2001 Football Season Outlook
Jul 16, 2001 | Football
It takes a system, commitment over time, support from several sources, a little luck and sustained, all-out effort. It takes a group of people - some constant (coaches and staff), others who come and go (student-athletes) - pulling together toward a common goal, day after day, week after week and year after year. Through recruiting, spring drills, summer workouts, preseason camp, the season itself and back to recruiting, a winning program is a long-term proposition, not a moment in the sun.
Last year, Tulane put together its third winning season in the last four years, and while three winning seasons does not ink the Green Wave onto the "winner's" list, you can at least pull out the pencil and begin to write "Tulane" in. Led by a potent passing attack that ranked No. 3 in the nation, a solid kicking game, and receiving significant contributions from a strong freshman class, Tulane won its last three contests to finish 6-5.
In 2001, the Green Wave hopes to build on that success despite the loss of 12 starters, most notably OT Bernard Robertson, WRs Adrian Burnette and Kerwin Cook, and LBs Jerry Phillips and Noel Ellis, each of whom moved on to the NFL. All were multi-year starters, with Burnette and Cook accounting for 20 TD catches a year ago and Phillips leading the team in tackles.
Their departures provide opportunities for a new set of players to step into critical roles, leaving the outlook for 2001 optimistic. With record-setting quarterback Patrick Ramsey, a group of experienced sophomores, the addition of a talented recruiting class and veterans returning at nearly every position, the Green Wave is ready to roll into a new season and continue its quest to build a winning program.
OFFENSE
The strength of the 2001 Green Wave squad is once again expected to be the offense, led by the passing-rushing combo of senior quarterback Patrick Ramsey and sophomore running back Mewelde Moore.
Ruston, La. native Ramsey is one of the most prolific passers in Tulane history and he already holds more than 20 school records and has topped the 300-yard passing mark 13 times in his 21 career starts. At 6-3, 234, Ramsey has shown toughness, smarts and a knowledge of the Green Wave offense. Elected a team captain as a junior, Ramsey has established himself of the nation's top senior quarterbacks heading into 2001. He will be pushed by sophomore J.P. Losman, an elusive runner with a tremendous arm who gained experience and maturity as a freshman last season. Losman completed 58-of-115 passes with four touchdowns while also ranking third on the team in rushing. Brent Brothers holds down the number three spot.
"I feel good about our quarterback situation," said Scelfo. "Patrick Ramsey is in his third year as a starter and he's shown he can be successful. He's big, he's tough and he's smart. J.P. gives us another dimension back there with his ability to run, but he can also be a dangerous passer. It's a luxury to have two guys you can count on under center."
Although Ramsey lost favorite target Burnette to graduation, seniors Terrell Harris and Zander Robinson return to lead the Wave receivers. Harris caught 64 passes for 694 yards a year ago to rank second on the team, while Robinson caught three TD passes. Young receivers like Roydell Williams, a tall sophomore with speed and hops, Nick Narcisse (soph.), James Dunn (soph.), Chris Bush (fr.-RS) and newcomers Cletus McGee and Tristan Smith could make an immediate impact.
"It's hard to lose a guy who caught 14 touchdown passes (Burnette) and imagine that any one receiver will just step in and produce like that," Scelfo said. "We think we have a good group of receivers that will be even deeper with the addition of a couple of freshmen in August. Roydell looked great this spring, and if he continues to work hard and get stronger this summer, he will be another threat for our offense."
Moore powered the Green Wave rushing game in 2000. As a freshman, the Baton Rouge native gained more yards (890) than any Tulane RB since 1970, despite missing one game and playing three more with a sprained ankle. With a healthy 2001, and a strong return after playing minor league baseball in the San Diego Padres organization this summer, Moore could become just the second 1,000-yard (single season) runner in Tulane history, joining Eddie Price, who accomplished the feat in 1948 and '49. Moore also ranked fourth on the team in receiving a year ago with 33 catches for 350 yards.
He is backed up by Brant Hocke, a smaller back with good receiving skills, redshirt freshman Jeff Kirven and veteran reserve Gee Reshard. Newcomer Jeff Sanders is similar to Moore in size and speed and could present another threat in the running game.
"Our running game made a big difference in the effectiveness of our offense last year, there's no question," Scelfo said. "Mewelde gave us production out of the backfield that we haven't had here in a number of years. We'd like to average about 150 yards a game on the ground and that would complement our passing game very well and continue to make us a formidable offensive team."
Of course, both the passing and rushing attack depend on a strong, quick and savvy offensive line. Tulane's 2001 O-line features four seniors in center Torie Taulli, tackles Chrys Bullock and Corey Sewell and guard Charles Caldwell. Bullock steps into the left tackle spot vacated by Bernard Robertson, who departed for the NFL's Chicago Bears after a stellar senior season. Taulli and Sewell played nearly every offensive snap in 2000 and gave up just two sacks between them. Caldwell started five games last year and can play both guard and tackle. The quartet will be joined by new starter, and former walk-on, Brendon Drysdale, who also backs up Taulli at center. Depth is a concern on the line, but a pair of last year's signees in Joe Mitchell and Jimmy Kosienski could step up.
"As always, you wish you had more depth on the offensive line," Scelfo said. "I think we're in a little better shape in that aspect than we were a year ago, although we will have to rely on some true freshmen. They're really a key to our entire offense."
At tight end, Tulane features sophomores Eddie Robinson and Tim Pinter with Robinson providing a more dangerous receiving threat while Pinter is a more effective blocker.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The kicking game is one of the strengths of the 2001 team. Senior punter Casey Roussel is a strong candidate for All-America honors after ranking in the top six in the nation a year ago in punting average. Opponents returned just 26 of Roussel's 59 punts as he averaged 44.2 yards per kick. He is set to break the school record for career punting average by nearly three yards per kick. Junior Seth Marler, an early candidate for the Lou Groza Award, is back for a third season as the Tulane kicker. Marler connected on 16-of-21 field goals a year ago and hit all 10 of his attempts from inside 40 yards.
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| Casey Roussel |
"Casey was really a big weapon for us last year," Scelfo said. "We were able to win some field position battles and get out of some big holes with his kicks. Seth wasn't able to kick this spring (foot surgery), but we hope he'll come back and be as consistent as he was last year."
With the departure of senior return man John Wilson, the search for reliable kickoff and punt return men will begin in August. Luckily, there's no shortage of athletic talent from which to choose. Returning players like Lynaris Elpheage, Jeff Sanchez and Zander Robinson will compete with the likes of Jeff Sanders, Fred Perkins and Tristan Smith to make an impact on this aspect of the Wave special teams.
Another often overlooked part of special teams which ended up winning Tulane a game a year ago are the kick blocking units. When Roxie Shelvin blocked ULL's last extra point, the Wave claimed a 38-37 win in Lafayette. That was one of three blocked kicks for the Green Wave in 2000 as Jerry Phillips and Adrian Mitchell picked up the other blocks versus Army and UL-Lafayette, respectively.
DEFENSE
Defensively, the Green Wave is looking to rebound in 2001 after ranking near the bottom of Conference USA last year. A sophomore-laden defense surrendered 434 total yards and 31.5 points per game as opponents scored nearly 62 percent of their points after halftime. With improved depth and added experience, expectations are for improvements this season.
The defensive line is a year older and stronger with three junior returning starters in Floyd Dorsey, Roxie Shelvin and Kenan Blackmon. Add sophomores Lonnie Crayton, Alex Battard and Terrence Tarver, junior Marlon Tickles and senior Glenn Lemoine to the mix, and all of a sudden the line features depth and experience. Tulane substitutes freely on the defensive line, but is looking for more pressure up front, as well as more help in stopping the run. Dorsey is Tulane's leading returning sacker with five and also led all defensive linemen in total tackles (54) and tackles for loss (9) last year. Shelvin contributed six tackles for loss while Blackmon added nine.
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| Roxie Shelvin |
"Our line should be improved this year," Scelfo said. "They are stronger and more experienced, and there are more people we can count on up there. Improved play by our defensive line can have a tremendous impact on the overall play of our defense this year."
The major question mark defensively is at linebacker, where the Green Wave lost all three starters, who all ranked in the top six on the team in tackles, and strong safety Sam Knight. LB hopes were dealt another blow this spring when Nick Simpson, a transfer from Oklahoma who was expected to step in at middle linebacker, tore the ACL in his right knee. Simpson is expected to miss most of the 2001 season, leaving the linebacker spots to sophomores Emmanuel Sewell, Daniel Nevil (middle) and Wesley Heath (weakside) with back-up from freshmen Edgar Algere and Blake Baker, and juniors Chris Washington and Preston Curtis.
The most experienced returning linebacker is senior David Dorsey, who made 36 tackles a year ago and is penciled in to start on the strong side. Nevil is slated to start in the middle while Sewell is a "swing man" who can play in the middle or on the weak side.
"It's obvious we're young at linebacker," Scelfo said. "We're going from having just about as much experience as you can have in Phillips and Ellis, to no starting experience. These players have the physical ability to get the job done, it's a question of adjusting to playing a starting role and being fundamentally sound tacklers."
In the secondary, Jeff Sanchez had probably the top spring of any player on the team after switching from running back to cornerback last November. He is battling Jamal Jones for one starting corner spot opposite sophomore Lynaris Elpheage. As a freshman, Elpheage came on to earn a starting spot in the third game of the year and led Tulane in interceptions with three, while also scoring on a fumble recovery and return. Walk-on Trey Godfrey also excelled this spring, while newcomer Lyneal Strain showed he is ready to contribute.
"With Elpheage, Sanchez and Jones, we have three pretty good corners," Scelfo said. "The key there is for those three guys to stay healthy and continue to make big plays for us - whether it's interceptions, forcing or recovering fumbles or breaking up passes. Our conference features several good passing teams and we've got to be able to slow them down."
The free safety spot features leading returning tackler Adrian Mitchell, the most improved player on defense a year ago, and fellow junior Quentin Brown. The two will battle for the starting position through August. Mitchell made 89 tackles, including 67 solo, in 2000, to rank second on the team. He had a pair of interceptions and broke up five passes while his 19 tackles versus Navy were a team season high and the highest single-game total in Conference USA last year. Brown started nine games as a sophomore and scored one of two touchdowns for the defense, on a 48-yard interception return in the season finale against Memphis. At strong safety, Terry Fontenot shared time with Sam Knight and returns for his junior season after making 40 tackles and forcing a pair of fumbles last year. He'll be joined by Darlvon Bracy, a converted fullback.
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| Terry Fontenot |
"Our safeties are called on to do a lot of things," Scelfo said. "They're the last line of defense and they've got to do the right thing on every play. It's a critical position."
SCHEDULE
Tulane's 2001 schedule features something for everyone.
Want to see the Wave battle in-state competition? How about the Sept. 1 matchup versus LSU at Tiger Stadium to mark the teams' first meeting since 1996? Then there's the Big Easy Classic as Tulane meets Southern for the first time ever in the Superdome Sept. 29.
Want to see the best Conference USA has to offer? Well the Green Wave and their fans will. C-USA bowl teams East Carolina (Sept. 8), TCU (Oct. 13) and Louisville - also the defending league champs - (Nov. 3) will visit the Superdome this season. And Tulane will travel to play C-USA's other two 2000 bowl squads with an Oct. 6 date at Cincinnati and the Nov. 17 season finale at Southern Miss. Don't forget the late addition of a twelfth game as Tulane was selected to play in the BCA Classic and will meet BYU in Provo on Aug. 25.
In all, Tulane will battle six bowl teams and nine teams that posted winning records in 2000. The Green Wave will travel to Army and Navy, as well as UAB, in addition to the Cincinnati, Southern Miss and LSU trips. Central Florida is the other home opponent as the Knights make a 'Dome appearance Sept. 22.
While last year's schedule sent Tulane on the road for the first month of the season, this year's line-up provides the opposite. Tulane will play three home games in September after the visits to Provo and Baton Rouge, then plays five of its last seven games of the year on the road, including four of the last five.
"There's no doubt this is the most difficult line-up of opponents we have faced in my tenure," Scelfo said. "You take LSU, Central Florida and Southern in September. All of them won at least seven games last year. Conference USA is improving, especially the depth. From top to bottom, any team can win on any given day."
Despite the treacherous going, both in conference and out, Tulane hopes to combine its explosive offense with stellar special teams and an improved defense in 2001 as the Wave continues to build a reputation as a winning program.
