It's a heck of a way to kick off a head coaching career as St. Louis Battlehawks head coach Ricky Proehl is flying high after beating the defending UFL champion DC Defenders 16-10 in Week 1.
The Battlehawks held Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta'amu to under 125 passing yards and sacked him a league-high seven times. In front of over 31,000 fans, St. Louis moved to 1-0 on the season with a strong second half on offense and a shutout pitched by the defense leading the way.
Entering Week 2, the Battlehawks now prepare for their showdown against the Dallas Renegades. Proehl spoke to the media for the first time since the Defenders game as he discussed coaching in the contest, preparing for Dallas, and gave an update on his star wide receiver Hakeem Butler.
Ricky Proehl spoke to the media ahead of Week 2 game vs. Dallas Renegades
The first question asked from UFL News Hub was the preparation for the Renegades game since it is a bit unusual that they are playing on a Tuesday as they close out Week 2. For Proehl, that actually wasn't that much of an issue for him as he and his team have done it before.
"It's a great question. But you know what the beauty of it is? It's kind of very similar to last week because we had the cuts on Thursday. So we had about roughly the same time period. So we had yesterday, we did a walkthrough, initial install for Dallas, and then today we had a walkthrough and then a light practice. And then tomorrow they'll have off and then we'll get after it Friday, Saturday, Sunday, just like your normal week of practice. So we're ahead of the game. But, you know, just trying not to wear these guys out there. You know, it's such an emotional game mentally and physically. You know, I just want to make sure we get guys back and ready to roll this week because of, you know, the physicality of the game. And, you know, we had some guys pretty sore and, you know, you just want to avoid soft tissue injuries and that sort of thing. So just light the last two days, but still getting a lot of a lot of work in mentally, more mental than physical, and then we'll be ready to roll on Friday."
Being familiar with that extra time preparing for the game, Proehl and his coaching have had some extra time watching the tape of the Renegades blowing out the Houston Gamblers 36-17 in Week 1 action as the only team to win by double digits. While Proehl knows what kind of team Dallas will be, he also knows his team will come ready.
"They did a lot of good things. You know, defensively, they had some turnovers. Offensively, they threw the ball around a lot. And for us, as proud as I am of our guys, it was a big win. We got to forget it, put it behind us and move forward. And it's this next game. It's going to be a great challenge for us. And, you know, that's been my message to our guys is put that game to rest and now we got to focus. We got to reset and as if it's a new week and it's a new game and a new challenge and just get refocused and just go to work. And that's what I'm really proud of our guys, the buy-in and their approach to every day and this game's hard enough. You got to make it fun for them to want to be here each and every day. And that's what, as a coaching staff, that's what we're trying to do. And I think it's working. You know, obviously winning helps that, but you make it to where it's, it's about us and the culture we're bringing where they love to come to practice. They want to get better. They want to work hard because they know they have an opportunity to be really good. And that's exciting."
As happy as he is with his own team, he should be happy with how he coached his first game against DC. He showed that he fits right in as he won a crucial challenge in the game that kept their interception from being called back on a defensive pass interference call on St. Louis. When UFL News Hub asked him about if he would change anything or if he learned anything from that first game, there might be some small things, but he seemed confident in what he did with some things to learn.
"Not really. I don't think I was tested that much yet. Well, I'll learn that now I can't use the flag more than once, even when you win, but that worked out well. I was kind of proud of myself for that one. You know, there's so much going on. You realize as a head coach there's so much going on during the course of the game, and you're looking at the play clock and the game clock in certain situations. But it's going to be a on-the-job training. I mean, I don't think I was tested as much, maybe at the end trying to run the clock off a little bit, uh, at the end there. But I think I'm going to continue to learn. I think I've got a lot to learn. I know I have a lot to learn, and it's definitely different being a head coach because you got so many people in your ear about different situations, different things that may come up or are coming up. And, but I think, you know, for the first game, I thought I did a decent job of keeping my head on, being focused on the game and not being distracted by different things going on on the sidelines."
One notable absence from that Defenders game for the Battlehawks is 2024 All-UFL Team selection and 2024 UFL Offensive Player of the Year Hakeem Butler as he was inactive for the game. UFL News Hub asked Proehl about Butler and how was his status for the game. The head coach was very optimistic to have his star receiver back on the field.
"Oh, he's ready to roll. You know, I think he probably could have played last week. We just wanted to be smart coming off, you know, he had a little soreness and hadn't practiced a ton as far as reps. So we've increased his rep count and we didn't want to put him in a game where all of a sudden now he's playing a bunch of reps and then he gets reinjured and he's ready to roll. He's excited about playing and he's going to, you know, you know what, Hakeem is Hakeem. He has a huge impact on our football team, whether he's catching the ball or not. So it's going to be exciting as a head coach to see him suited up and on the field Tuesday night will be a lot of fun."
The Battlehawks will take on the Renegades on Tuesday, April 7 at Toyota Stadium at 7:00 pm CST on FS1.