MONROE, La. -- With exams officially underway and the start of summer break just a few days away, ULM head football head coach Todd Berry sat down with director of media relations Alex Edwards to look back at the 2013 spring as well as look ahead to the 2013 campaign. Today is the first part of a two-part interview with coach Berry.
Q: A lot of younger players got the chance to see extensive action during the spring and especially in the spring game. How important do you feel it is to get younger players involved during the spring?
A: "I think it's really important for us in this year. You're always searching for that developmental opportunity and spring practice certainly gives that to you. For our football team this year with the number of players we have coming back, I think one of the really important things for us was not to see some of the older players because they played so much for us, but to get more of an extensive evaluation and see how our younger players react. Not just playing in the game, but in each situation so we could spend time educating them, not just in the position but in the nature of the game itself. In that sense, it's been a much different spring than we've usually had. That was all based on this football team and where this team is at this year. I feel like we got a lot accomplished along those lines. I think we improved the depth of our team and we found some of the younger players who are going to be competitive for us. We feel good about that evaluation with them. We also found some guys that we don't need to work with as much, too. All of those things are really important for a football team to go into preseason camp so you can be sure they get the reps they need to win."
Q: The Warhawks signed 16 players on national signing day, what did you hope to accomplish with this class? Will any of the incoming players see playing time this season?
A: "I think we're at a point where it's much more difficult for new players to come in and make an immediate impact. That's a good thing. I keep a five year depth chart in terms of numbers and you build a team. There are obviously other ways to go about it than the way we did it and that depends if you're building a team for one year or longer period of time. We chose to build a team over a longer period of time. This freshmen class is filling needs down the road and not necessarily needs for this team because we're happy with how we built the team. Can some of these young individuals make an immediate impact? Yes, and we'll give them an opportunity to do that but the likelihood is that their impact is going to be felt down the road. I'm excited about the fact we got our team to that point. We have enough maturity. We have enough depth. We have enough good players in our program to where it's more difficult for someone to break into the two-deep and see significant playing time early on."
Q: Defensive coordinator Troy Reffett is now coaching the cornerbacks after coaching linebackers the last few seasons. How have the cornerbacks changed since the move?
A: "I think they like the change. Any time you have the coordinator back there with you, there's a broader knowledge base of your system on either side of the ball. Troy has always been a secondary coach until he got here. I think it's important initially to work with the linebackers because they are involved in stopping the run but also supporting the pass defense in terms of coverage skills and techniques. Now we're at a point to where the system's been in place a few years. Travis Niekamp, the linebacker coach now, has been a defensive coach for years and that's where his strength lies. It made a lot of sense when I made the change that to get some of our secondary issues fixed to move Troy back there. He had the comfort level there and I needed those guys to know more than what they were showing. The ease of Travis moving over to linebackers was helped because he knew those players from working with them on special teams. I think it paid huge dividends in the spring and will pay bigger ones in the fall. I'm excited about both what our secondary has shown but linebacker is also really a position of strength for us in terms of players and experience. I think we're building on our strengths and that's what's important."
Q: Coach, aside from success on the field, you are also big on success in the classroom. How has the academic culture changed since your arrival in Monroe?
A: "One of the things that plagued this program for a long time was the attrition, both from an academic and social standpoint. Part of the success of last year was allowing our younger players to grow up together. They've taken tremendous ownership. It comes not from the decision to play and play well, but to play well because you care about your teammate. You grew up with that guy and you trust your teammate. We didn't inherit a tremendous academic situation. I'm proud of the fact that over the last two years, our program has finished in the top 10 percent in APR. What's that allowed us to do is to take tremendous pride in how our players handle things on and off the field. It provides a sense of ownership and gives us an esprit de corps. We have guys pushing themselves beyond what they could do because it's important for them to play for the guy next to him. I'm really proud of that because some say if you're doing well academically, you won't do well athletically or vice versa. This proves the point that you can do both well and the two are tied together in terms of the ability to have success overall. It speaks well to how our players feel about this university and this program. They are staying in school. Our retention rate has been extremely high. That's why we have this chemistry and this bonding with our team."
Q: Your coaching staff is relatively unchanged from a season ago, how important is it to the players that they continue to have the same coaches around for multiple seasons?
A: "Staff continuity is a hallmark for long-term success. It's two-fold: Our players have confidence in the staff and our coaches understand how to motivate our players. They know each of them individually and every player is motivated differently. We know how they learn. We know what their motivation is. We know about their personal lives and how to help them through difficult times in college. It's also significant that they players know all of this staff could have moved elsewhere and chose not to. We talk about our players buying in. It's important that our players show that same thing. The coaches want to be around to watch these kids grow. It speaks well to university when you have individuals that choose to stay and had opportunities to leave."
