Tulane will not run the exact same system as Georgia Southern because the QBs are not as comfortable in the option, but I expect the offense to be pretty similar next fall--limited passing and very-run heavy. Plus, Willie Fritz had so much success there that it made him a believer he could win big that way. Coaches evolve, and after watching Tulane's QBs this spring, I think it would be counterproductive to throw much until they get a QB they trust or a QB with experience in the passing game.
Here is some stuff I learned from researching Georgia Southern:
In all but two games the past two years, Georgia Southern began with three wide receivers, a tight end and a running back. The lone exceptions were against ULM and Bowling Green last year (Fritz did not coach that one), when they had three wide receivers and two running backs without a tight end. Now, I'm not sure what defines a wide receiver, but it was generally the same guys. That jibes with what I saw this spring, when Tulane's base formation had three wideouts even though the team was incredibly thin there. Fritz and offensive coordinator Doug Ruse like to spread the field and run out of that formation with a ton of inside zone plays. That's the huge difference between the system he ran at Georgia Southern and the true option teams like the service academies, which rarely spread the field.
In 2014, Georgia Southern began every game with three WRs, 1 RB and 1 TE. Only the tight ends have varied, with four different ones starting in 2014 and two sharing the starting role last season. The two guys last year combined for one touch--a 23-yard reception by James Dean--and no carries, so I'd be a little concerned if I were Charles Jones or Kendall Ardoin. In 2014, the tight ends combined for one touch, too--an 8-yard reception. Obviously Tulane recruited tight ends heavily under CJ and Fritz tailors his offense to his personnel, but I'm not sure Jones and Ardoin are good enough to merit a significant change in approach.
Another question is whether or not Fritz has played more than one quarterback regularly, and the answer is yes. He did it at Georgia Southern. His starter the past two years was Kevin Ellison with the exception of the first two games of 2015, when Favian Upshaw took his place due to an academic suspension. But Upshaw played in all 13 games last year as a running specialist, gaining 583 yards on 80 carries. His bowl MVP performance distorted the stats a little bit when he rushed for more than 200 yards against Bowling Green, but he had 40 or more rushing yards three other times in games he did not start. He had a 48-yard run to set up a TD against Georgia. He also played in 11 games in 2014 and rushed for 385 yards while completing 19 of 27 passes. That must have come via the element of surprise because his passing stats were abysmal last season --19 of 48 with five interceptions.
After watching Tulane's spring practice, I do not think Darius Bradwell will morph into an effective passer in the fall. He has too far to go and will be thinking too much to suddenly become accurate if he plays a key role in the fall. That being said, I fully expect him to be a change-of-pace QB who enters almost every game and runs. If he is successful, he will stay in. The starter will likely be Glen Cuiellette. Since Cuiellette struggled for most of the spring, I'm not totally ruling out Johnathan Brantley although it is awfully tough to be effective as a true freshman QB who missed spring ball.
And for the first time in his stay at Tulane, I'm not even rulling out Devin Powell. With Powell, the option would be used less and he would hand off to the talented running backs. If the offensive line proves it can block effectively for a straight ahead running attack (I have my doubts), Powell would give Tulane its only real threat of the pass, and there are going to be games Tulane loses next fall simply because it has no threat of the pass (Georgia Southern fell behind early in its three losses to West Virginia, Appalachian State and Georgia State and still threw for only 29, 64 and 68 yards while going 18 for 43 with eight INTs).
I can't stress enough how much better Powell was as a thrower in the spring than either Cuiellette or Bradwell. The issue with Powell is all of the ancillary things a QB needs to do in Fritz offense (or any other one, for that matter). He has to know the plays (a problem under CJ), and his focus has come and gone in every game he started under CJ, exacerbating his own inaccuracy. Really the only thing he did well in his starts was the first two OTs against East Carolina in 2013. The rest of the time he got by on luck or the team did well in spite of him in 2013, including his long stint in the New Orleans Bowl. But he can hit open receivers most of the time, something Cuiellette demonstrated only sporadically in the spring and Bradwell never showed.
My guess is Tulane will throw as little as 10 to 15 times a game in the fall provided it runs well, and from talking to the coaches, I believe they believe they can make the offensive line work. They need a second guard and a second tackle they can trust (right now it is Junior Diaz, Chris Taylor and John Leglue), and they need all of the guys with the exception of Diaz to get in better shape.
This will be a real test for Fritz and his offensive staff. The schedule is friendly, but they either have to get the QBs to improve a ton or figure out a way to win without a passing attack or any proven player on the offensive line. The good news is they know what they have now and still have more than four months before the season opener.
Here is some stuff I learned from researching Georgia Southern:
In all but two games the past two years, Georgia Southern began with three wide receivers, a tight end and a running back. The lone exceptions were against ULM and Bowling Green last year (Fritz did not coach that one), when they had three wide receivers and two running backs without a tight end. Now, I'm not sure what defines a wide receiver, but it was generally the same guys. That jibes with what I saw this spring, when Tulane's base formation had three wideouts even though the team was incredibly thin there. Fritz and offensive coordinator Doug Ruse like to spread the field and run out of that formation with a ton of inside zone plays. That's the huge difference between the system he ran at Georgia Southern and the true option teams like the service academies, which rarely spread the field.
In 2014, Georgia Southern began every game with three WRs, 1 RB and 1 TE. Only the tight ends have varied, with four different ones starting in 2014 and two sharing the starting role last season. The two guys last year combined for one touch--a 23-yard reception by James Dean--and no carries, so I'd be a little concerned if I were Charles Jones or Kendall Ardoin. In 2014, the tight ends combined for one touch, too--an 8-yard reception. Obviously Tulane recruited tight ends heavily under CJ and Fritz tailors his offense to his personnel, but I'm not sure Jones and Ardoin are good enough to merit a significant change in approach.
Another question is whether or not Fritz has played more than one quarterback regularly, and the answer is yes. He did it at Georgia Southern. His starter the past two years was Kevin Ellison with the exception of the first two games of 2015, when Favian Upshaw took his place due to an academic suspension. But Upshaw played in all 13 games last year as a running specialist, gaining 583 yards on 80 carries. His bowl MVP performance distorted the stats a little bit when he rushed for more than 200 yards against Bowling Green, but he had 40 or more rushing yards three other times in games he did not start. He had a 48-yard run to set up a TD against Georgia. He also played in 11 games in 2014 and rushed for 385 yards while completing 19 of 27 passes. That must have come via the element of surprise because his passing stats were abysmal last season --19 of 48 with five interceptions.
After watching Tulane's spring practice, I do not think Darius Bradwell will morph into an effective passer in the fall. He has too far to go and will be thinking too much to suddenly become accurate if he plays a key role in the fall. That being said, I fully expect him to be a change-of-pace QB who enters almost every game and runs. If he is successful, he will stay in. The starter will likely be Glen Cuiellette. Since Cuiellette struggled for most of the spring, I'm not totally ruling out Johnathan Brantley although it is awfully tough to be effective as a true freshman QB who missed spring ball.
And for the first time in his stay at Tulane, I'm not even rulling out Devin Powell. With Powell, the option would be used less and he would hand off to the talented running backs. If the offensive line proves it can block effectively for a straight ahead running attack (I have my doubts), Powell would give Tulane its only real threat of the pass, and there are going to be games Tulane loses next fall simply because it has no threat of the pass (Georgia Southern fell behind early in its three losses to West Virginia, Appalachian State and Georgia State and still threw for only 29, 64 and 68 yards while going 18 for 43 with eight INTs).
I can't stress enough how much better Powell was as a thrower in the spring than either Cuiellette or Bradwell. The issue with Powell is all of the ancillary things a QB needs to do in Fritz offense (or any other one, for that matter). He has to know the plays (a problem under CJ), and his focus has come and gone in every game he started under CJ, exacerbating his own inaccuracy. Really the only thing he did well in his starts was the first two OTs against East Carolina in 2013. The rest of the time he got by on luck or the team did well in spite of him in 2013, including his long stint in the New Orleans Bowl. But he can hit open receivers most of the time, something Cuiellette demonstrated only sporadically in the spring and Bradwell never showed.
My guess is Tulane will throw as little as 10 to 15 times a game in the fall provided it runs well, and from talking to the coaches, I believe they believe they can make the offensive line work. They need a second guard and a second tackle they can trust (right now it is Junior Diaz, Chris Taylor and John Leglue), and they need all of the guys with the exception of Diaz to get in better shape.
This will be a real test for Fritz and his offensive staff. The schedule is friendly, but they either have to get the QBs to improve a ton or figure out a way to win without a passing attack or any proven player on the offensive line. The good news is they know what they have now and still have more than four months before the season opener.