I believe in Tim Rebowe
September 2, 2015
LSU loaded with returnees in 2015
September 2, 2015
Tulane’s first season in the American Athletic Conference didn’t go the way the team planned.
But with a lot of returnees and an exciting recruiting class coming in, the Green Wave are hopeful that things will get better in short order.
Tulane was 3-9 this past season – a disappointing start to the program’s history in the AAC. But fourth-year head coach Curtis Johnson said 2014’s demons are in the past and the Green Wave are focused on a better, brighter future — one that Johnson hopes will be capped with an opportunity to play a postseason game.
“I would be very disappointed if we didn’t get to a bowl game this year,” Johnson said on Monday at the Green Wave’s Preseason Media Day. “It’s a tough schedule, but if you look at who we have with the athleticism, we just need to cut down on our mistakes.”
Being more mistake-free like Johnson mentioned should be easier because of all the familiar faces in Tulane’s starting lineup.
The Green Wave were very young this past season, but are much more experienced this fall. Tulane returns 23 lettermen who have starting experience, including several of the team’s top players from 2014.
One of those guys is sophomore quarterback Tanner Lee, who started 10 games this past season and had freshman success.
Lee completed 185-of-336 passes for 1,962 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season – numbers that shattered the Green Wave’s freshman record book.
With a full offseason to better learn the team’s system, Johnson said he thinks that the quarterback will have a big year.
Lee agrees. He said that the extra experience is noticeable in practices, and things are going much more smoothly than one year ago.
“Definitely,” Lee said when asked if he thought 2015 would be better. “We’re hoping on improving. We’re getting older. We’ve all got that year of experience. We want to win the conference. We want to make a bowl game, and we want to start being more competitive.”
In addition to Lee, the Green Wave also return skill players like running backs Lazedrick Thompson and Sherman Badle, receivers Terren Encalade and Teddy Veal and also tight end Charles Jones.
Johnson said Thompson is a guy to keep an eye on this fall, thanks to his 6-foot, 220-pound frame and a passion for rough, physical play.
“I’m telling you – Lazedrick Thompson is a grown man,” Johnson said. “He’s continuing to improve and I didn’t think he could be much bigger and better.”
The guys blocking for Thompson and Tulane’s halfbacks are bigger and better, as well. Tulane returns four out of five starters on the offensive line, including Arturo Uzdavinis, Colton Hanson, Nathan Shienle and Chris Taylor.
Johnson said those players improved in the offseason and will be the backbone of Tulane’s offense.
“I think our offensive line is going to be good,” Johnson said. “They’re big guys. They’re physical. They’ve been around the most.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Green Wave will look to build on a unit that sometimes showed flashes of brilliance.
Tulane allowed 28 points per game in 2014, which isn’t all that good. But a lot of those scores were because of turnovers, which led to opponents getting prime field position. The Green Wave allowed 20 or fewer points in four games last season, including a 10-3 loss against Temple to close the season.
Tulane brings back senior defensive end Royce LaFrance and sophomore defensive tackle Sean Wilson on that unit – players who combined for 18 starts this past season. Also returning is massive, 302-pound defensive tackle Tanzel Smart – a player who recorded 47 tackles this past season with two sacks.
At linebacker, Nico Marley is back after an 82-tackle campaign this past fall. And in the secondary, Tulane has three starters back, including safety Darion Monroe, Parry Nickerson and Richard Allen.
Johnson said he thinks the Green Wave’s defense has a chance to not just be good, but to be great. He thinks that if the chips fall in the right places that the unit can dominate opponents.
“I think we can be an outstanding defense,” Johnson said. “I like what (defensive coordinator) Lionel Washington is doing. We’re doing a couple different things than what we’ve done in the past. We feel like we can match the physicality a little bit more and be a bit more complicated in some areas.”
But even with all of the returnees, the Green Waves will have a pretty tough road.
Tulane opens 2015 with back-to-back games against Duke and Georgia Tech – two teams who were in bowl games out of the Atlantic Coast Conference a year ago.
Inside of the American Athletic Conference, Tulane will lock horns with successful programs like Central Florida, Memphis, Navy and Temple.
The first year in the league was rough.
But with the start of a new season and virtually all of the same players on the field, the Green Wave have a lot of confidence that 2014’s three-win season is going to be nothing more than just a small blip in the radar.
Johnson said he actively is recruiting fans to buy tickets to Tulane’s new on-campus stadium to create a dynamic home-field advantage for home games.
“You see the people and everyone is excited about it,” Johnson said. “We just need to play better, and I think we will.”
