ULM expects a little of everything from UGA
The most well manufactured of coaching clichés decrees that a football season has more in common with a marathon than a sprint.
For ULM at least, preparation for the season opener is the same way.
The Warhawks started getting ready for Georgia last week, but that was but a mere smattering of what’s ahead this week in practice. It’s enough to make head coach Todd Berry wonder why college football doesn’t have a preseason game.
“When we went to 12 games I thought we could have easily gone to 11 games and one preseason game. For some reason we’re the only entity out there that doesn’t have one. Every other sport does,” Berry said. “Fortunately we’ve tended to play pretty well early in the season. Not just here but at Army and Illinois State too.
“It revolves around our checklist to make sure the team sees every situation and we’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
Berry is 2-3 in season openers at ULM, with all five coming against power-five opponents. ULM upset Arkansas in 2012 — dubbed “The Shock in Little Rock” — and beat Wake Forest 17-10 last year on newly-christened JPS Field at Malone Stadium.
Berry’s aforementioned checklist is what takes up more practice time than anything. Two-back offensive sets and predatory edge rushers from the 3-4 defense are a given from Georgia, but between a new offensive coordinator and new starting quarterback in Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert, there’s a lot going on there.
ULM wrapped up practice last week with a mock game where the coaching staff put the Warhawks through every situation they could imagine coming up on Saturday in Athens.
It lasted two-and-a-half hours.
“It covered all the situations I’ve encountered in a college football game and even some I haven’t. That tells you what all can happen out there,” Berry said. “Georgia does have a new offensive coordinator (in Brian Schottenheimer) and we don’t know what changes they’re going to make in all three phases, but they haven’t seen what changes we’ve made either. You just have to make sure when it arrives your guys know how to react to it.”
What tweaks Schottenheimer and UGA head coach Mark Richt have made to the offense won’t show themselves until Saturday. ULM has a better chance of gauging what defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt’s unit will look like with a whole season of film to peruse.
ULM has its own modifications that will also have to wait until Saturday. As promised, the “FUNROE” offense should be back on display, along with Travis Niekamp and Adam Waugh’s first outing as co-defensive coordinators.
Most of the schematic legwork was done by Berry and his staff last week. Now the focus shifts to putting the last finishing touches on the game plan and making sure the Warhawks are ready to go mentally for the opener.
“You never want to start talking about the game too early because consequently the guys will get ramped up to early,” Berry said.
“We want this to build slowly then come to a crescendo on gameday.”
Kissinger out for UGA
ULM will be without the services of linebacker Hunter Kissinger at Georgia after the senior had surgery following what Berry called a “non-football related” lower body injury.
Berry thought Kissinger would be cleared for Saturday but hopes to have him back as early as next week.
Junior Braxton Moore, who took first-team reps in ULM’s last scrimmage of fall camp, will start in place of Kissinger.
Berry also confirmed that junior tight end Alec Osborne and junior quarterback Daniel Fitzwater are out for the season with lower body injuries. Veteran Harley Scioneaux, who has the third-most amount of starts out of any offensive player on the ULM roster, closed fall camp as the starting tight end.
Osborne joins senior wide receiver Tyler Cain as the third projected starter to sustain a season-ending injury in fall camp.
Fitzwater transferred to ULM from the junior college ranks after a standout prep career at Calvary Baptist in Shreveport and was a likely redshirt candidate.
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