I'm two days late and two dollars short on this commitment, but what the heck, my family and I were enjoying the once-in-a-lifetime snowstorm.
Helmke profile
Freshmen kickers don't always pan out even if they are 5 stars, as Helmke is, but this was a huge addition considering Tulane's disastrous field goal operation at the end of 2024.
If Helmke is ready, Tulane will win at least one more game and maybe two than it would have without a reliable kicker. It's not just the missed kicks. It's the uncertainty for the coach as to what to do in critical situations when he cannot trust his kicking game, and the demoralizing effect is has on the team. Willie Fritz made some bad choices when he felt hamstrung by kicking issues during his tenure. And with Sumrall, Tulane might have beaten Army, though probably not the way it lost the battle of the line of scrimmage, if it had converted those two early field goals.
Helmke profile
Freshmen kickers don't always pan out even if they are 5 stars, as Helmke is, but this was a huge addition considering Tulane's disastrous field goal operation at the end of 2024.
If Helmke is ready, Tulane will win at least one more game and maybe two than it would have without a reliable kicker. It's not just the missed kicks. It's the uncertainty for the coach as to what to do in critical situations when he cannot trust his kicking game, and the demoralizing effect is has on the team. Willie Fritz made some bad choices when he felt hamstrung by kicking issues during his tenure. And with Sumrall, Tulane might have beaten Army, though probably not the way it lost the battle of the line of scrimmage, if it had converted those two early field goals.
