ULM Football Preview 2026: Can this Finally Happen For the Warhawks?

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ULM Football Preview 2026: Can this Finally Happen For the Warhawks?

Pete Fiutak · College Football News

Sat, Jul 18, 2026 ·

8 min read

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It's so tough to get this ULM thing going, but Bryant Vincent is the type to keep giving this a push.

He was a key assistant when UAB came back from the dead in the mid-2010s, had the interim head coaching job for the 2022 season, and now he's in his third season in Monroe.

He's continuing to work against history.

Can ULM Finally End the Drought?

Nov 16, 2024; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Louisiana Monroe Warhawks quarterback Aidan Armenta (10) scrambles from the pocket during the fourth quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

© John Reed-Imagn Images

In 39 seasons at the FBS level, ULM has had just three winning seasons, with the last one in 2012.

It's been hard to come up with a differentiating factor that makes everyone worry, and the program can't seem to buy any sort of a break.

Vincent did a decent job in the transfer portal, and he's had two years to build this up. There have been a few rays of light.

The Warhawks started 3-1 last season, and then the offense couldn't do anything against all the solid teams over the final eight games.

The 2024 team beat James Madison and started 5-1, and closed with six straight losses.

The rebuild continues, but Vincent is putting his team in a position to surprise.

ULM Quick Hits

Head Coach:Bryant Vincent (4th year overall, 15-22; 3rd year at ULM, 8-16)
Best Case / Worst Case:A winning season and bowl game for the first time since 2012/A fifth season with four wins or fewer in six years
Key Player:Noah Flemmings, LB Sr.
2025 Record:3-9
Biggest Question:Is there enough talent in place to make a push for a winning season?

ULM Key 2025 Stats

Field Goals: Opponents 18-of-22, ULM 2-of-7
Penalties: ULM 88 for 780 yards, Opponents 63 for 598 yards
Second Half Scoring: Opponents 198, ULM 95

Offense

Offensive coordinator Jesse Montalto has some good pieces to work with to make the passing game click.

Last year's offense only averaged 323 yards and 16.6 points per game, but that should change fast.

What's Working

Quarterback Aidan Armenta has the potential to be far stronger.He's a big passer who can move, throwing for 1,629 yards and 12 touchdowns with eight picks. As long as he's a bit more accurate, the offense will change fast, helped by …

The receiving corps. There's a lot to like with this group, starting with Nic Trujillo, a good deep threat who averaged 16 yards per catch with a team-high four scores.

JP Coulter is a shifty inside receiver who caught 21 passes, and Clemson's Parker Fulghum and Arkansas State's Damarcco Blanton are getting their chances to shine.

Is this when Donald Chaney Jr. gets a little luck?The one-time Miami running back spent four years at Miami, finishing with 852 yards and six scores despite suffering a major knee injury early on.

He spent one year at Louisville, moved to Charlotte, got hurt, and now is at ULM in his seventh season.

If he's healthy, he's a talented back who can carry the offense.

What Needs Work

The offensive line has to find the right starting five.It gets back a few decent pieces in tackle AJ Vinson and guard Kaliem Croswell, and Nate Green is an interesting tackle option, but overall, this bunch has to be better at preventing plays behind the line.

The running game has to be more consistent.The line and coaching staff are good enough to put together a few big games, but ULM has to go off on the ground to win.

Last year's team was 3-0 when running for six yards or more per carry, and was 0-9 when it didn't.

The FBS running back depth is really, really thinif Donald Chaney isn't able to hold up. The top backs – Zach Palmer-Smith and Braylon McReynolds (UAB) – are done, and the Warhawks need big things from …

Player to Watch

Bryson Roland, RB Soph.
This is Chaney's ground attack to run, but the coaching staff wants a rotation.

The speedy 5-8, 180-pound Roland ran for 1,148 yards and nine scores for Arkansas Tech last year, and now he'll be used in a variety of ways.

Defense

Defensive coordinator Troy Reffett did what he could with the ULM defense over the last few years.

There's plenty to work with after an okay season. The pass rush wasn't awful, the run defense was fine, and overall the D was better than the stats.

(Monster offensive performances from Alabama, Northwestern, and Southern Miss broke the curve.)

What's Working

The linebacking corps should be one of the team's strengths.Noah Flemmings led the team with 80 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 11 tackles for loss – he'll be everywhere.

Marcus Ross mostly worked behind Flemmings, but he's got the size and versatility to play a starting role.

Throw in veteran Jaeden Calendar, and the Warhawks will likely have three starting linebackers pushing past 230 pounds.

The secondary got enough help to be a bit better. Jabari Tiller is a strong tackling safety who can get behind the line, and Zy Jackson and Carl Fountroy are good veterans who'll fill in where needed.

Coming in are corner Larell Howling (Coastal Carolina) and safety Taijh Overton (Arkansas) to make an overall decent situation better.

Hold up against the run, and good things happen.ULM might have been lit up through the air from time to time, but it won when the run defense dominated.

The Warhawks were 3-0 when allowing fewer than 90 yards, and 0-9 when allowing more. And …

What Needs Work

In the two years under Bryant Vincent,the Warhawks allowed over 190 rushing yards 14 times. They're 0-14 when that happens.

To put this in perspective, allowing 190 rushing yards per game would've made a team 119th in the nation in run defense last year.

The defensive line needs a whole slew of new parts. ULM has some bulk, but overall it's really, really thin when it comes to proven FBS production.

Cliff Mosley is a 6-4, 325-pound senior up front – he made 22 tackles with a stunning interception last year – but it'll take a while to find the right starting foursome.

The pass rush has to come from somewhere.Flemmings was able to come up with a few sacks from his linebacker spot, but almost everyone who did anything to get into the backfield last year has to be replaced.

Player to Watch

Marcus Ross, LB Sr.
Noah Flemmings is the star of the defense, but Ross, a 6-2, 230-pound former Mississippi State Bulldog, started to step up in his role with ULM last season.

He made 35 tackles with two sacks, six tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles, and now he'll get every shot to be a statistical superstar somewhere in the corps.

Keys to the Season

Better overall offensive efficiency is a must.
Quickly replace the lost production on the defensive line.
Be far, far, far better on special teams.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Abram Murray, PK Soph.
Really? On a team with so many needs, the kicker has to step up the biggest?

When you make just two of seven field goal attempts the year before, then yeah.

ULM got a 44-yard field goal against UTEP on September 20th. That was the team's last field goal of the season.

Murray started at Miami and moved on to Cal, where he hit four of six tries as the team's long-distance kicker – all of his attempts were from beyond 40.

Biggest Concern

Score whenever there's a chance.
It's going to be hard enough for the Warhawks to hang around with most of the teams on the slate, but they have to put points on the board when there's a shot.

ULM finished second-to-last in red zone offense (just ahead of Charlotte) – that's partly because the offense made one field goal all year when getting inside the 20.

Overall, ULM scored just 18 times in 28 trips – it proved deadly in the 30-27 loss to Louisiana – going 8-for-18 after Week 4.

Biggest Game

Louisiana Tech, October 17
The two schools are only a half hour apart, but they haven't played each other since 2000 – a 42-19 Louisiana Tech win.

With the Bulldogs joining the Sun Belt, this matchup suddenly should start to mean something on an annual basis.

ULM gets a week off to get prepared, and it's a chance to get its Sun Belt mojo going.

Transfer Portal

The Warhawks did a decent job coming up with parts to help fill in some gaps.

They might have hit a home run at running back in Donald Chaney (Charlotte), likely got a starting tight end in Bryce Anderson (Memphis), and helped the secondary and receiving corps.

And in Austin Carlisle (Houston), they have a potential quarterback.

It's not enough to make ULM a Sun Belt superpower, but they got better.

Best Signing

Bryce Anderson, TE (Memphis)
ULM stepped up at tight end with 6-3, 220-pound Cade Callahan (Merrimack) and Anderson, a 6-5, 250-pound pass catcher who made 12 grabs for 101 yards last year at Memphis.

With the coaching change, Anderson left the Tigers and is off to ULM.

Biggest Loss

Jerome Simmons, DT (Oregon)Tackles with his tools and bulk are almost impossible to replace at the Group of Six level. He might not play much for Oregon, but at 6-4 and 330 pounds, he's a big body to rotate in and help clog things up.

Other Names to Know

Bright Fagbamiye, OT (Tiffin)
Austin Carlisle, QB (Houston)
Damarcco Blanton, CB (Coastal Carolina)

CFN Season Prediction

The Warhawks aren't going to take a step back.

That might not mean they'll do anything special, or be a Sun Belt surprise, but this year's team should be a wee bit better than last year's 3-9 version.

However, it'll be a fight each and every week. The date with SE Louisiana should be the only time it'll likely be the favorite.

CFN Prediction: 4-8

There's no James Madison, Old Dominion, or Georgia Southern to deal with – being in the Sun Belt West is a break – and there aren't two road games in a row after opening up at Mississippi State and UAB.

But Bryant Vincent has pushed the team in the right direction. The Warhawks will keep fighting, and eventually the breakthrough will come.

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