New Roster up

[TU23]

The new roster is up on the official site, but its undergoing some tweaks. Not all of the positions or years are correct yet. Still a work in progress.

Some changes/new player numbers:

Darius Hodges is now #6
Carlos Hatcher is now #8
Carson Haggard is wearing #9 after wearing #16 in the Spring
Cadien Robinson is #13
Chris Brazzell is #17
Makhi Hughes is #21
Tyrek Presley is now wearing #24 and while the site doesn't list him there, he's a DB now. TJ Huggins is also at DB
Rayshawn Pleasant is wearing #25
Kentrell Webb is #29
Taylor Love is #40
Kriston Esnard switched to #41
Valentino Ambrosio is #43 (he is not a freshman. I think he's a Junior)
Isaiah Boyd is #53 (Boyd suffered a knee injury and will likely redshirt this year)
Kanan Ray is #54 (He is not a freshman. Has 2 years left, I believe)
Shadre Hurst is #56
Sully Burns is #65
Kameron Hamilton is #70 and he is a DL, not an OL as the site has him listed (confirmed this)
Prince Pines is #76 (he is not a freshman. He has 2 years remaining)
Keanon McNally is #77
Alex Bauman is #87
Blake Gunter is #88
Tylo Phillips is #91 (he is a senior with one year left)
Gerrod Henderson is #92
Maxie Baudoin is #97

[waverider]

I noticed Hodges wearing #6 last night and wasn’t sure if it was him at first with his new green hair!
Haggard was wearing #9 at the event as well but forgot to mention it in the LTF thread.

[G-wave]

roster has been updated for HT & WT but no longer list Joker as a position did we change D's or did they just take a short cut ?

[Wavefan]

Would not surprise me at all if Makhi Hughes makes big contributions early.

[long green]

Would not surprise me at all if Makhi Hughes makes big contributions early.

If there weren’t multiple injuries there it would shock the hell out of me.

Or would it? Let me see. I suppose if Clayton disappoints he could move up, or if Clayton proved a non-factor in the passing game like Corey Dauphine it might open a window but the other three veterans are capable to good receivers. If Clayton is a player I just don’t see the daylight for Hughes. If he’s good enough to start over the returnees next year, great.

I want to see Iverson Celestine get a lot of reps these first two weeks. Once we get enough of a lead we need to think about saving Spears for the bigger games.

[Baywave1]

What if Fritz decides to “raise” Spears profile early by padding his stats in the first two games? If it’s a repeat of Memphis game then you’re looking at 400 to 500 yards total rushing.

It moves Spears up the watch list for the KSU game.

I understand why Fritz should rest him but I don see it happening. If he Spears stays healthy, I could see Fritz letting him go after Forte’s season rushing total or at minimum a 2000 yard season.

[long green]

Fritz is the same guy who watched Spears get knocked out for the year vs USM. And Fritz needs wins, not Spears trying for 2,000 rushing yards. Tyjae will get his touches while we build leads in the first two games. If he carries the ball from scrimmage in the second half of the Alcorn game Fritz should be arrested.

[PeteRasche]

Fritz is the same guy who watched Spears get knocked out for the year vs USM. And Fritz needs wins, not Spears trying for 2,000 rushing yards. Tyjae will get his touches while we build leads in the first two games. If he carries the ball from scrimmage in the second half of the Alcorn game Fritz should be arrested.

Agree. I was trying to think of any example of Fritz making a decision for a player's benefit rather than for the team and I can't think of one.

[TU23]

We're going to be judicious with Tyjae. He graduates in December, and if he can stay healthy, I fully expect him to declare for the draft even if he's not going to be picked that high. He's had too many injuries to risk another season. The coaches are mindful of that injury history, and they aren't going to leave him out there in games we're winning handily to chase records. I don't think we'll see him that much in those first two games. If things go as planned, I think he gets 25-30 touches split between the two max. We have other guys who can/should get some work in those first two games. Celestine, Clayton and Carroll will all get plenty of work in the first two games. I can see Hughes playing in games 1 and 2 and then in two others during the year, but I think there's a 90% chance he redshirts.

[wavedom]

We need a breakthrough season NOW. So Spears will be used wisely. No sense risking injury to him so he can get stats. If WF does otherwise the team will suffer and he'll be gone.

[Baywave1]

I hope you guys are right but I’m not holding my breath. Coaches and teams have regularly and will continue to overplay their prime assets especially when coach approaches hot seat status as Fritz will this year if he doesn’t win.

Early test of this is not how many touches Spears gets in second half of Alcorn game, it’s how many he gets in first half.

[PeteRasche]

Coaches playing the best players in order to have the team win or even "win by more" is different from coaches playing a player to try to get that player a record or a stat.

I'd certainly hope we'd play Spears a lot if no one can stop him and it's a somewhat tight game.

[ml wave]

Fritz has spent his whole time at Tulane with basically an egalitarian approach to the backfield (often to what many of us would feel was to the detriment to the offense) and now all of a sudden Spears will be challenging Forte's record? Fritz also does not strike me as someone who would coach scared for his job and risk someone's health by doing so.

[PeteRasche]

Fritz has spent his whole time at Tulane with basically an egalitarian approach to the backfield (often to what many of us would feel was to the detriment to the offense) ...

I was thinking about this earlier and wondered how much of that was Fritz and how much was whichever OC we had that particular year. If Fritz indeed gives that call entirely to the OC then who the heck knows what we'll see this year from yet another new OC.

[Baywave1]

Coaches playing the best players in order to have the team win or even "win by more" is different from coaches playing a player to try to get that player a record or a stat.

I'd certainly hope we'd play Spears a lot if no one can stop him and it's a somewhat tight game.

Those are not mutually exclusive. I can give you numerous examples without much effort. Next potential one: look for Aaron Boone to move Judge to lead off. More at bats helps team win and increases his chance to break Maris AL record

ML is definitely correct about Fritz’s egalitarian approach to RB use

We all want Tulane to win. I simply guess with justication that Spears will have 250+ carries and 300+ would not surprise. Again just my SWAG.

[ml wave]

Fritz has spent his whole time at Tulane with basically an egalitarian approach to the backfield (often to what many of us would feel was to the detriment to the offense) ...

I was thinking about this earlier and wondered how much of that was Fritz and how much was whichever OC we had that particular year. If Fritz indeed gives that call entirely to the OC then who the heck knows what we'll see this year from yet another new OC.

Well, we've had 3 different OCs but the carries have remained spread out so I know where I'd place my money between those options...

[PeteRasche]

Fritz has spent his whole time at Tulane with basically an egalitarian approach to the backfield (often to what many of us would feel was to the detriment to the offense) ...

I was thinking about this earlier and wondered how much of that was Fritz and how much was whichever OC we had that particular year. If Fritz indeed gives that call entirely to the OC then who the heck knows what we'll see this year from yet another new OC.

Well, we've had 3 different OCs but the carries have remained spread out so I know where I'd place my money between those options...

Fair point. Although we've recently seen comments about players having been playing hurt at times in the past that were never revealed to the public, which seemed to explain why they weren't getting the touches we all screamed they should have been getting. Hopefully everyone is truly healthy this year and can play to their best abilities.

[waverider]

I hope you guys are right but I’m not holding my breath. Coaches and teams have regularly and will continue to overplay their prime assets especially when coach approaches hot seat status as Fritz will this year if he doesn’t win.

Early test of this is not how many touches Spears gets in second half of Alcorn game, it’s how many he gets in first half.

You are disagreeing with everyone by using the point they are making. Fritz is playing for wins, and essentially his job, so he’s not going to risk his best player’s health to chase records or personal stats in games that are out of hand.

[G-wave]

When Coach WF first got here he said he liked to use change of pace RB's to try and throw the D a curve ball. He also said he wanted use 2 or 3 backs so everyone would be fresh in the 4th QB but we were running the Veer then don't know if it changed with the new passing OFF ?

[Baywave1]

Again you never go broke betting historical form. With Fritz that means Spears has at most 200 carries. At that number, he will at best be all AAC regardless of Tulane’s record.

To have breakout national recognition beyond all conference, Spears will need significantly more touches than that. I agree totally that is not probable. Too bad. I think he could be a national stat presence with more touches.

This assumes Spears stays healthy which is obviously problematic.

[long green]

We need wins and he’s our best player, so he’ll get the touches. But we should beat UMass without running him into the ground and we can beat Alcorn without him playing at all. Let’s see what happens in Manhattan.

Fritz has had backs get lots of carries before but at Tulane his best opportunities for doing that threw a wheel early in the season. Darius Bradwell was coming off a thousand yard season and was ready to do really well in 2019 but he got banged up. If Tyjae had stayed healthy in 2020 he’d have got way over 200 carries. The exception is Dontrell Hilliard’s 211 carries in 2017. If he stays in one piece, Tyjae will top that. As for goals, I think Fritz has one for Tyjae: get him drafted. If he does that, Tyjae will probably have led us to a good season along the way.

[Radio Wave]

I haven’t heard Booker’s name mention , is he still there? I realize he has been injury prone which has held him back. Just curious as he attended the high school in my hometown. Roll Wave! Let’s make the most of this season, it could be special.

[wavedom]

Booker is gone.

[tulaneoutlaw]

Booker is gone.

That's disappointing. I thought we expected him to contribute this season?

[long green]

Booker is gone.

That's disappointing. I thought we expected him to contribute this season?

He might want more and I hope he finds it.