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The 2022 football season at Tulane was spectacular. Some can argue that the 1998 season was the best in the past 90 years (or ever) and certainly an undefeated season cannot be dismissed from the conversation. But, the conference championship, Cotton Bowl victory, and wins against at least three top 25 teams is something even the 1998 team did not accomplish, though, in fairness, you can only beat who you play. But this great season is behind us and a new season will begin in September. What will it bring?

We will be losing some truly great leaders and players from this past season. Tyjae Spears, Dorian Williams, and Nick Anderson are probably the most obvious, but many others played major rolls in Tulane’s 2022 success. I would include in that group Joey Claybrook, Deuce Watts, Shae Wyatt, Tyrick James, Will Wallace, Tylo Phillips, Carlos Hatcher, Larry Brooks, Macon Clark, and Lummie Young. There may be others, but these guys leadership, on-field play, and off-field representation of our university will surely be missed.

But that does not mean that returning players, transfers, and incoming freshmen cannot be coached up to achieve much the same, if not greater, results. Our coaching staff appears to be returning more-or-less intact and our strength and conditioning coach, given much credit by virtually every team member, will continue to add speed and strength to our entire squad. That’s all good

To get down to 85 scholarship players, we need to lose at least 4 or 5 more and if more than that, we could add transfers, so this analysis is a very early and an incomplete look. After Spring practice, we’ll have a better idea of what we have. Still… Looking at individual position groups, our depth and playing experience from 2022 should help a great dea

The Offense: Based on how we finished the season on offense, I believe the offense can actually be better this year than our season-long performance in 2022.

Offensive Line. We return four of the five starters from 2022. If Kanan Ray, Trey Tuggle, and Caleb Thomas return healthy, that’s three more guys who have starting experience at Tulane. Cameron Wire, the transfer from LSU was probably a more acclaimed high school recruit than any of our other linemen and should add depth if not able to secure a starting role. Three redshirt freshmen and four true freshmen will all have the opportunity to displace any of the veterans, but they will probably have to gain experience on special teams and brief appearances near the end of games. Overall, I think our line may be better than this past year, which, in part thanks to Spears, was the best I’ve seen at Tulane in decades

Wide Receivers. Lawrence Keys and Jahquan Jackson return as our most experienced wideouts. They both have good hands, great speed, and excellent moves. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Keys catch 50+ balls next year and Jackson might not be far behind. But, depth, which we had this year needs to be rebuilt. Dontae Fleming, the transfer from Louisiana Tech, and Bruce Bohannon appear to be next in line, though a return by a healthy Phat Watts, as has been rumored, would probably put him into the rotation immediately. Prior to his injury his stats were not as good as his twin brother, but he caught 35 passes and played in 24 games between 2020 and 2021. Jalen Rogers and Chris Brazzell, who missed most of the year injured, could also compete for playing time. I hear good things about both. Overall, I think we have the chance to be just as good at wide receiver in 2023 as in 2022, maybe better.

Tight End. This year, tight ends, both blocking and receiving, were a bigger part of the offense than in previous years. Losing the two guys who started virtually every game for the past four years is difficult. But, Alex Bauman and Reggie Brown got a lot of experience this year and I’m not sure the fall-off will be that great. Blake Gunter who missed most of the year injured and true freshman Joshua Goines could push for playing time and help at this position.

Running Back. There is a legitimate argument that Tyjae Speers is the best running back in Tulane history so replacing him with one man is a very tall order. Fortunately, we may have five backs vying for the 2-3 slots necessary. I thought both Ashaad Clayton-Johnson and Iverson Celestine looked good in backup rolls this year. They appear to be solid AAC backs with the potential to be “all Conference” at some point. Mahki Hughes missed his freshman year due to injuries but was highly recruited out of high school. If healthy, he could compete. The two true freshmen, Trey Cornist and Dud Barnes were also highly recruited and look capable of playing right from the start. Because Spears was so special, I’m not saying our running backs will be better in 2023, but they still should be a team strength.

Quarterback. Michael Pratt has improved every year and there is no reason not to expect continued improvement in his second year with our current offensive system. Both Justin Ibieta and Kai Horton looked good in their brief appearances and if Ibieta is healthy there should be a very good competition for our #1 backup to Pratt. Neither redshirt freshman, Carson Haggard, nor true freshman, Darian Mensah, are likely to see the field this season except during garbage time, but they provide a solid base for the future at this position.

(Continued)

This, I believe, is the biggest two-game stretch of the century for the Tulane basketball team. To reach its preseason goal of making the NCAA tournament, it absolutely must beat UCF tomorrow and probably needs to beat No. 1 Houston on Tuesday (a road win against the Cougars would allow the Wave to lose the home game, but I'm being realistic here). UCF is the highest rated AAC team in the NET outside of63 p Houston, and Tulane does not get a return trip to Orlando, so this is a rare shot at a quality win (at Memphis and the two games against Houston are the others left).

Coming off an AAC-record (for a conference game) 63-point half against SMU in a game in which it did not play well in the first half, Tulane is incredibly confident offensively. UCF (13-4, 4-1) has played well this year, losing two games by two points, another by 3 and at Houston by 6 while playing a ton of close games, going 3-1 in overtimes games, including Wednesday's 107-104 double-OT victory against Memphis. The Knights have had almost a complete roster turnover from a year ago and will be down two players (starting guard Darius Johnson and reserve 7-0 center C.J. Walker). The only player who will get in the game tomorrow who played against Tulane last year is reserve guard Tyem Freeman, who did not score in the teams' first meeting and went 1 for 9 with three points in the second meeting at Devlin Fieldhouse. UCF leads the AAC in 3-point shooting, which has been a defensive issue for the Wave, but Tulane is the more talented, more cohesive team. We will learn a lot about these guys' commitment and focus tomorrow. They got away with some sketchy play at SMU because they are so good offensively, but they cannot afford the same lapses against UCF.

I talked to Ron Hunter, Jaylen Forbes and Collin Holloway today. Here is what they said

RON HUNTER

On how confident this team is offensively:

"I keep using those two words--confidence and healthy. Earlier in the year we were shooting 29 percent from the 3, and we put way too much time and energy over an entire year with our shooting for it not to pay off, and it's starting to pay off for us a little bit. We are still determining what are good shots and bad shots, but when we get in that role when we see the ball go in as a team, it becomes very hard to guard."

On Forbes' efficiency:

"He's playing his best basketball of his career right now. The game has really slowed down for him. He doesn't feel like he has to carry everything on his shoulders right now, and it's made him a better basketball player on both ends of the floor. He's playing outstanding right now, whether it's the free throw line, defensively, shooting the 3, putting the ball on the floor, he's playing like an All-Conference guy."

On Cross excelling down stretch of SMU game while playing with four fouls:

"We're getting more consistent minutes from Kev without the foul trouble. We're doing a few things to change that a little bit, but that's starting to help him defensively. But all the guys, sometimes you get a team when you don't know when they are going to start clicking. The great part about this is I don't think we've played our best game yet, and that's what I'm really excited about and can't wait to see. Hopefully it will be in these next two games."

On lapses against SMU:

"No question, but as I told them, in this league winning road games is huge. There are some really tough places to play. I thought SMU was much better than their record showed, and their physicality inside bothered us a little bit. There's no easy game where you can just show up in this league to play. We have a tough game with Central Florida, and that's the only thing that matters right now."

On roster turnover at UCF:

"That's college basketball. That's what makes it so tricky. All of a sudden things can change in an instant, good or bad, and so you just don't know. That's why you need to have your kids ready to play and why we only worry about what we do, and that helps us, so you don't have to worry about all the coming in and out."

On how much having stable roster benefits Tulane:

"It can, but now that you're in the season this far, you are who you are, and Johnny (Dawkins)'s done a great job with it because they have bought in defensively."

JAYLEN FORBES

On hitting dagger 3-point shot from way out for 9-point lead in final two minutes against SMU:

"Well to start the play off Cook had the ball and I was trying to tell them to run a specific play to Cook, but Cook threw it to Kev (Kevin Cross). But we can run the same thing with Kev. My intention was for Kev to go score actually, but once I turned it around he threw it to me and I realized I had the big on me (6-9 forward Efie Odigie) and he wasn't up. I was alway taught I'm a shooter, so hand down, man down, so that's really what it was."

On his own efficiency:

"Not only just me but it's coming from the whole team. We've started gaining confidence game by game. Cook's playing great. Kev's playing great. Sion (James) is playing great. That just opens the floor up for me even more, so I give all the credit to those guys."

On offense being hard to stop:

"It's very tough. As you can see, I hit three 3s in a row (actually two an then three free throws after being fouled on a 3), then Cook went on his run by himself. It's just a matter of when teams start to focus on one player, we have five guys on the floor that can score from three different levels, so that's very tough for other teams to guard."

On Holloway's two flailing, high degree of difficulty and-one lay-ups that went in:

"That helps a lot. With Collin being undersized, he finishes great at the rim. Me and Kev was getting read to check in the game actually when he made one of those lay-ups, and we just laughed about it. It was like how are you making those lay-ups spinning and falling to the ground. I've seen him do it plenty of times, so it was no surprise."

On UCF game:

"Just come out defending. Keep the same thing we have these past few wins, but we've got to come out and keep sharing the ball and we have to guard and we have to rebound. They are a top team in this league, and we feel like we're a top team in this league also, so then it comes down to protect the home court and we always want to protect the home court, so that will be a big deal."

No panic against SMU:

"That's where we have grown more as a team. Basketball is a game of runs. Early in the season we may have gotten away from each other, but as you've seen recently. when teams go on their run we've come together even more as a team. I give the credit to the guys once again, knowing that we are going to need every last person. It's going to take all of us to win."

COLLIN HOLLOWAY

On how he became such a good finisher around the basket:

"I worked on it a little bit. The thing that put me over the top was my first year at Georgetown. Coming as a freshman I wasn't super athletic, and I was playing the 4 or 5 over there, so I had to finish over bigger dudes, so I learned it, kept working on it and got better at it. It showed my sophomore year in the Big East, and I'm showing it right now. I've learned different ways to put it off the glass, different ways to finish, when to jump, when to not jump, when to go into the body and when to not, all different types of things."

On being equally good finishing with left or right hand:

"It helps a lot to be ambidextrous of course. Being able to go both ways is definitely a big help in what I do. It's great."

On two flailing lay-ups against SMU:

"Man, I really just worked on it for a long time. I don't want to say I've mastered it yet because there's ways to improve, but I've gotten a lot better at it."

On left knee bothering him earlier in the year:

"It was bad for a little minute, but I've been working on it rehabbing a lot. It's honestly worlds better than what it was. It's not really a factor right now."

On team being tough to defend:

"When we move that ball, I don't see anyone in the country that can really guard us in a half or a full-court setting, so it's obviously a blessing to be able to play with dudes like this. It's going to be nice."

On key to beating UCF:

"Probably defending and rebounding. We're a little bit outsized, so obviously we have to guard. They shoot a lot of 3s, so we have to guard the 3-point line and make them take 2s, go out and play hard and win a home game."

Passed away yesterday at 89. Jim went to Holy Cross and played at Tulane from 1954-1955. He was the HC at USM from 1982-1987. At halftime of the Tulane-USM game in 1987 with Tulane leading 17-10 he inserted a freshman quarterback into the game and won 31-24. That QB was Brett Favre.
In 1971 Tulane played at North Carolina ( I was a student manager under Troy Phillips). After the Friday afternoon walk through he approached us and visited for about 20 minutes. great individual.

RIP.

Pete Thamel report Slade Nagel been named OC.

From a UCF fan - way to represent!

I can't recall a team winning a game in which it never forced the opponent to punt, but this is a special group. Outplayed for 55 minutes and 30 seconds, the title Wave turned into a tidal Wave the rest of the way and outscored USC 16-0 to win in scintillating fashion.

QUESTIONS FOR QB MICHAEL PRATT Q. To come back the way you did, not only does that resemble what you guys were able to do in this game, but from last year, turning the program around to this year, did today feel like a culmination of everything you guys have done?

MICHAEL PRATT: Absolutely. I think our performance today is a testament to what we've been through the last two years, the work that we've put in. Obviously, after last season going 2-10, we knew we had to flip a switch. And a lot of guys stepped up in the leadership roles. Held people accountable. Put in a lot of extra hours. A lot of young guys stepped up. So really, since that point, we knew this year was going to be special. And being able to be in this opportunity and experience was awesome for us.

Q. They got the safety. Did it feel like you guys had all the momentum at that point?

MICHAEL PRATT: Absolutely.

Q. And when you take the field, a couple of big-time conversions that you guys had to convert to keep that drive alive. What's your mindset as a quarterback? Because you had one on the ground. You had one through the air.

MICHAEL PRATT: Yeah. At that point, we just had to make plays. It's kind of crazy; last year was a very similar game. When we played Oklahoma, week one, against Coach [Lincoln] Riley. And having one more drive and one more opportunity to come back and win the ballgame. And this time, we were able to do it.

Q. Are you able to pull anything from that previous experience against Coach [Lincoln] Riley or is it completely different from 2022?

MICHAEL PRATT: It is pretty different. Obviously, there are some things that we noticed on film and whatnot. But obviously, totally new game plan.

QUESTIONS FOR DL PATRICK JENKINS

Q. What did you see on that safety?

DL PATRICK JENKINS: My coaches just called the right play. And I just had to execute the play. And the safety happened. Q. Did you guys feel like you had all the momentum in the world right then? DL PATRICK JENKINS: We knew we just had to keep fighting. Because our team is all about finishing. We knew we had to keep fighting.

Q. What was in your mindset when Alex caught the touchdown pass and it went into review? Did you watch it on the board?

DL PATRICK JENKINS: I knew he scored. I had to keep faith in God. I knew God had it. I just had to pray. And it came up, we scored a touchdown. It was the greatest feeling ever.

Q. What did you see on the safety? On the replay?

DL PATRICK JENKINS: My coaches set up an amazing play called "The Game." So we ran "The Game," and I just made the play.

Q. You knew it was in the end zone?

DL PATRICK JENKINS: Yes, sir.

Q. Have you had a safety before?

DL PATRICK JENKINS: First one I've ever had.

Q. What does it mean for the program, considering where y'all were last year to be where you are now?

DL PATRICK JENKINS: It means everything. Because we worked a lot, and all the stuff that happened last year, we had to work hard and put our head down. And we came out successful.

Q. What kind of statement do you think Tulane made today?

DL PATRICK JENKINS: That we're a football school. Not a smart school. We're a football school and a smart school.

QUESTIONS FOR WR JHA'QUAN JACKSON.

Q. Talk about this game.

WR JHA'QUAN JACKSON: We finished in the fourth quarter. During halftime, Nick was praying and everything. He just said after this game, we will be 12-2. That's what we did. We came in and finished the game.

Q. How big did you feel like that touchdown you scored was when you guys obviously needed something in that first half?

WR JHA'QUAN JACKSON: To be honest, it was big. But at the end of the day, man, everybody brought us to make plays. You know what I'm saying? So it's not very exciting to me. They brought me here. The other guys made big plays and that's what we have to do. You know what I'm saying?

Q. How important was it to you offensively to be able to score that many points considering the fact that USC is so prolific on offense? I think if you take a look at it, you think that they are a little bit more prolific than you all. But you guys ended up tit for tat the entire game. How important was it to you on offense to kind of lead that way for your team?

WR JHA'QUAN JACKSON: It's very important. Our motto, our goal is to score 50 a game. And just coming into this game and everything, we know we got to go score for score. But at the end of the day, we always tell each other, don't look at the score. You know what I'm saying? It's 0-0 every quarter. Just keep pushing and keep fighting and everything. Our guys stayed together. They didn't fall down when we got down. We had a lot of adversity. We just overcame the adversity.

Q. What was your mindset when you all got that safety, and you had one last drive right there to essentially win that game?

WR JHA'QUAN JACKSON: You know what was crazy, I was standing by Coach [Willie] Fritz's son, Wes Fritz, and everything. He said, man, we got to get a safety. As soon as he said that, whoever made the tackle, we got a safety, and they kicked it off. It's crazy, because when you see it there, it happened right then and there. I just looked at him and I was like, Bro, you called it, man. You know what I'm saying? It's a blessing. I'm excited. Everybody's excited. I really can't even express myself. It's not going to hit me until like conference championship back home in Yulman Stadium. It didn't hit me for two months later. Me and Tyjae [Spears] are roommates and everything. And I'd just look at him and I would say, did it hit you yet? He'd be like, nah, man. When I first stepped into the stadium today, I knew it was game time. And I was so happy, man, that we were here and everything. Shout-out to the Cotton Bowl [Classic] all week. We had great hospitality and everything from the events and everything. We couldn't ask for anything better.

Q. I think for you guys, too, you remind me of a TCU, being the underdogs in this situation. Going into this game, how important was it to you to not only feel like you had to prove something and just keep that swagger and know we are as good as USC and not ever put yourselves down to the level of "It would be cool if we won." No, instead of "We're going to win this game."

WR JHA'QUAN JACKSON: Our motto is we weren't worrying about -- USC is a big team, a great team. They got great players. Shout-out to Caleb [Williams]. He's a great quarterback and everything. Great coach, Lincoln Riley, and everything. But we didn’t let that faze us and everything. Every play is a big game, no matter if it's an SEC team, nonconference, below us. You know what I'm saying. Just focus on us. That's the main thing we did all year and everything, focus on us. How can we get better each and every week. That's one thing I liked about this team, man.

Q. It seemed like there was a visible energy shift after that safety. I saw the sideline was going nuts. The crowd really got into it. How do you think you guys benefited off of that for the rest of the game?

WR JHA'QUAN JACKSON: That safety, it created a lot of energy. The momentum shifted. You could tell by our crowd and everything, their crowd. They were loud and then we got the safety. Our whole side of the crowd, the whole sidelines was raising their hands and everything and pumping everybody up.

Q. On that final drive, Michael Pratt overcame a pressure on a couple fourth downs. What did you see out of his resolve on those two plays where you could have lost this game if neither of those went your way?

WR JHA'QUAN JACKSON: I knew we'd got the job done. Michael Pratt, a great quarterback. He's gym-ready and everything. Always watching film, trying to get better. And he has got a heart of a lion, man. You could tell all year. You tell him to slide sometimes, and he doesn't slide. But at the end of the day, if you got to take a hit, he's going take the hit to get the first down and everything. That's one thing about our quarterback. And I love him. Just the bind that we built and the chemistry we had this year and everything. I keep talking about this year. We did a lot this year. The main difference is just from having all the quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends, the quarterbacks got together and got the chemistry and watched film more. And every Sunday, after the game Saturday or whatever day, we came in and watched film. That showed me that we want to take the next step to win, you know what I'm saying? As you can see. It shows.

On beating USC! From KSU Wildcat nation. Well deserved.

The Cotton Bowl will start in a little more than 90 minutes, but the basketball team's big win against Memphis yesterday deserves mention.

Despite another uncharacteristically poor game from Jalen Cook, who shot 2 of 12 and fouled out with nearly 5 minutes left for the second consecutive game, Tulane won behind a career-high 30 points from Sion James (12 more than his previous best), some clutch shot-making and better rebounding (The Wave won the battle the boards by 1). It was a must win and could spur this team to a surge. A gimme against dismal Tulsa at home is next, and then Tulane plays another huge game at Temple, which has been alternately terrible and terrific this season. The Owls won at home against Cincinnati right after the Bearcats beat Tulane. If the Wave wins there, it might be 6-1 in the AAC when Houston comes calling on Jan. 17, but this team will have to build on its performance yesterday to get there.

I expected Tulane to finish second in the AAC behind Houston when the season started, but injuries and simply poor play in the non-conference schedule put that optimism in doubt. The Wave also missed wide open 3-point shots game after game, and although James will not go 4 for 4 on 3s like he did yesterday any time soon, you have to think they will start hitting more consistently from long range. Jadan Coleman had a huge late 3 yesterday to extend the lead to 7 after missing the previous two games with an illness and barely playing against Memphis before he launched the shot.

I can't emphasize enough how important the Temple game will be. This team, which came into the year with extremely high expectations, needs to get on a roll.

On the last day of 2022, I finally did the longer interview with Kurt Hester I said I was going to do in the spring and then in the fall and never got around to doing. As has been posted in the player interviews, it turns out the four team captains were in on the interviews of the four candidates for the job replacing Kyle Speer that Hester got after spending nine years as Louisiana Tech's strength and conditioning coordinator.

You can ring in the new year by reading the full interview with the Wave's 59-year-old, 180-pound bundle of energy wrapped around a ton of intelligence.

On how everything has worked out beautifully in his first year on the job:

"I think the reason I kind of bonded with the team as fast as I did was the fact that we went to seven straight bowl games at (Louisiana) Tech and then we went 3-9 (last year). 2-10 (at Tulane), 3-9 (at La Tech), it's the same year. And both teams were losing games that they could have won, so we kind of went through the same seasons but just at two different universities, so we understood each other as far as where we came from and what we were trying to accomplish this year."

On if he envisioned this immediate success:

"No, because I didn't know. We talked about it as a staff, and I didn't even know my own staff. I had the exact same staff that was here. I didn't get rid of anybody. Most strength coaches come in and they do fire the whole staff because they have to have their guys. I'm different. I'm going to give them a chance. You have a chance to keep your job if you work hard and you do what I ask you to do, then we're a staff. And I didn't know any players. I watched one Tulane game last year, so I didn't know anything about the players themselves and what kind of talent they had. I'd never watched them practice. I'd never watched them train, so I'm coming with no expectations, and looking at the schedule and knowing how good Cincinnati, SMU, Central Florida are. I really thought we'd be a bowl team, that we'd probably get to a bowl, and as things went along, especially after K State, it was like we had something special. And it took (the loss to) Southern Miss to realize we have to grow up, you can't underestimate anybody at all. And I don't think without that game we push as far as we do.

"It's really awesome that we're sending off every Big 12 team with a loss. We got the revenge against UCF. And even as we walked off the field (after losing to UCF in the regular season), I told the players, I said guys, we're going to play them again, and you want to lose to them the first time because I've been in a conference championship before where we beat Western Kentucky during the season (55-52 in 2016) and then we lost to them by in the conference championship game (58-44), so if you're going to lose a game, you lose it and then you play them again."

On increasing speed being his driving philosophy and what he inherited:

"Again, people want to give me a lot of props, and we have talent. We have talent. If we had no talent, then no one would be talking to me right now. It wouldn't have made any difference. We had some fast guys. I think we made our O and D line, our bigger guys, and what we call our thunder guys, our running backs and quarterbacks and tight ends and linebackers, I think we made them faster, and our skill guys we made them better in movement and movement skills. They had speed. We actually did speed work yesterday during practice. We dedicate a couple of periods a week to doing it because you have to do it with the equipment on because that's how you're going to play. It affects your speed."

On what type of drills he is talking about during practice:

"A lot of plyometric (a type of exercise training that uses speed and force of different movements to build muscle power) bounding and pogo type drills, and then you have to get up to top speed. In football, in practices and in the games, you're always reacting to somebody else, so you're always decelerating and re-accelerating, so a lot of times most players never really get to top speed. We did four reps where we got up to max speed at 30 yards, and if you don't train speed within a five-day period, you just drop off. There's a physical drop off, so during the season we get some done on Monday and get some done on Thursday. Even if it's just two to four reps, you can still maintain your top-end speed, and that's what we've been done. Most coaches won't allow two to three periods in the middle of practice to do that because we need to do this drill. Coach Fritz has bought into it."

On relationship with Fritz:

"It takes a while for a coach. I was with Skip Holtz for nine seasons. It took probably two seasons for him to really trust me, and then once I would explain why we were doing what we were doing and he could see on the field and in the data. But coach Fritz has a strength and conditioning background. That's what he graduated in, so I can talk to him at a little bit different level because he does have an understanding of it. And he's given me some leeway to trust me early, and so it's worked out really well. Next year we'll progress even further."

Oh what his biggest change from Speer has been:

"They enjoy coming in. I've made everything we do, we have fun. You saw how hard the Surge was. OK, we're going to train hard, but we're going to have fun doing it, and the thing is they could see the difference in how they were moving, so the more they would do, the more they bought into it. I told them, I don't expect y'all to trust me. Give me two weeks and I'll guarantee you that you will start to believe in what we're doing. I think the first day I walked out on the field with cleats on to teach, they'd never seen a coach walk out with cleats on, and I was doing every movement drill, physically teaching them how to move, and I think that was the first day they were like, OK, things are going to be a little different. That was the first day we went out on the field and started doing speed work."

On if it was easy decision to come to Tulane:

"Yeah because I've been all over the planet. I've been in Nashville, I was in Denver and then came back to college football in Ruston. My family lives between Covington and Baton Rouge, so just for them to be able to come, to be able to see family more often, for them to be able to come to games instead of having to drive 5 1/2 hours. They just come across the lake. I have one daughter who lives in Covington, one who lives in Hammond, and my son still is working on his MBA at Tech. He's finishing up his MBA right now, so it's just the opportunity for them to be around all of us, to be around family all the time."

On his avoiding the tradition of new strength coaches trashing the work of their predecessors:

"When I got to Tech, I actually knew the former strength coach. He actually did an internship with me, who I replaced, and I pretty much said the same thing at Tulane. It was look, I'm Kurt Hester. All I know how to be is Kurt Hester, and I said what you did in the past is different than who I am. It's just different, so I'm not bashing him, but what was done here in the past, I'm just telling you, give me two weeks. There's a million different ways to train, and I'm just different. It's not what you're used to. It's going to take a little time for you to understand the direction we're going. Just give me the respect of two weeks. I'll earn it from there. I didn't say one thing negative about Kyle, and I know Kyle."

I tried to get a USC writer to do it in Dallas but had no takers. They seem much less interested in the matchup than USC building for the future.

I apologize for not getting it done. It would have been very insightful to have someone answer questions about the Trojans.

CHRIS HAMPTON

Just thank everyone for coming out this afternoon. Obviously we're excited to be here. Excited to be in the Cotton Bowl. It's been a fantastic experience so far. I think it's the best bowl game there is. I've heard about it before I got here. And after we got here, the hospitality and experience has been second to none of any bowl I've ever been to or been involved with as a player or as a coach.

So I think it's been a great experience for us. I think our kids are excited to play. As a coach, it's a great opportunity going against a fantastic school in USC. Got a great offense. One of the best offensive coordinators (Josh Henson) probably in college football history. I think he's coached three or four Heisman Trophy winners. Obviously, Caleb Williams won the Heisman this year. He's a dynamic player. We know the grit he possesses. They've got a lot of weapons around him.

They can throw the ball well. They run the ball extremely well. Probably a little bit better than people anticipate who don't watch the film. Do a great job blocking on the perimeter.

So we've got our hands full. They're great statistically in just about every category. First‑down offense, third‑down offense, red‑zone offense, scoring offense, total offense. They don't have very many weaknesses. So we just have got to do a great job of being the best version of ourselves on the 2nd and just go from there.

Q. How much of a difference does it make if Caleb Williams plays or not for USC?

COACH HAMPTON: We're preparing as if he is. I got that question the other day. We're just preparing. I haven't even thought about if he doesn't play. If he doesn't, the game play will be the same. We wouldn't change what we're doing, but we're preparing as if he's going to play.

Q. You've been around this program for a few years now. You've seen the development of Tulane. How important has this season been, especially after the struggles of last year and for this team to come back and bounce back the way it has to get in this position?

COACH HAMPTON: It's been the best I've ever seen. I think we've got a great group of kids, first and foremost. We're a player‑led bunch. It's been ‑‑ our seniors, our captains, Nick Anderson Dorian Williams, Larry Brooks, Macon Clark, Michael Pratt, those guys have really led us really starting last year, in January. I think they were embarrassed by the way we played last season by our record.

We were much better than our record, but our record was our record. We were a 2‑10 team. That's what we were. And so I think everyone was motivated for their seniors and it started in January in the off‑season, and it's shown throughout the season.

Q. Obviously this bowl season, you know, we saw the transfer portal opening. There was recruiting. There has been a lot of distractions off the field, I guess you could see. Do you guys look at this as an opportunity to build momentum into next season?

COACH HAMPTON: Definitely. We've got great coaching. We talk about defense coaching over our scheme. And I really believe there's great schemes everywhere.

But the coach that you have in your program ‑‑ I think, first and foremost, Coach [Willie] Fritz has started it and built the right coach. And I don't think we've had anyone in the transfer portal.

We haven't had that distraction. A lot of programs have. We've been blessed with that.

But yes, we've had a great recruiting class. Probably the best one since I've been here, I would think. Just watching the guys who are able to sign. We've got some guys that typically in seven years we weren't able to get. We may have wanted but lost to other people. This year they came.

And I think the fan support we've had this year, we've had a couple sellouts. We had never had that before. Obviously, we're 11‑2, playing in the Cotton Bowl, won the conference championship. I think the program is headed in the right direction, and I think we can do it again.

Q. Another thing USC does really well is just not turn the ball over.

COACH HAMPTON: Correct.

Q. How important is it going to be to try to change that?

COACH HAMPTON: That's the big thing we talked about. I think maybe in our first meeting we had was about winning the turnover take‑away battle and creating some take‑aways. Those things would be game‑by‑game. It changes.

They haven't done much all season. They hadn't played in a long time. Hopefully, we can create some ‑‑ take the ball away from them, force some fumbles.

We've shown some clips of some opportunities that other teams didn't take advantage of. They're well‑coached. You have to take advantage of opportunities when you get them, and we can't leave them on the field.

Q. You mentioned earlier in preparing for Caleb Williams. What have you seen from Caleb Williams and the challenge he's going to present?

COACH HAMPTON: Everything. I mean, he's really, really athletic, first and foremost. He can avoid the rush as good as anyone probably in football, not just college football, but maybe NFL as well.

He's got real arm talent. He can throw the ball down the field. He's got great pocket presence. He doesn't get rattled.

I think at Oklahoma, they used him a lot as designated quarterback run guy when we first got there. He would come in for Spencer Rattler and run the football.

He's not as much of a design run guy now. More so he does scrambling. And he's developed into a great quarterback, his reading and going through his progression and checking the play. They allow him to check the play a lot.

But I think just him ‑‑ when the coverage breaks down, he can scramble and create plays with his legs, find guys open downfield. And sometimes when guys come free, they miss him. He's really hard to get down. He's like a J'ai Durant Collier type of guy. He can just make you miss.

And so we've got to do a great job of tackling. We've tried to simulate that as much in practice as we possibly can, but it will be little bit different on the 2nd, I'm sure.

Q. Looking back at the season, you look back at that Kansas State game, you guys played a team that obviously won the Big 12 championship here just a couple of weeks ago. You held Deuce Vaughn and that group to seven points. What confidence did that kind of give this group, and how did you guys carry that over through season, and what do you tell your guys about facing another Power 5 team like that?

COACH HAMPTON: Really, we haven't talked about being a Power 5 or not a Power 5 or whatever. And it's game by game, so really that game doesn't do a whole lot for us right now. But I do think that our kids gained a lot of confidence from their win. Just confidence in themselves.

And I think we expected to win that game. We really did going into it. And maybe people on the outside didn't ‑‑ obviously, they were really good, and we weren't really good the year before. But I think that game just kind of helped us prove to ourselves that we were the type of defense that we thought we could be, because they were really good and they are.

And so we played well that night. We just have to do it again. We tackled well. That was the big thing we did against Kansas State. There were some things on film, but we didn't fit properly. We didn't do that, but we overcame with plenty of great effort and tackling. And that's going to be the same thing we're going to have to do on the 2nd. We're going to have to play with great effort and tackle. That will be the key, I think, to the game.

Q. You played a lot of different teams with varying offensive philosophies and mindsets. Does USC remind you of anybody you faced, or how do they compare to some of the teams that you went up against this year?

COACH HAMPTON: I think schematically maybe they're similar to SMU. Probably a little bit similar to SMU. But the quarterback for SMU (Tanner Mordecai) couldn't run like this guy. This guy could run more like John Rhys Plumlee from Central Florida. But their offense isn't the same really. More like SMU, I would say, style of offense. But the quarterback is what makes them different, I think.

As always, the Tulane game counts double. For some reason VegasInsider.com consensus is not available, so the point spreads come from Caesers Sportsbook.

Tulane (+2) USC (Cotton Bowl)
Michigan (-7.5) TCU (playoff)
Georgia (-6.5) Ohio State (playoff)
Utah (-2.5) Penn State (Rose Bowl)
Alabama (-6.5) Kansas State (Sugar Bowl)
Clemson (-4.5) Tennessee (Orange Bowl)
Texas (-3) Washington (Alamo Bowl)
LSU (-14.5) Purdue (Citrus Bowl)

I flew to Dallas from New Orleans this morning and made it to the AT&T Stadium interview room just in time for Tulane offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda, who spoke on the podium. He was followed in a separate room by Shae Wyatt, Michael Pratt, Tyjae Spears, Sincere Haynesworth and Prince Pines.

I have worked tirelessly to get you all of the quotes all year long, but I can't take credit for that today. The New Year's Six Bowls have a professional transcription crew that handles everything, so I am merely relaying what they transcribed. I asked at least half of the questions for most of these interviews, which essentially consisted of me and a reporter for AP (no one from the Dallas Morning News or any other newspaper) talking to the players while about 20 Cotton Bowl staffers looked on from the background.

Hi Guerry! Did you read the article this morning in The Athletic breaking down Tulane’s success on offense this season? If so, I am curious your thoughts. The offensive system analysis was a good read. But I am specifically curious how truthful the behind the scenes stuff is.

The TLDR is that Fritz turned over the offense to Nagle two weeks before training camp started because he wasn’t happy with how the offense looked in the spring under Svoboda. The article implies that Nagle has been the de-facto OC all season. I saw your article on Wyatt and his thoughts on ’Boda’s offense. So the Athletic article surprised me.

Not sure if I am allowed to link it or should be discussing this. So sorry ahead of time.

Thanks!

Merry Christmas to all of our diehards here! Looking forward to great New Year starting on 1-2-23!!!

Doing my usual live updates on the front page as signings roll in, although I overslept by 20 minutes.

From Rivals. Scroll down to see the take.

So much for a quiet day before tomorrow...
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This dude is a hidden gem. Legit 6'3", can run, can throw. His team went 9-1 in the regular season. They lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs to the eventual section champions.

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Three Questions

With 19 recruits signed (Jacobs still out) and 5 transfers expected to enroll, I have three questions.

• How many of these kids will enroll for the spring semester and participate in spring football?
• With the unexpected and sincerely welcome return of Haynesworth, I believe we have 66 returning scholarship players. Adding the 24 “new’ guys, that takes us to 90, five over the limit. Who is leaving?
• If more than 5 are leaving, how many more slots do we have for the national signing day in February?

Roll Wave!!!

Tulane just announced Darion Reed as a signee. No surprise since he took his official visit this past weekend a few days after committing to Memphis

That means four of the five high schoolers who visited Friday signed with the Wave.

Commits to Tulane. I year of eligibility. Started 11 games at LSU from 2020-2022.

Is there a Cotton Bowl edition in the works?