2007 Tulane Green Wave football preview

Tulane Green Wave

2006 Record: (4-8, 2-6)
Coach: Bob Toledo (1st year at Tulane, 78-62 overall)

Starters Returning: 14 (5 offense, 8 defense, 1 specialist)

Offensive Starters Lost: QB Lester Richard, WR Preston Brown, WR Damarcus Davis, TE Jerome Landry, OL Donald Madlock, OL Derek Rogers

Offensive Starters Returning: RB Matt Forte, WR Jeremy Williams, OL Aryan Barto, OL Troy Kropog, OL Michael Parenton

Defensive Starters Lost: DE Billy Harrison, CB Jeremy Foreman, CB Israel Route

Defensive Starters Returning: DT Frank Morton, DT Avery Williams, DE Antonio Harris, LB James Dillard, LB Evan Lee, S Joe Goosby, S David Skehan, S Louis Thomas

Starting Specialists Lost: P Chris Beckman

Starting Specialists Returning: K Ross Thevenot

At least new coach Bob Toledo is bringing in a new sense of hope to Tulane. Yet, that is not enough for success to happen any time soon. Coach Toledo will move his team into a West Coast offense, but that will take time as well. Without much of a passing game to speak of, the Green Wave will need to delay the balanced attack and depend on the running attack.

2007 Tulane Offense:

Quarterback Lester Richard threw for 2,795 yards and 18 touchdowns during his last year in New Orleans. Junior Scott Elliott is the likely replacement after completing 13 of 30 passes in 2006 and earning three starts in 2005. Elliott will have to prove quickly that he can be a team leader and an effective passer or underclassmen Anthony Scelfo and Kevin Moore will get a long look. Jeremy Williams will lead the receiving group after catching 40 passes last year. There is some talent behind him, most notably Brian King and Michael Batiste, but they will need to prove they can be threats through the long haul.

Matt Forte rushed for 859 yards and eight touchdowns last year and will be asked to do more during his senior campaign once he recovers from a knee injury. Forte is also a dangerous threat as a receiver out of the backfield and will be a big help to the offense on many levels. With the return of three starters on the offensive line, especially guard Michael Parenton, the running game should be relatively effective.

2007 Tulane Defense:

The Green Wave gave up a dismal 33.3 points per game last season. The good news is eight starters return to the unit and the bad news is eight starters return to the unit. Yet, in this case, that experience should be enough to show some improvement. With tackles Frank Morton and Avery Williams manning the middle and steady end Antonio Harris getting into the backfield, the line can only be better.

The situation is similar at linebacker. James Dillard, Evan Lee and Cody Sparks all earned valuable experience as sophomores and should turn that into more productivity as upperclassmen. Safeties Joe Goosby and David Skehan have plenty of experience and it is imperative they continue to improve since both cornerbacks are gone. It is not like the secondary was good, but it is still not good to need to replace two corners. Carlis Jackson, Josh Lumar, Charles Harris and Alex Wacha have the task of trying to shut down the opposing receivers this year.

The Bottom Line for the Green Wave:

At this point, Tulane is simply looking for some toughness and steps in the right direction. Increasing on the four wins of a year ago may not happen, but when things are bad, the Green Wave can find joy in the small victories. And that means getting the new schemes in order and developing young talent in those schemes is enough to build upon.