Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Green Wave sign 4 preferred walk-ons

May 22, 2020
The Roll Wave Report


Two days after National Signing Day, the Green Wave have announced the signings of 4 preferred walk-ons for this upcoming season. They are:

• QB Jarrod East
• HB Jamal Monroe
• G Will Browning
• DT Josh Anderson

Josh Anderson was heavily recruited by Coach Willingham last season, but was not offered a scholarship after Willingham received a commitment from DT Christian Paris. Despite this, Willingham did like what he saw out of Josh. Enough to offer him a preferred walk-on spot on the roster. Jarrod East was also recruited by Coach Willingham, although not to play QB. Willingham wanted Jarrod to change positions but Jarrod refused at first. After much consideration, he changed his mind. East will likely play RB during his time in New Orleans. He could also see time at Wildcat QB. He'll become the slowest RB on Tulane's roster, but he's got enough skills to make up for it (He was an Option QB in high school, after all). Jamal Monroe will also change positions, moving from RB to WR. Will Browning could possibly see time this season as a backup OL, and could also play special teams. Browning & Monroe were not heavily recruited by Coach Willingham.

With these 4 walk-on commitments, Tulane's roster has reached the EA Sports NCAA maximum allowed of 70 players.

[thesportsguru11]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

You know you're 6-7 seasons in when Wyoming, Nevada and Bowling Green and Army are dominating recruiting.

The Slate reminds me of D-Ham, except faster. I think he could be a lot like Higgins in 2-3 years.

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

NCAA mandates mid-major conferences break up into 8-team leagues

May 25, 2020
12:00PM


More news coming out of NCAA Headquarters today that will directly affect conference realignment. In an effort to generate more revenue & encourage stronger non-conference play for mid-major schools, the NCAA announced a plan today that will dissolve the current mid-major conferences into smaller 8-team leagues. These leagues will be drafted based on geography & rivalries, in an attempt to further strengthen the brand of mid-major schools. Each school in an 8-team league will play just 7 conference games, but will have 5 non-conference games (2 more than the 16-team super-conferences will have). This will allow them to schedule more marquee non-conference games & bring in more revenue for their respective schools.

Mark Emmert (NCAA President): "It's all about bringing in more revenue for the small-conference schools, and giving them more publicity in the sports world. They'll have a smaller conference schedule, which will allow them to play more big games out-of-conference, which will make more money, and give them more attention."

Emmert said at a press conference this morning that the conferences themselves will have input on the drafting of these new leagues, but the NCAA Front Office will make final decisions. Many of the major media companies will also have input, as they will re-issue new TV deals based on these 8-team conferences. Emmert said there will be 7 new 8-team leagues, who will play alongside the 4 power conferences that have expanded to 16 members. Emmert hopes that, with the power conferences now bloated, the smaller leagues will have better opportunities to showcase themselves. The new conferences are expected to be announced soon, and will take effect for THIS upcoming season.

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

You know you're 6-7 seasons in when Wyoming, Nevada and Bowling Green and Army are dominating recruiting.

The Slate reminds me of D-Ham, except faster. I think he could be a lot like Higgins in 2-3 years.

Actually, we're 8 seasons in...

Slater isn't as athletic as Higgins (then again, who is?), but he could be a good one. His accuracy needs a lot of work though, and his rushing skills could use some touching up.

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

NCAA releases new 8-team conferences
Kansas State joins Mountain West; WAC returns; New northeast conference created

June 1, 2020
11:00AM


A week after the NCAA mandated that FBS mid-major conferences split up into 8-team leagues, they & the mid-major conference commissioners have agreed to a reasonable split of the schools. As part of this split, 2 new conferences will arise, and 3 schools will go independent. Hawai'i, who announced this past season their plans to go independent, will rejoin one of these conferences.


BYU, Boise State, Kansas State headline new Mountain West
After being left out in the cold by their former Big 12 brethren, Kansas State will join a reconfigured Mountain West that will include power hitters BYU & Boise State. The MWC will stretch from Kansas to California, and will include many up-and-coming programs.

Members: Kansas State, BYU, Boise State, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado State, Nevada, San Diego State

Return of the WAC!
The schools that were left out of the reconfigured Mountain West agreed to form their own new conference, and are grabbing back to the past for a name. The Western Athletic Conference (aka "WAC") will sponsor football once again, and its members will be the schools left out of the MWC. They also grabbed independents New Mexico State & Idaho, as well as Conference USA's UTEP, to make it an even 8.

Members: Utah State, UNLV, Fresno State, San Jose State, New Mexico State, Idaho, UTEP, Hawai'i

C-USA, Sun Belt will not merge
A rumor circulated months ago that members of both Conference USA & the Sun Belt agreed to a merger that would see the rise of a 12+ member mid-major conference. Those plans fell through with the NCAA's new mandate on mid-major conferences, and instead both C-USA & the Sun Belt will become separate 8-team leagues. In order to create these leagues, some shuffling occurred between the 2 conferences. UTSA & Mid Tenn State agreed to leave C-USA for the Sun Belt, reuniting them with rivals Texas State & Western Kentucky, respectively. FIU & FAU (both former members of the Sun Belt) agreed to remain in Conference USA.

C-USA Members: Rice, North Texas, Tulsa, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, UAB, FIU, FAU

Sun Belt Members: UTSA, Texas State, UL Monroe, UL Lafayette, Arkansas State, Troy, Mid Tenn State, Western Kentucky

MAC splits in half; other half forms new conference
The MAC had plans to realign its divisions for this upcoming season. But with the NCAA's new mandate, they had to abandon those plans. The league agreed to geographically split in half, with the western half remaining in the MAC & the eastern half forming its own league. The dividing line was through Ohio, with Miami-OH, Toledo & Bowling Green remaining in the MAC. Thus Ohio, Akron & Kent State will create a new conference with UMass, Buffalo, Marshall, and a few others. They plan to call their new league the "Northeast Athletic Conference", otherwise known as the "NEAC". To expand the conference to 8, they invited AAC members UConn & Temple.

MAC members: Miami (OH), Toledo, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Ball State, Northern Illinois

NEAC members: Akron, Kent State, Ohio, Marshall, Temple, Buffalo, UConn, UMass

Service Academies go independent
Army was already an independent prior to the new mandate, but Navy & Air Force were members of different conferences. With these changes, both the Middies & Falcons have decided to join their Black Knight brethren in independence. This will allow them to schedule & recruit nationally, as one would expect from the US Military schools. Under the NCAA's new system, the service academies will be the ONLY independents.

Independents: Army, Navy, Air Force

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

AAC becomes "Big East" once again
Louisville, Cincinnati to rejoin their former league

June 1, 2020
4:30PM


The American Athletic Conference has reached an agreement to call itself the "Big East" once again. The 10 basketball schools that were under the Big East moniker have agreed to call themselves the "Greater Catholic League", or "GCL" for short. As part of the new naming agreement, former Big East members Louisville & Cincinnati have decided to join the league once again. The move will reunite them in the same conference since Louisville left for the ACC in 2014. Memphis has also decided to remain in the league, as they were scheduled to depart for the now-defunct Big 12 this upcoming season.

The Big East will include now-former AAC members Louisville, Cincinnati & Memphis, along with Houston, SMU, East Carolina & the two Florida schools UCF & USF. This lineup puts it alongside the new Mountain West as the nation's top mid-major conferences.

Big East Members: Louisville, Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston, SMU, East Carolina, Central Florida, South Florida

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

It appears for now that conference realignment is over. Here's how the conferences stand right now.


Power Conferences

Mid-major conferences, Independents

[mattrd39]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

As a Washington fan, I thought it would have been awesome to get Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State into the Pac-10/16 like was rumored during the expansion, so looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

If those were the conferences this year in real life, I'd probably rank them 1-SEC (the regular 14 plus Baylor and TCU - yikes!), 2-Pac-16, 3-ACC, 4-Big Ten. But they are pretty balanced and I like that they worked out.

Do you have any power rankings for them based on where teams are at this point in your dynasty?

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

As a Washington fan, I thought it would have been awesome to get Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State into the Pac-10/16 like was rumored during the expansion, so looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

If those were the conferences this year in real life, I'd probably rank them 1-SEC (the regular 14 plus Baylor and TCU - yikes!), 2-Pac-16, 3-ACC, 4-Big Ten. But they are pretty balanced and I like that they worked out.

Do you have any power rankings for them based on where teams are at this point in your dynasty?

Texas, Oklahoma & Oklahoma State should be great additions to the PAC. They'll give Oregon some much-needed competition (the PAC was getting weak). Texas Tech has got a tough road ahead though. The Big 12 was a strong conference last year. 5 of the 10 teams were ranked.

If I had to rank the conferences based on last season though, it would be 1. SEC, 2. B1G, 3. Pac-12/16, 4. ACC. The B1G is good but very top-heavy, the PAC was decent but only had 1 great team, and the ACC had a down year. I'll be releasing Power Rankings for all 11 conferences once the season starts (which isn't far away).

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

2020 Football Schedule Released
9 ACC games; Southern Miss rivalry renewed; No LSU

July 20, 2020
Tulane Athletics Office


The Tulane Green Wave 2020 football schedule was officially released today, as the program begins its 1st season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The season opens against former American Athletic Conference foe UConn, then Tulane hits the road for its first ACC game against Notre Dame. Our ACC home opener is against the Virginia Cavaliers. As a member of the ACC's "Southern Pod", Tulane will compete in Group B this season, alongside the "Northern Pod." The other 2 pods will be in Group A this year. The winner of Group B will face the winner of Group A in the ACC Championship Game, scheduled for early December. Homecoming this year is against Florida State, and Senior Day pits the Green Wave against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Non-conference play features UConn, Boise State and old-time rival Southern Miss. The Green Wave have not played the Golden Eagles since the 2015 Liberty Bowl. Tulane will not play arch-rival LSU this season, as neither team had a similar open date on the schedule this year. That series is expected to resume next season.

* = Homecoming
** = Senior Day



GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!
(504) WAVE-TIX

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Tulane speaks at ACC Media Day
Green Wave projected to win Group B, play Clemson in ACC Championship Game

August 3, 2020
Charlotte, NC


ACC Media Day kicked off today, as the conference kicks off its first season as a 16-team conference. Tulane Green Wave head coach Kaelyn Willingham took to the podium at the Charlotte Convention Center in Downtown Charlotte, NC, to talk about his football team & competing in the ACC for the first time ever. Tulane comes into this season as defending Rose Bowl Champions, and off a perfect 13-0 record last year. The Green Wave have not lost a conference game since December 2016, when they were in the American Athletic Conference.

Kaelyn Willingham: "Well first, I'd like to thank you all for welcoming us to the Atlantic Coast Conference. We're excited to be in this league, and you all have been very supportive. We got a good football team coming back this season, including 3 1000-yd rushers from last year. We've got our QB coming back, Adam Barnes, and I expect him to make much improvement in the passing game. We lost some key players on the defensive side of the ball, but we've got some guys right now ready to take over those spots. We've got a tough schedule, but we've got a great team here. I think we're gonna win a lot of games this year."

Tulane was voted by numerous ACC media members as the favorite to win Group B this season, and is expected to face projected Group A winner Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. The conference adopted the "Group A/Group B" division alignment in the off-season after switching to pod scheduling. The former "Atlantic/Coastal" divisions are no more. Tulane competes in the Southern Pod, and Northern Pod member Notre Dame was projected to finish 2nd in Group B. The Green Wave will face the Fighting Irish on September 5, in their ACC opener.

Willingham spoke about his team's inaugural ACC schedule.

Willingham: "I look at our schedule and I see a tough one. We open against UConn, a team we know & love. Then we hit the road to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. I expect that to be a VERY difficult game. BC, Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech. I'm excited for our Homecoming game against the Seminoles. Georgia Tech should be a good game, Miami is a team we know pretty well. Pittsburgh is Senior Day and we end the year at Syracuse. Hopefully we'll be in good shape by then."

Placed in Group B for this season, the Southern Pod will pair up with the Northern Pod for division play. The Carolina & Central Pods are paired up in Group A this year. Clemson (a member of the Central Pod) is projected to win Group A, while Tulane (a member of the Southern Pod) is projected to win Group B. The ACC Championship Game is scheduled for early December, right here in Charlotte.

Coach Willingham spoke about a few position battles entering Fall Camp, and a few Tulane players in attendance for Media Day spoke about those camp battles as well.

Willingham: "We've got some battles at wide receiver, we've got some battles at cornerback. We got a few spots open at linebacker too. Chris Davis & Corey Brown are our top 2 players at WR, but behind them is a question mark. Joe Fernandez has stepped his game up, and we've got 3 freshmen coming in. At CB, Robert Jennings & Dennis Williams are competing for playing time behind Rob Bryan & Sidney Walker. At LB it's a toss-up. Too many players to name out loud."

QB Adam Barnes: "We've got a lot of players playing hard right now. Everyone's fighting for their jobs. It makes for good competition, and I think we'll all be better for it."

WR Chris Davis: "A lot of guys are working hard at the WR spot. Joe's looking good, Corey's looking good. The incoming freshmen are doing good. We've got a good group here."

OLB Tom Grier: "We've got a lot of guys competing this year at LB. A lot of young guys with not much experience. It's up to us veterans to help get them going. I know Jason [Muhammad] & I are working hard to get these guys ready. I think we'll be fine for the opener."

Tulane opens the 2020 season on August 29, at home against the Connecticut Huskies.

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Tulane Fall Game Preview
Competitions at WR, LB, CB; QB battle brewing?

August 8, 2020
The Roll Wave Report


Fall Camp has officially arrived, and the Tulane football players take the field today for the 4th-annual Fall Game! The yearly tradition dates back to 2017, when Coach Kaelyn Willingham wanted to have a full scrimmage with all the players involved (including incoming freshmen). The event has become a spectacle in its own, drawing thousands each year since the first Fall Game in 2017. Now in 2020, the game takes on its own meaning, as the coaching staff evaluates its roster ahead of the season opener. There are a few position battles to look out for. The Roll Wave Report will list them here.


Wide Receiver
The top two players at WR are set with Chris Davis & Corey Brown. Behind them is a question mark. Junior Joe Fernandez has impressed in fall practice so far, but the remaining 3 candidates are all true freshmen. Anthony Thomas from Humble, TX was one of Tulane's prized recruits in this year's signing class, and he has the inside track on the slot receiver job. There are also Chad Jackson of Jacksonville, AL to watch out for, as well as walk-on Jamal Monroe from Detroit. Monroe is a converted RB that the coaches think has the ability to play WR.

Linebacker
The linebacking crew is very young & athletic. Unfortunately they are also very raw & inexperienced. The only ones that return with significant playing experience are OLBs Jason Muhammad & Tom Grier. Grier was a wrecking ball on defense last season, taking home the Bednarik, Nagurski & Best LB Awards. He had a 90-tackle season, topped with 8.5 sacks, 32 TFL & 2 INTs. Calvin Walker (the other half of that dominant linebacker group) has graduated, and there are numerous players looking to take his place. Most notably Jason Muhammad, whose minutes should increase greatly after spending much of last season as a Nickel LB. Other than that are freshmen & sophomores. The top youngsters to look out for in Fall Camp are Christian Larsen & Kevin Atkinson. Both listed at MLB on the team roster, they have the athleticism to move around in the Front 7, giving the coaching staff numerous options in terms of coverages & blitz packages. Also look out for sophomore 'backer James Robinson. The 3rd-year player saw time last season on mop-up duty, and has greatly impressed coaches with his knowledge of the playbook.

Cornerback
The cornerback position is truly a wild-card at this point in camp. All 6 CBs have impressed the coaching staff to some degree, and they all have a reasonable case for playing time. The problem? They're all inexperienced. Even the veterans. Rob Bryan & Nate Stewart have the most experience in the system, having played for Tulane for 4-5 years. Problem is, in those 4-5 years they haven't seen the field much. 2020 will be their one year to shine, and Coach Willingham hopes they can deliver. Sidney Walker was the top recruit in last year's signing class, and he saw limited time as a freshman. Now a sophomore, Walker looks to take that next step in his development. He's got the skills to do it too, easily the most athletic of the 6 CBs on the roster. There's RS junior Jabari Barrett to look out for, as well as incoming freshmen Robert Jennings & Dennis Williams. Jennings & Williams came to Tulane looking to play right out of the gate; can they out-play the veterans in the Fall Game?

Quarterback???
This shouldn't even be on the list, if you're a somewhat rational fan. But Coach Willingham insists that the QB job isn't exactly locked down pat. Adam Barnes was the top QB in what was supposed to be a 2-QB offense last season, and stole the show after a few dominating early-season performances. But he dipped toward the latter half of the season, leading some to believe his job may be on the line. Willingham hasn't given up on his QB yet, but reports are coming out of camp that #2 QB Cam Jackson has seen a lot of reps with the 1st-teamers so far. Expect Jackson to play with the First Team in today's Fall Game. Barnes was electric last season, but he was also careless with the football, leading to 14 turnovers on his behalf. The coaches will DEFINITELY want that number to decrease in 2020. Is more reps by Cam Jackson the answer?

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Here are the rules for the Tulane Fall Game:

Basics:

• No Game Clock
  Play Clock will be kept by the coaches, and will count down from :15 once the players break the huddle.
• No Kickoffs
  Each possession will begin from the 20-yard line.
• Each QB will be given 5 possessions on offense to work with. This will determine the duration of the game.
  (In 2020 there are 5 QB's on the roster, but only 4 will play in the Fall Game. This year's Fall Game will last exactly 20 possessions.)
• Rules concerning downs remain exactly the same. 4 downs for a 1st Down.
• Turnover on Downs will result in the ball being placed back at the 20-yd line. NO punts.
• During each possession the offense will work out of the same formation on every play, unless the QB decides to audible. The QB's themselves will decide the plays (They wear wristbands.).
• After each QB has run through his 5 possessions, that will be the end of 1 "quarter."
• Breaks will be taken after each "quarter."
• The offense's objective is to "make plays"; the defense's objective is to "break plays".
• NO Overtime. When both sides have equal points at the end of regulation, the result is a tie.

Offensive Scoring:

• Offensive scoring works the same (6 pts for a TD, 3 pts for a FG).
• After each TD scored on offense, a 2-pt attempt MUST be attempted (from the 3-yd line). No XP's.

Defensive Scoring:

Defensive scoring will work as follows:

• 3 pts for an INT
• 6 pts for a "Pick Six"
• 2 pts for a forced fumble
• 3 pts for a forced fumble AND recovery
• 6 pts for a forced fumble AND recovery AND return for touchdown
• 2 pts for a sack
• 2 pts for a safety
• 1 pts for forcing Turnover on Downs
• NO conversion attempt will be attempted after a defensive score.

The side that has the most points at the end wins. The Fall Game will be used as a way for the coaches to do an in-depth analysis of the players & their knowledge of the playbook. The Fall Game will be televised on local TV.

PRIZE: Winner gets a steak dinner, loser eats beans & wieners.

[RoundingThird]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

I called the number you listed to get tickets to the UConn game, but no one answered. Who can I talk to?

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

I called the number you listed to get tickets to the UConn game, but no one answered. Who can I talk to?

Well first of all, I highly doubt the Ticket Office is open at 10PM EST .

Please call back tomorrow morning. If you can get through, call me & I'll hook you up . Tickets are going fast!