Just talked to Colby Orgeron (no relation to Ed Orgeron), the John Curtis DT who committed to Tulane yesterday and will play guard for the Green Wave.He says he is 6 4 3/4, 265 pounds and still growing.
Tulane signed four Curtis players under CJ in 2013 and had a fifth, Anthony Taylor, sign a track and field scholarship before converting to football in 2014. They had mixed success.
Sherman Badie redshirted and began his career with a 200-yard effort at Tulsa. Although he did not live up that type of promise, he played a significant role all four years.
Richard Allen was a tremendous student who played primarily on special teams in his first two years, started five games before getting hurt as a junior and started 10 games at nickelback as a senior, making 32 tackles but also getting beaten in coverage a bit.
Brandon Godfrey was a promising prospect who played only once in two years before transferring to Nicholls.
Eric Thomas was an inside linebacker who made 67 tackles as a junior and started 10 times, but he fell out of favor during Fritz first year after struggling against Wake Forest in the opener and virtually disappeared before making six tackles in his final career game against UConn.
Taylor was a reach who never developed, lasting either one or two years.
Since that anomalous 2013 class, Tulane had zero Curtis players, but that will change if Orgeron lives up to his commitment, and he sure sounds like he will.
Here was our conversation:
You attended Tulane's camp in June. What did you like best about Tulane at that camp.
"I loved how the coaching style was, to be honest. Just how coach (Alex) Atkins, the offensive line coach, and all of them worked with me, how nice they were about it. I've always played D-line, so they kind of took me in and they were like, hey, we're going to get you into this work. They were telling me possibly a chance of starting three to four years, and I was like, all right, if I work hard enough I can get this."
I guess you are OK with moving to the offensive side of the ball in college?
"To be honest, as a kid I always loved football. It didn't really matter where I played as long as I had an impact. It's like, dang, it's just the opposite side, so I'll still be able to knock some guys down and have some fun doing it."
You are already athletic and will be very athletic for an offensive lineman. Will that be one of your strengths at the college level?
"Oh yeah. Because if you see D-linemen nowadays, they are getting more athletic every single day. Playing O-line I will be athletic, and when I learn the plays, I'll be good."
MaxPreps has you with 47 tackles and three sacks last year. Is that close to accurate?
"MaxPreps, they do miss tackles and aren't accurate on some of their stats. I feel like had more than 50 tackles last year, probably around that."
When did Tulane first start recruiting you?
"My defensive line coach at Curtis told me, hey, I've been talking to Tulane about you and they are going to keep an eye on you, so they started inviting me to these camps over the summer. I was busy but I finally had a chance to attend the private camp with about 60 other guys and they liked what they saw, so they just offered me there. After that it all just went uphill."
Have you played any time on the offensive line?
"At Curtis I did a little bit my sophomore year because I was transitioning, so they were like, hey, let's see how you do. They gave me a couple of snaps at O-line and said I was pretty good. And then when I was at Shaw in my eighth grade year before I transferred to Curtis, I played offensive tackle."
Why did you transfer to Curtis?
"Winning. To be honest with you it was having that winning mentality. I love how coach JT (Curtis) coaches. I will say, while I was at Shaw, I was really close with Cameron Jackel. He used to be a mentor while I was at Shaw, so I can't wait to get back working with him."
Why did Tulane say you needed to be an offensive lineman?
"Because of my body length. You don't really see too many tall defensive tackles. You see mostly like stocky, short dudes, so they were like, hey, you're athletic, you're tall, you have the arm length, you have the power, so let's get you over on the offensive line and see what you can do."
Curtis has some unfinished business on the football field this year after not winning a state championship since 2013 and getting surprised by Baton Rouge Catholic when you reached the title game last season. How much are you looking forward to finishing the deal?
"Right after that game, I talked to a couple of the soon-to-be seniors, and we were like, yeah, this year we've got to do something. We have a lot of talent and then the guys behind us are stacked with talent. We want to overcome adversity and get back to winning more state championships like we used to."
How frustrating was that loss to Catholic?
"It was frustrating because you have to think, there were mistakes we made on defense and offense. If we had another chance, we would have killed them. We should have blown them out that game, but the small mistakes started adding up."
What can you do to prepare for Tulane in your senior year while playing a different position?
"I am going to be working with my offensive line coach at Curtis a little bit. He's going to show me a couple of things and give me a little bit of work, and then after my football season's over with I am going to start talking with coach Atkins and ask him any questions I have before I start working with him."
What other schools were recruiting you?
"I had SMU, ULL, Nicholls. I was invited to LSU camp, but I was so excited, I wasn't able to attend it. Rice University. That's it."
Tulane has not signed any Curtis players since 2013. Do you feel like you can start a new tradition?
"Oh yeah, I'm ready to start that back up. I'm trying to get some of my friends, like, hey, dude, Tulane's going to be something serious. And actually right now I'm trying to get in contact with some of the class that's being recruited by Tulane that's committed already, like the offensive linemen. I'm going to try to get in touch with them."
Tulane has not won much in the last 20 years but came within an inch of a bowl game last year. Do you feel like the program is about to really turn the corner?
"Oh yeah. We're going to turn it around. We've got these young guys ready to come in and work, and I'm ready to work. I'm ready to meet the old guys, the seniors, and meet the young guys. I feel like we can really be something dominant if we all work together and work hard."
Tulane signed four Curtis players under CJ in 2013 and had a fifth, Anthony Taylor, sign a track and field scholarship before converting to football in 2014. They had mixed success.
Sherman Badie redshirted and began his career with a 200-yard effort at Tulsa. Although he did not live up that type of promise, he played a significant role all four years.
Richard Allen was a tremendous student who played primarily on special teams in his first two years, started five games before getting hurt as a junior and started 10 games at nickelback as a senior, making 32 tackles but also getting beaten in coverage a bit.
Brandon Godfrey was a promising prospect who played only once in two years before transferring to Nicholls.
Eric Thomas was an inside linebacker who made 67 tackles as a junior and started 10 times, but he fell out of favor during Fritz first year after struggling against Wake Forest in the opener and virtually disappeared before making six tackles in his final career game against UConn.
Taylor was a reach who never developed, lasting either one or two years.
Since that anomalous 2013 class, Tulane had zero Curtis players, but that will change if Orgeron lives up to his commitment, and he sure sounds like he will.
Here was our conversation:
You attended Tulane's camp in June. What did you like best about Tulane at that camp.
"I loved how the coaching style was, to be honest. Just how coach (Alex) Atkins, the offensive line coach, and all of them worked with me, how nice they were about it. I've always played D-line, so they kind of took me in and they were like, hey, we're going to get you into this work. They were telling me possibly a chance of starting three to four years, and I was like, all right, if I work hard enough I can get this."
I guess you are OK with moving to the offensive side of the ball in college?
"To be honest, as a kid I always loved football. It didn't really matter where I played as long as I had an impact. It's like, dang, it's just the opposite side, so I'll still be able to knock some guys down and have some fun doing it."
You are already athletic and will be very athletic for an offensive lineman. Will that be one of your strengths at the college level?
"Oh yeah. Because if you see D-linemen nowadays, they are getting more athletic every single day. Playing O-line I will be athletic, and when I learn the plays, I'll be good."
MaxPreps has you with 47 tackles and three sacks last year. Is that close to accurate?
"MaxPreps, they do miss tackles and aren't accurate on some of their stats. I feel like had more than 50 tackles last year, probably around that."
When did Tulane first start recruiting you?
"My defensive line coach at Curtis told me, hey, I've been talking to Tulane about you and they are going to keep an eye on you, so they started inviting me to these camps over the summer. I was busy but I finally had a chance to attend the private camp with about 60 other guys and they liked what they saw, so they just offered me there. After that it all just went uphill."
Have you played any time on the offensive line?
"At Curtis I did a little bit my sophomore year because I was transitioning, so they were like, hey, let's see how you do. They gave me a couple of snaps at O-line and said I was pretty good. And then when I was at Shaw in my eighth grade year before I transferred to Curtis, I played offensive tackle."
Why did you transfer to Curtis?
"Winning. To be honest with you it was having that winning mentality. I love how coach JT (Curtis) coaches. I will say, while I was at Shaw, I was really close with Cameron Jackel. He used to be a mentor while I was at Shaw, so I can't wait to get back working with him."
Why did Tulane say you needed to be an offensive lineman?
"Because of my body length. You don't really see too many tall defensive tackles. You see mostly like stocky, short dudes, so they were like, hey, you're athletic, you're tall, you have the arm length, you have the power, so let's get you over on the offensive line and see what you can do."
Curtis has some unfinished business on the football field this year after not winning a state championship since 2013 and getting surprised by Baton Rouge Catholic when you reached the title game last season. How much are you looking forward to finishing the deal?
"Right after that game, I talked to a couple of the soon-to-be seniors, and we were like, yeah, this year we've got to do something. We have a lot of talent and then the guys behind us are stacked with talent. We want to overcome adversity and get back to winning more state championships like we used to."
How frustrating was that loss to Catholic?
"It was frustrating because you have to think, there were mistakes we made on defense and offense. If we had another chance, we would have killed them. We should have blown them out that game, but the small mistakes started adding up."
What can you do to prepare for Tulane in your senior year while playing a different position?
"I am going to be working with my offensive line coach at Curtis a little bit. He's going to show me a couple of things and give me a little bit of work, and then after my football season's over with I am going to start talking with coach Atkins and ask him any questions I have before I start working with him."
What other schools were recruiting you?
"I had SMU, ULL, Nicholls. I was invited to LSU camp, but I was so excited, I wasn't able to attend it. Rice University. That's it."
Tulane has not signed any Curtis players since 2013. Do you feel like you can start a new tradition?
"Oh yeah, I'm ready to start that back up. I'm trying to get some of my friends, like, hey, dude, Tulane's going to be something serious. And actually right now I'm trying to get in contact with some of the class that's being recruited by Tulane that's committed already, like the offensive linemen. I'm going to try to get in touch with them."
Tulane has not won much in the last 20 years but came within an inch of a bowl game last year. Do you feel like the program is about to really turn the corner?
"Oh yeah. We're going to turn it around. We've got these young guys ready to come in and work, and I'm ready to work. I'm ready to meet the old guys, the seniors, and meet the young guys. I feel like we can really be something dominant if we all work together and work hard."