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Thursday links

September 27, 2007

Drew Champlin

From me, a story on how the Y-receiver position is having so much success.

From the News-Star, a winless ULM is looking for a fresh start. Check out Paul Letlow’s blog. Here’s what looks to be a ULM fan blog.

Posted by Drew Champlin on 09/27 at 09:43 AM (0) Comments | Permalink

From the other side, Part 5

Drew Champlin

Big thanks to Paul Letlow of the Monroe News-Star for his contributions.

****Coming later today, a little after lunch, a Q and A with Tony Franklin. This one’s pretty detailed. Tomorrow will be some player quotes

1. What’s going on with the QB position over there?
Kinsmon Lancaster is the guy. Lancaster has struggled, but he has the full support of the coaching staff. Dropped passes and miscommunications have factored into a sputtering passing game. Barring injury, I don’t see a change in the near future. Lancaster’s backup is a redshirt freshman—Trey Revell.
2. How does ULM’s defense match up with Troy’s fast-paced offense?
Tulsa won the tempo battle in the opener, running 86 plays against ULM. The Warhawks have struggled against the pass this year while giving up too many big plays. To have any success against Troy, ULM must force turnovers.
3. What areas of Troy’s team could ULM exploit?
ULM could easily match the 300-yard average that Troy allows. The Warhawks are for real on the ground. With a veteran offensive line, star running back Calvin “Taz” Dawson, rising sophomore Frank Goodin, and quicksilver QB Kinsmon Lancaster, ULM can run on anyone.
4. Do you think ULM will kick to Leodis McKelvin?
Not if they’re smart.
5. Make your prediction
These games always seem to be close. I’m going with the upset. If ULM can slow things down on the ground and win the turnover battle, the Warhawks will surprise.

Posted by Drew Champlin on 09/27 at 06:10 AM (0) Comments | Permalink

Q and A: Shayne Wasden

September 26, 2007

Drew Champlin

Let’s just say special teams controlled Troy’s 48-31 win over ULL last Saturday. Here’s some thoughts from special teams coach Shayne Wasden. Oh, he also coaches the outside WRs too.

I’ll be emptying out the quotebook this week too. Might have some of that later today from Troy players.

Were you surprised how much ULL kicked away from Leodis McKelvin?
On kickoffs, definitely surprised. Punts, not so surprised. They had been doing a really good job of fielding kickoffs and that hadn’t been one of our strongest areas. They hadn’t really punted to anybody so I told Leodis he’d have to run and get them because he was erratic all season. The snapper had been struggling all season so they were just trying to get them off as fast as they could.
Guess you can’t complain about that, though, can you?
Our No. 1 goal in special teams is to win the field position battle and we certainly did that. Greg did a great job punting with three of his punts inside the 10.
How did Whibbs handle both (kicking and punting) duties for the first time?
He’s a guy that can handle doing both. He stepped up to it and took care of business for us.
How much does Whibbs need to kick during the week?
Not much. That’s one thing we have to monitor because he’s such a hard-working guy and he wants to kick a lot, so we try to hold his reps to live kicking and a few at the end of practice so he doesn’t get overworked.
What about the guys you’re trying to redshirt (kicker Michael Taylor and punter Will Goggans) how are they looking?
Both of them have really strong legs. They’re going to be really good kickers for us. Hopefully Will will be our punter for the next four years and we won’t have to have three punters in four years. That’s what we’re shooting for. Michael has a really strong leg and he’s probably as good of a kickoff guy right now as Greg is, he just has to get more consistent with field goals.
If they’re pooch-kicking off, do you try to sneak in a speedy guy as an upback?
It’s a guessing game. The other night, they were pooching it one side so we swapped Dawkins over there to catch the pooch, and they kicked it the other way. We substituted Kennard Burton for Bear Woods and that was the one Leodis was able to run up and catch it. It’s a game, because you don’t know where they will kick it.
As for the two upbacks (the guys on the line in front of the two returners), what are you looking for there?
You want somebody that can catch the ball and block. You’re not looking for a great return guy. We were fine with them kicking to Dawkins because he can run the ball. Bear, not so much, but he does a great job blocking.