I found this article on coachingsearch.com, which is a very good site for all things college football by the way...it lists the top 20 most efficient scoring offenses last season. Going by how many plays were ran per point scored. georgia southern was 9th. Well guess where our new coaching staff came from!? Discuss...

Outside expectations will be very low for Tulane in Willie Fritz' first year considering the ugly performances the last two years and the lack of a legit QB with any experience.

It comes with the territory for him, though. His teams exceeded low expectations at his previous two stops.

When he took over Sam Houston State in 2010. the Southland coaches predicted a seventh place finish out of eight teams, putting the Bearkats ahead of only Nicholls State.

"We're starting from scratch, but I think that's exciting," Fritz said at the time. "We had all the positions open during the spring and some guys rose to the challenge and were impressive. The veterans from spring ball will be joined by a talented group of freshmen and transfers when preseason camp begins next week."

Sam Houston State went 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the Southland, finishing in a three-way tie for third. Its three losses were by a combined 11 points, including a 31-28 defeat to conference champion Stephen F. Austin. SLU, which was picked third in the preseason, lost to Sam Houston State 57-7.

When Fritz took over at Georgia Southern in 2014, the Eagles were entering their first year of FBS competition. The league coaches tabbed them eighth out 11 teams, ahead of only Idaho, Georgia State and New Mexico State.

Georgia Southern went 8-0 in the conference, outscoring opponents 306-154. After losing by 1 point to NC State and by 4 points to eventual ACC divisional champion Georgia Tech in a game they would have won if they had not lost a late fumble, they won five of their first six league games by 20 points or more. Their only close calls were against New Mexico State (36-28), Texas State (28-25) and ULM (22-16).

I will be shocked if Tulane is not picked last in the AAC West. Houston, Memphis, Navy and Tulsa are coming off bowl bids, and SMU has a well-thought of second-year coach.

We'll see if Fritz can work his magic again, which really isn't magic but excellent coaching. Memphis and Navy are rebuilding after losing once-in-a-generation QBs (for those schools). Tulsa and SMU had two of the worst defenses in the nation this year, with the Mustangs abysmal against the run (except when they played Tulane).

I had to chuckle, by the way, at one of Fritz' quotes in the article about Sam Houston State being picked seventh in 2010. He was asked about his offensive philosophy.

"We're going to have a lot of balance," Fritz said. "We're not a Texas Tech-type offense. We're not going to throw the ball 50, 60 or 70 times a game. I'd like to be as balanced as possible."

Sam Houston passed about 24 times a game.

I was asked that question in another thread last week, and the easy answer is I have no idea.

But that's not totally true. We know Fritz trusted a true freshman quarterback to start all season in his first year at Sam Houston State, which was a big step up from Division II Central Missouri. I'm guessing plenty of coaches with less self-belief would have gone a safer route and lost more games with a more experienced quarterback even if the true freshman had proven he was the best option. The move worked out pretty well--Sam Houston State went 6-5 with Brian Bell at QB, and he was the QB the following two years as the Bearkats reached the FCS title game.

Fritz may repeat that move at Tulane. If Darius Bradwell shows he is the best option in spring drills, he probably will start the opener next fall. Fritz won't sacrifice the season to give his recruit some experience --he's been adamant about doing everything possible to send the seniors out with a good year--but he certainly won't be afraid to pull the trigger with a freshman at QB.

To get an idea of how many more freshmen might play, today I looked into Fritz' history in his two years at Georgia Southern. This is what I found:

2014

Fritz was hired on Jan. 10 and had little time to put together a recruiting class, which probably limited the chance for playing time for his 22-man class. All but four players were redshirted (four more didn't make it to their second season), and none of them played a significant role. Linebacker Chris DeLaRosa played in 10 games and made 15 tackles as a reserver. Defensive lineman Darrius Sapp, whose older brother played LB at Tennessee and signed with the Dallas Cowboys, made 10 tackles while playing 11 games. Offensive lineman Tommy Boynton participated in seven games, and defensive end Ross Alexander had three tackles in six games.

ANALYSIS: Fritz' first class at Georgia Southern was not as good as his first class at Tulane, and he inherited a team that had beaten Florida in Gainesville, so it was not a similar situation to taking over a team that won two games outside Louisiana in the last four years and was non-competitive in the AAC the last two.

2015

After winning the Sun Belt Conference in Georgia Southern's first year in the FBS, Fritz had a much better class in his second year, signing 27 players. This time, all but six were redshirted, but three of the true freshmen played big roles. Running back Wesley Fields played in all 13 games, rushing 101 times for 682 yards and seven touchdowns. Jeremiah Culbreth started the last 11 games at left offensive tackle for a team that led the nation in rushing. Defensive end Logan Hunt had 30 tackles as a key reserve, playing in every game.

The other three had smaller roles. Wide receiver Malik Henry had two catches for 46 yards in nine games, but since Georgia Southern almost never threw, the low catch total is no surprise. Offensive lineman Curtis Rainey played in eight gams for a total of 48 downs. Safety Joshua Moon played in five games with two tackles.

ANALYSIS: Fritz does not hesitate to play someone if he is ready, but he does not force things and throw freshmen in there simply to get them experience. He wants to win now, so he refuses to throw away the present for the future. I expect more than six freshmen to get on the field next fall, but I don't expect a huge number.

Then again, the part about having no idea is partially true. Good coaches don't always follow their history to a T. Instead, they do what's best for each situation. Tulane has needs just about everywhere but running back and starting defensive tackle. If the newcomers are good enough, they'll get on the field.

Trailing 7-2 entering the 8th inning, Tulane scored three times to close it to 7-5 and had the bases loaded with one out but did not finish the rally.

In the 9th, San Diego committed two awful errors, one on a double-play ball and another on a rundown, to load the bases with one out. Alemais then hit a ball on the nose but unfortunately to straightaway center field, where it was run down for the second out as a run scored. Jake Rogers then grounded out to end the game.

Tulane will play Nebraska, which lost to Arizona 11-10 in 10 innings (incredibly, Arizona's second consecutive 11-10 game after losing by the same score to Tulane), at 12:30 Sunday. I was told verbatim before the even that it was being run exactly like an eight-team regular-season basketball tournament, but that's not the case. If it were, Tulane would be playing Bryant, which won on the opening day and lost on the second day just like Tulane. Instead, the Wave is playing the other team in its bracket. Nebraska lost to San Diego 17-5 on the opening day.

I held the lead for most of the year, but winwave zoomed past me in the last month for a well-deserved victory.

THE FINAL STANDINGS (dropping the lowest weekly score)

1) winwave 62.5
2) Guerry 59.5
3) Wavetime 57.5 (dropped score: 3)
4) DrBox 57.5 (dropped score: 2)
5) Rcnut 50.5
6) kettrade1 49.5 (dropped score: 2
7) WaveOn 49.5 (dropped score: 1)
8) jjstock2005 48.5
9) nyoscar 47.5 (dropped score: 1)
9) LSU Law Greenie 47.5 (dropped score: 1)
11) MNAlum 46.5
12) Golfer81 43.5

Two contestants entered seven of the 12 weeks

Charlamange8 38.5
p8kpev 24.5

NOTES

No one had a perfect 9-point week (the Tulane game counted double) or a winless week all year. There were eight 1-point weeks and seven 8-point weeks.

If Charlamange had entered every week, he might have won. His worst week was 4 points.

This is the second victory for winwave under my watch after doing it in either 2011 or 2012.

12 people entered every week. Impressive.

The scores figure to be higher next year because Tulane will cover more often, and as a rule, as Tulane goes, so go our point totals.

Tulane hasn't released anything, but I saw a picture of the spring practice schedule on twitter tonight. Not sure where it came from, but it looked official.

March 14, 16, 18

Spring break

March 28, 30

April 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16

I'm looking forward to a spring practice that actually takes place primarily in the spring after CJ's winter drills the past three years.

Great interview with coach Fritz, Guerry.

He doesn't come across as merely a nice guy trying to do a job he doesn't understand (ala "you know who"). He comes across as a guy who knows what he's doing; has done it many times and in many places before; and is supremely confident that it will work here. I really like how he challenges the players and his talk of growing leaders and followers. I think we're in for a good ride.

Roll Wave!!!

New Tulane offensive coordinator Doug Ruse is entering his 20th year with that title. He became an OC in 1997 at Northwestern State, moved to Arkansas State from 2002 to 2009 under the same coach, spent two years at Western illinois and joined Willie Fritz at Sam Houston State in 2012 before following him to Georgia Southern.

Here are the pass/run ratios for his teams:

NORTHWESTERN STATE

1997: 514 runs, 206 passes Record: 8-4
1998: 589 runs, 275 passes Record: 11-3
1999: 435 runs, 332 passes Record: 4-7
2000: 442 runs, 302 passes Record: 6-5
2001: 429 runs, 354 passes Record: 8-4

ARKANSAS STATE

2002: 537 runs, 290 passes Scoring average: 19.9
2003: 460 runs, 328 passes Scoring average: 20.2
2004: 400 runs, 342 passes Scoring average: 19.5
2005: 481 runs, 295 passes Scoring average: 24.5
2006: 507 runs, 300 passes Scoring average: 15.2
2007: 460 runs, 388 passes Scoring average: 24.2
2008: 488 runs, 308 passes Scoring average: 27.0
2009: 428 runs, 330 passes Scoring average: 22.7

(Ruse finally left Steve Roberts, his head coach since the Northwestern State days, in 2010, the year before Roberts was fired. Arkansas State never won more than six games in a season during his tenure)

WESTERN ILLINOIS (these stats count sacks as passes)

2010: 517 runs, 426 passes Scoring average: 32.5 (passing average: 262.3)
2011: 410 runs, 300 passes Scoring average: 15.3 (passing average: 169.3)

From there, Ruse joined Fritz and finally was on the staff of a winner after being saddled with mediocre head coaches.

SAM HOUSTON STATE

2012: 340 pass plays and 736 runs
2013: 346 pass plays and 642 runs

GEORGIA SOUTHERN

2014: 637 runs and 160 passes
2015: 720 runs and 145 passes

Quite frankly, Ruse did not have an impressive resume until he joined Fritz, but the two of them have clicked beautifully, which is the most important thing. Arkansas State averaged 25 points or more only once in eight years, and Western Illinois went down the tubes after its star quarterback departed.

You may want to correct the story as Arizona is ranked 23rd in the same poll that Tulane is ranked 20th in.

Looking forward to this tournament. We should learn a lot here.

how would you rank of our players in this class according to best offers? What would be the order?

It's taken me forever, but here are the week 12 results.

8

Wavetime

7

kettrade1

6

winwave
Guerry
WaveON
golfer81

5

Charlamange
LSU Law Greenie
jjstock2005

3

DrBox
nyoscar

2

MNAlum

1

Rcnut

And the game-by game results, with the covering team listed first

Tulsa/Tulane: 10 of 13 correct
Houston/Navy: 0
Ohio State/Michigan: 8
Notre Dame/Stanford: 7
Oklahoma/Oklahoma State: 7
FSU/Florida: 6
Ole Miss/Miss St: 8
Southern Miss/Louisiana Tech: 7

The Willie Fritz era will look completely different than the CJ era on every front, from discipline to organization to style.

On the field, Tulane finally will be able to run the ball consistently. In CJ's first year, the Green Wave had the second lowest rushing yards per game of any college team this century. In Fritz' two years at Georgia Southern, his team led the nation in rushing. Enough said.

But how much will the Wave throw. Fritz is a winner who tailors his offense to the talent around him, but every coach has an overriding philosophy, and he definitely has become more run-centric as he moved up to higher levels. I understand that his stop at Georgia Southern distorts the picture because he inherited a potent triple-option attack and did not want to discard a good thing, but his best two teams at Sam Houston State had a more than 2-1 run/pass ratio and he inherited a team that had a 50-50 balance.

Considering the lack of experience and passing talent he inherits at Tulane, I will be surprised if the Wave throws a whole lot this fall. But whatever the play call, the offense will look a whole lot better than the unmitigated disaster that was Tulane's offense the past four years.

Here are Fritz' offense number of passing and rushing attempts per game dating back to his time at Central Missouri. I am counting sacks as passing attempts and taking them away from the rushing attempt total.

Central Missouri

1997: 246 pass plays and 472 runs (11 games) Record: 5-6
1998: 209 pass plays and 382 runs (11 games) Record: 8-3
1999: 162 pass plays and 526 runs (11 games) Record: 7-4
2000: 252 pass plays and 483 runs (11 games) Record: 7-4
2001: 334 pass plays and 471 runs (12 games) Record: 10-2
2002: 301 pass plays and 437 runs (12 games) Record: 10-2
2003: 260 pass plays and 443 runs (11 games) Record: 9-2
2004: 294 pass plays and 466 runs (11 games) Record: 7-4
2005: 290 pass plays and 382 runs (10 games) Record: 7-3
2006: 375 pass plays and 286 runs (11 games) Record: 5-6
2007: 351 pass plays and 446 runs (11 games) Record: 7-4
2008: 385 pass plays and 402 runs (11 games) Record: 7-4
2009: 419 pass plays and 312 runs (11 games) Record: 8-3

Sam Houston State

2010: 262 pass plays and 471 runs (11 games) Record: 6-5
2011: 263 pass plays and 689 runs (15 games) Record: 14-1
2012: 340 pass plays and 736 runs (15 games) Record: 11-4
2013: 346 pass plays and 642 runs (14 games) Record: 9-5

Georgia Southern

2014: 160 pass plays and 637 runs (12 games) Record:
2015: 145 pass plays and 720 runs (13 games) Record:

NOTES

--The Sam Houston State team Fritz inherited had thrown 354 times and run 364 times under his predecessor with a senior QB. Fritz had a true freshman in his first year who ended up starting all four years.

--The Georgia Southern team Fritz inherited had thrown 110 times and run 618 times.

--The Central Missouri team Fritz inherited had thrown 321 times and run 355 times.

--Twice in Fritz' tenure at Central Missouri, his team threw more times than it ran, and the offense was pretty balanced in each of his last five years.

Tomorrow I will look into the statistics for Tulane offensive coordinator Doug Ruse.

Might want to get that headline corrected:

http://www.theneworleansadvocate.co...-everything-tulane-freshman-higgins-improving

We won two of three and I, along with most everyone else, would have been happy with that prior to the first pitch on Friday. After winning the first two and having a two run lead going into the 8th inning, however, it’s hard to be too happy after the fact. Last year, when leading after seven, we went 24-3. So, losing this one was very disappointing.

There were some real positives, however. We made only one error, Alemais’ bad throw on Saturday. We made some good plays on cutoffs to throw out a couple of runners and covered bases well. Also, it appeared that our outfielders got good jumps on most balls. Willsey, Alemais, and Hope all cover a lot of ground for their positions and that’s probably as important, if not more so, than our .991 fielding percentage after three games. Of course, that is spectacular.

At bat, Montalbano and Alemais came out of the weekend with batting averages above .360 and each had at least one really clutch hit, with Montalbano’s HR being about as clutch as it can get. I was also impressed with Kaplan and Carthon, not only with their .300+ batting averages but what appeared to me to be much more confidence against left handers. Last year, both were virtually certain outs against lefties; not so this year.

I thought Hunter Williams and Jake Rogers hit into a little bit of bad luck, but between them, they’re only 2 for 19 after three games, so I can’t attribute it all to “luck.” Of course Witherspoon, who went 2 for 3 on Sunday, may have taken all of their luck as he got a seeing-eye ground ball single and a misplayed pop up in short right center for his second hit.

Willsey and Hope each got wind-aided HR’s which was clearly good and I thought Willsey had some other good at bats as well. Hope, however, didn’t stand a chance against any pitcher who could throw three straight curves 6” to a foot outside of the plate. He fanned 7 of his 10 at bats this weekend, and generally looked bad doing it. Preseason I thought Rowland had a chance to take the third base job but he looked equally bad at the plate in his one appearance—took two right down the middle and swung at a curve ball in the other batter’s box. Not good.

Neither Grant Brown nor Jarrett DeHart looked good at the plate either. Between them they fanned six times in eight at bats with DeHart striking out in all four of his plate appearances. For a guy with so much hype, he really looked overmatched. I hope that’s just a short term problem.

And, as a team, our sacrifice bunting was woeful. I doubt Coach Pierce will put up with that very long.

All that said, I’ve got to believe the pitching we faced was probably better than what we’ll see game in/game out this year and the .255 we hit as a team this weekend was slightly better that the .253 we hit all last season’s. But we’ll need to do a lot better if we’re to make it to the regionals and beyond.

On the mound, there was both a lot of good news and a lot of bad news. Our starters, Merrill, Massey, and Gibbs, didn’t allow a run in 19.1 innings and only surrendered 10 hits and 8 BB’s. They also struck out 21. I thought France and Colletti also looked good in relief. Colletti was a particular surprise to me. But after that, it was all disappointing. Simms, Ross Massey, Rankin, Bjornfield, Duester, and Yandel all performed badly. Between them they threw only 3.1 innings, allowed 11 hits, 8 earned runs, and six BB’s and gave up two leads in three games. That they struck out six was positive but overwhelmed by all the negatives. I am convinced those six guys (or at least some of them) can pitch better than that. But, results on the field are going to have to improve greatly because I also don’t think we can expect the same kind of performance every week from our three starters. That’s not possible.

Anyway, a 2-1 weekend gave us a series win against what will probably be a pretty good team by season’s end. They have some solid pitching and a “never quit” attitude that will likely serve them well.

Maybe we’ll see them again in the post season.

Roll Wave!!!

For whatever reason, Tulane is still not listing the assistant coaches Willie Fritz told me he hired in mid-January on the official website. I asked and was told they are waiting to release the info when everyone is 100-percent certain to be on the staff, which sound strange but may mean nothing. I have gotten no indication that anyone has left.

Here is the complete staff:

Offensive coordinator: Doug Ruse
Defensive coordinator: Jack Curtis
offensive line coach/assistant head coach: Alex Atkins
running backs coach: Jamaal Fobbs
wide receivers coach: Jeff Conway
tight ends coach: Slade Nagle
defensive line coach: Kevin Peoples
linebackers coach: Michael Mutz
defensive backs coach: Chris Hampton

Other assistants (can't coach on game days but will be on support staff)

offensive assistant Derrick Sherman
special teams assistant Chris Couch

Guerry, I asked a while back about canning Conroy midseason and you described that as insane. Can you please explain why it would be insane to fire Conroy right now?

Almost one month later and 1-10 in conference, not even competitive really. What is the benefit of keeping him until the end?

Is this “tryout” open to the public? The media? It’s not likely that many, if any, walk-ons will make a significant contribution, though we’ve had a few over the recent past (David Skehan, Devon Walker, and Marshall Wadleigh are examples). Kickers and snappers are also frequently discovered during such events. Regardless, the tryout might give an astute observer some hints about our coaches’ demeanor and style which could be interesting. It also might give some more recent clue on the exact makeup of our coaching staff.

Anyway, I’m just killing time before this afternoon’s baseball game.

Roll Wave!!!

Darius Cambell Safety John Ehret HS New Orleans, LA.

And the 1st commitment for the 2017 recruiting class is in. This young man was part of a fearsome defense. A hitter and a ball hawk. Coach Fritz said there would be more of a New Orleans flavor going forward...

http://www.nola.com/recruiting/inde...ts_darius_campbell_is.html#incart_river_index

Hudl video link within the article.

JEREMY MONTALBANO

On the pitch he crushed for the game-winning homer

"He threw me the first-pitch slider, and I just kind of sat on it the next pitch kind of figuring he'd go back to it since he was doing it to me before. He put it right in my wheelhouse and I got good wood on it."

How good did it feel

"It felt amazing. I didn't play for a year-and-a-half, so I don't think you can draw up a better story."

On the energy in the dugout despite falling behind

"I think everybody thought we were going to get it done. I don't think anybody questioned that we were going to get it done. I don't know if anybody thought it would happen like that, but we all knew we had a chance to come back if everyone believes in each other."

Rebounding from depressing ninth and 10th inning

"We believe in each other and know we put the work in in the fall and early spring. You know good things are going to happen when you feel like you work hard."

Momentum going forward

It can just build a little momentum to get you going. The exciting wins are a little more fun than the 10-0 wins, so it gets everybody going for the rest of the weekend."

On knowing it would go out

"I wasn't 100 percent. I knew I got it good and I saw the center fielder running back. I wasn't 100 percent just because I hit it to the deepest part of the field, but I knew I hit it pretty good."


DAVID PIERCE

On dramatics

"That was as good as it gets, and again, we just hung in there. In the back end of our bullpen we've got some trouble. I thought J.P. (France) was really good, but he made a huge mistake on 0-2 when he could have went for the breaking ball a couple of times. He's going to learn from that and Jake (Rogers) is going to learn from that. I'm just really proud of the way we played great defense all night. We were able to draw a couple of walks to Grant (Brown) and Hunter (Williams) and Lex (Kaplan) comes up with a big hit, but it's just a super finish."

Energy after falling behind

"It's tough. When you learn how to play it throughout the whole game and understand you can lose or win the game in the first and you can lose or win the game in the 10th. We just had some good quality at-bats to put ourselves in position, and Jeremy gets a hanging breaking ball and he's already paying dividends."

Know it was out the second he hit it

"No doubt. No doubt."

On Alemais status

"Cramping in his hamstrings. Both of them, so he'll get an I.V. and he'll be ready to go."

On staying with Duester despite control problems

"At the time I really didn't want to put Trevor in his first situation with the bases loaded to come in the game. That's why I stayed with Duester. He wasn't sharp at all."

Responding to blows

"We were down to one strike, and I just think it was great maturity. We were down to a strike (to win in the 9th) and everything fell apart. We were able to keep playing, and we got in there and were determined with our at-bats."

COREY MERRILL

Wanted to stay out there longer

"Absolutely. You always want to stay out there. You never want to come out, but the coaches know exactly what they're doing. It's early in the season and I was on 94 pitches. We were going to J.P., so I was very confident in him, too. He did his job well, too."

On France pitching well in seventh and eighth

"That's huge for him. Definitely after last year not being here and coming back strong like that, that's a huge confidence boost for him. He's got a bright future coming up this season."

Not caring about being deprived of personal victory

"Absolutely. I don't care about the win-loss record. All I worry about is if we win. Whether we give up three in the 10th inning and then come back and score four, I don't care. As long as we get that win, I'm taking it."

It was nothing earth shattering, but I have no idea why my editors asked me for something and then did not run it without telling me.

Here was my starting lineup and pitching breakdown I sent to The Advocate:

C Jake Rogers


Rogers was phenomenal behind the plate last year, throwing out 33 of 57 base-stealers to lead the nation. HIs batting average improved from .202 as a freshman to .227 as a sophomore, and he more than doubled his number of walks from 12 to 26. He is looking for a similar jump in average this season.


1B Hunter Williams


Williams, Tulane’s primary DH last year, has been swinging the bat well in preseason practice and will start at first base. He also stole 16 bases in summer league play after failing to steal any for the Wave last year. Pierce is counting on him to have a big year.


2B Jake Willsey/Shea Pierce


Willsey fielded well as a sophomore but did not have much pop at he plate with five extra-base hits and 14 RBI in 137 at-bats. Pierce, a Sam Houston State transfer and David Pierce’s son, has good bat control to move runners over. A third candidate, Matt Rowland, is a defensive specialist.


SS Stephen Alemais


After sitting out almost all of the summer when he re-aggravated a hamstring injury he sustained in the Baton Rouge regional, Alemais (team-high .312 average) is healthy and poised for a huge final year before heading to professional ball. D1Baseball.com named him a second-team preseason All-America. A slick fielder, he’ll need to cut down on some careless errors.


3B Hunter Hope


Coming off a disappointing year (.230 average, 4 home runs), Hope roped the ball in fall practice. He led the team in hits as a freshman and should bounce back with much better numbers across the board as a junior, although his high strikeout total (a team-leading 73 in 2015) remains a concern.


LF Richard Carthon


After quitting football to concentrate on baseball full time in the fall, Carthon hopes it pays off in a big senior season. His on-base percentage (.355) was the second best among Tulane’s starters a year ago, and he was named to the Baton Rouge All-Regional team with five hits in nine at-bats. He gets on base by any means possible, getting hit by pitches 38 times in his career.


CF Jarret DeHart/Grant Brown


DeHart, who played at LSU as a freshman in 2014, supplies the bat and could be high in the lineup. He had 22 doubles, four triples and 16 home runs at Howard College a year ago. Brown excelled defensively through 11 games last year before getting hurt and having season-ending shoulder surgery. DeHart won’t DH often. Jeremy Montalbano has earned that role.


RF


Lex Kaplan


As long as his surgically repaired shoulder is OK, Kaplan combines surprising pop (a team-best 7 home runs last year) with an outstanding arm. Making a tremendous jump from a rough freshman season, he led Tulane in slugging percentage and walks and was second in runs and RBIs. If the arm bothers him, he also can play first base.


In The Rotation


1 Corey Merrill


Merrill might be the best pitcher ever with only five wins through two years. Getting no run support in 2014 (0-5) and minimal help last season (5-6), he returns as a Friday starter after leading the team with a 2.12 ERA, allowing 80 hits while throwing a team-best 102.0 innings.


2 Alex Massey


Masterful when he is on, Massey will start on Saturdays. He led the Wave with two complete games last year and won four consecutive weekend starts at one point. His biggest concern is control. He walked 46 in 88.1 innings as a junior.


3 Emerson Gibbs


The ultimate control pitcher, Gibbs, a Jesuit product, walked 19 in 79 innings last year and was even more sparing in summer ball. He gave up a team-high six home runs as a junior but still finished with a 2.73 ERA and is the consummate Sunday starter.


4 Patrick Duester


Duester returns as the midweek starter after leading the team with seven wins (and six losses) as a junior transfer and occasionally getting a promotion to the weekends. He is the same mold as most of Tulane’s other experienced starters—not overpowering, but effective.


IN THE BULLPEN


RP


Tim Yandel, Ross Massey, Chris Oakley, Sam Bjorngjeld


The relief roles are not as clear as the starting ones, but Pierce said he would back up starters with starters. Yandel struggled mightily after a fast start a year ago, but he has good stuff. Massey, the freshman younger brother of Alex Massey, is a lefty who impressed in the fall.


CL


J.P. France, Dan Rankin, Trevor Simms


This is the most wide open spot on the team, with the beginning of the year serving as a proving ground. France, the opening day starter as a true freshman in 2014, is coming back from injury. Rankin was up and down as a middle reliever in 2015 (19 appearances, 4.80 ERA). Simms is on his fourth school and looking for his first success.

Just got off the phone with David Pierce after they moved practice back to a time where I could not talk to him earlier in the day.

Tulane's starting rotation is set for this weekend against Illinois, and there are no surprises. It will be Corey Merrill on Friday, Alex Massey on Saturday and Emerson Gibbs on Sunday, with Patrick Duester ready for the midweek start against Alabama A&M.

In other words, they aren't messing with what worked last year. Tim Yandel, who has good stuff but really struggled for most of 2015, and Ross Massey, the younger brother of Alex, have not been able to crack the rotation.

The closer role is not settled and will not be settled until guys prove themselves in games, but Pierce said the three leading candidates were J.P. France, Dan Rankin and Trevor Simms. That means Chris Oakley, who has had massive control problems at previous stops, is not in the picture at the moment. Rankin was a solid middle reliever for Tulane last year and is my pick to win the job. Simms has no pedigree of success at three previous stops, but Pierce has been high on him for a while, and Pierce, needless to say, has a heck of a lot more knowledge about baseball than I do.

Four guys have emerged in Tulane's crowded outfield, with Jarret DeHart, Lex Kaplan, Richard Carthon and Grant Brown the played Pierce named that he would use "in different capacities."

Hunter Williams will start at first base and is swinging the bat really well. Second base is not clear, with Jake Willsey, Shea Pierce and Matt Rowland in the mix. Pierce said Rowland was swinging the bat well but was behind defensively. Stephen Alemais at shortstop, Hunter Hope at third base and Jake Rogers at catcher are no-brainers.

Jeremy Montalbano will be the DH and bat somewhere from 4th to 6th on Friday night. Pierce said if he continued to swing like he's been swinging, he will be the DH almost every game, but there are other situational options if Tulane needs a left-handed DH (Kaplan, DeHart or Carthon, one of whom likely will not be starting in the outfield, would be available). Kaplan and Brown are question marks only because of their arm strength coming back from shoulder surgery. Kaplan is not 100 percent but is getting closer, and neither is Brown, whose strength is his range and natural anticipation.

When I asked Pierce about other guys pushing for playing time, he mentioned freshman Grant Witherspoon, who can play outfield or first base and freshman Tyler Heinrichs, who can bat against lefties as an outfielder.

Tulane is two days away from the start of the season, and I've been counting it down in my head since it was 100 days. Can't wait.

I talked to Richard Carthon and Grant Brown Wednesday and got quotes that will never see the light of day because The Advocate scaled back the full page they said they were going to devote to the preview package, including a position-by-postion and pitching rundown I wrote that included a separate paragraph on every player. That's two hours of my life I will never get back. Maybe I should not have called anyone there idiotic.

But hey, I'm excited about the start of the season, where the outlook is better than any time since I returned to New Orleans full time in 2008 after an 18-year absence. Just think how successful the Tulane athletic program would have been if every hire were as good under the previous administration as David Pierce.

CARTHON

How much did practicing in the fall for the first time help you?

"I feel like it's helped a lot. It's the first time I've been able to play baseball basically for an entire year, and just from the production I've been able to have in the fall and the spring, it's definitely showing. I'm just ready to show it this season."

Just about everyone is back. How good can this team be?

"I feel like we can have a really special season this year. Just the depth we have, and first of all the lineups are highly competitive. The guys that are in there, man, it's going to be very exciting to watch."

What does Lex Kaplan being able to play this year after his Tommy John surgery mean to the team?

"He definitely adds another power bat. He led the team in home runs last year, and just a good fiery guy within the lineup. He brings a lot of energy. Lex likes to have a lot of fun. He's a very loose guy with very good character. He makes sure everybody's laughing but also knows when to be serious, too."

There is a lot of competition in the outfield. Do you know where you're going to play?

"I'm not really sure where coach is going to put me. No one really knows until he makes the lineup, as you could tell last year with the all the time he switched it up (editors' note: I don't recall that). Just wherever you are, you have to be ready to play."

BROWN

How exciting is it to be healthy again after your season ended prematurely with the shoulder injury in 2015?

"I'm so excited. It was really tough. It would be tough on anybody to sit out for almost a year coming back. I've just been working hard, rehabbing, working out and practicing."

How hard was your rehab process?

"It was pretty hard. I had surgery and just working back, the hardest part was trying to throw again and get that strength back (editor's note: Pierce said he was not sure Brown's shoulder is 100 percent yet), but I'm ready to go and excited to be out here. I'm ready to go. I'm a hundred percent ready to play."

How good is the team speed?

"Oh, it's definitely increased. In the outfield we'll be a fast defense this year."

How key is the team's depth?

"I think that's our biggest strength, the fact that we can go to the bench and get many people to come out and pinch hit or whatever it is--defensive replacement, pinch run."

How hard was it to watch this team go to a regional and know you could not be a part of it?

"It was tough personally for myself, but just seeing my teammates out there, it was exciting for them and us. I tried to be a good teammate."
'
As for the note, the reason Jackson Johnson no longer is on the team is not that he got cut--he made the final roster. He simply quit because he did not think he would get enough playing time to warrant staying around. Another guy no longer on the roster, rice pitcher transfer Evan Rutter, is gone because of injury issues. Tulane will apply for a sixth-year of eligibility for him because Pierce likes his potential.

I was two games off in the By the Numbers piece I did here, but I corrected it for my story in the Advocate.

Here's the breakdown of Tulane's year-by-year results under Conroy against teams that finished above .500 in conference play:

2011

UTEP: 0-2
Southern Miss: 0-2
Tulsa: 0-2
Memphis: 0-1
Marshall: 0-1
UAB: 0-1

2012

Tulsa: 0-2
UAB: 0-2
Memphis: 0-1
Southern Miss: 0-1
UCF: 0-1
Marshall: 0-1

2013

Memphis: 0-2
UTEP: 0-2
Southern Miss: 0-1
UCF: 0-1
East Carolina: 0-1

2014

Southern Miss: 0-2
Tulsa: 0-2
Louisiana Tech: 0-1
Middle Tennessee: 0-1
UTEP: 0-1
Old Dominion: 0-1

2015

Temple: 0-2
Tulsa: 0-2
Connecticut; 0-2
SMU: 0-1
Cincinnati: 1-1
Memphis: 1-1

2016 (projected)

Temple: 0-0 (one game left at home)
SMU: 0-1 (one game left on the road)
Connecticut: 0-2
Tulsa: 0-2
Houston: 0-2
Cincinnati: 0-1

Summary: Tulane's record was 2-41 against better-than-.500 teams in conference play during Conroy's first five years, and the Wave is 0-8 this season with two more opportunities left. If Memphis, which is 5-6, wins 4 of its last 5, Tulane will have a third victory against a winning-record team.

The Wave went 26-19 against teams that finished .500 or worse in conference play during Conroy's first five years and is 3-3 against teams currently .500 or worst this season. That number is distorted a bit by Tulane's 9-1 mark in 2013-14 against dreck in gutted Conference USA.

It's Seth Romero, who led the AAC in ERA last year and allowed one run in 8 1/3 innings in a victory against Tulane to close out the Cougars' series victory at Turchin last year.

If he does not return, and there is no indication how long the suspension will last, it would affect the AAC race.

http://www.chron.com/sports/cougars...suspends-Seth-Romero-indefinitely-6835407.php

I will do interviews tomorrow or Wednesday for updates on position battles and the weekend rotation, but here are some quotes from Media Day I had not posted from Alemais and Kaplan.

ALEMAIS

On the optimism going into the year after making a regional:

"Everyone is pretty comfortable and everyone has a little chip on their shoulder. You see it in everybody this fall and this spring, that everybody is really excited to get started. The ability and the talent this year is at a whole another level."

On the quality infield defense:

"Coach always says defense wins championships, and we took that more to pride this fall and this spring. We know we have the ability to be very good, especially playing on a turf field."

On cutting down his own errors:

"Obviously I had the most errors the last two years of anyone on the team. I’m learning the difference between making the great play and holding on to the ball when the great play isn’t there. I will make a great play and then think I could do it again when it was not there and force the issue."

On his hamstring being 100-percent healthy after hurting it in the regional and again in summer ball:

"Just being able to come and rehab here with the best doctors in the world was amazing. Obviously I needed the rest and I’m ready to go. I think we’re all ready to go."


KAPLAN

On practicing at first base as well as right field because his shoulder still is not 100 percent:

"I’m close. Very close. But I’ve been working at first. I love that position, too, just like right field. It’s become second nature."

On no worries of chemistry issues with improved depth:

"The chemistry on this team is great. We’re all out there having fun and everybody’s happy for everybody. If one guy isn’t starting one game, he’s going to be behind that player who’s in his spot."

On comfort factor with coaches in second year:

"This is the best coaching staff I’ve ever played for. I honestly think it’s the best in the country. For us, as my freshman year to do what we did and then to have those guys come in with the same players and do what we did last year, I’m just really excited to see what we have for this year."

On the quality and depth in starting pitching:

"They are dominant. They can go out there and do better than they did last year. And in adding a few guys like Ross Massey, I don’t like facing him. I think he’ll be a big help."

On building on success from a year ago:

"Of course we’d like to go further, but just having that experience gets us going. We can do that again at least and we’re going to do more this year."

On confidence gained from late-inning rallies:

"Because we did that last year and we always played a full nine innings, we are going to do it again this year. No one can ever put us down, and we’re going to do the same thing."

On having just about every key player back:

"It’s great. We have a bunch of juniors and a bunch of seniors. We have a lot of experience, and that’s great. You see the teams that go far, and they all have experience with them. It’s going to be a great year."