I couldn't fit everything on one post, so I had to break it into two threads.
Defensive Line: This is a difficult decision because we’ve had several good defensive linemen over the last ten years. I think Dezman Moses (2010-2011) and Julius Warmsley (2010-2013) are clear selections. Whether Warmsley is chosen at DE or DT makes for more controversy at the position he doesn’t take. But both guys were All CUSA performers in their time at Tulane and key players in what sometimes were very bad defenses, though not due to their contribution. I’ve chosen to call Warmsley a DT (where he played the most), even though I think his best position was at DE. For the end opposite Moses, I’d pick Royce LaFrance (2012-2015) overAntonio Harris, but I think it’s a close call. LaFrance seems to take more plays off than Harris did, but he did have more tackles (157-151) and more sacks (20 to 14), so I guess that swayed me. At the other tackle I’d take Tanzel Smart (2014-2015) though a strong case could be made for the one year provided by Chris Davenport. Tanzel has already become an All-conference player in the AAC and, unlike Davenport, is an every-down kind of player who is good against the run and plays much of the time in the offensive backfield. He has the potential to be one of the best ever at Tulane.
Linebackers: I only chose two linebackers since we’ve probably lined up in that formation for much of the last decade. My choices are Trent Mackey (2009-2011) and Nico Marley (2013-2015). Mackey transferred from Duke and sat out the 2009 season, but led Tulane in tackles in both 2010 and 2011, with a total of 269 tackles, a phenomenal number for two seasons. He made the All CUSA team in the latter year. Sadly, he missed his final year of eligibility in 2012 due to legal difficulties which were eventually satisfied in his favor. Marley, who was chosen to the All-AAC team this past season, has been a leading tackler for Tulane since he stepped on the field, finishing 3rd in 2013, 2nd in 2014, and 1st this season with a career total, so far, of 231 tackles. Both players were undersized but very aggressive. Darryl Farley with 213 career tackles and Zach Davis, who had 167, were significant contributors for the Wave in their time but, in my view, not at the level of Mackey or Marley.
Defensive Backs: I’ve chosen five players, trying to stay with two corners, two safeties, and nickel. One corner, Lorenzo Doss (2012-2014) is easy. He intercepted 15 passes in his three years at Tulane along with making 123 tackles. He was an All-CUSA selection in 2013. In a close call, I’ve chosen Israel Route(2003-2006) at the other corner over Parry Nickerson and Jordan Sullen. Route had three interceptions and 24 passes defended during his Tulane career and made 204 tackles. He was a 2nd team all-CUSA selection in 2006. Sullen had three interceptions, 20 pass break ups and 96 tackles in his time at Tulane. And Nickerson, who had a great redshirt freshman year fell back considerably this year. It is undoubtedly true, however, that his zero interceptions and many fewer tackles is largely due to weakness at the other corner. On the other hand, with Doss in place his first season, he got many more chances for “picks” and tackles than most players get. Regardless, I went with Route more for his tackling. That's not been a strong suit for Nickerson.
For the Nickelback position, I picked Derrick Strozier (2009-2013). Strozier only played defense his sophomore and senior seasons but in that time had 101 tackles, five interceptions, returning one 99 yards for a TD, blocked two kicks and made 18 pass breakups. He was named player of the week either on defense or special teams on three occasions in CUSA
At safeties, I’ve chosen Sam Scofield (2011-2014) and Darian Monroe (2012-2015). Scofield was everywhere for Tulane in his final two years, leading the team in tackles both years and logging 253 during those two seasons alone. We really missed him this year. Along with others, I don’t think Monroe had the career we initially envisioned, but he has started since the first game of his “true” freshman season and finished with 333 total tackles. When he was out for even a play or two, our defense was not the same. A safety many may have forgotten is David Skeehan, originally a “walk-on,” he eventually led the team in interceptions three straight years. And, though I couldn’t place him on my “All Decade” team, it is hard not to give a mention to Devin Walker, another “walk on” who played very well for the Wave and is remembered fondly by all true Tulane fans and many others around New Orleans and our country. God Bless Devin!
Punter: Chris Beckman (2003-2006) was a pretty good punter for the Wave and barely fits into my ten year time-frame. During his career, he had 222 punts for 9,421 yards and a 42.4 avg. He was a second team selection for All CUSA in his senior year, 2006.
Kicker: Probably the easiest selection on this team is Carlos Santos (2010-2013). During his time with the Wave, Carlos kicked 61 field goals (2nd all time) out of 78 attempts (also 2nd in Tulane history) for a 78.2% success rate, first in the schools annals. He was the Lou Groza award winner and consensus 1st team All American in 2012. Like I said, easy choice.
Long Snapper: With the problems we’ve had the past three years, it’s sometimes hard to remember that we had a great snapper in CJ’s first year. Billy Johnson (2012) only played for Tulane one season after graduating from Georgia where he was the second string snapper. In his one year here, however, he showed us how the position should be played and was named All CUSA. His snaps were fast and accurate and helped our punting and field goal teams immeasurably.
Kick Returner: In 2009, Jeremy Williams (2005-2009) had a return for a TD, the only one of the last ten years and averaged 24.1 yards per return. Since then, Sullen, Kelley, Rounds, Boutte, Hilliard, and Badie have led the team in returns to no better result.
Punt Returner: There is not a lot to choose from here. No punt returner for Tulane has scored a TD in the last decade, but Derrick Strozier (2009-2013) led the team twice and was the only one to average over 10 yards/return for a full season (2011). So, by default, Derrick wins.
Anyway, there you have it—one man’s opinion. I’d have no quarrel with anyone who made different selections at several positions, particularly both lines and cornerback. Leaving Forte or Santos off would be cause for some disagreement, however.
Roll Wave!!!
Defensive Line: This is a difficult decision because we’ve had several good defensive linemen over the last ten years. I think Dezman Moses (2010-2011) and Julius Warmsley (2010-2013) are clear selections. Whether Warmsley is chosen at DE or DT makes for more controversy at the position he doesn’t take. But both guys were All CUSA performers in their time at Tulane and key players in what sometimes were very bad defenses, though not due to their contribution. I’ve chosen to call Warmsley a DT (where he played the most), even though I think his best position was at DE. For the end opposite Moses, I’d pick Royce LaFrance (2012-2015) overAntonio Harris, but I think it’s a close call. LaFrance seems to take more plays off than Harris did, but he did have more tackles (157-151) and more sacks (20 to 14), so I guess that swayed me. At the other tackle I’d take Tanzel Smart (2014-2015) though a strong case could be made for the one year provided by Chris Davenport. Tanzel has already become an All-conference player in the AAC and, unlike Davenport, is an every-down kind of player who is good against the run and plays much of the time in the offensive backfield. He has the potential to be one of the best ever at Tulane.
Linebackers: I only chose two linebackers since we’ve probably lined up in that formation for much of the last decade. My choices are Trent Mackey (2009-2011) and Nico Marley (2013-2015). Mackey transferred from Duke and sat out the 2009 season, but led Tulane in tackles in both 2010 and 2011, with a total of 269 tackles, a phenomenal number for two seasons. He made the All CUSA team in the latter year. Sadly, he missed his final year of eligibility in 2012 due to legal difficulties which were eventually satisfied in his favor. Marley, who was chosen to the All-AAC team this past season, has been a leading tackler for Tulane since he stepped on the field, finishing 3rd in 2013, 2nd in 2014, and 1st this season with a career total, so far, of 231 tackles. Both players were undersized but very aggressive. Darryl Farley with 213 career tackles and Zach Davis, who had 167, were significant contributors for the Wave in their time but, in my view, not at the level of Mackey or Marley.
Defensive Backs: I’ve chosen five players, trying to stay with two corners, two safeties, and nickel. One corner, Lorenzo Doss (2012-2014) is easy. He intercepted 15 passes in his three years at Tulane along with making 123 tackles. He was an All-CUSA selection in 2013. In a close call, I’ve chosen Israel Route(2003-2006) at the other corner over Parry Nickerson and Jordan Sullen. Route had three interceptions and 24 passes defended during his Tulane career and made 204 tackles. He was a 2nd team all-CUSA selection in 2006. Sullen had three interceptions, 20 pass break ups and 96 tackles in his time at Tulane. And Nickerson, who had a great redshirt freshman year fell back considerably this year. It is undoubtedly true, however, that his zero interceptions and many fewer tackles is largely due to weakness at the other corner. On the other hand, with Doss in place his first season, he got many more chances for “picks” and tackles than most players get. Regardless, I went with Route more for his tackling. That's not been a strong suit for Nickerson.
For the Nickelback position, I picked Derrick Strozier (2009-2013). Strozier only played defense his sophomore and senior seasons but in that time had 101 tackles, five interceptions, returning one 99 yards for a TD, blocked two kicks and made 18 pass breakups. He was named player of the week either on defense or special teams on three occasions in CUSA
At safeties, I’ve chosen Sam Scofield (2011-2014) and Darian Monroe (2012-2015). Scofield was everywhere for Tulane in his final two years, leading the team in tackles both years and logging 253 during those two seasons alone. We really missed him this year. Along with others, I don’t think Monroe had the career we initially envisioned, but he has started since the first game of his “true” freshman season and finished with 333 total tackles. When he was out for even a play or two, our defense was not the same. A safety many may have forgotten is David Skeehan, originally a “walk-on,” he eventually led the team in interceptions three straight years. And, though I couldn’t place him on my “All Decade” team, it is hard not to give a mention to Devin Walker, another “walk on” who played very well for the Wave and is remembered fondly by all true Tulane fans and many others around New Orleans and our country. God Bless Devin!
Punter: Chris Beckman (2003-2006) was a pretty good punter for the Wave and barely fits into my ten year time-frame. During his career, he had 222 punts for 9,421 yards and a 42.4 avg. He was a second team selection for All CUSA in his senior year, 2006.
Kicker: Probably the easiest selection on this team is Carlos Santos (2010-2013). During his time with the Wave, Carlos kicked 61 field goals (2nd all time) out of 78 attempts (also 2nd in Tulane history) for a 78.2% success rate, first in the schools annals. He was the Lou Groza award winner and consensus 1st team All American in 2012. Like I said, easy choice.
Long Snapper: With the problems we’ve had the past three years, it’s sometimes hard to remember that we had a great snapper in CJ’s first year. Billy Johnson (2012) only played for Tulane one season after graduating from Georgia where he was the second string snapper. In his one year here, however, he showed us how the position should be played and was named All CUSA. His snaps were fast and accurate and helped our punting and field goal teams immeasurably.
Kick Returner: In 2009, Jeremy Williams (2005-2009) had a return for a TD, the only one of the last ten years and averaged 24.1 yards per return. Since then, Sullen, Kelley, Rounds, Boutte, Hilliard, and Badie have led the team in returns to no better result.
Punt Returner: There is not a lot to choose from here. No punt returner for Tulane has scored a TD in the last decade, but Derrick Strozier (2009-2013) led the team twice and was the only one to average over 10 yards/return for a full season (2011). So, by default, Derrick wins.
Anyway, there you have it—one man’s opinion. I’d have no quarrel with anyone who made different selections at several positions, particularly both lines and cornerback. Leaving Forte or Santos off would be cause for some disagreement, however.
Roll Wave!!!