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

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

C Jake Rogers


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


1B Hunter Williams


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


2B Jake Willsey/Shea Pierce


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


SS Stephen Alemais


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


3B Hunter Hope


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


LF Richard Carthon


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


CF Jarret DeHart/Grant Brown


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


RF


Lex Kaplan


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


In The Rotation


1 Corey Merrill


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


2 Alex Massey


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


3 Emerson Gibbs


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


4 Patrick Duester


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


IN THE BULLPEN


RP


Tim Yandel, Ross Massey, Chris Oakley, Sam Bjorngjeld


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


CL


J.P. France, Dan Rankin, Trevor Simms


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CARTHON

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BROWN

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

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

How hard was your rehab process?

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

How good is the team speed?

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

How key is the team's depth?

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

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

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

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

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

2011

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

2012

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

2013

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

2014

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

2015

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

2016 (projected)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ALEMAIS

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

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

On the quality infield defense:

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

On cutting down his own errors:

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

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

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


KAPLAN

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

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

On no worries of chemistry issues with improved depth:

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

On comfort factor with coaches in second year:

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

On the quality and depth in starting pitching:

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

On building on success from a year ago:

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

On confidence gained from late-inning rallies:

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

On having just about every key player back:

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

Baseball is NOT a major sport in the NCAA. Clearly football and men’s basketball are the headliners nation-wide. In fact, across the entire country, women’s basketball is probably followed more than college baseball. In some regions, hockey, lacrosse, gymnastics, and other sports have more following than baseball. The 11.7 scholarships for a 35 man roster clearly suggest a “second class” status. And, despite having 300 teams playing division 1 baseball (more than football and just short of the 350 who play men’s and women’s basketball), many schools, including Temple, Tulsa and SMU from the AAC, don’t field teams.

All that said, I LOVE baseball. I played it for many years up until our final game in the SEC against LSU in 1966. Over 15 years I frequently played on as many as three teams in three different leagues at the same time and played every position but catcher (where my father and brother played) at one time or another. I like to think I know a great deal about the game since I studied it even more than I played it. As I said, I LOVE this game, more so than any other. So, for those who don’t feel as I do, please indulge me for a few moments as I look at Tulane baseball as it was, as it is, and how I think it can be.

YESTERDAY

Tulane started playing baseball in 1893. From then, through my sophomore year in 1964, we had 16 winning seasons, though some years, we didn’t field a team. Overall, we went 229-387 (.439) during those years and never challenged for anything. But, in 1965, with Ben Abadie as coach, things started to change. We went 15-10 that year and finished second in the SEC West with a 9-6 record. Sadly, we lost our last four games of the year that season, two each to Mississippi State and LSU, by a combined total of five runs. Going into those games we were in first place in the division and Tulane baseball had become competitive for the first time. The next year, we started 15-0 including a two game sweep of LSU in Baton Rouge that had us ranked #3 in the nation to that point. Again, we faltered at the end, losing our final five games. But things had changed at Tulane regarding baseball. Abadie had us practicing all fall for the first time. He put batting cages in the field house for rainy days and installed one behind our dugout so we could take a few swings before every at bat. I think Ben Abadie set Tulane up for baseball success.

After the 1966 season, Abadie retired from coaching and Tulane considered giving up baseball. But Milt Retif came to the rescue both financially and personally, becoming our head coach. Milt coached during a time when Tulane was an independent and there were as few as 25 teams making the NCAA tournament (There were some very weird rules for entry prior to 1975.), but he had five winning seasons and one 10-10 season during his seven years. His overall record was 123-74 (.628), and Tulane baseball was starting to roll.

Following his final, 21-14, season, Coach Retif retired and he was replace by Joe Brockhoff, who again, took Tulane to the next level. We didn’t enter the Metro Conference until 1977 and regional bids were only given to 32 teams through much of Brockhoff’s Tulane career. In fact, they didn’t go to 48 bids until 1988 and 64 bids in 1996. So, despite a 641-360 record (.640), it was very difficult to make it to the regionals. Nonetheless, Brockhoff’s 1979 team became the first of 20 Tulane teams to be selected for the NCAA regionals. Tulane won a Metro title in 1983 under Brockhoff and went on to seven regional appearances during his 18 years, 16 of which were winning seasons, for the Wave. Unfortunately, we never got out of the regionals, and after his second losing season during a four year span, Coach Brockhoff was replaced, to the chagrin of many at the time and possibly some still today.

Be that as it may, the new coach was Rick Jones, who went on to a 20 year career that featured 12 regional teams, four CUSA champions, and an 818-445 record (.648). Under Jones, and for the first time, Tulane made it to three Super Regional tournaments, and two World Series. That we never won a CWS title was the only thing missing from the resume, but the improvement continued. While at Tulane, Jones was instrumental in raising funds for a new ball park (again to the dismay of some, even today) and established Tulane as one of the better programs in NCAA baseball. But, as things changed, age crept up, and illness eventually struck. Jones’ last few teams were not up to the standard of many of his earlier squads. He was not able to keep up with the rules changes in the NCAA; his recruiting declined; and, after his first losing season, he stepped down.

TODAY

In 2014, we hired a new baseball coach, David Pierce. He came to Tulane with a great resume of success everywhere he went. He’d coached at great programs and been a head coach that led his teams to the NCAA tournament every year. He took over a Tulane team that had gone 23-29 and led them to a 35-25 record to include a regional appearance in Baton Rouge. His roster was almost identical to the previous year and did not contain even one player he had recruited and signed, other than two players who had to sit out the year due to transfer rules. His team was “in” every game, won several in the last at bat, and showed a “never say die” attitude we had not seen from a Wave team in several years.

This coming year appears to be a great opportunity for Pierce and the Wave. Other than Ian Gibaut, every major contributor on the mound returns and some, like Gibbs, Yandel, Rankin, and Gross looked better during summer ball than they did all last year. Hopefully, J. P. France will be back and several experienced transfers will join the Wave this year, along with a number of freshmen. If just one or two can provide meaningful help, the pitching staff will be in great hands.

In the field, we can field an entire team of players who played meaningful time last year. The major losses (Tyler Wilson, John Gandolfo, Garrett Deshamp and Jackson Johnson) hit a combined .236 on the season and, hopefully, their replacements will improve on that. Grant Brown will be back and Lex Kaplan appears to be healing from his injuries. The incoming class, particularly transfers like Jeremy Montalbano, Jarret DeHart, and Matt Rowland should more than make up for any slack. A number of freshmen position players should also help, particularly from the left side of the plate. Our power, speed, and hitting should all be improved. Hosting a regional is clearly a realistic goal in my view. Beyond that, everything is possible.

TOMORROW

Recruiting is obviously the key to future success because Coach Pierce and his staff have already proved they can get the most from their players. After this year we will lose a lot. We have eleven seniors on the squad and I expect at least six of them to be major contributors on the mound, in the field, and/or at bat. That number could be higher. We also have eleven juniors and five redshirt sophomores who are eligible for the MLB draft. And it wouldn’t surprise me if six or seven from this group were drafted next June, especially if they have the kind of year we are hoping for. Obviously, between the seniors and the underclassmen that depart, that would be a lot of capability to replace. But that kind of success would improve recruiting. Right now the class Coach Pierce is putting together for next year (2017 baseball season) looks really good. We’ve got at least four guys rated between 9.0 and 10.0 by “Perfect Game.” And several others in the 8.5 category. I expect more as scholarship openings appear.

I don’t know that a CWS is in our immediate future. But, the way forward is very promising.

Roll Wave!!!

I see the interview on the transfer lee but have anyone decided to interview the out going seniors ? Asking them questions about this past season the direction they see the program going forward, upcoming players and prediction type questions?

Discuss...my way too early, green colored glasses, pre-spring uneducated prediction...8 wins 4 losses.

Date Opponent Site Time

Sept. 1 (Thurs.) at Wake Forest Winston-Salem, N.C. TBA

Sept. 10 Southern Yulman Stadium TBA

Sept. 17 Navy* (CBSSN) Yulman Stadium TBA

Sept. 24 UL-Lafayette Yulman Stadium TBA

Oct. 1 at UMass (Gillette Stadium) Foxboro, Mass. TBA

Oct. 7 (Fri.) at UCF* (ESPN2/ESPNU) Orlando, Fla. TBA\

Oct. 14 (Fri.) Memphis* (ESPNU) Yulman Stadium TBA

Oct. 22 at Tulsa* Tulsa, Okla. TBA

Oct. 29 SMU* Yulman Stadium TBA

Nov. 12 at Houston* Houston, Texas TBA

Nov. 19 Temple* Yulman Stadium TBA

Nov. 26 at UConn* Storrs, Conn. TBA

TBA American Champ. Game TBA TBA

According to Thayer Evans of Sports Illustrated, Coach Chris Hampton Defensive Back coach at Louisiana Monroe is now a coach at Tulane.

I caught up with Tanner Lee a few days after he announced he was transferring to Nebraska. Here's what he said.

What were the major reasons you chose Nebraska?

"After the visit went very well, I was overall just considering LSU and Nebraska. Both schools have great coaches, and it was just all about opportunity and where was the best fit and where I felt most comfortable, a gut feeling what direction I thought I should go in, and I just figured it was Nebraska."

You said in an interview with FoxSports that you really hit it off with Mike Riley and his offensive coordinator/QB coach, Danny Langsdorf. Why, and did you have a relationship with them before?

"No, they had called a few times just trying to get to know me, and then once I got invited up for a visit, coach Langsdorf basically was with me the whole time. I got to watch film with him for about an hour and I really liked what I saw in there. We talked football for a while, and that was a lot of fun. I really liked his coaching his style. I liked his offense. I liked the way he had his playbook organized. All weekend long we just got along well, and I can just really see myself playing for him, and it's the same for coach Riley."

They had a rough time in their first year at Nebraska (going 5-7 before winning a bowl game). Do you feel that was an aberration?

"Yeah, I think they lost four games by a combined 13 points or something like that. They are a lot better than their record shows. They had talent there. They were just one or two plays away sometimes. I think they are right where they need to be."

What do you think your shot is to win an appeal to the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility?

"I can't be a hundred percent positive, but we're very confident. Everything I've seen and everything we've done so far is looking good, so we feel pretty good about it."

What is the appeal based on--not being a fit for the offense Willie Fritz will run at Tulane or your injuries or what?

"It's all about just not being a fit for Tulane and basically having an opportunity to play."

If the appeal doesn't work you'll only have a year left of eligibility in 2017. Are you prepared for that? How important for you is it to win this appeal?

"No, it's definitely big. It would be awesome to get that sixth year. I understand the risks of doing this. There's definitely that factor involved, but I'll get a year to heal up a little bit and focus on the playbook and really learn it well and get my body right, and when it comes time to play, it will be full speed ahead and I can focus on competing and winning the job. Even if I get one year of play, I think it will be great."

How are your fingers doing now?

"It's doing well. I got the pin out of the middle finger two weeks ago and I started throwing last week and it looked good."

Did LSU offer you a scholarship or was it conditional?

"The thing about LSU is it was either going to be in the summer or not until that spring (when he becomes eligible in 2017) when the opportunity would be. They made it known that they wanted me. It was just all about numbers. They have a heck of a recruiting class coming in."

Were those the only two main schools you considered?

"Yes."

How important is it to you to show you are a better quarterback than your record or numbers indicated at Tulane?

"That's a lot of the reason I'm happy I'm getting this opportunity. It was fun at Tulane at times. We played from behind almost exclusively, and it did teach me a lot about handling adversity and being a leader through hard times. It definitely prepared me for getting to play at Nebraska. It's just a great opportunity, and it's up to me to do something with it. I'm just really looking forward to showing what I'm actually capable of."

What are your thoughts?

I'm impressed they were able to get a class this solid even though there are some concerns. It will only get better from here as they mend relationships with New Orleans area coaches and continue to recruit well out of state.

They changed constantly yesterday, with Tulane rising as high as No. 79 in Rivals, but I'm assuming there is more stability today. Here are Tulane's final team rankings for the three main recruiting sites.

Rivals: 85
247 Sports: 90
Scout: 97

For what it's worth, here is the order of AAC teams in the Rivals rankings:

Houston: 44 (slipped from No. 29 due to signing day defections)

UCF: 58 (got two 4-star recruits)

Temple: 59 (one 4-star recruit)

South Florida: 70 (2 4-star recruits, but small class hurt ranking)

Memphis: 72 (nine 3-star recruits)

SMU: 74 (three 3-star recruits in class of 26)

Cincinnati: 75 (three 3-star recruits)

East Carolina: 80 (six 3-star recruits)

Tulane: 85 (three 3-star recruits)

Tulsa: 86 (three 3-star recruits)

Navy: 93 (two three-star recruits)

UConn: not in top 100, but four 4-star recruits in tiny class of 16.

If Pigrome commits tomorrow, he obviously joins everyone's top five, but who are you top five commitments as of today?

The criteria is talent, need, readiness to play right away, upside or whatever you think is important.

I am sure it's available at TulaneGreenWave.com, but I meant to post the Fritz Q&A earlier. I ran out of time getting my copy in for The Advocate so that I could take my son to a parade where one of his best friend's mother was on a float and had a bag of throws she had prepared especially for us.

Anyway, I just posted the Q&A at the top of the Signing Day Live story.

Fritz almost totally avoided talking about the signees individually with the exception of Tre Jackson. Clearly, he wants these guys to prove themselves first, but he said he liked the class overall and vowed to do a much better job getting players from the New Orleans area when he has a full year to work on contacts.

After the Q&A, he said he will assign all of his assistants certain schools in New Orleans, so everyone on the staff will recruit the area.

I also confirmed the first day of spring drills will be March 14 and the spring game will be April 16 in conjunction with the home baseball game against Cincinnati later in the day.

I will have my usual minute-by-minute update on the front page for Signing Day, Just keep refreshing to get the latest news and analysis as the class rolls in. I will have a time stamp for each update, which will go on top of the previous update within the running story, and I will post all of Fritz' quotes from his 1 p.m. press conference when they are made available.

The only catch is I also am working solo for The Advocate this year, which will require me to write three stories and tweet, so I will be insanely busy.

It's Lawrence Edwards, the Port Orange (Fla.) Spruce Creek 6-7, 260-pound prospect who visited on the weekend of Jan. 15. He has no stars from Rivals.com or 247 Sports but had offers from Boise State and Georgia Southern among others.

As has been pointed out by other posters here, Tulane needs offensive linemen badly, and they went after Edwards hard.

By my count that leaves Tulane with 84 players under scholarship if the current 24 commitments hold, and Pigrome would make 85 if he commits. Obviously there will be more attrition before the fall, but it will be interesting to see what develops in the next three days.

I just talked to Brantley after talking or texting with the other two commitments of today.

None of them are Q&A worthy for varying reasons (no tape recorder with Brantley, just texted with Mooney and Walker is not very talkative), but Brantley had some good info.

He said the No. 1 reason he chose Tulane over ULM was the academics--a degree from Tulane means a lot more than a degree from ULM.

He said Tulane contacted him for the first time about two weeks ago, offered him a scholarship a week ago and it was an easy decision to commit on his visit this weekend. He said the reason he was under the radar was that information did not get out about him. The Tulane coaches told him they were not able to get any film on him until a couple of days before they contacted him, and he's not sure why.

He said he loves the Tulane coaches and could tell they had a winning attitude just from being in the room with them for a short time.

He also, of course, loved the opportunity available to compete for the starting QB job. He says he is an excellent passer and runner and that he could have thrown for a lot more yards if his team had not had a dominant running back. He took a lot of pride in his exceptional touchdown to interception ration, which was 40-7 in his last two years, because he was efficient when he needed to be.

The one thing he wants to improve the most is his footwork because he knows better footwork will make him more accurate on his throws.

He said the Tulane coaches were most impressed with the way he improved from his junior to his senior year and the way he was a true dual threat as a passer and runner. He feels he already has proven he can do both very well in high school.

He sounds very poised and confident without being cocky. He should be a good addition and a very needed one, particularly if Pigrome chooses Virginia Tech or Maryland.

When I talked to A.J. Walker this evening, he said Pigrome, his high school teammate, definitely was still considering Tulane.

Tulane clearly gives Pigrome the best path to being a starter very quickly in an offense that fits his skills. IT's not clear what type of offensive former Arkansas State offensive coordinator Walt Bell will run at Maryland, and Virginia Tech, which hired Memphis' Justin Fuente to run the same spread offense he used in Memphis, is recruiting Pigrome as an athlete.

Although ESPN.com was incorrect when it listed Pigrome as a Tulane commitment tonight, I like the Wave's chances. It all hinges on whether Pigrome is ready to take a leap of faith in Fritz being able to win at Tulane, and Fritz is an excellent salesman with a very good track record to sell.

Just checked the latest Rivals.com team rankings, and the AAC as a group has six commitments from 4 star and 5 star recruits, with Houston supplying four of them (one 5 star) and USF two of them and everyone else getting zero.

The Big 12, the most vulnerable P5 league, has 23, with Baylor supplying eight, TCU five, Texas five, Texas Tech two, West Virginia 1, Iowa State 1 and Kansas State 1.

It's such an uphill battle for the G5 leagues, which is why Tulane will have to wait until Signing Day to find out whether Pigrome, a three-star guy, will sign even though the Wave is clearly a better opportunity for him to play right away at quarterback in a system that fits his skills than Maryland and Virginia Tech are.

I get that the rankings are skewed a bit to the major conferences because players being recruited by them are often upgraded, but it's a fairly accurate gauge. Houston is the only G5 school that his broken through this year, ranking No. 29 nationally. The next-highest is Boise State at 55, and Boise has zero 4-star recruits. The only other G5 schools with 4-star guys are Marshall and UAB.

He is going to Texas Tech. I guess since Lindsey Scott decided to go to LSU instead of Tulane, he lost some interest, although that's not in the story.

https://texastech.n.rivals.com/news/three-star-douglas-coleman-flips-from-tulane-to-texas-tech

New Quarterback Commitment.

New Commitment!