New Commitment- 6'4 230 lb DE from Port St Lucie Fla. Rivals 3 Star

A reliable source has told me that Dannen is trying to leave Tulane for a bigger job as soon as possible. Apparently Fritz AND Dannen interviewed for their respective positions and Kansas and "blew it." Neither parties' visions appealed to Kansas, apparently.

I didn't hear anything about Coach Fritz being desperate to leave Tulane and I've only heard about his interest in the Kansas job, which would seem to be naturally attractive to him based on his roots in that part of the country. It would be a homecoming of sorts for him. I've always heard how happy he is at Tulane.

However I've heard the opposite about Dannen. He wants the next step in his career as soon as possible. He is a very confident individual (I'm trying to phrase that as politely as possible) and he believes he is destined for higher things. Sooner rather than later.

Talked to him this afternoon, and here's what he had to say. Although Andrew Allegretta's departure for Vanderbilt less than two years after replacing the inimitable Todd Graffagnini was announced Wednesday, the deal had been in the works for a few months, so Tulane was very prepared to make a hire.

Gloor, 34, has spent the past six years as the radio broadcaster for East Carolina baseball, filling in for basketball at the beginning of seasons when football and basketball conflicted. He will do football, basketball and baseball for Tulane and comes with the seal of approval from Todd Graffagnini. He is not married and has no kids, so his transition to New Orleans should be easier than Allegretta's was.


GLOOR

On his thoughts about getting the job:

"I can’t wait. I went after it a couple years ago and wanted to be down there, wanted to be around Tulane. I’ve watched it from afar and seen this athletic department just continue to build momentum and now it seems like it’s poised to go full steam ahead. To be part of that and get in at this stage when it just seems like football’s in a good spot, baseball’s in a good spot, basketball’s right there where to get in now is really thrilling because I think there’s going to be great things that are going to happen here at Tulane."

On excitement about baseball:

"Totally. With what Tulane was doing, we knew that series in Gainesville was going to be a real massive weekend, and it turned out to be. Tulane had their struggles down the stretch, but they were poised to be a tournament team if not for struggling right at the end there. Tulane baseball is in a really good spot right now. It's fun to see and it was fun to watch from a distance, and I can’t wait to see them up close. When I first got there, my first trip there was 2016 and to see the local media covering Tulane baseball, that’s something I’ve really only seen here in Greenville, so I know the passion is there for Tulane baseball. Once that team takes that next step, then Turchin is going to be jammed and it’s going to be really loud and really rocking and be one of the hardest places to play in college baseball."

On basketball and football:

"I filled in in the month of November when football and basketball overlapped. I didn’t call football and basketball here at ECU but I would jump in when needed."

On getting the job less than two years after going after it and not getting it:

"It was surprising. I couldn’t have been happier that I got notified about it this time around because I really wanted to get down there, and It does not happen in this industry when it circles back around to you. It has been unique because it has been a very difficult run the last year and a half in this industry, and to just have this opportunity come back was not something I thought was going to be on the table."

On his style on air:

"I come from the Midwest, so I do have a dry midwestern humor that I will work into what I do. I prepare diligently. Ninety percent of what I do is before broadcast so that I can walk in and know what to say and be ready for anything. But when push comes to shove, this job's a blast and I’m going to have fun doing it and I’m going to have fun doing it for Tulane. You are going to know that I’m calling games for Tulane. I’m going to put that emotion into it. It’s important for me to be around the program and be around the players and the coaches and get to know them on a personal level because that’s what drives my ability to tell a story about them, to know them as human beings first and not just people playing or working at Tulane."

On familiarity with AAC:

"It certainly doesn’t hurt. To be able to watch what Tulane has done from my post here in Greenville the last few years, and not just baseball-related but seeing how football is elevated and seeing what’s being built with men’s basketball and seeing just how the league has continued to grow year in and year out. We knew it was a good football league. Basketball, it’s a power league and what they realize now is the American has put together a good baseball league, so what you have here is a really impressive group of schools, and to see Tulane really put it all together where they are contending towards the top of the conference in football, working their way up in basketball and contending in baseball in a league that’s this difficult has been really fun to see."

On start date:

"I want to get down there pretty quick. We’re trying to pinpoint the first week in July to get down there and get around the facilities, get around the athletic department and get around the football program and start building those relationships. We’re still ironing down that first start date, but it won’t be too long." I’m ready to pick up and go, but 34 is young for some, but I feel old all the time. I’m ready to sit down and ready to put roots down. I want to do it in New Orleans and I want to do it with Tulane, so I really can’t wait to get down there."

On what Tulane said it wanted:

"Someone who wants to champion what Tulane is doing and what is being built there and being the voice of the Green Wave. Call a great game, but call it for the fans of Tulane. The fans of Tulane are very similar to fans at East Carolina. They are fiercely loyal to their school and operate with a chip on their shoulders. They don’t want anyone talking down to them over the course of a broadcast. I l learned that here in Greenville, and I can’t wait to do it in New Orleans and be part of the fanbase, the alumni base. That’s what’s important for me jumping in here immediately to try and get indoctrinated quickly to what Tulane is."

By my count, we currently have 89 players on scholarship, which includes 11 seniors/graduate students, who don't count towards the 85 limit due to relaxation of the rules for Covid. I could have sworn that we had 25 (the max) signees for 2021 but when I look over the roster, I can only find 24. Does anyone know for sure our situation? Thanks in advance.

Roll Wave!!!

Sorry, I was on vacation in Destin through the weekend, but here is the list of unofficial visitors in the last week before the dead period that started yesterday and will last through most of July.

Commitments Jalen Rogers, Travious Lathan and De'Carlo Donaldson, all from the Miami area, visited along with these uncommitted prospects:

2022:

1) Massey Lewis, a 3-star OLB from Lafayette Christian Academy

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2) TJ Johnson, a 3-star WR from Alexandria High

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3) J'Mari Monette, a 3-star DT from Alexandria High

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4) Travious Lathan, a 3-star LB from Miami Gulliver Prep

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6) Ahmaad Moses, a 3-star ATHLETE from Mansfield Summit in Arlington, Texas

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6) Jarian Shelby, a no-star (as of now) LB from Hahnville with an offer from ULL

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2023

1) Rickie Collins, a 4-star QB from Woodlawn with offers from LSU and Arkansas among others.

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2) Will Randle, a 6-4, 220-pound TE from Newman who does not have a profile from Rivals yet

ANY Idea who, visited last week or weekend?

Is anyone aware of any new commitments from visits this past week or weekend? Seems very quiet as of late. Please anyone comment if you are in the know

Any news?

Anyone know? I'm not even sure we had any.

Roll Wave!!!!

Any information on this guy. 2019 Bama walk on who actually played some special teams last year. I guess if he redshirted and takes his Covid year he would be RS Freshman again this year. I know he was a walk on but if he earned time on the field at Bama he hopefully has something to bring to the table at Tulane

Guerry where you able to get a list of visitors?

Here is the complete list of players who took unofficial visits in the first on-campus recruiting weekend since the pandemic started more than a year ago.

First, all four commitments were there: Jalen Rogers, who just transferred to to powerhouse Florida high school program St. Thomas Aquinas from Miami Northwestern, CJ Donaldson, Carson Haggard and Tyler Siddons.

The rest, representing eight states:

1) Nich Charles, a DE fron Kennesaw, Ga.

2) Mario Crawford, a DE from Jonesboro, Ark.

3) Curtis Deville, a 3-star WR from Iowa, La.

4) Kalvin Dinkins, a 3-star DT from Lake, Miss, who committed to USM in March

5) Cam East, a 3-star OT from St. Aug

6) Brylan Green, a 3-star safety from Lafayette Christian Academy

7) Marlon Gunn, a 4-star RB from Baton Rouge Scotlandville with an offer from FSU

8) Blake Gunter, a 3-star TE from Madison, Miss.

9) Gerrod Henderson, a DE from Spring, Texas

10) Zae Henry, a LB from Dothan, Ala. who is in the 247 database but whom I can't find in the Rivals database

11) Landon Ibieta, a 3-star WR from Mandeville High

12) Devon Irving, a 3-star WR from College Park, Ga.

13) Masey Lewis, a 3-star WR from Lafayette Christian Academy''

14) Ronald Lewis, a 3-star safety from Warren Easton

15) James Livingston, a 2-star OT from Dexter, Mich.

16) Malachi Preciado, a 3-star center from Warren Easton

17) Leon Elloie, an ATHLETE from Warren Easton

18) Quan Peterson, a CB from Rock HIll, S.C.

19) Crajuan Bennett, a DB from Iowa, La.

20) Evan Smith, a QB from Birmingham, Ala.

21) Kobe Prentice, a RB from Montevalo, Ala.

22) Kivon Wright, a 3-star DE from Manville, Texas

23) Van Wells, a 3-star center from Houston

24) Dylan Spencer, a 4-star DE from Katy, Texas with an offer from LSU

Hey Guerry, when next you interview CWF could you ask him what led him away from the Pistol Triple option? I was watching some of his GSU tape and there were nearly unstoppable on the ground. Was it an inability to get the linemen necessary? I feel like finding great athletes to play the QB position wasn't an issue...Did he feel like he couldn't win with the offense in the AAC? Which I doubt, Navy kicks arse with the option...Did he feel like the perception of the option hurt recruiting? Or could we just not pass the ball? I'm very curious to see why he would change from what worked soo well for him.

I still feel like this Tulane team is the most capable of getting to a super regional since the CWS team of 2005 with its depth of pitching, Keagan Gillies' emergence as a top-line closer, excellent infield defense on the left side and just enough hitting to get the job done, but making a regional is no sure thing yet.

It was looking bleak when Tulane was lifeless through 7 1/2 innings yesterday in the first game, getting outhit 11-1, committing another egregious base-running mistake (Jake LaPrairie holding up at first base on Bennett Lee's drive off the wall and turning it into a single.

But Lee's home run happened, and this is the chance for the Wave to get on another roll.

Tulane just got its first commitment for 2022, Tyler Siddons from Salem High in Arkansas. It's a small school. He is in the Rivals database but does not have any stars yet. He plays defensive end and tight end there but the coaches project him as an offensive tackle at Tulane.

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I will try to talk to him soon, but it may be a few days because I am swamped.

I'm hearing Tulane is close to getting a commitment from a quarterback and, more significantly for the upcoming year, is in the running for a major transfer. We'll see what transpires.

Look's like a good one!

It's Jalen Rogers (listed as 5-9, 146 pounds but up to 5-11, 160 now, a wide receiver from Miami Northwestern. He is a 2-star recruit who also had an offer from Syracuse.

Northwestern won state championship in 2019, 2018 and 2017 in Class 5A, the fourth largest classification, but only played five games this year, so Rogers was under the radar. He has been outstanding in camps this spring, runs a 10.9 in the 100 meters and was second in the state as part of the 4X400 meters team.

Jalen Rogers

I am trying to confirm the report that Jeffery Johnson has entered the transfer portal. I assume it is true, and that definitely would be a blow. He has not consistently lived up his hype coming out of high school, but he was productive last year and can hold his position better than anyone who would replace him. He was terrific against Auburn two years ago.

Hey Guerry could you perhaps talk to coach Fritz about giving an injury update? How is Tyjae Spears recovering? Will we ever see Kanyon Walker? How is Remetich healing up? What about Shi'Keem Lassiter and YG Booker? Will they be ready for summer workouts or fall camp?

Another thought, how about an update on who CWF or the assistant coaches think will be surprise contributors this year? Will Armoni Dixion or early enrollee Micheal Lunz see some PT?

Tulane needed to win two games at ECU to give itself a good chance for an at-large bid for a regional, and it did not happen. The Green Wave was fortunate to win one game, getting a clutch home run from Ethan Groff and a big-time closing performance from Keagan Gillies to win the third game by one run but was otherwise outclassed for the entire weekend. Travis Jewett is now 3-10 against ECU with three one-one wins while being outscored 93-31 in the 10 losses.

The big disappointment over the weekend was the performance of all four starting pitchers. East Carolina is a very good hitting team, but Tulane's strength became a weakness. Braden Olthoff, who has been money in virtually every pressure situation in his two-year career, had little movement on his breaking balls and was lucky to get through three innings relatively unscathed before getting lit up in the fourth. The second home run he allowed was a batting practice changeup. Jack Aldrich had uncharacteristic control issues in the second game, although he might have had better results if not for the most mystifying play of the weekend when Luis Aviles fielded an overthrown ball at first base on a single to left field and had the runner out by about five yards but elected to eat the ball with a runner on third. This probably was the result of all the botched first-and-third situations earlier in the year, but you simply cannot turn down a free out. It turned into a four-run inning that might have been limited to one and a tie game. Donovan Benoit was totally out of sorts early and did a nice job recovering to get into the sixth inning of the lone win, but he was far from sharp and was saved from massing trouble by a batter swinging at ball four for a strikeout and then having a ripped line drive go close enough to the right fielder to get caught, keeping the Wave down by only one run. Tyler Hoffman pitched OK yesterday in a tough day for pitchers with the wind blowing out to right, but he failed to make clutch pitches and was left in two batters too long, giving up six runs instead of four.

Anyway you cut it, that wasn't good enough from the one area in which Tulane had a clear edge on ECU, which is a potential CWS team. The Pirates don't have the arms to match the other top teams in the country, but they are a good bet to win a regional if they host one and they will have a decent shot to win game 1 of a super regional against anyone with Gavin Williams on the mound. If that happened, it would be a matter of their mediocre starting pitching giving them a chance to win a second game. They would be in with a shot the way they rake. I don't think they will make the CWS, but it's possible.

In my estimation, Tulane would have to win seven of its last eight games or finish ahead of ECU at the top of the AAC to give itself a reasonable shot at an at-large bid entering the AAC tourney. Seeing as how UCF won two at ECU and the way Cincinnati hits, it will be a tough task, requiring the starting pitching to be elite. If Tulane sweeps UCF, which is 100th in the RPI, it likely would climb into the high 40s. If it wins three of four from Cincinnati (high 80s) on the road, its RPI likely would climb to near 40. Winning three of four against UCF and all four against Cincinnati would be even better for the RPI.

East Carolina has been a .500 road team this year, but the sample size is too small to be a valid indicator. The Pirates close out with eight games on the road against USF and Cincinnati, and it is hard to imagine them losing more than two of them, but you never know. One thing that would benefit Tulane is for Wichita State to go 7-1 or 8-0 in its final two home series (USF, Memphis), climbing into the top 50 of the RPI. Right now the Shockers are 53, and if they got in the top 50, Tulane would be a respectable 5-8 against tier 1 teams instead of the current 2-8.

With a resume that is very light on quality victories, Tulane has to win a lot of games the rest of the way. It is possible, but it's tough when teams can run willy-nilly on the catchers. It's up to the starting pitchers to dominate and keep guys off the bases in the first place. We will see if they are up to the task starting Friday, when Olthoff hopes to bounce back in a big way.

I was looking into Bennett Lee's outrageous .461 batting average (and even more outrageous .517 average in AAC play) and learned he went 9 for 11 in a recent seven-game stretch (the four games at Memphis and the first three vs. Houston) when he had two strikes. That's insane. No one hits like that with two strikes, and in fact he is only 6 for 30 with two strikes in his other at-bats, but until getting gassed by back-to-back doubleheaders against Houston, he was totally locked in.

All nine hits were singles. Two were to the right side, one was to the left, three were up the middle and three never left the infield, so he does whatever the pitch requires to get on base. The two times he did not hit safely in that span, he struck out, so every time he put the ball in play, he got a single.

The Tulane record for batting average for a full season was .439 by David Stokes in 1980.

When former offensive line coach Cody Kennedy left for Southern Miss (briefly, before then heading to Arkansas), he said it was tough because he wanted to see the developing line he had worked with this past year become the force he expected it to be in the next two years. The Green Wave started two true freshmen on the right side for much of 2020, returns seven guys who started at least three games up front in 2020 (Sincere Haynesworth 12, Corey Dublin 11, Joey Claybrook 9, Trey Tuggle 8, Josh Remetich 5, Caleb Thomas 4, Timothy Shafter 3) and has two redshirt freshman whom Kennedy was very high on in

Two offensive line coaches later, it is a little hard to judge how much the linemen improved during a chaotic spring drills in which the coach hired to replace Kennedy, George Barnett, left for Iowa after working the Potato Bowl and one spring practice. The group was coached by a grad assistant for the next couple of workouts before Chris Watt was hired and began learning his guys on the fly while spring ball continued. Joey Claybrook, who will start at left tackle, was not available due to offseason knee surgery from an injury in the Potato Bowl. Josh Remetich was out with an injury, too, and a few other guys missed some practices as well, so it was impossible to get a read on how well the group will play in the fall.

This much we know. The left side of the line is set with Claybrook, Corey Dublin at guard and Sincere Haynesworth at center. The coaches believe that trio will be as good as anyone in the AAC, with Dublin electing to return for a COVID-granted extra year and on his way to shattering the school record for career starts as a full-time five-year starter.

This much we don't know: who will start on the right side in the opener, and who will start there as the year progresses. I watched 10 of the 14 spring practices and my opinion changed by the day. Tuggle, who started the first seven games at right guard as a true freshman and also started the regular-season finale against Memphis, was a backup when he practiced in the spring. As already mentioned, Remetich, who started the first four games at right tackle plus the Memphis game, was not available. The most frequent starters were Thomas at right guard and Shafter at right tackle. Thomas played pretty well last year while starting against SMU, UCF and Temple while subbing for an injured Remetich before getting hurt himself, returning again vs. Memphis. Shafter, a former walk-on who started against East Carolina, Army and Tulsa when Tuggle was down, struggled mightily as one of the guys trying to replace Claybrook at left tackle when he got hurt against Nevada.

Redshirt freshman Rashad Green, one of the young guys Kennedy touted, got some reps with the first unit at right guard this spring and looked pretty good, albeit in drills that were not live. No one looked particularly good at either tackle spot with Claybrook out, although Michael Lombardi, the other redshirt freshman Kennedy really liked, worked with the first team on the left side and earned praise from the coaches. That spot, to me, will determine how effective the line is in 2021 and whether Michael Pratt can get comfortable in the pocket rather than constantly worrying he is about to get hit.

I went back and forth when I had to do depth charts for Athlon's and Lindy's in my previews because I really don't have enough info on whom Watt likes the best or what he envisions for this group., and even though I was there for all three scrimmages, I did not get a good read on the guys vying for time.

My best guess is that Thomas will win the three-way battle with Remetich and Green at right guard, although Green will warrant playing time. Thomas improved tremendously last season after being out with injuries in his first year, and if he makes a similar leap in the fall, he can become a decent starter. Remetich had one turned out to be a killer personal foul penalty against Tulsa, although it would have been a footnote if the defense had been able to defend a pass. Ask me tomorrow and I might have a different answer about the starter here.

In what is pretty much a toss-up, I expect Tuggle to reclaim the right tackle position from Shafter, who looked shaky again in the spring at times. Lombardi will be in the picture, too, after playing on the left side in the spring, but Tuggle was ahead of him in the first year and I see no reason he cannot hold on to that advantage. This spot needs to play better overall than it did a year ago.

Offensive linemen play all game if healthy, but the top backup to Haynesworth is Michael Remondet (big dropoff) and the top backup to Dublin is Jackson Fort (also a big dropoff). Juco transfer Haydan Shook and freshman Hutson Lillibridge were at spring practice but did not make an impact, although Shook was not healthy for part of it.

Carson Haggard Quarterback out of Miami Florida