Tulane Football Preview

Mewelde Moore

Asked to come up with one word to describe the key to the Tulane Green Wave’s 2002 season, fourth-year head coach Chris Scelfo did not hesitate: “Consistency.” Scelfo knows that consistent performances on offense, special teams, and defense will allow the Green Wave to compete and excel against a tough 2002 schedule that features three straight conference road games in September, but concludes with five of the last six contests at home.

With an offense that has amassed over 4,800 yards in each of his three seasons and a kicking game that boasted the 2001 Lou Groza Award winner, Scelfo hopes to combine those two highly-successful parts of his team with a newly-confident and aggressive defense for 2002.

“The key to our success is to be able to put the offense, defense and kicking games together, week in and week out, at a consistent level,” Scelfo said. “We can’t afford to have peaks and valleys throughout the year. We must gel early as a team because of the demands of the schedule in September.”

To avoid those peaks and valleys, Tulane must not only gel as a team, but must come together at several key positions, beginning on the offensive line. While last year’s offensive line featured four seniors and just one newcomer, the 2002 group is faced with the opposite situation. Senior right guard Seth Zaunbrecher is the lone returning o-line starter from a year ago, while junior center Brendon Drysdale saw his most extensive action last season. Senior Derick Bugg, who ended spring drills as the starting left guard, played in seven games last year; he will get a battle from redshirt freshman Matt Traina this August. The trio is joined on the starting line by sophomore Jimmy Kosienski at right tackle and redshirt freshman Chris McGee on the left end. Freshman center Joe Traina, sophomore guard Joe Mitchell and Willie Christian, coming over from the defensive side of the ball, will also battle for playing time as August drills commence.

“The offensive line is a group that needs to gel quickly with four new starters stepping in,” Scelfo said. “They are very young and very inexperienced, and they need to mature and grow up fast. We’ve added size along the line, which should help us maintain our health, which is critical to our success.”

Mobile quarterback J.P. Losman steps into the large shoes of Patrick Ramsey behind that “green” offensive line for 2002. The 6-3, 202-pound junior was hampered much of the 2001 season by a knee injury, but threw for 487 yards and four touchdowns in three games, including a three-TD, 384-yard day versus Army when he completed 25-of-39 passes.

“The bar has been set very high at the quarterback position at Tulane, and we expect it to continue with J.P. and Derrick (Joseph),” Scelfo said. “J.P. has emerged as the starter at quarterback, and that’s a different role than he has had. Over the past two years, he’s gained experience and he’s started two games, but he hasn’t been THE starter. The offensive line is the key to his success as a quarterback.”

Senior Derrick Joseph is the most experienced of the back-ups and will be called on to provide leadership at the crucial position, which includes redshirt freshman Dayne Ashley and true freshmen Billy Don Malone and Nick Cannon.

“Derrick has been in our system for two years. He’s an unselfish player who moved back to quarterback from receiver last year. We expect him to carry a leadership role.”

The Wave’s receiving corps is once again filled with talent. With no seniors in the group, second team All-Conference USA selection Roydell Williams has garnered much of the preseason focus. Williams, who led Tulane and Conference USA with 11 touchdown grabs a year ago, is back after spending the spring as a member of the Green Wave baseball team. After just two seasons, the quick, athletic, long-limbed player already ranks on the school’s career charts for catches and receiving yardage.

Joining Williams on the outside is a former high school teammate of his at East St. John High in LaPlace, Chris Bush. Bush had a “break-out” spring that showed he is ready to become a threat for the Green Wave in 2002. Bush’s fellow sophomores Tristan Smith and Carl Davis, juniors James Dunn and Nick Narcisse, and redshirt freshman Cletus McGee make up the remainder of the “Taylors,” as position coach Trooper Taylor likes to call his charges. Of those players, Davis was the most productive last season as he caught 25 passes for 277 yards in 12 games while Smith totaled 22 catches in just seven contests. Dunn, a California product like Losman, added 18 grabs and Narcisse 16.

“We have a good group of receivers,” Scelfo said. “The emergence of Chris Bush in spring gives us a big receiver to complement Roydell. I expect James Dunn, Tristan Smith and Nick Narcisse, along with redshirt freshman Cletus McGee, to carry on the receiver legacy that has been left to them.”

At tight end, Bobby Hoover brings a year of experience after playing extensively as a true freshman. Named a Freshman All-American by The Sporting News, Hoover had the most catches by a Tulane tight end since 1996 with 15 last year. He’s joined by January addition Jerome Landry and steady sophomore Stephen Hedemann.

“It’s a position I feel good about going into the fall,” Scelfo said. “We’ve got some big tight ends that can not only block, but are good pass catchers.”

At running back, Scelfo has a proven commodity in All-America candidate and 2001 record-setter Mewelde Moore, who became the first back in NCAA history to rush for over 1,250 yards and catch more than 60 passes in a season a year ago, while also becoming Tulane’s top single-season rusher, and breaking the Conference USA rushing and all-purpose marks. He broke a 49-year-old school record while becoming just the second 1,000-yard rusher in the 108-year history of Tulane Football. Moore led Tulane in both rushing and receiving in 2001, averaging 6.6 yards every time he touched the ball. Versus Navy, he became the first player in Tulane history to gain 100 yards rushing and 100 receiving in the same game.

“I think Mewelde Moore emerged as one of the premiere backs in the conference, if not the country, last year. That was the best rushing year in the history of Tulane Football,” Scelfo said. “He’s a great threat as a rusher and as a receiver. Last year we were concerned about him getting worn down over the summer while playing baseball (in the minor league system of the San Diego Padres), but he came back in tremendous shape.”

Scelfo feels better about the Wave’s depth at running back entering 2002. Junior Brant Hocke, who missed all but four games last season with an ankle injury, and fullback Kris Coleman, Tulane’s second-leading rusher in 2001, return, along with some help in the form of freshman Tye Graham and utility man Chino Fontenette.

Having seen the capabilities of Moore, Losman, Williams and their cohorts, Scelfo is confident the 2002 offense can continue to keep Tulane near the top of the NCAA statistics while putting points on the board.

“Overall, the offense has a chance to continue what it has done the past three years in our system,” Scelfo said. “The experience of our skill players is very good, and the offensive line is a group that needs to come together for the offense to be as prolific as it has been. The expectation level for our offense is high, there’s no doubt about it, but so is the ability level.”

While the Tulane offense features a young offensive line, many new faces in starting roles and superstar talent in Mewelde Moore, the defense offers familiar names and experience at every position. Twelve players who started at least six games last year return for 2002, including five defensive linemen, three linebackers and four defensive backs. The two-deep features nine seniors and five juniors. That’s the good news. The bad news is that last year, a nearly identical group gave up nearly 500 yards of total offense and more than 41 points per game.

However, along with new defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Eric Schumann, who led the top defense in the Western Athletic Conference at SMU, came a new aggressive, yet simplified, style of play, and more importantly, a new, confident attitude. With subtle line-up changes and a minimal number of position switches, the growth of true freshmen into experienced sophomores, and the addition of some young talented freshmen, Scelfo has high hopes for the 2002 defense.

“I expect our defense to be better,” Scelfo said. “We have a good blend of seniors that have game experience. They have added size and bulk along with talent and depth across the board. I was pleased with the way our defense responded during the spring. They improved every day. Continuing that growth, having our linebackers come together as a unit and staying healthy are all critical to our success on defense this year.”

At linebacker, sophomore Blake Baker turned heads this spring as he grabbed the starting middle spot with some outstanding play. He’ll be challenged by converted fullback Brandt Quick, a transfer from Kansas State. Flanking Baker, for now, are junior Wesley Heath on the strong side and sophomore Brandon Spincer on the weak side. Both have extensive experience as Heath ranked fourth on the team with 67 stops, made six tackles for loss and broke up three passes a year ago, while Spincer recorded 65 tackles and caused three fumbles. Senior Terry Fontenot, a converted strong safety, and junior Daniel Nevil, who made 112 tackles last year, are listed behind Heath while redshirt freshman Antonio Mason and Oklahoma transfer Nick Simpson, who sat out last year after undergoing knee surgery, are penciled in behind Spincer.

“We have a talented, athletic group of linebackers that need to gel quickly,” Scelfo said. “It’s a position that we depend on to make plays. Wesley Heath and Brandon Spincer have big game experience, and Terry Fontenot and Blake Baker are guys that need to step up their game for us to be successful on the defensive side.”

While the linebackers may be the key to Tulane’s defense success, Scelfo has a good idea where the strength of Tulane’s defense lies in 2002. That is in the secondary, where the starting quartet of seniors Jeff Sanchez, Quentin Brown and Adrian Mitchell and junior Lynaris Elpheage has combined to make 66 starts over the last three years.

Elpheage (17 career starts) has led the Green Wave in interceptions in each of the last two seasons and has broken up 28 passes in his career. His partner at cornerback, Sanchez (18), made 58 stops and had a pair of pickoffs last season, while safety Adrian Mitchell (17) ranked in the Top 20 in the nation in tackles with 138, the most by a Tulane player since 1984. Brown is a 14-game starter who has made 184 tackles in his TU career, including 72 last season.

“This area has a chance to be the strength of our defense,” Scelfo said. “Jeff Sanchez, Quentin Brown and Adrian Mitchell, as seniors, provide leadership. I expect them to be the strong suit of our defense, and we also have youth and depth with Bruce Youmans, Tra Boger and Darren Sapp. All three have stepped up their game. It’s a position where the group pushes each other to get better every game.”

On the defensive line, senior defensive end Kenan Blackmon, Tulane’s leader in sacks two of the last three seasons, is back to anchor a defensive line that also features seniors at each of the other line positions in tackles Marlon Tickles and Roxie Shelvin and end Floyd Dorsey. Remaining healthy will be critical for these three as each played through injury during most of 2001. Entering August, Blackmon, Shelvin and Dorsey were joined at the top of the depth chart by sophomore Wallace Mateen, who had a sensational freshman campaign with 28 tackles, three tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries. A pair of junior tackles – Terrence Tarver and Lonnie Crayton – and sophomore ends Brandon Rottmayer, Jay Ashton and Chris Williams, ensure that there will be plenty of competition for playing time along the line.

“The defensive line is another group that’s very experienced,” Scelfo said. “I feel like they have added some bulk. We’ve got potentially three senior starters in Roxie Shelvin, Floyd Dorsey and Kenan Blackmon to provide us with leadership. They’ve stepped up in the weight room and been in the trenches the last few years. Roxie, Floyd and Kenan obviously need to set the tone for our defense this year.”

The Green Wave special teams should once again be solid behind 2001 All-American and Lou Groza Award winner Seth Marler. The senior placekicker is poised to become Tulane’s all-time leader in field goals after hitting a school-record 15-of-16 three-pointers last year. Marler made his first 54 kicks (PATs and field goals) of the year, and was seven-for-seven on field goals of longer than 40 yards. With the graduation of punter Casey Roussel, Marler will take on punting duties to start the season. He has served as the Wave’s back-up punter during the last two years. Late signee Chris Beckman will compete with Marler for the punting job.

Tulane will take on a challenging schedule that begins August 31st with the second annual Big Easy Classic versus Southern in the Superdome. The Green Wave then takes to the road for three straight conference games, at Houston, East Carolina and Memphis, before returning home to play host to Texas, a preseason national championship contender.

In October, Tulane travels to north Louisiana Oct. 5 for its first meeting with UL-Monroe. The Wave will then play five of its last six games of the year at home, beginning with C-USA games against Cincinnati (Oct. 12) and UAB (Oct. 19). Navy and Tulane will play a historic Homecoming game in New Orleans’ Tad Gormley Stadium on October 26th in the Green Wave’s first outdoor home game since 1974.

After an open date Nov. 2, Tulane takes is last road trip of the year, to take on TCU in Fort Worth. The regular season concludes with home dates with Army (Nov. 16) and Southern Miss (Nov. 23). In its first-year of the eight-game conference schedule, Tulane will not play defending C-USA champion Louisville.

“Our schedule is very demanding,” Scelfo said. “We must get off to a good start and we’re going to have to be road warriors early in the year, which is difficult.”

Tulane and the rest of Conference USA will compete for a league-record five bowl bids in 2002. The conference champion will once again play in the AXA Liberty Bowl, while berths are also available to C-USA teams in Hawaii, New Orleans, Mobile and Houston.

“Each year, the conference has developed and grown,” Scelfo said. “It is becoming, from top to bottom, as competitive as any conference in the country. Week in and week out, there is no margin for error.”

With a new offensive line, a new starting quarterback and a new defensive coordinator complementing all-everything back Mewelde Moore, a large and talented group of returning receivers, and a senior-laden defense, the 2002 Tulane squad looks to continue to show its trademark offensive prowess while renewed enthusiasm and confidence on defense propel the Wave to higher and higher watermarks.