College football season is about one-third of its way through, and four of Louisiana’s five FBS programs will begin October on byes.
So this week felt like a prime time to check in on each team’s top performers thus far in 2025 — essentially a first-trimester progress report — using PFF (Pro Football Focus) grades.
Obviously these grades — or any grading system for that matter — are not an end-all-be-all, but they do provide a useful glimpse into teams’ and players’ performances overall.
We start this week’s series with ULM, the state’s one FBS program active this Saturday.
The Warhawks (3-1, 1-0) travel to Northwestern (2-2), a Big Ten opponent, after opening Sun Belt Conference play this past weekend with a 28-16 win against Arkansas State (1-4, 0-1).
———— OVERALL NOTES ————
ULM’s defensive numbers are up a bit across the board from 2024, highlighted most heavily by an improved run defense that has thus far allowed just 126 yards and no touchdowns on 82 attempts to three opponents not named Alabama. But the Warhawks’ biggest areas of improvement, according to PFF grades, have been in the passing game and up front on offense, both in pass-blocking and run-blocking.
———— TOP FIVE OFFENSIVE PERFORMERS ————
1. Braylon McReynolds, junior RB — 85.0 overall
The Warhawks’ leading rusher with 326 yards and two touchdowns on 48 carries, an average of 6.4 yards per attempt, not only grades out well in that aspect (81.9), but also as the team’s second-best receiver (78.3) and pass-blocker (85.1) when called upon to do so. Statistically, McReynolds is tied for second with seven catches and is fifth with 49 yards, including another touchdown. And he has been among the Sun Belt Conference’s top backs in both rushing (fourth-highest grade) and pass-protection (league’s top grade at his position).
2. Brandon Buckhaulter, junior WR — 83.3 overall
Buckhaulter is listed with a small sample size of just 30 offensive snaps in two games and only has a handful of touches under his belt so far: three catches for 40 yards and two carries for 10 yards. But the early grades have been positive with some signs of both reliability and versatility. His receiving grade (77.7) is third on the team and second among wide receivers with solid metrics for avoiding drops or fumbles, and his rushing grade (68.3) is fifth on the team and second among wide receivers.
3. Jay Mickle, graduate G — 82.1 overall
One of ULM’s mainstays up front has been the team’s top-graded run-blocker (82.6) and one of its top pass-blockers with an 84.8 mark that is third on the team and second among offensive linemen. The grades represent a huge positive leap for Mickle in his second season as the starting right guard with no tackles or quarterback hits and just two hurries allowed and one penalty thus far, according to PFF. Mickle has earned the Sun Belt’s top run-blocking grade and is the only offensive lineman with grades of 80.0 or better in both run-blocking and pass-blocking and the only one in the league’s top 15 in both categories.
4. Tyler Griffin, junior WR — 81.9 overall
The Warhawks’ big outside receiver has earned the team’s top pass-catching marks (84.3) — and third-best in the Sun Belt Conference — with his eight catches on 11 targets on a 9.4-yard average depth of target. His eight receptions lead the team, and his 92 yards and one touchdown are both second. Griffin has at least one reception in every game and hasn’t been charged with a drop in the past three outings.
5. Aidan Armenta, sophomore QB — 76.4 overall
Armenta appears to be showing some nice progress thus far in his second season as starter with his passing grade rising from 67.4 last year to 77.7 so far in 2025. He has completed 45 of his 77 attempts (58.4%) for 444 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions — representing notable improvements in his completion percentage and ball-security metrics where he has trimmed his turnover-worthy plays percentage (from 5.5% to 3.4%) and improved his touchdown-to-interception ration (from 9-to-10 to 5-to-3).
———— TOP FIVE DEFENSIVE PERFORMERS ————
1. Dylan Howell, senior DE — 79.2 overall
The veteran defensive lineman has been among the Warhawks’ several disruptive forces up front, including leading the team in sacks (4), tackles for loss (4) and quarterback hurries (2). Howell’s team best overall defensive score has come with some balanced grades in tackling (80.2), run defense (75.9) and pass-rush (73.7) that are all top-five on the unit.
2. Jaeden Calender, sophomore LB — 77.5 overall
The young linebacker has already earned more snaps this season than last with a team-best coverage grade (82.2) — one of the Sun Belt’s best, including No. 2 among linebackers — and top-five tackling grade (80.2) highlighting balanced marks overall. Calender has recorded seven tackles, including a sack, plus a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup.
3. Noah Flemmings, junior LB — 74.2 overall
The Warhawks’ top statistical tackler with 23 stops, including four for loss, boasts the team’s best tackling (87.9) and pass-rush (90.0) grades, as well as its sixth-best run defense (72.7). Flemmings’ early-season stat line also includes one sack, one quarterback hurry, a pass breakup, and the team’s lone fumble force and recovery.
4. Ziggy Loa, junior DE — 72.4 overall
Loa is small-sample high-performer on the defensive side, listed by PFF with just 51 defensive snaps, which would rank No. 21 on the team, but with his top-graded performance coming in his heaviest workload. Two of his three tackles, including his lone sack, came in 24 snaps in a Week 4 road win at UTEP, his overall (77.2) and pass-rush (90.6) marks for which buoy his season grades, including his third-best pass-rush (79.3) on the team.
5. Marcus Ross, junior LB — 72.0 overall
ULM’s top-graded run defender (79.0) rounded out the team’s top five defensive grades overall. Ross has played nearly two-thirds of his snaps in coverage and holds a solid score in that area (68.1), but he has particularly stood out against the run, per PFF metrics. He has recorded 11 tackles, including one for loss, plus a quarterback hurry thus far.