Tulane 2012 Recruiting

Tulane Green Wave 2012 ... Head Coach: Curtis Johnson

Tulane Green Wave

2011 Record: 2-10

Sep. 3 SE Louisiana W 47-33
Sep. 10 Tulsa L 31-3
Sep. 17 at UAB W 49-10
Sep. 24 at Duke L 48-27
Oct. 1 at Army L 45-6
Oct. 8 Syracuse L 37-34
Oct. 15 UTEP L 44-7
Oct. 22 Memphis L 33-17
Oct. 29 at East Carolina L 34-13
Nov. 5 at SMU L 45-24
Nov. 12 Houston L 73-17
Nov. 19 at Rice L 19-7
Nov. 26 at Hawaii

2010 CFN Prediction: 1-11
2010 Record: 4-8

Sept. 4 SE Louisiana W 27-21
Sept. 11 Ole Miss L 27-13
Sept. 18 OPEN DATE
Sept. 25 at Houston L 42-23
Oct. 2 at Rutgers W 17-14
Oct. 9 Army L 41-23
Oct. 16 at Tulsa L 52-24
Oct. 23 at UTEP W 34-24
Oct. 30 SMU L 31-17
Nov. 6 Southern Miss L 46-30
Nov. 13 Rice W 54-49
Nov. 20 UCF L 61-14
Nov. 27 at Marshall L 38-23
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 Tulane Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. CB Darion Monroe
5-11, 185, Scout.com 29th ranked, three-star cornerback.

2. CB Jordan Batiste
5-9, 170, Scout.com 84th ranked, three-star cornerback.

3. WR Devon Breaux
6-0, 175, Scout.com 149th ranked, three-star receiver.

4. WR Lorenzo Doss
6-0, 185, Scout.com 164th ranked, three-star receiver.

5. QB Fudge Van Hooser
6-2, 185, Scout.com 92nd ranked, two-star quarterback.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... Players who do what Curtis Johnson will want. The Green Wave has to get the passing game going, and Johnson, the new head man, will want to wing the ball all over the yard. Quarterback is fine for the next two years, but the position will be an issue by 2014. Upgrading the pass catchers and the team speed will be vital, even with last year’s class focusing on the receivers.

Team Concerns For 2012: Johnson has to build up the infrastructure, the lines, and then he can hope for everything else to work. The defensive line is going to be very, very young. Three starters are gone, but there’s a decent nucleus of underclassmen to build around. The offensive line might require the most immediate help with three starters gone and an infusion of decent backups needed.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: New head coach Curtis Johnson has a ton of work to do to improve one of the nation’s worst scoring offenses and scoring defenses. Three starters are gone from a defensive line that wasn’t bad at getting into the backfield, but seven starters are back including the entire linebacking corps and star tackler Trent Mackey. Corner Ryan Travis is a good ball-hawker to count on. Ryan Griffin is a good quarterback to work around and Orleans Darkwa is a terrific back, but the line loses three starters and the O needs to find a steady target for Griffin.

2011 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 108. That Class Was Heavy On ... Pass catchers. The Green Wave got plenty of receivers in 2009, and while there aren’t any sure-thing stars in this class, there’s strength in numbers. Marc Edwards is the most promising prospect of the bunch, and quick Devin Boutte is promising. Tight end was a target with three new recruits including Greg Thomson out of Syracuse and pass catcher Josh Drum. Safety Renaldo Thomas needs to be a starter sooner than later.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 88. That Class Was Heavy On ... Linebackers. The Green Wave has to do something about its defense, and while there isn't any instant help from this class, there are plenty of safety-sized athletes who will upgrade the athleticism and the potential. Ray Oppman will be a fixture on the inside within the next three years, while Zach Davis could be an ideal strong safety or a dangerous playmaker as an outside linebacker. Jamar Thomas has the potential to be the next great Green Wave running back.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 79. That Class Was Heavy On ... receivers. When Jeremy Williams was injured last season, the Green Wave passing attack virtually shut down. That lack of depth and reliable options at wide receiver has prompted Bob Toledo to scour Texas and Louisiana high schools for offensive weapons that can stretch a defense. While there are no sure-things in the group, D.J. Banks and Devin Figaro look like pretty good prospects, and the quantity alone should reap a productive player or two.

Nov. 19 at Rice 19 … Tulane 7

Nov. 10 Houston 73 … at Tulane 17  

Nov. 5 at SMU 45 … Tulane 24

Oct. 29 at East Carolina 34 … Tulane 13  

(AP) GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Dominique Davis ran for two touchdowns and passed for another to lead East Carolina to a 34-13 win over Tulane on Saturday.

East Carolina (4-4, 3-1 Conference USA) won its third straight game, while Tulane (2-7, 1-4) lost for the second straight time under interim head coach Mark Hutson, who took over the Green Wave on Oct. 18.

Davis, who finished with 329 yards on 29-of-46 passing, scored on runs of 5 and 6 yards. His touchdown pass to Lance Lewis was for 1 yard. Mike Barbour hit field goals of 35 and 20 yards for the Pirates and Michael Dobson added a late touchdown run.

Tulane held a brief 10-7 led on a 7yard touchdown run by Orleans Darkwa with 13:34 left the second quarter. Darkwa rushed for 89 yards on 15 carries, while Green Wave quarterback Ryan Griffin completed 16 of 31 for 132 yards.

Oct. 22 Memphis 33 … at Tulane 17  

Oct. 15 UTEP 44 … at Tulane 7
CFN Analysis: The Green Wave sputtered and coughed against a mediocre UTEP defense because the turnovers uncharacteristically started to flow. D.J. Ponder threw three picks and Ryan Griffin gave up a pick in the blowout, and the defense didn’t do anything to pick up the slack for the floundering attack. Trent Mackey made 14 tackles with a sack, but that was about the only positive for an defense that couldn’t come up with enough stops against a mediocre passing game that struggled to connect. Fortunately, Memphis is up next to cure all the ills of a four-game losing streak. If Tulane can’t beat the Tigers at home, pack up the truck on the rest of the season. 

Oct. 8 Syracuse 37 … at Tulane 34
CFN Analysis: Ryan Griffin did everything he could to keep to give the Green Wave a shot at a huge win. After a disastrous performance against Army, Tulane’s offense blew up through the air and wasn’t bad on the ground with Orleans Darkwa running for 65 yards and two scores. But it wasn’t enough. Trent Mackey made 18 tackles and stuffed the Syracuse running game time and again, but the D couldn’t get the big stop it needed in the back-and-fourth fight as the back seven got picked apart and got nailed with a bad personal foul call at the worst time possible, allowing the Orange to continue its game-winning march. Now the Green Wave is on a three-game losing streak with an inconsistent offense and a defense that’s not getting into the backfield. A rested UTEP will be a bit home test before the gimme against Memphis.  

Oct. 1 at Army 45 … Tulane 6
CFN Analysis: Tulane didn’t have to be perfect to beat Army, but it at least had to keep the mistakes to a minimum. Instead, with ten penalties and four turnovers, it got ugly. Even the special teams struggled missing on the conversion after a nice Orleans Darkwa touchdown run for a 6-0 lead. The run defense allowed 353 yards on the ground, while the offense only came up with 199 yards against a defense that’s one of the worst in America against decent passing teams. This was as big a clunker as Tulane could’ve come up with, and things don’t get much easier with Syracuse and UTEP up over the next two weeks.

Sept. 24 at Duke 48 … Tulane 27
CFN Analysis: Well that didn’t last long for Tulane. A week after blowing away UAB, and so much promise and potential after the offense busted out, QB Ryan Griffin couldn’t seem to hit a pass to keep the offense moving, and RB Orleans Darkwa ran for ten yards on nine carries. The defense couldn’t get off the field as Duke hit on third down play after third down play to go on long, marching drives, and the offense didn’t do anything to help the cause with any marches of its own. Consistency will be a problem all year, and while the offense should work again next week against Army, the linebackers have to be far better than they were against the Blue Devils. 

Sept. 17 Tulane 49 … at UAB 10
CFN Analysis: Tulane’s offense has been due for an explosion like this. There have been too many misfires and too many missed opportunities over the first few weeks, but Ryan Griffin was phenomenal completing 22-of-26 passes for 281 yards and three scores, and the defense was stellar holding the Blazers to just 48 yards in the blowout. The Green Wave never let UAB have the ball, holding on to it for almost 42 minutes as Griffin came up with third down play after third down play. The pass rush is doing a decent job, and it got pressure even though it didn’t generate a sack, and the mistakes have been kept to a minimum, and now comes a nice test against a Duke team coming off a big win.  

Sept. 10 Tulsa 31 … at Tulane 3
CFN Analysis: The Green Wave offense was a disaster. Tulsa doesn’t have enough defensive talent to hold anyone to three points, but that’s what it did. The Tulane pass rush was fine, and Trent Mackey was fantastic with ten tackles with half a sack, but the running game only came up with 59 yards and never got any room to move. Ryan Griffin completed 18-of-39 passes for 170 yards and an interception for an offense that went nowhere. Now come the road trips with three straight weeks away starting with a date at UAB in a must-win game before going to Duke and Army. The defensive front has done its part so far, and now the rest of the team has to follow.

Sept. 3 at Tulane 47 … SE Louisiana 33
CFN Analysis: The defense will be a work in progress, and considering the problems the secondary had against SE Louisiana, allowing 295 yards, there could be big issues against Tulsa next week. That means the offense will have to be even more explosive and the running game has to get moving. Ryan Griffin threw for 267 yards and three scores, but he didn’t get much help from Orleans Darkwa, who was held to 34 yards and a touchdown on ten carries. The D might have struggled, but linebacker Trent Mackey was special with 16 tackles, 13 solo with a sack.

The 2011 Recruiting Class Is Heavy On … Pass catchers. The Green Wave got plenty of receivers in 2009, and while there aren’t any sure-thing stars in this class, there’s strength in numbers. Marc Edwards is the most promising prospect of the bunch, and quick Devin Boutte is promising. Tight end was a target with three new recruits including Greg Thomson out of Syracuse and pass catcher Josh Drum. Safety Renaldo Thomas needs to be a starter sooner than later.

2011 Entire Recruiting Class

Five Tulane Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. QB Nick SanGiacomo
6-4, 195, Scout.com’s 74th ranked quarterback

2. WR Mark Edwards
6-0, 180, Scout.com’s 191st ranked receiver

3. S Renaldo Thomas
6-4, 205, Scout.com’s 84th ranked safety

4. RB Dante Butler
5-9, 184, Scout.com’s 124th ranked running back

5. CB Matt Bailey
5-10, 175, Scout.com’s 166th ranked cornerback

2011 Recruiting Class
Matthew Bailey LB 5-10 210 Fr. New Orleans, La./Edna Karr
Leon Blouin, IV QB 5-11 185 Fr. Geismar, La./Dutchtown
Devin Boutte WR 5-9 175 Fr. New Iberia, La./Catholic
Aaron Bryant DL 6-3 220 Fr. Katy, Texas/Seven Lakes
Lawrence Burl DL 6-3 210 Fr. New Orleans, La./St. Augustine
Danté Butler RB 5-10 210 Fr. New Orleans, La./Brother Martin
Josh Drum TE 6-4 240 Fr. Hoover, Ala./Spain Park
Marc Edwards WR 6-1 180 Fr. New Orleans, La./St. Augustine
Robert Kelley RB 5-11 205 Fr. New Orleans, La./O. Perry Walker
Brandon LeBeau DB 5-11 190 Fr. New Orleans, La./McMain
Michael Pierce, Jr. DL 6-1 260 Fr. Daphne, Ala./Daphne
Corey Redwine DL 6-1 305 Fr. Fiarburn, Ga./Creekside
Xavier Rush WR 6-2 195 Fr. Terry, Miss./Terry
Nick SanGiacomo QB 6-3 195 Fr. Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat
Sam Scofield DB 6-1 180 Fr. Lafayette, La./St. Thomas More
Justyn Shackleford WR 6-0 175 Fr. Suwanee, Ga./Berkmar
Andrew Siden DL 6-3 240 Fr. Natick, Mass./Natick
Nate Skold OL 6-7 290 Fr. Omaha, Neb./Westside
Evan Tatford TE 6-5 240 Fr. Lafayette, La./St. Thomas More
Renaldo Thomas DB 6-3 205 Fr. New Orleans, La./St. Augustine
Greg Thomson TE 6-3 240 Fr. Skaneateles, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy
Arturo Uzdavinis OL 6-7 290 Fr. Thonotosassa, Fla./Jesuit