Senior receiver Ambrose returns 2nd kickoff for touchdown; team record
When teams kickoff to ULM, they are cautious to not let the ball land in number 22’s hands. When it does, prepare for takeoff and a return to sender.
Senior receiver Luther Ambrose wears the number 22, and when he catches the ball it’s a first-class flight, often ending with the Warhawks celebrating in the endzone.
His most recent went for 98 yards on Saturday in the loss to Florida International University in the final home game of his Warhawk football career.
That return was his second of the season and third career, which put Ambrose in the record books.
He is the fifth player in Sun Belt Conference history to return two kicks for touchdowns in a single season and first player in ULM program history to do so. Ambrose also is the all-time leader in kick return yards in ULM program history.
“It feels good to be a part of history-something that will always be looked at and remembered,” Ambrose said.
Head coach Todd Berry said, “I was very, very pleased for Luther. He has really done a nice job of attacking creases now and using his speed.”
Ambrose’ s first return for touchdown this season was at North Texas, when he returned the opening kickoff of the game for 100 yards.
“Obviously he’s a threat,” Berry said. “So much that they don’t kick to him, which is a good thing.”
Ambrose leads the conference with 25 returns for 787 yards and averages 31.5 per return. He uses his speed to his advantage, and his vision gets him through the lanes created on the field Ambrose’s first career kick return for a touchdown was in 2008, his freshman year, at Arkansas State University for 91 yards.
Junior receiver Julian Griffin said, “I remember then I was like, ‘run it back bro’, and he was like ‘I’m going to try,’ then he hit that seam and it was it.”
“It opened up to the nation how fast he really was,” Griffin said. Griffin joined Ambrose as a freshman in 2008, and the two have shared many laughs on the sideline together.
Griffin said, “He’s a laid back person, but is probably one of the hardest workers, and as long as he keeps working, I believe he has a shot at the next level.”
Ambrose established a name for himself at ULM, but he said wants his legacy to be remembered for the hard work he put in playing the game.
Ambrose will train for the 2012 NFL Draft where he said he feels he can help out a team on the special teams for sure.
“I think I have a good chance of getting there, especially with the speed and good numbers I’m putting up,” Ambrose said.
Griffin said Ambrose’s speed is “next to none,” but he said, “Luther is probably the most humble dude on the team.”
Ambrose expects to graduate with a business degree in marketing.
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