ULM head coach Matt Viator looks to guide the Warhawks to an improvement over the 4-8 records the team reached in his first two seasons in Monroe.

MONROE — ULM is heading into its third season under head coach Matt Viator and there is a high level of optimism surrounding the program. The Warhawks went 4-8 each of the past two seasons but were 4-4 in conference play in 2017 with one of the best offenses in the Sun Belt.

ULM was second in the conference in both scoring average and yards per game at 33.9 and 458.2 and quarterback Caleb Evans had a breakout season as a sophomore. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was third in the conference in total offense after throwing for 2,878 yards while rushing for another 573, which was only 12 yards short of the team high.

Evans also was tied for first in the conference in scoring among position players with 78 points on 13 rushing touchdowns while throwing for 17 more scores. He is one of nine returning starters on offense and one of three Preseason All-Sun Belt selections for the Warhawks, including senior receiver Marcus Green and junior receiver R.J. Turner.

“Offensively we made some good strides last year and have a lot of guys back,” Viator said at Sun Belt Media Day before giving a bit of insight into Evans’ development. “I’ve been impressed with Caleb in terms of him having a better overall grasp of the offense in

terms of being able to go faster and check out of different types of things. He’s really improved in that area and the second thing is becoming more comfortable being a pocket passer.”

While the offense blossomed into one of the top units in the league as the year progressed, the defense went in the opposite direction.

ULM was dead last in the conference in both points allowed per game at 41.0 and yards allowed per game at 532.1, nearly 40 yards more than 11th-place Louisiana. The Warhawks surrendered at least 31 points in all but two games and lost matchups against Memphis, Georgia State and Arkansas State despite scoring 29, 37 and 50 points in those matchups, respectively.

It’s clear which unit ULM needed to focus on improving over the offseason and Viator believes the defense will be better in 2018.

“If you come out and watch us practice in spring ball, the offense isn’t dominating any of the scrimmages,” said Viator, who is entering his 13th season as a head coach, including the last 10 years with McNeese.

“We have guys on defense that can cover our guys and can pressure the quarterback and do all those types of things. I think we lost some confidence last year but if we can keep those guys together, I think we have a chance there.”

The Warhawks did suffer a rash of injuries early in the season on defense and hope those additions will bolster the unit as a whole in 2018. ULM is projected to finish second in the West Division in the Preseason Coaches Poll as many expect their offense to be potent once again.

The road traveled won’t be an easy one, though, with non-conference games on the road against Southern Miss, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. The Warhawks also will face the West Division’s projected winner Arkansas State on the road on November 17 before closing out their schedule against rival Louisiana on Nov. 24.

“We went back and looked at it and they were just a little bit better than we were,” Viator said of ULM’s 67-50 loss to Arkansas State last season. “What we really hope for is that we go up to Jonesboro for the second to last game and there’s a lot on the line.

“That’s two games that we’ve talked about (including UL),” Viator added. “They’ll always be good games because they’re regional games and rivalry games but it means more when there’s a lot on the line late in the season and hopefully we’re good enough to do that.”