2007 Tulane Football Signing Day Blog
Feb 7, 2007 | Football
Feb. 7, 2007
Today is signing day for college football players from around the nation. Tulane's first-year staff has hit the ground running since their arrival in New Orleans in early January. Here's an insider's look during the early hours of signing day at Tulane University:
- The time is 5:00 a.m. and Dan Dodd, the Green Wave's offensive coordinator, is the first to arrive at the Wilson Center. Dodd's first duty is to make the first pot of coffee of the day, which he does at 5:30 a.m.
- The coffee is freshly brewed when the first wave of assistant coaches begin drifting into the football offices, including head coach Bob Toledo, who enters the building at 5:50 a.m. By 6:00, the staff is assembled and ready to see the results of their hard work.
Assistant coach Greg Davis joins Dodd as the two most popular coaches of the morning-- Dodd because of the coffee and Davis because he brought the most important items, the doughnuts and newspaper.
- Assistant coach Mark Hutson proclaims he doesn't know who made the coffee, but he's already had one cup and is making his way to the doughnuts.
- The newspaper, coffee and doughnuts keep the coaches occupied until the 7:00 hour arrives.
- Coach Thom Kaumeyer, TU's defensive coordinator, puts on the second pot of coffee and it's almost 7:00 a.m. Coach Greg Jackson suggests making this new batch a little stronger.
- It is nearing the top of the hour and the coaches split up to cover the fax machines in the Wilson Center. Coaches Toledo, Davis, Dodd, Lichtenberger and director of football operations Tony Kinkela head to the third floor to take over that fax machine, while the remaining staff members huddle by the fax machine in the football office.
- The fax machine rings and the first signee for the Tulane 2007 recruiting class is Josh Smith, a fullback from Thomaston, Ga.
- The fax machines in the Wilson Center are busy. By 7:15, the Green Wave has received national letters-of-intent from Smith, Phillip Davis, a cornerback from Snellville, Ga., punter Darren DeRochemont from Riverview, Fla., and defensive lineman Brooks Cunningham from Duluth, Ga.
- At 7:20 a.m., the first player from the state of Louisiana sends in his NLI. It's Cody Blackwelder from Cedar Creek High School in Ruston, La.
- "Houston, we have a problem." The fax machine on the third floor appears to be low on ink. However, Greg Davis and Doug Lichtenberg respond quickly and avoid a major catastrophe.
- Chandler Davis is on board. Davis, a wide receiver from Gulf Shores, Ala., shoots his NLI to the TU football office at 7:25.
- As the athletic administration staff begins filtering in the Wilson Center, everyone wants to know one thing: Who is bringing the King Cake today?
- 8:43 and still no sign of king cake. Greg Davis and Doug Lichtenberger wait around by the fax machine on the third floor. Davis is working on polishing off his third Diet Coke of the morning.
- Receivers coach T.D. Woods hands Lichtenberg an envelope at 8:48 with game footage from Josh Smith. "Have you seen him on tape?" Woods asks. Lichtenberg says he hasn't and opens the envelope. In it is a DVD with Smith's picture on the front. Lichtenberg holds it up: "He looks good on tape."
- Asst. Director of Compliance Kyle Conder tells the staff at 8:56 that running back Andre Agers' letter of intent is all set. Conder is in charge of making sure that all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed with the NLIs. Coach Davis calls the Irving, Texas, native to congratulate him.
- Wide receiver Taylor Echols from League City, Texas, resends his NLI at 9:03. With the addition of commitments from Tyler Helm and Lamont Simmons (who are already enrolled and on campus this spring), the Green Wave have gained 18 players on the day and are expecting five more additions.
- Gus Kattengell from the Big 870 WWL has set up shop in the athletic communications offices. At 9:07, he calls the studio to give an update on the situation in the Wilson Center, which he has been doing twice an hour since 7:00 a.m.
- Sorry for the delayed updates, but the Internet in the Wilson Center went down from 9:11 to 9:24. During that time, coaches Toledo, Dodd, and Kaumeyer were seen in Kaumeyer's office drawing up plays.
- Toledo takes a break from drawing up plays to interview with Kattengell at 9:48. He talks about the day so far and the challenge of recruiting after being hired with only three weeks left in the process. "It's the culmination of a lot of hard work," he says. "Recruiting's about building relationships not only with the coaches but with the players, so we're already working on juniors for next year." Toledo also talks about his efforts to increase the number of players from Louisiana, which included visiting high school coaches at 80 different schools across the state. After the interview, it's back to work as Toledo begins designing field goal blocking schemes.
- By 10:10, most of the activity in the office has quieted down. The two dozen donuts have dwindled to four, and the box of Munchkins disappeared an hour ago. Meanwhile, Sherwood Collins is hard at work compiling the highlight video of the recruiting class. Collins, the assistant director of video, is working on the tape for tonight's Signing Day event in the ballroom on the second floor of the Lavin-Bernick Center. The event will run from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and will mark the first public appearance of Toledo and his staff. The event is free and an opportunity for Green Wave fans to learn more about the recruiting class while enjoying the free food and drink. Afterwards, the men's basketball team will take on UTEP in Fogelman Arena. If you can't make it to the party, you can still view the highlight video on TulaneGreenWave.com later tonight.
- For Liz Devlin Zielger, the hoopla surrounding the first signing day of a new coach is nothing new. Ziegler, the football program's senior program coordinator ("fancy title for a secretary," she laughs) has worked for five different coaches -- Greg Davis Sr., Buddy Teevens, Tommy Bowden, Chris Scelfo, and now Bob Toledo -- in her 16 years.
Zielger comes from an extensive football background. Her father, John S. Devlin, Jr., coached football for 37 years on both the collegiate and professional levels, including stops at Army, Florida State, Kentucky, Tulane, and the Houston Oilers. In addition, her three brothers all played football in college and Mike, her youngest brother, now coaches the New York Jets after playing professionally for the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals.
Ziegler says, to her, all of the signing days are pretty much the same. "There's no parking spots and the coaches all look and act like fathers waiting to hear whether it's a boy or a girl," she says.
- By 11:00, the staff is waiting for the final letters to come in, including one or two that are missing information and need to be resent. Meanwhile, Mark Hutson works on his third cup of coffee and swears off more for the rest of the day and assistant athletics communication director Richie Weaver compiles bio information on the signees.
-UPDATE- Dhamari Thomas of Houston, Texas, is official. The TU coaches received his NLI at 11:20 a.m.
-Meanwhile, the offensive and defensive coaches split into their respective groups and met behind closed doors. The topics of the conversations are unclear. However, the absence of a King Cake in the building this morning can only lead to speculation.
-In the midst of the discussion, J.T. McDonald from Flower Mound, Texas, becomes the latest addition to the 2007 class.
-It's noon on signing day and the Green Wave notched its 21st member of the 2007 class with the addition of Holy Cross standout Antoine Duplessis.
-Well, the final two prospects have signed their name on the bottom line and faxed in their NLI. The final players were Andrew Neirman of from nearby John Curtis High School and Devin Holland from Baton Rouge, La.
- The Tulane Athletic Communications staff has completed its release and capsules and now it's off to the presser.
