Fall Previews 9 of 63: Tulane

Tulane:

Head Coach: Curtis Johnson (12-25)
2014 Record: (3-9, 2-6/T-8 American)
Basic Offense: Multiple
Basic Defense: Multiple
Starters Returning: 20

Offense: 

In a season that saw the Green Wave only win three games, Tulane was able to find its quarterback of the future in redshirt sophomore Tanner Lee (185-336/1,962/12TD). Lee ended the season making 10 of a possible 12 starts with only missing the UConn and UCF games. The 6-4, 220 pound Lee is the prototypical pocket passer with a strong arm and ability to make play down the field. Backing up Lee is redshirt junior Devin Powell (10-26/111/0TD). Powell is a much more athletic and elusive signall caller but only saw action in two games last fall as a reserve quarterback. Expect Powell to keep pressure on but not overtake Lee for the starting quarterback spot though Powell does have starting experience in 2013 with over 800 yards passing in 10 games played (3 starts) in 2013. The #3 spot on the depth chart could go to any of the trio of sophomore Dylan Richman, redshirt freshman Glen Cuiellette, or senior Jordy Joseph. If any of those three find playing time, then something has gone terribly wrong for the Green Wave.

Sherman Badie

The Green Wave are looking to improve upon the nation's 94th ranked rushing attack at 145.5 yards on the ground per game. Projected starting fullback Lazedrick Thompson (109/533/4TD) was the team's second leading rusher in 2014 and is more of a hybrid that can block or carry the ball for the Green Wave. While he wont reach 100 carries like in 2014, he should carry the ball quite a bit for Tulane. Junior Sergio Medina will back up Thompson and should see his playing time increase this season in a bigger role. At tailback, the Green Wave have a couple of sophomores that showed flashes of brilliance last fall in a three headed rushing attack. Projected starter Sherman Badie (121/688/3TD) returns after leading the team in rushing yards last season for the Green Wave. While he is the consensus starter, true sophomore Dontrell Hillard (97/452/3TD) should get his fair share of carries this fall. Both are good young running backs that should be able to give Tulane a chance to run a balanced offense this fall. Junior Josh Rounds could also find his way into the offensive backfield after a rare third year redshirt in 2014.

Tight end became a much more important position for the Green Wave in 2014 with Charles Jones (21/192/3TD) and Trey Scott (10/91/0TD) stepping on campus. Both true freshmen in 2014, Jones is expected to see the majority of the playing time this fall in the starting position. His size allows the tight end to be a matchup problem in the passing game while able to hold his own in the rushing game. At 6-2, 212 pounds, fellow tight end Scott has the chance to be much more of a weapon in the passing game for the Green Wave. A combination of the two should make for some good tight end play from Tulane. Senior Sydie London saw playing time in seven games and should be ready if the need for his services arises. Otherwise, London and redshirt freshman Kendall Ardoin should contribute on special teams this fall.

In similar fashion to the tight end spot, the starting wide receivers are both sophomores that made impacts as true freshmen in 2014. Z-receiver Teddy Veal (40/381/1TD) impressed last fall and ended the season as the team's leading receiver with 40 total reception. Veal is more of a possession receiver with a 9.5 yards per catch average that shows his willingness to made the tough catches inside when needed. Backing up Veal is senior Larry Dace, a player that is still looking for his first official catch as a member of Tulane. One the other side of the field is fellow sophomore Terren Encalade (20/235/0TD). Encalade showed in his somewhat limited playing time last fall that he has the ability to stretch the field somewhat and force the defense to respect the deep ball. Junior Devon Breauz (7/55/0TD) should find his way as the backup and see significant playing time this fall. Sophomore Leondre James (15/169/1TD), senior Alec Macias, a group of five other wide receivers that includes two true freshmen will battle to find their way onto the playing field on special teams.

Arturo Uzdavinis

The Green Wave return 80% of an offensive line that struggled in 2014 but got better as the season progressed. At left tackle is the elder statesman of the group in senior Arturo Uzdavinis (25 career starts). The 6-7, 300 pound is a good player and should be able to protect the blindside fairly well. True freshman and early enrollee John Leglue looks to back up Uzdavinis and maybe even earn some playing time this fall. At left guard is another returning starter in junior Colton Hanson (12 career starts). The 6-5, 315 pound guard should be able to hold off redshirt sophomore Jason Stewart to hold the starting job. Despite only being a junior, center Nathan Shienle (24 career starts) has already made 24 starts for the Green Wave. Shienle is a big man at 6-5, 300 pounds but also has the ability to move around and play other positions on the line if needed. He should have a chance at making all 48 possible starts for the Green Wave and even more if they make a bowl. Redshirt freshman Junior Diaz is the backup at center. Despite being third on the team in career starts, junior right guard Chris Taylor (16 career starts) has a ton of potential as shown by his inclusion on the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy Watch Lists. His ability translates well to the NFL and he could end up on an NFL roster after the 2016 season. Redshirt junior Todd Jacquet backs up Taylor at guard. The only projected starting offensive lineman without a career start heading into the 2015 season is redshirt sophomore Kenneth Santa Marina. The 6-6, 305 pound tackle has looked good in the spring but is still green in game experience after only seeing the field on six occasions last fall. Redshirt freshman Devon Johnson is a Louisiana native and would love nothing more than to beat out Santa Marina and start for the home state Green Wave.

Defense: 

The Green Wave, looking to improve a defense that was already solid in 2014, have a group of defensive linemen that have experience and talent in the trenches. At one defensive end spot, senior Royce LaFrance (34 tkl, 11 tfl, 6 sacks) holds the position after leading the team in sacks and third on the team in tackles for loss in route to being named to the Lombardi Award Watch List for 2015. Redshirt freshman Robert Kennedy will see the first action of his college career as a backup. At the other defensive end position, the starting job is nowhere near determined as a quartet of sophomores in Daren Williams (10 tkl), Ade Aruna (7 tkl, 1 tfl, 1 sack), Luke Jackson, and Quinlan Carroll (2 tkl) are all fighting for playing time on the edge. In the middle, defensive tackles Tanzel Smart (47 tkl, 6.5 tfl, 2 sacks) and Sean Wilson (29 tkl, 2.5 tfl, 1 sack) are back after making a combined 19 starts last fall and should be able to clog of the middle as both are 275+ pound linemen. Backups Calvin Thomas and Corey Redwine (18 tkl, 1 tfl) should be able to give the starting duo some break in seeing the field quite a bit this fall. Overall, a solid four player rotation at tackle.

At linebacker, the Green Wave like to run a two man set due to the need to run quite a bit of nickel defense in the AAC. Weakside linebacker Nico Marley (82 tkl, 13.5 tfl, 0.5 sacks) ended last season as the team's second leading tackler and leader of tackles for loss despite being tiny for an FBS linebacker at 5-9, 207 pounds. The junior has made 24 total starts with over 140 career tackles and 23.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt sophomore William Townsend (9 tkl) will spell Marley when needed at the weakside spot. Junior Eric Thomas (30 tkl, 6 tfl, 1 sack) will man the middle linebacker spot after coming on as the season progressed for the Green Wave in 2014. He made three starts as a sophomore and looks to make all 12+ starts this fall as a stalwart in the middle. Sophomore Zachery Harris (6 tkl, 1.5 tfl) will back up Thomas in the middle.

Parry Nickerson

The Green Wave are very young in the defensive backfield but have a pair of good returning starters in cornerback Parry Nickerson (51 tkl, 2.5 tfl, 6 INT) and free safety Darion Monroe (73 tkl, 5 tfl, 1 sack, 2 INT). Nickerson, the starter at one cornerback slot, made 11 starts in 2014 and is on the preseason Jim Thorpe Award Watch List for the upcoming season. His six interceptions led the team last fall and he finished the season fourth on the team in tackles. Redshirt freshman Stephon Lofton will back up the talented Nickerson. At the other cornerback slot, junior Richard Allen (5 tkl) is the leader heading into fall camp to earn the starting role after helping on special teams in his first two seasons. Expect Allen to have some early struggles but pick up quickly to extended playing time. Redshirt freshman Donnie Lewis, Jr. will be on Allen's heels for that coveted starting position. At free safety, the Green Wave looks good with the return of Darion Monroe. The senior had made 37 starts for Tulane since he stepped on campus and finished the 2014 season ranked third on the team in tackles. Redshirt sophomore Tristan Cooper (2 tkl) will be ready in case of injury and should find his way on the field in certain situations. At strong safety, the Green Wave finally promote junior Leonard Davis (15 tkl. 0.5 tfl, 0.5 sacks) to the first team defense. Davis has slowly seen his role increase to this level after playing special teams as a freshman and as a reserve in 2014. If there is a player ready for the added responsibility, it is Davis. Redshirt freshman Carlton Williams will back up the junior starter this fall. At the all important nickel position, redshirt sophomore Jarrod Franklin is looking to make up for missed time in 2014 after sustaining a gruesome knee injury. The 5-11, 196 pound nickel back has the ability to cover in the passing game while also play as a third linebacker versus the run game, a rare ability. Sophomore Rene Fleury (2 tkl, 1 ff) will back up Franklin.

Special Teams: 

The Green Wave return starters as kicker, punter, and kickoff specialist which would normally give a team confidence heading into the upcoming season. Despite the return of kicker Andrew DiRocco for his sophomore season, an 8-15 season that saw him miss two from inside the 30 and two PAT attempts means accuracy is an issue. Senior Trevor Simms will back DiRocco up and take the long field goal attempts as well as handle kickoff duties. Simms landed 15 of his 34 kickoffs for touchbacks last fall. Senior Peter Picerelli will handle the punting duties after punting 71 times for a 37.7 yard average, a long of 61 yards, 18 landing inside the 20, and three going over 50 yards. Fellow senior Logan Hilton will back up Picerelli.

Overall: 

For a team like Tulane in a tough conference like the AAC, it is essential that at least one thing is done well (i.e. running the ball like Navy or throwing the ball like East Carolina). Sadly, the Green Wave is on the bad side on everything offensively with both the rushing and passing offenses ranking 87th or worse nationally. Not only does Tulane not move the ball, but they also struggle to score as evidenced by a 16.0 points per game average good for 124th nationally last fall. The Green Wave were held to 14 or fewer points on right occasions including a total of 16 points in the final three games of the season combined.

Tulane opens the 2015 slate with a visit from ACC foe Duke for a Thursday night game. The Blue Devils are coming off of a nine win season and should dominate the Green Wave in the Superdome on opening night. The Green Wave should drop to 0-2 on the season with a September 12 visit to Georgia Tech to try and stop that rushing attack. It will not happen and the Yellow Jackets should name their number in that game. The first chance for a win comes in week three with Maine coming to town. Tulane should be able to handle the Black Bears and gain some confidence in route to earning their first win of the season and improving to 1-2 overall.

Conference play kicks in to start October with the Green Wave playing their five toughest AAC games in the month of October. Trips to Temple, Navy, and Memphis while hostin UCF and Houston should result in a five game losing streak that will send Tulane into the month of November demoralized at 1-7 overall and 0-5 in AAC play. November brings new opportunity for the Green Wave as a visit from the dreadful Connecticut Huskies should result in a win followed by trips to Army and SMU. It would be huge for the future if Tulane can win those three games and improve to 4-7 with one game left in the season.

With a chance at five wins on the line, the Green Wave will fall just short in an exciting end of the season game versus Tulsa. Last season's game went two overtimes and this one could easily match the drama but I see Tulane falling just short. Prediction: 4-8.