5 Things You Need to Know About the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks

Let us just go ahead and get one thing clear. The Louisiana Monroe Warhawks are not a very good football team. Actually, they are one of the worst teams in the country.

In 2020, the Warhawks finished with an 0-10 record that was even worse than the record itself would indicate. Only one game was decided by single digits as ULM was outscored by an average of over 25 points per game.

This week one game may not be the most exciting, but it is once again FOOTBALL TIME IN THE BLUEGRASS! After a very “different” 2020 season, Kroger Field will be filled with fans once again to cheer on the ‘Cats. It is time to get to know more about ULM ahead of the noon kickoff.

Also, make sure to read Adam Luckett’s Scouting Report and Freddie Maggard’s take on UK’s goals for the game.

Terry Bowden at the Helm

The son of the late great head coach Bobby Bowden, Terry Bowden enters his 26th season as a head coach. Bowden is the former head man at Auburn and most recently on the staff at Clemson. That level of talent simply isn’t walking through the door at ULM.

Overall, Bowden is 175-114-2 in his career. It may take him awhile to turn things around at Louisiana Monroe, but his track record suggests improvements will be made.

Rich Rodriguez Running the Offense

After spending 16 seasons running the show at West Virginia, Michigan, and Arizona, Rich Rod is now on the sidelines at ULM. The well known offensive mind will look to improve an offense that averaged just over 300 yards per game last season.

The Warhawks won’t lose for a lack of experience on the coaching staff. However, as the old saying goes, the Jimmy’s and Joe’s beat the X’s and O’s.

Rhett Rodriguez is QB1

Speaking of the Rodriguez family, Rich Rod’s son will be taking snaps for the Warhawks. After a four year career at Arizona, Rhett Rodriguez is one of the very few known commodities at ULM.

Out at Arizona, Rodriguez played in eight games over his four years completing 51 of 100 pass attempts for 578 yards. He connected on three touchdowns while throwing four interceptions. The one thing we can expect is that he will be slinging it around the field in his dad’s tempo-based system.

Study Clemson Film to Know ULM

Okay, let’s face it, unless your name is Freddie Maggard, Adam Luckett, or you get paid to coach football at the University of Kentucky, nobody is really studying ULM’s scheme. However, if you wanted to get a feel for what they will look like defensively, you would want to check out the reigning national semifinalist Clemson Tigers.

Calling plays on the defensive side is 27 year old Zac Alley who followed Terry Bowden from Clemson where he was a graduate assistant. Unfortunately for the young coordinator, the talent is a little different than it was at Clemson. In terms of alignment and scheme though, expect to see the Warhawks try to mirror what led the Tigers to two national titles.

Embrace the Unknown

Between the plethora of new recruits and transfer portal additions, plus the lack of a depth chart, there really just isn’t much to know about the Warhawks. Part of that is by design. There aren’t many advantages they have besides the element of surprise.

Schematically, the Kentucky staff can take a guess as to what ULM will look like. However, much of the personnel won’t be known until they line up at Kroger Field at noon. The cliche is true that Kentucky will be playing themselves in week one. Execution will be the key to success because there is guaranteed to be a talent disparity.

Bonus: Tim McGraw

It was pretty hard to think of five things to know about the Warhawks because, again, there isn’t much to know. Friday evening at KSBar, Drew Franklin informed me that Tim McGraw attended ULM. So, there is that.