Tulane's Fritz Announces Coaching, Support Staff Members
Jan 9, 2016 | Football
NEW ORLEANS - New Tulane head football coach Willie Fritz announced today the appointments of six position coaches and eight support staff members to his coaching staff.
Fritz's coaching staff features Alex Atkins, assistant head coach/offensive line coach, Doug Ruse, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Jack Curtis, defensive coordinator/safeties coach, Kevin Peoples, defensive line coach, Michael Mutz, linebackers coach and Jason Rollins, defensive backs coach.
Atkins, Ruse, Curtis, Peoples and Mutz each coached with Fritz over the past two seasons at Georgia Southern, while Rollins has been a member of the Tulane coaching staff for the last eight seasons.
Fritz will oversee special teams and the remaining position coaches-- running back, tight end and receiver-- will be announced at a later date.
The support staff hires include Shane Meyer, the director of football operations, Wesley Fritz, director of personnel, Matt Barrett, offensive analyst/recruiting, Johnny Jernigan, defensive analyst/recruiting, Mike Krysl, special teams analyst/recruiting and Kyle Speer, head football strength & conditioning coach. Liz Devlin-Ziegler and Lindy Wertz will remain on the staff as the program manager and director of on-campus recruiting, respectively.
Each of the new hires served the past two seasons with Fritz at Georgia Southern, while Wertz has been on the Green Wave football staff for the last two seasons.
"We have assembled an outstanding staff who will not only be sound fundamentally and schematically but will also be great mentors to our student-athletes during this important phase of their lives," Fritz said. "These coaches also have many years of recruiting experience in the state of Louisiana and this region of the country."
Atkins comes to Tulane after helping produce two very successful seasons at Georgia Southern under Fritz in 2014 and 2015. Atkins' offensive lines led the charge toward 18 victories, a win in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, a Sun Belt Conference Championship and the top rushing offense in the nation with 371.7 rushing yards per game in two seasons.
In his final season at Georgia Southern in 2015, Atkins' group led the Eagles ground game to a nation's best 363 rushing yards per game and 54 touchdowns. The Eagles won nine games and cruised past Bowling Green in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, 58-27, in the school's first-ever bowl Football Bowl Subdivision postseason appearance.
Click here for Atkins' complete bio.
In two seasons at Georgia Southern, Ruse's offensive unit averaged 37.7 points per game, 456.0 yards per game, including 371.7 rushing yards per game, which led the nation in both 2014 and 2015, and helped guide the Eagles to 18 victories.
In his debut season of 2014 with the Eagles, Georgia Southern ranked as the top rushing offense in the FBS with 384.0 yards per game while winning the Sun Belt Championship with an 8-0 record.
Click here for Ruse's complete bio.
Curtis comes to Tulane after spending the last five seasons at Georgia Southern, including his last two years under Fritz.
With more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience backing him, Curtis helped the Eagles win a Southern Conference championship in 2011, his first year in Statesboro, another in 2012 and most recently the 2014 Sun Belt Crown in the Eagles' first season at the FBS level.
In Curtis' final season at Georgia Southern, his defense was one of the nation's best units. The Eagles led the Sun Belt in rushing defense (130.9), and ranked second and 24th nationally in total defense (338.1), second and 12th in the country in turnovers gained (27) and interceptions (17), fourth and 43rd in the nation in passing yards allowed (207.2).
Click here for Curtis' complete bio.
Peoples spent two seasons with Fritz at Georgia Southern and served in the same capacity in 2013 at UAB and at Arkansas in 2012.
In Peoples' final season at Georgia Southern in 2015, the defensive line ranked first in the league and 24th nationally in rushing defense (130.9
In
Click here for Peoples' complete bio.
Mutz begins his fourth season of serving on Fritz's staff, serving two seasons in the same capacity at Georgia Southern and also at Sam Houston State.
In his final season at Georgia Southern in 2015, the Eagles ranked first in the league and 24th nationally in rushing defense (130.9
Click here for Mutz's complete bio.
Rollins completed his eighth season with the Green Wave in 2015. He served as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach this past season. Rollins' group accounted for six of the teams' eight interceptions and recovered five of the teams' eight fumble recoveries, including one returned for a touchdown.
The Green Wave's defense averaged 7.5 tackles for lost yardage per game, which ranked first in The American and 12th nationally.
Click here for Rollin's complete bio.
Meyer, a highly decorated placekicker for Fritz at Central Missouri, spent the last two seasons in the same position under Fritz at Georgia Southern.
Meyer handles a number of administrative duties for the program including travel, scheduling of practice times, and overall organization of the program.
Click here for Meyer's complete bio.
Wesley Fritz served in the same capacity under his father, Coach Willie Fritz, for the past two seasons at Georgia Southern.
Fritz's primary responsibilities include managing recruiting events, maintaining the Green Wave's recruiting database and recruiting board.
Prior to the 2015
Click here for Wesley Fritz's complete bio.
Barrett is in his fifth season on Fritz's coaching staff. He served two seasons as wide receiver's coach at Sam Houston State and two seasons in the same capacity at Georgia Southern.
Barrett joined the Bearkat staff after serving for nine seasons in the roles of offensive coordinator at Missouri Southern State and Catawba College, bringing his experience as a play caller and technician.
Click here for Barrett's complete bio.
Jernigan begins his sixth-straight season working with Fritz. Previously, Jernigan spent two seasons with Fritz at Georgia Southern as the defensive ends coach.
In his final season with the Eagles, Jernigan's group helped the defensive line rank first in the league and 24th nationally in rushing defense (130.9
In his first season, the Eagles ranked 49th in rushing defense in the FBS and third in the Sun Belt Conference.
Click here for Jernigan's complete bio.
Krysl enters this third season on Fritz's staff. He served as the Director of Player Development for Georgia Southern in 2014 and 2015. Previously, Krysl was an assistant coach at West Virginia State from 2013-14.
A two-year letterman at fullback for Coach Willie Fritz at Central Missouri, Krysl became a student assistant coach for the Mules after an injury ended his playing career. He remained at his alma mater as a graduate assistant coach after earning his degree.
Click here for Krysl's complete bio.
Speer served in the same capacity at Georgia Southern, working directly with Fritz's program.
A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and member of the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, Speer brings 18 years of experience to his position.
In his first season with Georgia Southern, Speer helped the Eagles win the 2014 Sun Belt Football Championship, and he and his staff designed a new weight room for GSU.
Click here for Speer's complete bio.
