Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Tulane Green Wave season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Tulane Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 7-6 overall, 5-3 in American Athletic
Head Coach: Willie Fritz, 4th year, 16-21
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE TULANE OFFENSE
– The offense didn’t totally abandoned the rushing style that head coach Willie Fritz might like, but it was still able to crank out the yards on the ground averaging 218 per game and 401 overall for the O. The top backs return, with, 230-pound, 1,000-yard senior Darius Bradwell combining with 200-pound, 785-yard fellow senior Corey Dauphine. In all the top four running backs are there, but …
– Three starters are done on the O line that had a hard time keeping defenses out of the backfield. 6-4, 300-pound Corey Dublin is a decent veteran center, but there isn’t much in the way of overall bulk, and it’ll take fall camp to come up with the right starting five. If the line can be better in pass protection …
– The passing game that was decent should be a whole lot sharper. Justin McMillan is back after running for five scores and throwing for 1,304 with ten touchdowns and four picks as part of a two-man combination last season. With Jonathan Banks done, Southern Miss transfer Keon Howard will be the veteran backup if he’s not able to take the gig outright.
– The receiving corps went from good to potential terrific with the arrival of grad transfer Jalen McCleskey from Oklahoma State. He caught 50 passes with five scores in 2017, but bolted after four games in 2018 – keeping his eligibility in the new transfer rule – to go along with leading receiver Darnell Mooney and a slew of good-sized, but inexperienced, options.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE TULANE DEFENSE
– The defense that turned into one of the best in the nation at getting to the quarterback will be even better up front. The Green Wave finished second in the AAC against the run and dominated in the backfield with 41 sacks. They went with a youth movement with four underclassmen starters up front, and now comes the payoff.
Junior Patrick Johnson is the star of the show, but he’s not alone. Cameron Sample is a 280-pound pass rusher on the outside, DeAndre Williams is a 290-pound all-star-caliber tackle, and there’s good depth to rotate in.
– Leading tackler Zachary Harris is gone from the linebacking corps, but Marvin Moody is a solid-tackling 225-pound junior who came up with 71 tackles, and senior Lawrence Graham finished fourth on the team with 61 stops. It’s not a deep group, but in the 4-2-5 alignment, there’s enough to be okay early on behind the great line.
– Three of the five starters return to a secondary that came up with 12 picks, but gave up 260 yards per game. One of the missing pieces, though – Donnie Lewis – came up with three of the interceptions, and no one else got more than one. One of the other parts is S Roderic Teamer, and he finished second on the team with 72 tackles.
PJ Hall is a good veteran at one safety job, and junior CB Jaylon Monroe came up seven broken up passes and has the speed to start doing more.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP TULANE PLAYERS
Best Tulane Offensive Player
RB Darius Bradwell, Sr.
Bradwell and Corey Dauphine are both right there for the top honor, and Darnell Mooney and his 20 yards-per-catch average should probably be here.
No matter what, the Green Wave have enough nice skill parts to crank things up a bit more. The 230-pound Bradwell led the way with 1,134 yards despite coming up with just three 100-yard games, and he scored 11 times.
2. RB Corey Dauphine, Sr.
3. WR Darnell Mooney, Sr.
4. WR Jalen McCleskey, Sr.
5. QB Justin McMillan, Sr.
Best Tulane Defensive Player
DE Patrick Johnson, Jr.
A good tweener who could work as an outside linebacker or an end, the 6-3, 255-pounder fits into the edge rusher mold that everyone is looking for. It’s a strong Green Wave line that should be among the best in the AAC, and Johnson is the star.
The all-star came up with 49 tackles with 10.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss and forced four fumbles. Best of all, he was consistent – he produced despite being keyed on.
2. DE Cameron Sample, Jr.
3. DT DeAndre Williams, Jr.
4. DT Jeffery Johnson, Soph.
5. LB Marvin Moody, Jr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Tulane Offense
The passing attack needs to be a bit steadier. Generating more third down conversions would be wonderful – the Green Wave converted just 35% of their tries – but that didn’t matter too much considering the offense controlled games and the tempo. Getting even more out of the passing game, though, would be wonderful.
Explosion isn’t an issue, with home run hitting threat Darnell Mooney and Oklahoma State transfer Jalen McCleskey about to stretch the field for an attack that averaged close to 16 yards per completion. The issues is consistency, with the quarterbacks failing to hit half of their passes in six games, losing four of them.
Biggest Key To The Tulane Defense
A few more takeaways would be nice. Of course everyone does better when they come up with takeaways, but for Tulane, there weren’t enough of them throughout the course of the season.
The Green Wave only managed to come up with six fumble recoveries and none in the last four games. Tulane generated 18 takeaways, but seven were in the first three games and the D came up with just one or fewer in eight games.
Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Justin McMillan, Sr.
The quarterback play is all that might be standing between Tulane and a shot at making a whole lot of noise in the American Athletic Conference race.
The defense will be among the league’s best, the running back situation is deep, the receivers are dangerous, and the O line shouldn’t be all that bad with a little bit of time. Even the kickers are terrific.
McMillan was okay when he took over the starting job last year, but he wasn’t consistent and he wasn’t accurate enough. If he’s not great or if the offense sputters, Southern Miss transfer Keon Howard might get his shot. No matter what, the main man under center has to be strong.
Key Game To The Tulane Season
at Memphis, Oct. 19
Starting out the American Athletic Conference season against Houston will be a big deal – especially at home – and there are some interesting games along the way at Temple and against UCF. But to win the West, Tulane has to go through Memphis.
Okay, so the Green Wave beat Memphis last season and it didn’t turn out to matter for them in the AAC chase, but this time around, winning again is a prerequisite. Before last year’s win, they lost 11 straight in the series going back to 2000.
– Tulane Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Tulane Fun Stats
– Red Zone Scoring: Tulane 30-of-33 (91%) – Opponents 35-of-45 (78%)
– Fumbles: Tulane 17 (lost 12) – Opponents 14 (lost 6)
– Time of Possession: Tulane 32:15 – Opponents 27:45
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. TULANE WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
Tulane should be better and stronger than the 2018 version, but it won’t have a whole lot to show for it.
It’ll get an amazing year out of the defense, and the offensive side should be more balanced and talented, but there are still just enough issues – and just enough tough games – to keep from making bowl eligibility easy.
The D will be good enough to come up with an upset or two, and there will be times – like the wins over USF and Memphis last season – when everything clicks against a good team, but …
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 6
The early date at Auburn is the only almost-certain loss, but facing UCF is a problem and going to Army will be tough. Throw in the dates against Houston and FIU at home, and Memphis, Temple, SMU and Navy on the road, and there are just enough landmines to not take any game lightly.
Even so, assume wins over Missouri State, UConn and Tulsa, throw in at least three more wins out of the remaining pack of good battles, and the program will be bowing in back-to-back years for the first time since the 1979-1980 seasons.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
