GALACTUS! When I agreed to become your herald it was to lead you away from sentient beings. This world is populated by men who think, feel, who... who dream!
- Silver Surfer, The Origin of the Silver Surfer: Part 3
TRAIN HARDER AND GROW BIGGER. Those are the words shouted by legendary bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman as he pumps an absurd amount of iron in a YouTube video I’m watching. Knowing that today’s player will be playing for Northern Louisiana’s finest football program: Louisiana Monroe, I felt it only appropriate to watch videos of one of Monroe’s most notable athletes in preparation.
I needed the spirit of Northern Louisiana flowing through me as I wrote this one, and flow through me it did.
I feel like the ULM Warhawks are one of the most under discussed football programs in all of college football. But that has changed since the arrival of head coach Bryan Vincent.
Vincent, who was previously at New Mexico and UAB, has seen his name rise to fame within the CFF community. Around here, he’s affectionately considered one of the most degenerate pig farmers west of the Mississippi River. Indeed, when you look at his last three stops, we see three very productive running backs: UAB’s DeWayne McBride, New Mexico’s JaCorrey Merritt, and ULM’s Ahmad Hardy. Hardy, the freshman sensation, has since left (transferred to Missouri).
Naturally, that’s created a lot of interest in who will be taking over Vincent’s backfield in 2025. There have been a lot of intriguing names that have since entered the fold. It started with Southern Alabama transfer Braylon McReynolds, who’s an experienced commodity within the Sun Belt.
Incoming three star D’Shaun Ford declared he wanted to be the ‘Next Ahmad Hardy’ when he signed in February. It’s true—I even wrote about it. There was also Southern Louisiana transfer Antonio Martin, who came in with a productive pedigree at the FCS level. He has since transferred to Kansas State.
However, the name that I find the most interesting at present is Richmond transfer Zach Palmer Smith. Agent Smith ran for 1382 yards on 263 carries last season, while tallying 14 total TDs. According to Richmond’s website, he only started in 11 out of 13 games on the year, yet averaged 106.31 yards per game, which was seventh highest at the FCS level. He actually became the first Richmond player to surpass 1000 yards rushing since 2015.
What’s more, this was actually his first season with the Spiders. Previously (as a freshman and sophomore), ZPS played at Wagner, where he actually finished second on the team in rushing as a freshman with 249 yards.
When the Silver Surfer said the above words to Galactus, he was begging the devourer of worlds to change course—to show mercy. Vincent knows no such sentiment. This is a man who appears hellbent on finding the most elite replacements he possibly can for Ahmad Hardy; bringing in recruits and transfers from all over the country this offseason—even if the acquisition of one leads to the departure of others (see Antonio Martin and former JuCo RB Ozarrio Smith transferring out this spring).
ZPS feasted at the FCS level last year. Can he do it at the FBS level in 2025? While the SBC isn’t one of the weaker leagues in the G5, I think it’s a good incremental jump for ZPS, and we’ve seen plenty of FCS players carry their success up to the G5 level in years past. In fact, we’ve seen multiple FCS RBs do well at the P4 level (Desmond Reid, Cam Skattebo, Bayshul Tuten, just to name a few in recent seasons).
Suffice it to say, there may actually be several players at the FCS level that are better than any commodity you might find playing in the G5. Is ZPS one such commodity? Only time will tell.
But I do view the transferring of some of his competitors—namely Antonio Martin, who himself as an FCS transfer brought in to replace Hardy—as a positive development for ZPS. And with a short form name ‘ZPS’ that is as slick as the Silver Surfer himself, how can this player completely fall flat?
Coaching & System
RB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 17.71 (half ppr)
In the previous four seasons (2024-2021), Vincent’s RB1 averaged 18, 19, 26, and 16 points per game.
Even in 2020, which isn’t included in the table below, UAB lead runner Spencer Brown averaged over 100 yards and a score per game in a shortened season. What’s more, the disappointing 8.4 PPG figure is misleading. Spencer Brown, who was coming off a 1000-yard season in 2018, had his season cut short due to injury, and so the lead back numbers are not accurate.
Basically, every season in which the RB1 didn’t miss significant time, Vincent’s lead back averaged over 15 PPG and at least 15 carries per game. They consistently average close to or above 100 yards rushing per game as well. And, most notably, every season besides 2019, the lead runner has averaged a score once per game.
That’s a pretty incredible pattern. I wrote about Boise State’s backfield late last week, and in it I opined that the pattern of 14 out of 15 seasons producing a 1000+ yard rusher might be the best pattern in CFB currently. Vincent’s track record isn’t as far reaching backwards, but he is on a pretty productive path himself. In terms of the last five seasons, I’m not sure there’s a staff with a stronger pattern at RB than Vincent’s at the moment.
Vincent is the sole play caller at ULM once again, so that’s good news. His philosophy on offence is clear: looking at his last six seasons, he averages a 62% run rate. In fact, every season except 2023, his team averaged over a 62% run rate, with highs of 64% in 2018, 2021, and 2024. His teams do not move fast on offence—the six year sample produced an average of 64 plays per game, or 28.5 seconds per play.
ULM returns approximately half of the starting snaps along the OL from a year ago. They were very successful running the football in 2024, so returning snaps are a welcome sign.
Zach Palmer Smith (6’0, 205)
2024 RUSHING STATS: 263-1382-13 (13 games)
As briefly touched on in the intro section, ZPS is coming off a very productive season at Richmond (FCS).
Prior to Richmond, he played two seasons at another FCS program, Wagner. As a sophomore, he rushed for 699 yards on 135 carries and scored three times. His receiving usage during his first three seasons was minimal. Even at Richmond, as a feature player, he only recorded seven receptions for 42 yards and a score.
However, in this system, it is not common for the RBs to be used heavily as receivers. The RBs over the last six seasons average less than a single target per game, and never more than six yards receiving per game. Indeed, when we look at what Ahmad Hardy did last year in this system, he only saw 10 targets through 12 games. The majority of his volume came through carries (238). That’ll probably be the case again for whoever is RB1 in 2025.
ZPS is entering his fourth season of CFB, and is a 6’0, 205 pound player out of New Jersey. He was an unrated RB recruit coming out of high school. As a transfer, he was rated a three star prospect.
His primary competition in the room includes McReynolds, the South Alabama transfer, and Ford, the freshman. ULM is one of the hardest programs to get information on, and so that logistical challenge will always factor into the valuation of their players. A beat writer recently spoke about the RB room with the guys at G5 Hive—but my impression was that he doesn’t really know what to expect at this moment. Which is fair, because the staff likely haven’t even decided yet.
Since we won’t know who is the starter until probably the opening whistle game one, we’re throwing darts at the board until the season opener. I’d advise those who are participating in multiple leagues to diversify your exposure to each of McReynolds, ZPS, and Ford. That being said, ZPS is the one that most intrigues me. I know the guys at Fantasy Points are high on him as well. ◾
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Sample from 2018-2024, excluding 2020.