Tulane fielded one of the youngest teams in college
football last season. The Green Wave has
34 sophomores on its roster this year.
Head coach Curtis Johnson has won a Super
Bowl title (in 2009 with the New Orleans Saints)
and a BCS National Championship (in 2001 with
Miami) as an assistant coach.
Tulane, which won seven games in 2013, looks
to bounce back from last year’s 3-9 campaign.
OFFENSE
Tulane returns nine offensive starters from
last season. The Green Wave has its starting
quarterback and top three rushers back for 2015.
Tulane’s leading passer (QB Tanner Lee), rusher
(RB Sherman Badie) and receiver (WR Teddy
Veal) were all freshmen last season.
Badie rushed for 688 rushing yards and three
touchdowns as the top man in a talented
backfield.
Lee threw for 1,962 yards and 12 touchdowns as
a rookie last season and should benefit from his
year of experience.
OT Arturo Uzdavinis, a six-foot-seven, 307-pound
tackle, has made 25 starts the last two years and
leads a veteran offensive line.
DEFENSE
CB Parry Nickerson, another impact player as a
freshman last year, registered six interceptions
in 2014 and was named to the USA Today Freshman
All-America Team.
Nickerson joins S Darion Monroe to lead what
should be one of the better defensive backfields
in The American. Monroe had 73 tackles with
two forced fumbles last year.
LB Nico Marley registered 13.5 tackles for loss,
good for second in the American Athletic Conference,
in 2014.
DE Royce LaFrance, who has started 24 games at
defensive end, leads an experienced defensive
line that has three returning starters. LaFrance
had a team-high 5.5 sacks in 2014.
SPECIAL TEAMS
P Peter Picereli is a senior who averaged 37.8
yards on 71 punts last season.
K Andrew DiRocco made eight field goals in 14
attempts as the Green Wave struggled to find
consistency in the kicking game last season.
RB Dontrell Hilliard was the primary kickoff
returner last season (15.3 ypr), while Teddy Veal
handled punt returns (4.6 ypr).
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