MONROE, La. - The ULM football
team faced its hottest day yet of fall camp on Sunday afternoon as the temperature reached
104 degrees and the heat index soared to 115 degrees during the Warhawks
two-hour workout on the grass practice fields.
"I think that we are getting
there," head coach Todd Berry said. "As I just explained to them, every time that
you do something new there are some anxieties about it. What a grown man does is
they don't fear the unknown. This is a whole different routine than what they
are used to and it is hard and we go fast. This team has a great heart about
them, they really do. Our heart is right; we just have to continue to get all
of their heart out of them. This is not supposed to be fun and it's not
supposed to be easy. This is supposed to be camp. Where you find out about
yourself and you find out about each other."
Now four days into preseason
camp, some of the key battles for starting roles are starting to shape up as
the Warhawks get ready to strap on full pads for the first time on Monday.
"It is always an ongoing
process," Berry said of the position battles. "You don't inherit positions at
this level; you have to constantly earn them. It's about coming out and being a
consistent player. Those are the ones that are the great players, because they
show up every day. We have got some competition going on, and at the places
where we don't have competition it's our jobs as coaches to make sure we find
competition. Right now we are still in the learning phase and we won't make any decisions on starters until we
go live."
With two practices under their
belts with the veteran players, some of the newcomers are starting to catch the
eye of the coaching staff.
"There are several guys that I
am real intrigued with," Berry said. "I think that we did exceptionally well in
the offensive and defensive lines as far as the overall group of newcomers.
Their attitude, their eagerness to learn and the way they are approaching
practice has been tremendous."
After praising the entire wide
receiver unit, Berry called out three specific players for their work early in
camp.
"(Running backs) Centarius
Donald and Mitchell Bailey have both shown they belong at this level," Berry
said. "I think that (cornerback) Vincent Eddie is also proving he can play at
this level. They have an awful lot to learn, because they are way behind in the
learning curve. But they are not just exceptional athletes, they have shown the
eagerness to learn to become a great player."
ULM opens the 2010 season on Sept. 11 against No. 19 Arkansas in Little
Rock, Ark. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised by
Fox Sports Net. Season tickets and away game tickets can be purchased by
calling 318-342-3ULM, by clicking
here, by e-mailing warhawktickets@ulm.edu
or in person at the ULM ticket office in Malone Stadium.
2010 ULM Football Fall Camp Schedule
All Practices are
Closed to the Public
Aug. 12 - Returners Practice (Helmets), 8:30 a.m. / Newcomers Practice
(Helmets), 4:30 pm. [Grass]
Aug. 13 - Returners Practice (Helmets), 8:30 a.m. / Newcomers Practice
(Helmets), 4:30 pm. [Grass]
Aug. 14 - Practice (Shells), 4:30 p.m. [Grass]
Aug. 15 - Practice (Shells), 4:30 p.m. [Grass]
Aug. 16 - Practice (Full Pads), 4:30 p.m. [Malone]
Aug. 17 - Practice (Shells), 8:30 a.m. [Grass] / Practice (Full Pads), 4:30
p.m. [Malone]
Aug. 18 - Practice (Full Pads), 4:30 p.m. [Grass]
Aug. 19 - Practice (Shells), 8:30 a.m. [Grass] / Practice (Full Pads), 4:30
p.m. [Malone]
Aug. 20 - Practice (Full Pads), 4:30 p.m. [Grass]
Aug. 21 - Practice (Shells), 8:30 a.m. [Grass] / Scrimmage (Full Pads), 6:30
p.m. [Malone]
Aug. 23 - ULM Classes Start
