As of right now we may have up to 5 visitors on campus this weekend. I'm trying to get a list....stay tuned.

Any idea who is coming in this weekend, Guerry?

I am upping my hoops coverage on the site from basically zilch because I believe this team can be good this year and maybe win 20 games if things click.

Here's Mike Dunleavy after practice today. Always forthright, he spared no words about the poor effort in the first half of the loss to Memphis on Tuesday night, a point he really drove home in his post-game radio interview with Graff.

Understandably, you weren’t too thrilled with the effort in the first half against Memphis.

“Yeah, I felt like before the game we talked about their team and what the strength of it was, and it was that they are a very physical team that is going to try to overpower you on the boards and get their point guard to the rim against penetration. The two areas—transition points and second-chance points—it was paramount that we get stops, and we didn’t do it. Thirty points in the paint in the first half, transition, second chance, the whole spectrum of what we didn’t want.

“Obviously, the numbers in the second half were completely different. Instead of 30 points in the paint, 10 points. Instead of 13 points in transition, 2 points. Then all of a sudden we were playing our game. We were getting stops, we were getting out in transition, we were getting what we wanted to potentially get. Certain teams, you’ve got to come out and follow the game plan. I’m a little disappointed with our guys. OK, we had a great win at Temple, you read your press clippings and fall down against Tulsa. You get a great win against SMU, read our press clippings and we fall down against Memphis. Not that both of those teams aren’t capable of beating us. Of course they are. But I just wasn’t getting the effort that I needed.”

Even with better defense early in the second half, Memphis scored on three straight possessions by hitting tough shots. Was that the result of the confidence they got from getting easy baskets in the first half?

“Exactly. Right. They got a couple of big-time pieces in the sense that (Jeremiah) Martin was coming off a career high and (Mike) Parks was coming off a career high that he matched against us. (Martin scored 31 v. Tulane and Parks had 16). It was just too efficient. A couple of plays I would have said OK, you know what, tough shots. Good defense and the guy made a couple of tough shots, but that was after a couple of lay-ups. You let a scorer see the ball go through the basket a couple of times and all of a sudden, it’s game on.”

Jordan Cornish has been such a streaky shooter this year. Is there something in his form or his makeup that causes that?

“A lot of it is the type of shots you’re getting, getting good early rhythm shots and seeing the ball go through the basket versus having to shoot tough shots off the dribble and sometimes you miss a couple of shots. Everything as a coach, I’m always trying to figure out how do I get certain guys easy buckets and let them see the ball go through the basket. That’s a part of it.”

He’s a facilitator for your offense and does a lot of different things, but he’s only had six double-figure scoring games (out of 16). Do you want him to score more?

“It really depends just on the situation. Like you said, we put him in a lot of positions and ultimately we just want him making good reads. He’s’ got a post game, he’s got a pick and roll game, he’s got a 3-point game, so depending on who we’re playing, we put him in those kind of different situations and we’re happy if you’re in pick and rolls, if you’re just making plays, we don’t care about your scoring. It’s about efficiency, about what’s there and what you’re taking.”

At UNLV he shot the lights out in his freshman year, making 38 of 78 3s (48.7 percent) and 79.5 percent of his free throws, but his sophomore year he hit only 31 of 103 3s and 59.4 percent of his free throws. Is he a guy that gets on long streaks good and bad?

“Part of it I think was maybe conditioning, so we’re always constantly trying to do with our team, how many times have we come back from down double digits. We had a pretty good run the other night, but it was such a big-ass deficit, and to complicate it there were a bunch of points we would have gotten back. Take my technical foul away, take those two points away, where are we, but on the other hand, if I don’t get the T, they don’t review the 3-point play. I don’t mind getting a T if I’m wrong, but if I’m right … the referee from the weak side came over to get me. Whatever. It is what it is.”

What concerns you the most about UConn?

“They’ve got possibly the best point guard in the league and certainly one of the top point guards in the country in (Jalen) Adams. He’s certainly one of the top point guards in the country. He’s a scorer. He’s a facilitator (averages 18.5 points and 4.2 assists). (Terry) Larrier, their small forward, is 6-8 and really shoots the ball and can be a big-time scorer. Their perimeter guys are doing most of their scoring, but they are good. You’ve got to force them to shoot contested shots. We have to contain Adams first and make them shoot contested shots.”

It was a longer practice than usual (four hours counting film study). Is that a direct reflection of your disappointment in the Memphis game?

“We can do it because there’s no class, but it was the film session. We had a long film session because part of it encompassed the Memphis game in particular because some of the stuff that Memphis runs, UConn runs as well, so there’s an overlap there to see all the mistakes and come work on it as well. It was mainly because the film session went a long time.”

Samir Sehic hit three 3s against Memphis (in four attempts). That’s a part of his game but he had not shot them well to that point. How much can that help going forward?

“It’s one of the things that we need. He’s capable of certainly helping us without that, but that extra dimension is a great weapon for me to have. When we’re down I was able to run a couple of plays out of timeouts where you go bang-bang and all of sudden the lead shrunk. It’s a good job when you can make it back in those chunks.”

What do you want to see in the first half against UConn?

“We have a game plan, and if they beat us by executing against our game plan, they’re just a really good team. Guys contested shots and they made shots. It happens, but that means it’s going to be a close game. The game the other night, our effort level and what we gave up, those were the things you try to take away in the game plan. If they had made other shots because of what we were doing and how we were helping, that’s on me. I’ll take that and we’ve got to adjust to it, but we didn’t do it. Once we did it the second half, we had success, so it was really a matter of our effort and our focus and not coming out with that killer instinct.”

Melvin Frazier is in outstanding condition, but he had cramps in the second half against Memphis. What happened?

“It could have been tied to me not giving him a rest. That’s one thing. My assistants talked about substituting for him and I said I can’t take him off the floor. Right now he’s the guy they can’t guard (Frazier finished with 28 points) and I have to keep putting pressure on them. Either he was getting scores or we were getting good looks because of him. I don’t know. Keep getting more fluids, but it’s tough. When a guy’s your best defender and you go to him at the other end of the floor, he’s not getting much of a rest

“But I always go back to when I was in college, I didn’t come out of a game. I never came out of a game. I played 36 minutes a night. If a game was in doubt, I was in the game. I was in condition for it, and we try to condition our guys, but I get it. Cramps. He gave us a great effort, and it was unfortunate I had to take him out for a couple of minutes even.”

Sammis Reyes has not been around for a while. Is he gone permanently?

“Yeah. We had a conversation when we let him go to South America to play in this game (for the Chilean national team in November). He came back from South America, and the good news is had good exposure over there and thought there was maybe an opportunity for him to have some pro offers over there. We just talked in terms of how did I see his playing time and what was going on, and I told him basically it would be just kind of the way it’s been (Reyes played a total of seven minutes in two games). Our younger guys are going to play ahead of you. He said I have a chance to graduate this semester coming up. I’ve got to take a lot of hours in order to do it, but would you let me concentrate on my studies so I could graduate and maybe take advantage of some of the opportunities I have. I felt like that was fair and we would do that.

So he’s still on campus?

“He’s still in school. When this happened, I explained to the team, one time in a hundred would I like anybody leave our team to do this, but the fact is I don’t see playing time there and don’t want to hurt his opportunities. I’m all about what’s best for the kids, right? And so at the time it took place, it’s not going to hurt as a group. Hopefully it works out.”

**What's your take on whether or not UCF should have been in the playoff and whether writers should be shredded for voting the Knights as low as ninth?

"Wait, you're really going there again. How about doing a better job of providing timely news on your site rather than challenging your subscribers?

**(question not actually asked)

There must be something about a Brother Martin education and the way its players are coached to talk to reporters. Jordan Cornish, a Brother Martin alum, is hands down the best interview on the Tulane basketball team, just as Brother Martin alum Rod Teamer is the best interview on the Tulane football team. Jesuit players, for what it is worth, generally give away very little in interviews.

I like Cornish a lot, and he is a good facilitator, leading the team in assists. But he needs to be more consistent as a scorer for Tulane for this team to reach its potential. Too often, he looks like the fifth wheel during games, and he has too much talent to be in the background.

Here's my interview with him yesterday after he went off four four 3s in 60 seconds at the end of the Memphis game, draining the last two from Alabama.

On streaky shooting (7 for 37 from 3-point range outside of four white hot games this year)

"For me it’s just confidence. Seeing one go in, two go in, after the second one goes in, it’s like OK, yeah. I do so much as a facilitator. I’m a guy that would rather get someone else involved and make the right play. For me, it’s picking the right spots and when to shoot and when not to shoot. Once I see one go in, I feel like I can make 10 of them."

On role as a scorer:

"I’ve had a lot of talks with the coaching staff about me being more aggressive scoring wise. Now a lot of teams are playing me to pass, so I need to be more aggressive and be the scorer that we all know I can be. It’s just picking and choosing my spots."

On shooting really well as a freshman at UNLV and really poorly as a sophomore:

"I never hit my freshman wall, so I think I hit that wall at the beginning of my sophomore year. I think I missed my first 20 3s my sophomore year, but I finished the year over 40 percent in conference. Shooting the ball is all about confidence. Once you see the ball go in, it’s like now I’m in a groove. I feel like that now. I’m being more aggressive to score. I feel good about it."

On finding his niche on this team:

"It definitely has its ups and downs. Just when to choose my spots. We’ve got guys like Cam and Mel. I’m the new guy on the team. A lot of times I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes. It has its difficulties definitely. When should I be aggressive? When Cam is struggling and Mel is struggling, then that’s my time that I definitely need to be more aggressive."

On Dunleavy's unhappiness with total team effort in first half v. Memphis:

"We let them punch us in the mouth first. They came out with aggression. They were at home and had the home crowd, and we laid down. We rely so much on coming back. We had come back multiple times, but we just couldn’t get out of that hole."

on the crosscourt pass from Caleb Daniels to him that was intercepted during late hot streak:

"I felt like if I would have gotten that ball, it would have been 3. Ray hit two and then I hit the 4 and I looked up and we were down by 5 with 45 seconds left. I think Cam got the steal and I saw the ball coming over and I thought if I could catch it, it’s going in and it’s a 2-point game. But that one turnover definitely didn’t decide the game. The first half nobody was on point, and we just laid down."

On why rough first halves keep occurring:

"It’s just focus. We’ve all got to come out and play focused and do the details, the little things. We knew that those guys were going to come out and attack the glass. They beat up on Tulsa and Tulsa beat up on us. We took that for granted, and they came out and did the same thing.:

This is the last weekend of the dead period over the holidays, with four potential recruiting weekends ahead before the February late signing date.

Here is the NCAA calendar for recruiting:

http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/f...visionFootballRecruitingCalendar_20171116.pdf

I see on another site that McClain has tweeted that he has transferred. Disappointing since I remember observations in the fall that he was our "quarterback of the future" for sure. I hope this means that we have at least one other, better prospect on the hook, whether it is Scott or someone else - we are one injury away from disaster if this is true - awfully thin with just Banks, incoming Daniels and that's it? Guerry what do you know?

SB Nation did a quick check of where all the AP voters ranked UCF...it is sad and a disservice to college football fans everywhere, but especially to those of us who support a "disadvantaged" school not ranked in the Cartel 5. Another voter had the Knights ranked 10th (Behind Auburn no less) !!! That is just inexcusable, and a sign of a lack of intelligence about and respect for college football as a whole and our conference in general.

Guerry, I do not know if you can ask, but I would love to know why your colleague at The Advocate voted the way he did.

This disrespect affects the entire AAC as we could be the next program given the shaft by the powers that be in college football, and I’ve already dealt with that once.

Aaron Suttles, Tuscaloosa News: 7

Adam Jude, The Seattle Times: 7

Adam Zucker, CBS Sports Network: 8

Andy Bitter, The Roanoke Times: 7

Andy Greder, St. Paul Pioneer Press: 5

Bill Landis, Cleveland Plain Dealer: 5

Bob Asmussen, Champaign News-Gazette: 5

Brent Axe, Syracuse Media Group: 7

Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times: 3

Brian Howell, Buffzone.com, Daily Camera: 2

Chris Murray, Reno Gazette-Journal: 4

Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News: 6

Dave Foster, Fox 17 WZTV: 4

Dave Reardon, Honolulu Star-Advertiser: 2

Dave Southorn, Idaho Statesman: 2

David Briggs, Toledo Blade: 5

Ed Daigneault, Republican-America: 1

Eric Hansen, The South Bend Tribune: 6

Garland Gillen, WVUE-TV Fox 8, New Orleans: 7

Gary Horowitz, Statesman Journal: 8

Grace Raynor, The Post and Courier: 5

Jason Butt, Macon Telegraph: 6

Jason Galloway, Wisconsin State-Journal: 8

Jeff Miller, Orange County Register: 4

Jerry DiPaola, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: 8

John Adams, News Sentinel: 6

John Clay, Lexington Herald-Leader: 8

Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News: 8

Jonny Miller, WBZ NewsRadio 1030: 8

Keith Sargeant, NJ.com/Star-Ledger: 3

Kellis Robinett, Wichita Eagle: 5

Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman: 5

Lauren Brownlow, WRAL.com: 2

Lauren Schute, SEC Country: 2

Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald: 7

Matt Baker, Tampa Bay Times: 6

Matt Brown, Sports on Earth: 5

Matt Charboneau, The Detroit News: 6

Matt McCoy, 610 WTVN-AM, Coulmbus, Ohio: 8

Michael Lev, Arizona Daily: 6

Mitch Vingle, Charleston Gazette-Mail: 7

Parrish Alford, Tupelo Daily Journal: 5

Pat Caputo, The Oakland Press: 6

Pat Dooley, Gainesville Sun: 8

Rece Davis, ESPN: 7

Rick Wright, Albuquerque Journal: 8

Rob Long, WJZ FM 105.7 The Fan: 5

Rob Cessna, Bryan-College Station (Texas) Eagle: 8

Robert Gagliardi, Laramie Boomerang: 6

Ross Dellenger, The Advocate: 9 (Ross had 11-3 TCU above them)

Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman: 1

Safid Deen, Orlando Sentinel: 1

Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald: 1

Sammy Batten, The Fayetteville Observer: 7

Scott Hamilton, Winston-Salem Journal: 2

Scott Wolf, Los Angeles Daily News: 3

Soren Petro, 810 WHB: 10 (Soren had Auburn ahead of UCF)

Steve Batterson, Quad City Times: 7

Terry Hutchins (Terry apparently is self employed, but still gets a vote): 8

Tom Murphy, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: 7

Tony Parks, 1280 AM/97.5 FM KZNS: 5

DEFENSIVE LINE (14)

With Tulane likely staying in a 3-man front, there is some discrepancy as to what constitutes an end and a tackle, so I am grouping both positions together. I consider both guys on each side of the nose as ends, but Tulane listed Aruna as a tackle this fall because the rush end/OLB usually lined up outside of him.

Cameron Sample and Robert Kennedy, who both played left end in the fall, are the likely starters, with Kennedy probably moving to the spot Aruna occupied. They should be a good duo. Patrick Johnson and Peter Woullard provide quality depth. Michael Scott, Torri Singletary and Nick Kubiet will get a chance to prove themselves along with incoming freshmen Juan Monjarres and Carlos Hatcher.

The race at nose guard will be wide open. De'Andre Williams, who could play outside or inside, and Braynon Edwards are the returners. Freshmen Davon Wright. enrolled for the spring, Jeffery Johnson, who hopes to enroll for the spring, and Jamiran James will get an immediate chance to show what they can do.

LINEBACKER (6)

This is easily Tulane's thinnest position. The only clear starter is Zach Harris at one of the inside spots. Larry Bryant is the holdover at OLB but did not do enough to be secure that he will take over as a starter with the departure of Quinlan Carroll and Luke Jackson. Marvin Moody, Lawrence Graham, and KJ Vault will be in the mix for key roles, with two of them having a good chance to start somewhere. Quentin Brown also is available, and I did not get any read on him in the fall as he redshirted. What the coaches decide at the three linebacker spots will be the most interesting development during the spring and summer. The Wave did not sign a pure linebacker in December. Two players likely will be moved to LB from safety or DE--Chase Kuerschen seems like a good candidate, and Chase Napoleon got some reps there this fall--and they may sign someone in February.

CORNRBACKS/NICKEL (10)

The starters probably will be Donnle Lewis and Thakarius Keyes at CB and P.J. Hall at nickel, but Hall could end up at one of the safety spots. The holdover backup corners are Jaylon Monroe, Stephon Lofton (played in two games) and Willie Langham (redshirted). Incoming freshmen Damien Tate, Chris Joyce and Larry Brooks will get an opportunity to show what they can do. Joyce will be there for the spring. Tate was named the Advocate's Class 4A and the Louisiana Sportswriter's Association Defensive Player of the Year. Brooks, who also might play safety, is an excellent athlete. Tirise Barge backs up Hall and has potential.

SAFETY (9)

The coaches have some decisions to make here. Rod Teamer will be the starting strong safety and Taris Shenall is the likely starter at free safety, but Tulane really needs more speed in the back end. Kuerschen started seven times this fall but his lack of speed got exposed as a true freshman. He is a natural tackler who plays better closer to the the line of scrimmage. Will Harper and Sean Harper got passed on the depth chart in their second year and did not show much, nor did Napoleon. Eric Lewis has been invisible for two years. That quartet needs to prove it is not dead wood. It would be nice if Dorian Camel, a three-star signee out of Scotlandville in Baton Rouge, makes an immediate impact. Macon Clark is the other incoming safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS (4)

Freshman Ryan Wright will try to beat out three-year starter Zach Block at punter. Walk-on Merek Glover has the edge on scholarship kicker Coby Neenan. Geron Eatherly is an excellent long snapper.

The win at Temple got our fans attention . We got a good crowd for the Tulsa game. Unfortunately we did what we normally do in that situation and lost. Yet we still got a good crowd for the SMU game. Things changed there as we made a good second half comeback and won. We play at Memphis Tuesday and then on Saturday we'll play UCONN at home with the students back in town. Hopefully we beat Memphis which is a good possibility and we should come home to our first legit crowd over 2,000 for UCONN. Guerry wrote a good story on the SMU win for the Advocate. Instead of printing it they just gave a small wire recap in the middle of the sports section. None of the local tv stations even mentioned we were playing SMU that night. Memphis and UCONN are both down somewhat but win these next two and the media should be jumping on board too.

I am done with vacation and my son is back in school, so time to get back to work.

I will have spring previews as practice gets closer, but here's a look at what Tulane's roster will be for the beginning of fall practice. They still have to prune at least two more players with 64 returners listed at the moment plus 22 in the signing class and the transfer from Vandy equaling 87. They also might add a player or two on the February signing day.

Today the offense, tomorrow the defense.

QUARTERBACK (3 or 4)

Lindsey Scott, still unsigned, remains the wild card. If he goes somewhere else, Tulane will have an incredibly shaky depth chart behind Jonathan Banks. Khalil McClain would be No. 2, with Christian Daniels No. 3 and a walk-on next. Unless McClain gets better quickly, the season would be riding on Banks' health.

RUNNING BACK (7)

No issues in terms of depth, but it's not certain anyone will be as good as Dontrell Hilliard. I'm expecting a 1-2 punch of Corey Dauphine and Darius Bradwell with Stephon Huderson and Miles Strickland competing with Ygnenio Booker, Cameron Carroll and Amare Jones for reps. I liked Huderson entering the year, and although he was underwhelming in limited opportunities, he's the best bet for the third spot. Each year is different, but barring injuries, it's hard to get four guys in the regular rotation. Huderson, the fourth guy this year, had 19 carries, none in the last six games.

WIDE RECEIVER (12)

Tulane finally has its numbers back to where a D1 program should be with every significant player returning other than seldom-used Chris Johnson, who is transferring. Terren Encalade and Darnell Mooney are sure starters. Jabril Clewis, who was a bit of a disappointment but had his moments, and Jacob Robertson, who came on late, likely will compete for the third starting spot. Devin Glenn, Jaetavian Toles, D.J. Owens, Travis Tucker, Kevin LeDee, Dane Ledford, walk-on Brian Newman and freshmn Sorrell Brown and Jorien Vallien will try to impress. That's 13 players with 12 on scholarship. It's possible one of the returning freshmen will leave.

TIGHT END (5)

The Wave is above average here with Charles Jones, Kendall Ardoin and Will Wallace returning and Tyrick James arriving. Andrew Hicks is not the same player after two ACL tears.

OFFENSIVE LINE (17)

There almost certainly will be attrition here but if not they can fill three units in practice and still have one guy watching from the side. I'm assuming Hunter Knighton will return for his 2nd year as a grad student, meaning every significant contributor but Leeward Brown would be back. Junior Diaz at center and John Leglue at RT are definite starters, as is Corey Dublin at LG. Keyshawn McLeod and Tyler Johnson are the leading candidates at LT, which has to be shored up. Vandy transfer Bailey Granier will compete for a starting spot there or at RG, where Dominique Briggs struggled but remained ahead of Knighton, who also served as th backup center. John Washington fell out of favor. Good depth rather than just bodies remains an issue. Tackles Cameron Jackel and Joey Claybrook are a work in progress. Devon Johnson and Brian Webb are non-factors. I don't know where Vandy transfer Freshmen Nik Hogan, Stephen Lewerenz. Michael Remondet and Jason Swann will get looks.

Recently, Coach Fritz has indicated on several occasions that we have three slots remaining for this year. By my count we currently have 88 players either on scholarship or signed for next season; that’s three over the limit. To sign three more we will need six departures from the current roster. Where those occur could well determine exactly where we have the most need.

So far we’ve been shut out on two obvious needs, linebacker and place kicker. Can current roster guys fill those needs? I think not but Coach has a better understanding of his needs than me or, probably, any outsider.

With the departures of Cuielette and Brantley, we currently have only three QB’s going into next year. And, if sources cited by mnk2121 are accurate, Khalil McClain is considering a position change or, more drastically, a transfer to another school. We’ve obviously put a lot of “chips” into the pot to sign Lindsey Scott and, at this point, it looks to be a “tough putt.” Missouri appears to be the favorite. They are an SEC team; their starting QB may be departing for the NFL; and Scott has a better chance of starting there immediately than at Tulane. Of course, Missouri has two QB’s in the wings who were higher rated than Scott out of high school so that’s not a “slam dunk” either. Anyway, whether we sign Scott, we probably now need at least one more QB—preferably someone who can step in if, in the worst case, Banks is injured. If not Scott, could that be another JC? If so, who?

To me, a QB, a LB, and a kicker would fill us out nicely, if they are the “right guys.” We appear to be “in the hunt” for at least two good-looking linebackers, and we’ve certainly offered a number of QB’s who are still available, but I’m not aware of any Juco’s at that position. The same goes for kickers. We might also simply choose to sign the best players available regardless of position. Could that be Kirk Merritt. I thought we’d passed on him but maybe not. Turning down a legitimate “four star” would probably make no sense.

Looking forward, any JC or Spring-enrolment signings must happen before classes begin in 3 ½ weeks (January 16) and national signing day for everyone else is in 6 ½ weeks (February 7). Good luck to Coach Fritz and the Wave.

Roll Wave!!!

Keep this under your hat, too (or as I wrote on the front during Signing Day Live, under THE hat, which means nothing), but JJ McCleskey will be announced as another assistant coach tomorrow, as a couple of you had informed me a while back. I checked into it then and it wasn't a done deal, but it is now.

McCleskey's addition will be huge. He gives Tulane a local contact who is extremely popular, having played for the Saints from 1993-96 and stayed in New Orleans to live after his NFL career was over.

For a better read on what McCleskey is all about, here's this story from the Knoxville News-Sentinel. He played for Tennessee in college.

http://www.knoxnews.com/story/sport...ccleskey-proved-size-doesnt-matter/506764001/

In other news, OL coach Alex Atkins will add the additional title of run game coordinator, the result of him staying at Tulane rather than leaving for a coordinator job. That means Fritz' staff will return intact for the third straight year, a rarity in college football, and even get the addition of McCleskey. All signs are positive heading to the future.

Merry Christmas everyone!

They got clobbered by undefeated Carthage 49-21 Friday, giving up touchdowns almost every time Carthage had the ball.

I can't find Brooks' numbers from the game, but he finished the year with a team-high 154 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and four interceptions. He was instrumental in Kennedale reaching the championship game for the first time in school history. Carthage won its sixth title in the last 10 years.

You know they take high school football seriously in a state when the championship game is three days before Christmas. The 4A playoffs had a 64-team bracket, requiring six wins for the title. Kennedale scored at least 42 points in every playoff game until the final.

Here's my projected two deep for spring drills. The qualifier is that while I had a good handle on what what was going on in preseason drills, I did not watch the development of the guys who were not playing during the fall and have a hard time judging much of anything off of scout-team work. I'm operating on the idea that Lindsey Scott will not come to Tulane. .

QUARTERBACK

1) Jonathan Banks
2) Khalil McClain OR Johnathan Brantley

Comment: I can't get past the decision to put McClain in for that play against Army on the final possession when Banks went out with an injury. I like Brantley. but the move to a more balanced offense and away from down the line option plays hurts his chances. Honestly, I didn't see enough from McClain to judge him--he was not very good as a passer in the practices where he was getting reps before they decided to redshirt him--but his skill set is more in line with Banks.

RUNNING BACK

1) Corey Dauphine
2) Darius Bradwell

Comment: Dauphine looked like the real deal before getting hurt in preseason drills, but with no full-contact drills, I can't be 100-percent certain. He has the speed, the instincts and the innate talent, but he has to prove he can put it together in live situations after getting limited playing time at Texas Tech. Bradwell is ready for a breakout year. Huderson did not look ready in his limited action, so it will be an important time for him and Strickland to show what they can do.

WR

1) Terren Encalade
2) Chris Johnson

1) Darnell Mooney
2) Devin Glenn

1) Jabril Clewis
2) Jacob Robertson

Comment: Aside from Encalade, Mooney, Clewis and Robertson, it will be a free-for-all as guys vie for playing time. No one else caught more than one pass this year. Glenn, an incredibly hard worker with a terrific attitude, always appeared to make mistakes when he got a chance, including a dropped pass in the finale at SMU. Johnson never played again after his scary practice head injury. Jaetavian Toles, Travis Tucker, Kevin LeDee and Dane Ledford all will get a chance to prove themselves.

LT

1) Keyshawn McLeod
2) Tyler Johnson

LG

1) Corey Dublin
2) Cameron Jackel

C

1) Junior Diaz
2) Hunter Knighton

RG

1) Dominique Briggs
2) Leeward Brown

RT

1) John Leglue
2) Joey Claybrook

Comment: Assuming Knighton returns, every player on the two-deep depth chart and beyond is back. Tulane still has a lot of work to do up front, but there's no reason to assume the coaches will make significant adjustments after having a year to figure out where each of these guys fit. McLeod and Tyler Johnson will continue their close competition at LT. A lot of people were not happy with Briggs' performance, but if Brown could not beat him out this fall, there's no reason to think he will do it in the spring. I know nothing about Jackel's or Claybrook's readiness since neither of them played a down. Devon Johnson and Brian Webb never have been in the picture.

TE

1) Charles Jones
2) Kendall Ardoin

Comment: These guys played well as receivers and blockers for the most part. Will Wallace will get a chance to show what he has learned, and Andrew Hicks will get an opportunity to show if he has recovered from back-to-back ACL surgeries that clearly slowed him down this fall, if he elects to return for his final year.

DEFENSIVE LINE

DE

1) Robert Kennedy
2) Peter Woulllard

NG

1) De'Andre Williams
2) Braynon Edwards

DE

1) Cameron Sample
2) Patrick Johnson

OLB/DE

1) Larry Bryant
2) K.J. Vault

Comment: There are all sorts of possibilities here, and Tulane really needs to a juco or transfer nose guard like Chris Davenport in 2013 because no returning player appears ready to assume the role. I have De'Andre Williams listed there because his body type is the closest unless Braynon Edwards sheds weight after gaining back some of the pounds he lost. OLB is a huge question mark, too. Bryant did not show a whole lot in the fall, and I'm taking a flier on Vault, who impressed me with his speed in August, as another candidate. Finding answers on the defensive line will be Tulane's No. 1 priority in the spring, and there is little depth.

MLB

1) Lawrence Graham
2) Marvin Moody

WLB

1) Zach Harris
2) K.J. Vault

Comment: I like Graham. Do I know whether he is ready to be a starting middle linebacker? Nope, but that's what spring ball is for. Linebacker is another wide open position with the departure of Rae Juan Marbley and Luke Jackson. They could move Harris to the middle, and they have to find out who is capable of playing at another spot that does not have a tone of depth.

CB

1) Donnie Lewis
2) Jaylon Monroe

1) Thakarius Keyes
2) Willie Langham

Comment: These are your starting corrnerbacks almost assuredly since Tre Jackson is no longer around. Monroe and Langham are pretty assured as the backups as well.

SS

1) Rod Teamer
2) Chase Napoleon

FS

1) Taris Shenall
2) Chase Kuerschen

NB

1) P.J. Hall
2) Tirise Barge

Comment: They can experiment with different combinations here, and I would not be surprised if Barge becomes the starting nickelback and Hall the starting free safety. It depends on Barge's readiness. One thing that became clear as the year went along was Kuerschen lacked the speed to be a long-term solution at safety. He'll have to get faster or the coaches will have to find a way to use him closer to the line of scrimmage. Lack of speed at safety was a glaring weakness in general.

Tulane obviously needs an upgrade at both kicking positions, but that won't happen in the spring.

These are from the handout Tulane provided at Fritz' presser:

Ygenio Booker RB 5-11 190
Larry Brooks DB 6-0 190
Sorrell Brown WR 6-3 190
Dorian Camel DB 6-1 180
Cameron Carroll RB 6-0 220
Macon Clark DB 6-0 185
Christian Daniels QB 6-2 205
Carlos Hatcher DE 6-3 230
Nik Hogan OL 6-5 265
Jamiran James DL 6-2 275
Tyrick James TE 6-2 232
Jeffery Johnson DL 6-3 312
Amare Jones RB 5-10 185
Chris Joyce DB 5-11 175
Stephen Lewerenz OL 6-4, 270
Juan Monjarres DE 6-1 215
Michael Remondet OL 6-4, 265
Jason Swann OL 6-3 270
Damien Tate DB 5-10 175
Jorien Vallien WR 6-4 178
Davon Wright DL 6-1 287
Ryan Wright P 6-3 225

I looked at all of the players who visited Tulane the last two weekends.

1) Weekend of 12-8

DE Charles Coleman (uncommitted)

DB Dorian Camel (Tulane)

TE Anthony Lewis (uncommitted)

QB Maurice Robinson (uncommitted)

CB Larry Brooks (Tulane)

P Ryan Wright (Tulane)

K Barrett Pickering (Nebraska)

CB Curry Benn (Southern Miss)

OLB Preston Ellison (SMU)

DT Jeffery Johnson (Tulane)

Comment: Tulane got 4 of the 10 and almost had five before Ellison flipped to SMU. Three remain uncommitted, and the other two signed with the schools they had committed to before their visit to New Orleans.

2) Weekend of Dec. 15

OT Despelado Alexandre (Georgia State)

RB Ygenio Booker (Tulane)

ATH Sydney Brown (Illinois)

DB Damien Tate (Tulane)

DT Ja'Quon Griffin (uncommitted)

CB Chris Joyce (Tulane)

LB Travon King (uncommitted)

CB Donte Martin (uncommitted)

DE Lichon Terrell (Western Kentucky)

QB/ATH Julon Williams (Houston)

TE Braydon Willis (uncommitted)

Comment: Tulane got three of the 11. Of the guys who signed elsewhere, only Sydney Brown was not already committed to that school when he visited Tulane. The Wave is still in the running for King.

South Alabama basketball home game tomorrow is apparently not being televised? Only game this year, I think. Thanks.

P.S., This request is for those of us who also work from our living room couch!

You can follow my running list of Tulane's signings plus commentary on the front page. Just keep hitting refresh to get the latest information.

I just posted the entire transcript there except for his preamble thanking the assistant coaches, the support staff and the faculty for making the class possible. He specifically pointed out the complicated logistics involved in bringing in official visitors.

A couple months back, long before the season ended, we had 80 players on scholarship and 10 seniors—15 open slots. Most of us figured we’d get a few more due to attrition but winwave suggested we’d be able to sign nearly a full class. Now, on the first day of early signing, we’ve signed 22 high school kids and a graduate transfer. That’s more than hardly anyone else had guessed.

I don’t think the graduate transfer counts toward the annual 25 limit, so we could conceivably sign three more, space permitting. We’ve offered many more than that who I’d love to have.

Anyway, congrats to winwave on seeing the potential long before most of us.

Roll Wave!!!

It turns out it was not totally balanced. Macon Clark, whom Rivals lists as a LB, will play DB at Tulane, so the Wave has not signed any LBs yet. And it also means I was wrong about the Wave being lukewarm on Preston Ellison, who would have been the only LB in the class. The coaches really liked him, but the lure of staying close to home proved too strong when SMU offered him late.

We'll see what happens with Travon King, whom Tulane is still pursuing.

On another topic, Lindsey Scott is still in play, too, of course. HIs addition would give Tulane its highest ranked class in the Rivals era for sure, as would King's.

Commits and apparently signs first thing in the morning. He is reportedly a sub-4.5 RB from Florida. Offered by Troy and Georgia Southern, visited Temple.

Saw a notation on Ye Olde Green Wave Forum that Preston Ellison from Odessa, Tx has committed
to TU. He is listed as an OLB @ 6'3"/195 lbs. He visited the weekend of 12/8. Can anyone confirm this commitment?

Other than Lindsey Scott and the recently offered Kirk Merritt from EMCC, does anyone know of any other JC's we're "stalking?" Best I can tell, we apparently are no longer interested in the EMCC linebacker, Emanuel Bridges. I'm sure there is a good reason; I just don't know it.

On a slightly different subject, as I understand it, JC's can sign any time starting December 20 up until the first day of school. Does anyone know differently? Thanks.

Roll Wave!!!