Head Coach: Bryant Vincent is entering his 2nd season as the head coach of the Warhawks with a 5-7 record. It’s not a record that sticks out much unless you know what the expectations were, most larger media outlets had ULM pegged as the worst team in the country it became a rallying cry as the team took off to a surprisingly strong start. Vincent was also the interim coach at UAB for a year when Bill Clark had to step down due to health issues, despite the difficult circumstances Vincent led the team to a winning record and bowl bid but was passed up for the job. It was unfortunate because he’s proven to be a great coach.
Program Outlook: ULM is a program that has seen its struggles. They haven’t had a winning season since 2012, and 2013 was the last time they didn’t have a losing record. It definitely ranks up there as one of the toughest jobs in the country, but it’s not like they got to FBS by mistake. Before the move, ULM was a top FCS program with a national title in 1987 and multiple appearances in the playoffs. Recent decades has seen the program struggle with a lack of resources but that is changing, they’re beginning to make facility upgrades and overall the new AD and Bryant Vincent are doing a lot to bring a new energy to the program. At least that’s what it felt like as of a few days before this article, then the AD resigned amid a demand for drastic budget cuts. A tough job remains difficult. 2025 will prove to be a critical year but for the first time in a while it really felt like ULM had some momentum, on field results could do wonders.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: ULM ranks 75th in the country returning 53% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. Key players starts with the QB, it was a bit of a revolving door last year but ultimately the offense landed on freshman Aidan Armenta as the starter, there were definitely some freshman mistakes but there was some promise there. The pass attack in general might benefit from experience Jake Godfrey, Tyler Griffin, Javon Campbell, along with TE Nate Sullivan Jr at least are a return of a lot of experience and could help make this attack more productive. Or what could really help is the emergence of another star and that could be Nic Trujillo, he was originally at New Mexico with Vincent and after some playing time last year comes over to ULM. The Warhawks unfortunately lost their star at RB but they return experienced backs in Bennett Galloway and Ozarrio Smith, but there’s already a lot of excitement about freshman D’Shaun Ford and that he could star for the Warhawks in a similar fashion to Ahmad Hardy. RB Dorian Lewis is an interesting story he took comes over from New Mexico where he played 5 games in 2023, got hurt and stepped away from the sport until Vincent convinced him to return this year, at one point this looked like a thin backfield but now its a strength. ULM continues to improve on the Oline as well, there’s enough starters back to feel good about this unit taking another step. The defense has some good playmakers. It starts with Kevontay Wells up front at defensive end, he briefly tested the portal but comes back to lead this unit. There’s a lot of experience back overall, they struggled a lot against the run last year but with 325lb Jaden Hamlin returning and more experienced they could improve here. Hamlin was new to the fold last season from the Juco ranks. The pass rush wasn’t exactly where you’d want it to be last year but Billy Pullen returns on the edge, he was already the leader last year and now he could be poised for a big year. Tristan Shorter is another solid edge rusher who is a leader and could be in for a big year. LB Tyrese Hopkins is a strong player that returns and it will be fascinating to see who emerges next to him, there’s a lot of experienced options but there’s some talk about Seidrion Langston as a potential breakout player there. Safeties Carl Factory and Lynard Harris are a solid duo. Corner David Godsey is the most experienced option and who starts next to him will be a bit of a mystery.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: ULM will face a pretty challenging schedule but it’s definitely not the worst in the conference. Their non-conference schedule is headlined with road games at Alabama and Northwestern (at the lakeside stadium!) There’s an exciting battle against UTEP another program that hasn’t been to many bowls lately but is on the rise. ULM will open the season against Saint Francis a FCS team who will transition to D3 after this year, ULM will be their 2nd to last FBS foe ever. The Warhawks draw Coastal Carolina and Old Dominion from the East division, which doesn’t seem to be the worst draw, although Old Dominion could end up being really good.
Final Thoughts: There’s not a program in the country I’m rooting on harder to reach a bowl than ULM this year. They have the pieces in place and more depth to maintain momentum further into the year and reach that 6 win mark. A new era of ULM football could be on the way, but 2025 will be a huge year for the Warhawks.
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