Showing posts with label curtis johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curtis johnson. Show all posts
Green Wave fans, Homecoming is upon us. In 48 hours, the 6-3 Memphis Tigers will be entering Yulman Stadium with the hopes of spoiling a Tulane Homecoming. 

 Here to break it down in "Know Your Enemy" is John Martin, a columnist for ESPN 92.9 who specializes in all things Memphis Tigers. 

 He was cool enough to take some questions over email after covering the Memphis Tigers' big matchup with Christian Brothers University on the hardwood last night.

 Give John a follow on Twitter, and you can read his column on Memphis here.

 Let's see what the Tigers are thinking.

Q: This season has certainly shaped up to be an interesting year for the Tigers. For one, they haven't been to a bowl game since 2008. On top of that, they were picked to finish 7th -- behind UConn, SMU, and USF -- in the preseason media poll. What were the expectations of Memphis fans coming into this year? 

 This being Justin Fuente’s third year, I think Memphis fans expected to see more wins this season. There wasn’t a quarterback competition — Paxton Lynch locked it up — and the defense, particularly stout last season, was returning mostly everyone. Maybe a portion talked themselves into six wins, with home games against UConn and South Florida to end the year. But nobody expected this. 

 Nobody expected to go toe-to-toe with UCLA and Ole Miss for three quarters. Nobody expected to have the chance to win nine games and the American Athletic Conference championship. In a Tiger fan’s wildest of dreams, that scenario wasn’t on the table.


Q: Memphis is on a nice run since their bye, obliterating SMU and Tulsa by a combined score of 88-30, and then following with a solid win on the road at Temple. How much fire do the Tigers have right now after those wins and gaining bowl eligibility? 

 It’s a huge deal to be bowl eligible at Memphis, as you know. That hasn’t happened since 2008. Even Justin Fuente, a notoriously understated fellow, let himself celebrate after Jake Elliott’s game-winning field goal went through. People don’t realize how bad a shape the program was in when Fuente took over; they were low on scholarships, low on talent, low on attendance and low on hope. 
But Fuente, by way of not missing in recruiting and sharp evaluating, has this thing rolling, and Memphis is gonna have to find the resources to keep him from bolting in the offseason. With the AAC title still mathematically possible, the key for Memphis is to obviously not be satisfied with six wins.

 Q: Senior running back Brandon Hayes has been very solid with a 200 yard and three touchdown game against Tulsa and a 5.1 YPC average on the season. With Tulane's defensive strength in producing turnovers, what do you envision the Tigers' offensive game plan will look like?

  I don’t really expect Memphis to change its game plan; the Tigers have been pretty balanced all season long. They’re reasonably better at running the ball, with Hayes and possibly Sam Craft returning from injury this weekend, but Lynch has accounted for 18 total touchdowns this season, too. So I suspect it’ll be, as it has all season long, a healthy mix of run and pass.

 Q: Rick Ross made an appearance at the FedEx Forum for Josh Pastner at Memphis Madness. Has the football program thought about bringing in the big guns for this road trip?

  I think Rick Ross took up their entertainer budget for the year.

  Q: Tulane's offense has been inconsistent at times due to a dangerous combination of youth as well as injuries at quarterback, running back, and receiver. How do you think Memphis will stack up on defense to Tanner Lee's offense?

 Memphis’ defense, when at full strength, is tough to handle. The Tigers have ball-hawking defensive backs like Bobby McCain and Chris Morley and they’ve got a havoc-wreaking defensive lineman in Martin Ifedi. There just aren’t many weak links in the Memphis defense, and they thrive off of causing mistakes.

 Q: While I am sure Tigers fans are gearing up for those heralded Memphis vs. Tulane matchups in basketball, do you see a strong contingent of Tigers making the drip down to Yulman? 

  You know, that’s an interesting question. It’d all depend on the hotel availability, which doesn’t seem ideal this weekend with the Saints in town. Maybe a few hundred?

  Q: If you were given the choice for a world where Coach Calipari stays for the 2009 Memphis season but Memphis football could not reach bowl eligibility until 2025, do you take the deal? 

  2025 is a long time, man. And that season would’ve been vacated anyway, probably.

  Q: Prediction for the game on Saturday? 

  Let’s go 31-14, Memphis. (Sorry, Tulane. New day.)

Sept. 17, 2011. That was the date of the last Tulane road victory outside of the state of Louisiana. In this millennium, the word that has defined Tulane has been: struggle.

That has never been more true over the past decade than on the road, where wins were few and far between.

The narrative this week was that this team was done.

With a road trip to the Houston Cougars, favored by a full 18 points by the folks in Vegas, many believed this team was headed for another disappointment.

Instead, the Green Wave produced what was hands down the most impressive win of the Curtis Johnson era. Houston was no joke. With a victory, they were set to clinch bowl eligibility for another year and regain control of the American Conference atop the AAC standings.
Tulane jumped out to an early lead with a Tanner Lee touchdown following an interception of the first quarter. In the end, the Green Wave went wire-to-wire, controlling the momentum for nearly the entire game.

The only exception: two minutes of disaster at the end of the first half, when a Tulane fumble bobbled into the end zone, and the Cougars snagged it for a TD. 14-14. On the next drive, with Tanner Lee taking his offense down the field, an interception on third down set up a field goal, allowing the Cougars to head to the end zone with a 17-14 lead.

Tulane has struggled to put together complete games this year. There's no question about it. Until today, the Green Wave had never reclaimed a lead in a game where they were trailing.
They did today. Tanner Lee immediately responded by throwing his third touchdown of the day against the #4 pass defense in the country.
Just a great throw and a solid catch on that fade route.

Now the game looked all but over in the fourth quarter. With less than 9 minutes remained, CB Parry Nickerson grabbed an interception, bringing his total for the year to five.

We just had to wait for the clock to strike zero. However, Houston managed to put together one good drive in the half, and scored with less than 2:00 remaining. Now here is where it gets sticky.

Down by one touchdown, Houston goes for the onside kick. A Cougar blatantly crosses the line before the kick, a seemingly obvious offsides call. Tulane bumbles the ball, and Houston recovers, but a flag is on the field for the offsides.

The AAC official chose to pick up the laundry, and the fumble recovery was good. Curtis Johnson was incensed. Houston proceeded to move down the field to the red zone, within yards of the house on 4th down and the game on the line.

Parry Nickerson, who was nearly ejected in the first quarter, made a game saving interception for his team. Tulane won on the road outside its state for the first time since 2011. They did it against a defense ranked higher than LSU. And they did it, most importantly, with no excuses.
Great game. Beat Memphis. It's Homecoming.

A rare appearance on national television was not kind to the Green Wave on Halloween night. Despite entering Yulman Stadium with an astounding 8-0 record, Tulane endured a 38-14 beating at the hands of the Cincinnati Bearcats in front of a sparse home crowd.

Yikes. I don't really have a need to talk much about this game. I have made an active effort not to read any of the fan boards because I don't like ruining my Saturday and I pretty much know what is going to be there.

Here's a funny picture of a creepy Cat in the Hat though.


Look how lonely that creepy Cat in the Hat is. But I digress. Tulane went to halftime with a 24-0 deficit. The worst part is that it didn't have to be that way.

Tulane showed up for this one, at first. On superstar QB Gunner Kiel's first throw, Parry Nickerson picked off the Cincy gunslinger. He was abruptly benched for the rest of the game. Good news, right?

Well then Tanner Lee marches his team down the field completing every pass on the way. Maybe he has some Manning at Isidore Newman blood in him, who knows? The kid looked great though.

In the red zone, Tulane couldn't break through when going for the touchdown on fourth. Then it was all Munchie Legaux, graduate of the nearby Karr High School, for the rest of the half.

Cincy just straight up rolled through the Tulane defense. Nothing was stoppable. Pressure the QB? Munchie would float one to the screen for 30 yards. Try to cover the spread? Watch a Bearcats RB break through the line at twice the speed of our linebackers.

It just got out of hand. No way around that. Now that being said, there is one thing that I loved. 

 This team --- all year --- has come out of the locker room flat. They scored one touchdown in the third quarter of every game combined up to this point. Not this time.

Tanner Lee led his team on the opening drive to make it a 24-7 game. Tulane wasn't done. Darion Monroe picked off a charging Munchie on the next drive. After that, it was Lee time once again, who looked sharp and smart in the pocket, culminating in a TD throw in the red zone.

24-14. It's a game. Two scores. Maybe the Bearcats were getting a little ahead of themselves, but who knows? Tulane looked like a real team.

Then this happened.


Munchie hits a gentleman named Shaq Washington, who put in a phenomenal effort to haul this pass in. It is ruled a touchdown on the field. As the replay and the screenshot above shows though, the ball essentially rested on the receiver --- not in control -- until he crosses that boundary when he gets his hand back onto the ball. It is bobbling until he crosses out of bounds. The good folks of ESPN 2 confidently believed this one was coming back.

It did not. And the game was 31-14 and out of reach entering the fourth quarter. Look, I am not going to bellyache about this too much. When you put your team down by 24, you are one bad break from letting a game get away. I think it was a shitty call, but that is my $.02.

Regardless though, the momentum was gone. The air was sucked out of Yulman. And as the commentators noted, it seemed like Munchie's 75 friends and family in attendance made up about half of the total audience at that point.

Absolutely brutal. At least this dude perfectly timed going Hulk on his t-shirt for the ESPN cameras. Nice work, bro.



It isn't often you can can look at a 47-13 loss and think that the teams were somewhat evenly matched, but to the fans who watched the matchup today, that feeling is tough to forget.

In the defeat, Tulane produced 375 yards of offense to Duke's 437. Not exactly the kind of line you would expect in a 34 point loss. So what happened?

1. Duke Never Lost Control 

 If there is a reason to walk away frustrated after a game like this, it's because of the many flashes the Green Wave showed today. While the defense looked outmatched in the first series of the game when Duke ran for an easy touchdown, Tanner Lee and the Gang responded with a crisp, professional drive to the end zone to make the game 7-7.

Another touchdown later, Tulane was snapping the ball over the punter's head to hand the Blue Devils a safety and make the game 16-7.

When the teams came back from the half, a Duke received uncharacteristically beat Lorenzo Doss almost immediately for a huge game and to set up another touchdown. This is where we're all thinking it's about to go down the tubes, but the Green Wave responds with a critical touchdown.

That's where things got crazy. First, Tulane committed a false start on the extra point and then followed with a wide left extra point attempt.

Then the defense put together a great stand, looking extremely hungry and bringing up the stop with a three and out (which almost was ended by an interception). However, a Duke punt led to a Tulane fumble, and the Blue Devils controlled the game from that point forward.

2. Special Teams are a Nightmare 

 Advocate beat writer Scott Kushner has been the Chicken Little in this regard for months now, but the special teams situation in Uptown is an absolute disaster.

As you can see in the kick above, we're struggling with basically anything that involves putting a foot on a ball.

It got worse though. As the game was out of reach, a dropped Tulane snap led to Peter Piccerelli trying to make a run for it. That wasn't that bad, though the conventional wisdom is to hit the deck.

As he went down, the ball came out, and Tulane managed to retrieve it. At that point, you can see what happens next.

3. In better news, Lazedrick Thompson killed it. 

 Thompson had his best game of the season, by far. On top of the 124 yards he put up, he was a reliable runner on virtually every competent Tulane drive this game. When they needed yards, Thompson was able to step up for it.

While it would have been great to see the "thunder and lightning" running back combo with freshman standout Sherman Badie, Badie entered the game a bit banged up and listed as questionable to play. The run game, by far was the strength of the offense today.

4. Tanner Lee Struggles with Location 

 It's important to remember that Tanner Lee is a freshman, and Duke is a good team with a defense that was able to put pressure on Johnny Football last season during bowl season.

Unfortunately, Tanner was not able to find his rhythm today and coughed up three turnovers, including one in the first half that killed the team's momentum after a strong drive to the end zone.

The final line: 14/35, 160 yards, 3 interceptions, 0 TD

5. Some Perspective Though 

 Especially after the strong start last year, it's easy to be disappointed in the 1-3 start to this season, especially with the historic opening of Yulman Stadium.

That said, the combined record of the three teams Tulane lost to is now 9-2. Both Georgia Tech and Duke are both undefeated and in position to contend for their conference's title this year.

Unlike previous season, Tulane's schedule is clearly front-loaded, with a few other extremely challenging matchups in the late season (circle East Carolina, because the Pirates are going to be looking for revenge after last year).

With a trip to Rutgers this week, Tulane will have a good shot to bounce back and built some momentum.

6. FearTheWave.com Prediction Review: Duke 42, Tulane 17 

 Came pretty close on this one. Like I said, the 47-13 final score is not reflective of how the first three quarters looked, when the teams had a good chance to trade blows. When the train was off the rails, the Blue Devils put up two more touchdowns with a Tanner Lee pick six and the crazy play off the botched punt you saw above.

Once again, the Green Wave showed flashes of its tremendous upside but was bogged down by turnovers, unnecessary penalties, and a truly struggling special teams unit.

Nice work @TheHullabaloo. You can download the poster with the 2014 Tulane Football schedule right here.

The border at the bottom is a nice touch. As you can remember from the pictures of Yulman Stadium once the turf was put down a couple weeks ago, we'll be using our own checkered end zone (think: University of Tennessee).

Great work. Download it today at the link above.

I've been running this blog for a few years now. We've pretty much gone through the entire spectrum of human emotion at this point.

There was Bob Toledo "resigning" before we even made it to Homecoming weekend. There was the winningest basketball season in years, followed by the immediate departure of every rising star in the Tulane basketball program. (Side note: I am kind of proud, in hindsight, for dubbing that Black Tuesday. Real dramatic stuff here on this blog...). 

And then there was the collective jubilation of Tulane notching its first bowl eligible season since 2003, breaking down a Tulsa team that had thoroughly dominated the program for years. 

So yeah, there are serious highs and lows with following this program. At any rate, to summarize what happened on National Signing Day (NSD) 2014, I think this tweet pretty much hit the nail on the head. 
It's still early to make a bold prediction that the program is reaching a new stratosphere (at least so we don't jinx it). That said, I think days like today pretty much epitomize the differences between the way Coach Curtis Johnson and Co. are running this program compared to past regimes.

1. Louisiana is Tulane Country. 20 of the 24 signees hail from Louisiana. Many of them are in the New Orleans metro. The Green Wave is successfully getting a foothold in one of the country's best recruiting states.

2. The players are noticeably fired up to be apart of it. For anyone following the action on Twitter today, it was pretty clear that the Green Wave's newest members are amped up to leave their mark. That's not to say that previous classes haven't had that kind of energy. This one just seems to be going above and beyond, certainly building on the recent success and "going up" feel of this program, as a whole.

3. Sought-after recruits are taking Tulane seriously now. Grabbing six recruits off of the Nifty Fifty is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, the day got off to a great start with John Leglue of Alexandria flipping from the dreaded University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns to join the program.
In the end, Tulane captured all 24 of 24 targets on Feb. 5, 2014. Coach Johnson made it clear that this is the class he wanted, and even that it would exceed the "miracle" class of 2013.
At any rate, congratulations to the coaching staff and signees who are joining a rising program. I think for any Green Wave fan, you couldn't really have asked for much more, unless Leonard Fournette had decided last night that he would pursue a Tulane University diploma.

This will be the first class to start their careers at the new, on-campus Yulman Stadium, and I think it's pretty clear the Wave is headed in the right direction.

Here are some more key moments from today, in no particular order.

Peter Woullard of St. Augustine signs with Tulane during the school's ceremony:  
Tulane hosts its NSD Party at City Diner (formerly the Rat): 
WR Leondre James of Donaldsonville takes home "Best NSD Bowtie": 
Coach CJ lets the media know that he will stop spring practices before Mardi Gras: 

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd... we're back. Yep, you probably heard already. Tulane Football will be opening a new four game series with traditional rival Georgia Tech, after all. That was the plan to begin with, at least as we may have thought waking up yesterday morning.

But that's not how the Green Wave rolls, am I right? Look at all that we received in 2013. The Curtis Johnson Administration put the program on the map again. Tulane competed in one of the most interesting bowl games of the season. A new stadium was on the horizon. Numerous Louisiana recruits made their commitment to join the program.

So what we needed was a good, old-fashioned Toledo-era day of crazy. And we got it. And more.

Here's a review of the big moments leading to the cancellation of the Tulane-Georgia Tech series, and the late night announcement that the game was back on for Sept. 6. The tl;dr is this: Tulane will be hosting Georgia Tech in New Orleans on Sept. 6. The stadium is unclear, but it's on.

Let's get weird.

1. Background: Tulane's non-conference schedule was coming together with Georgia Tech at the new Yulman Stadium. Away games against fellow-ACC member Duke and Rutgers were also in place.
2. ESPN breaks the story that Tulane was choosing to cancel the Georgia Tech series --- two sets of "home and home" games --- over issues with getting the stadium ready.

3. Tammy Nunez reports that the schedule is shifting other places too. Tulane's season opener with Southeastern Louisiana would also be moved due to stadium-related shuffling.

4. The message inside the program seems to confirm that Georgia Tech officially had a fork in it. Rising sophomore Nico Marley says he doesn't care about the opponent with a little Nick Saban nod.
5. Oh wait. Scott Kushner has the scoop that maybe the game isn't really off. Things are getting weird, and the Tulane fan base is losing it on Twitter.
6. Beat writer Tammy Nunez says insiders called Georgia Tech's declaration "premature." Seems to put blame on GT for making the decision before all of the cards were on the table.
7. Scott Kushner comes back to confirm that the series is officially back on, per Tulane sources.
8. Unclear if my proposal to play the game on the field at the Fly was taken into consideration by either Athletic Department.
9. Georgia Tech's AD confirms that the game is back on, and it will be played in New Orleans, after all.
10. Finally, most recent report suggests that the game is likely headed back to the Superdome, should the new stadium not be ready in time for the game. ANOTHER DOME PARTY!

Tulane will meet Florida Atlantic University, a member of Conference USA's East Division, at 4 PM Central time.

Here are the storylines for the day. Also, quick explanation of the picture. FAU made headlines earlier this year when GEO Group, a private prison firm, bought the naming rights to their stadium. So if you didn't love FAU before... their Board of Trustees is partially controlled by the folks who make money keeping people behind bars.

Here's what to look for.

1. Tulane is the only undefeated team left in Conference USA play. Rice tumbled to 4-1 after losing an away matchup against the University of North Texas on Thursday night. That means both the Division title and (let's not get ahead of ourselves, but still...) the Conference Championship homefield advantage are in the Green Wave's hands.

2. The 2-6 FAU Owls have obviously, as we all know, lost their Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator in the last week. As the Charlotte Observer points out, times were already tough for the Owls prior to this controversy. The biggest question is whether the players can find a way to channel a lot of negative energy into something positive on their Homecoming game.

3. Everybody loves CJ. Coach Curtis Johnson got a nice write-up by USA Today Sports yesterday. First one to find a quote from CJ taking credit for success wins. I've never seen an interview where he doesn't immediately credit the assistant coaching staff and players.

4. Tulane kicking rockstar Cairo Santos is familiar with Palm Beach, Florida. He will be back here after the season while in the running for another Lou Groza award after a great 2013 campaign thus far.

5. We have no idea what the Tulane offense is going to look like. Presumed starter Nick Montana took most of the snaps this week in practice. Coach CJ has not ruled out the possibility of utilizing both RS freshman Devin Powell and the banged up Montana in this one.

6. Tulane is the underdog, once again. In the six wins so far this year, the folks in the desert have put Tulane in the doghouse 5 times. So even in spite of all the craziness this week,  we can confidently say that the Green Wave still has a chip on their shoulder.

Lastly, roll damn wave.

It's Monday. Tulane is working to pack the dome this weekend when Tulsa heads to New Orleans to try to dampen this 2013 campaign.

Catch up on the Tulane news with our link roundup.

1. CBS Sports: Curtis Johnson was on CBS Sports' "Inside College Football." Coach CJ talked about keeping the team fresh and giving them a bye week after the triple overtime thriller with ECU.

2. Reuters Team Report - A breakdown of Conference USA puts Tulane, Rice, and ECU as the only three real threats for the conference championship. Interesting breakdown from top-to-bottom.

3. Times-Picayune - The final price tag for Yulman Stadium will be $73 million, according to AD Rick Dickson. The stadium is set for its 2014 opening.

4. Times-Picayune - Good Tammy Nunez piece providing the history of the CJ era as the team rebounded from the Bob Toledo disaster.

5. USA Today - Tulane is the "Most Surprising Team" of 2013, according to USA Today sports.
Of course, today is the start of the much heralded 2013 NFL Draft. While the Green Wave won't produce any first round pick (this year, at least), Tulane QB Ryan Griffin has pulled off a rare feat.

Despite a snub from the NFL combine, Griffin has managed to improve his draft stock in the postseason, primarily through his private workouts with NFL franchises.

In fact, Griffin has received more private workouts with teams than any other QB in the draft, including Matt Barkley, Geno Smith, and E.J. Manuel. As a result, the blogosphere seems pretty confident that Griffin will hear his name called at some point over the next few days; an achievement that was very much up in the air a few months ago.

And with that, here's a roundup with what you need to know about quarterback Ryan Griffin.

1. According to the NFL's Around the League blog, Griffin is drawing interest from the Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and San Diego Chargers. The overall weakness of this year's quarterback class certainly doesn't hurt. This is prime-time for a guy like Griffin to make a team's roster.

2. Scouts are warming up to Griffin for a couple reasons. He's 6'4", so he has the physical size to play at the highest level. They also dig his quick release and arm strength, as SB Nation notes.

3. ESPN Senior Analyst Chris Mortensen has started using the hashtag #sleeper when discussing Griffin's chances. I think that's cool, at least...

4. San Diego, in particular, seems like it might put Griffin on the board. The Chargers' QB coach praised Griffin after their private workout, and the QB situation in SD is always interesting. The coach also likened Griffin's style and ability to his own career in the NFL.

5. Griffin is also earning some buzz in the Pittsburgh Steelers' circle. The Steelers are a team that always struggle with depth (having utilized second and third string quarterbacks in the last two seasons). With no real interest in an early QB, Griffin might be a prime pickup for the 6-time Super Bowl champions.

6. Last but not least, here's ESPN analyzing the draft and calling Griffin the best player potentially available on day 3 of the draft.

There you have it. Roll wave.

Here's your weekend link roundup of Green Wave stories. Since last week...

1. Ed Conroy gets another addition to next year's freshman class. LA Times reports that Josh Hearlihy, a Harvard-Westlake product, will be taking his talent to New Orleans. He's 6'7" and formerly was headed to play for Utah. Here's the full story on JH.

2. Yulman Stadium, the new on-campus football facility, is on its way to 2014 completion, according to the Times Pic. Pretty aggressive construction schedule, all things considered. Couple of interesting quotes on the new stadium as a recruiting tool.

3. Tulane QB Ryan Griffin made the front page of NFL.com. See that here. In a story about the "diamonds in the rough" of this year's draft class, they cite Griffin as a talented passer who could make waves in his NFL future.

4. Roll Bama Roll announces that former Tulane guard Ricky Tarrant is officially signed to the Crimson Tide. So it goes. That's all I have to say there.

5. Here's Peter Woullard's Instagram announcing his decision to play football for the Green Wave. Woo social media. Full story on the St. Augustine recruit here.

Now that the high school class of 2014 is getting into the commitment cycle, I wanted to keep a running tab here on Coach Johnson's progress.

If you see that I am missing someone, please make sure to leave a comment or tweet at me. I'll keep it updated as best as possible.

Roll Wave.

Commitments from HS Class of 2014 as of 4/18

1. Glen Cuiellette - QB (6'1"/205) :: Rivals :: Scout

Cuielette is the first Tulane signing of the 2014 class. He led his Mandeville squad to Louisiana's state Class 5A semifinal game as a junior. He was ranked no. 18 in the "Fantastic Forty" for the upcoming season. Will likely employ his football IQ and athleticism as a safety or linebacker.

2. Sean Wilson - DL (6'4"/265) :: Scout 

Wilson is a defensive lineman out of South Plaquemines. He's the second recruit from 2014, and he is also the second LA native. Wilson's speed is another big asset for the rising senior.

3. Peter Woullard - DE (6'3"/240) :: Rivals 

Woullard is a product of St. Augustine and will become the third LA commitment from this class. Great physical skills. Woullard picked up interest from FSU, Ole Miss, and Mississippi St. but decided to stay local. Parents said they loved CJ's pitch about what Tulane has to offer after four years.

Basketball season is over, and the 2013 baseball campaign continues on... So mostly Tulane made headlines for football news this past week. Here is a link roundup.

1. Tulane might be sporting a new helmet look, according to SB Nation. Players showed off 7 new potential helmet designs with a few new logo schemes for the football team.

2. From NOLA.com, the Tulane matchup against new conference foe Louisiana Tech will be moved to a Thursday night (Sep. 12) for a national TV broadcast.

3. Tammy Nunez reports that ex-Tulane guard Ricky Tarrant is making his anticipated visit to Alabama this weekend. The CUSA second-team guard confirmed that report via Twitter.

4. Former Tulane QB merited some attention after his Tulane pro day, held at the Saints practice facility, the Hullabaloo reports. CB Travis Smith laid it down, as well.

That's all for now. Follow Fear the Wave on Twitter.
© Copyright FearTheWave.com Designed by Template Trackers