The Red Wolves are 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the Sun Belt.

?Arkansas State was picked No. 2 coming out of preseason,? Weatherbie said. ?They are a very good football team. They should have beaten Troy, which was picked as the No. 1 team in the conference. They?re a great football team.?

With ULM playing on a non-traditional weeknight, Weatherbie made a final pitch to fans to support the Warhawks in their TV appearance.

?I think it?s vital that we get the stands filled,? Weatherbie said. ?We?re trying to maroon it out. What a great way to showcase northeast Louisiana, to showcase the Sun Belt Conference, to showcase ULM and Arkansas State and what we?re all about. It?s a great opportunity that lies ahead for us and we need to have the support of the community to come out and be a part of that. I think they?ll see a great football game.?

ULM hasn?t played since Oct. 3, when it scored a 48-35 win over Florida International to improve to 2-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Warhawks currently share first place with Troy.

?You always have to give them a little bit of time off when you have an opening,? Weatherbie said. ? But I felt like we got a lot accomplished in preparation.?