Graduate Transfer Christian Montano Has Been Perfect Fit at Tulane
Apr 11, 2019 | Football
However, Montano's football road would take a significant turn in Brown's first game of the season against Cal Poly when he suffered a broken foot in the first quarter.
Montano would be out for the remainder of the season.
"It was a tough situation because I really thought that was how my college football career was going to end," Montano said.
Weeks later, Montano learned his appeal for a sixth year of college football eligibility had been granted. After spending the past five years at Brown, the Orange, Connecticut, native decided it was time to look down a different football path.
"I think I was more comfortable to look at a bigger geographic area than I was coming out of high school," Montano said. "I think being a bit older, more mature, I was comfortable going to somewhere down in the South."
In searching for his new college football home, Montano sought out an institution with both high academic standards that also could compete at a high level on the gridiron.
Enter Tulane University, and Montano had found his new college football home.
"The flexibility academically to go pursue what I wanted and also to play at the Division I FBS level has been the perfect fit," Montano said.
As a graduate transfer, Montano will be working on his Master's in Business Administration (MBA) with the hopes of going into business.
"Getting my MBA was something that meant a lot to me," Montano said. "There were other places where I had opportunities to study, but I knew it wasn't what I wanted to pursue in the future. Tulane really has been the best fit for me overall. I think people have a better respect for you as an athlete knowing that you are working just as hard in the classroom as you are on the field."
Montano has been equally excited about the prospects about the team's upcoming season, especially after watching the team a year ago.
"I think in the recruiting process, part of the appeal was to see how young of a team they were last year and how successful they were," Montano said. "I mean, I remember watching the Navy game and I remember seeing a team that was fighting for something. They knew they had a chance to go to a bowl game. It was young kids and they were hungry, and I think that was something that made me say, 'Wow, I want to go there and be a part of that.'"
Montano should get more than enough opportunities to make his mark with the Green Wave this season. Throughout spring practice, the 6-foot, 4-inch offensive lineman has taken most of the snaps with the first team offense and figures to be the starting center when the team opens fall camp in August.
Under the direction of first-year offensive coordinator Will Hall, Montano feels confident about the team's new offensive philosophy.
"I'm excited for it. I think it's a very cohesive offense," Montano said. "I think there's very good fluidity to it, especially once we get rolling. I think we do have potential on offense to be a great team."
With one last season of college football ahead of him, Montano fully intends to lay it all on the line with the hopes of guiding the Green Wave to their first American Athletic Conference Championship.
"I think the one thing that we want is the American championship," Montano said. " I mean, we don't want to be in second place, we don't want to say, 'Hey we'll just win six and go to a bowl.' I think everyone wants to win every single opportunity we can."
HOWARD READY FOR SPRING GAME AFTER SITTING OUT 2018 SEASON
Tulane's 13th spring practice ended with a gigantic celebration at Yulman Stadium on Tuesday morning.
On the Green Wave's final play of the day, quarterback Keon Howard found wide receiver Logan Ammons in the end zone for a leaping touchdown grab. Players came running from the offensive sideline to mob Ammons, a redshirt sophomore who converted from running back to receiver just over a week ago.
"He made a couple nice catches – that wasn't the only one he made," Head Coach Willie Fritz said after practice. "That was the last play of the 36 plays we were doing, and we got a little celebration going. That was good. A little genuine enthusiasm never hurt anybody."
Howard, who threw the touchdown pass to Ammons, gave some insight on the play after practice as well.
"I saw [Ammons] on the outside when he released and beat [his defender] and thought, 'I've got to give my boy a shot,'" Howard said, laughing. "So I gave him a shot. You saw the rest."
Howard transferred to Tulane from Southern Miss last season and had to sit out all year due to NCAA transfer rules. He'll finally be able to get on the field during a real game when fall rolls around, but he has used his time with the Green Wave to build relationships with teammates and get have fun in Tulane's offensive system.
"Ever since I got here on campus, it's been a family-oriented program," Howard said. You know that's your brother. We all come together, we compete against each other but Coach Fritz lets us have fun and be comfortable within our system. It's very fun, I love it here."
Fritz has seen a great deal of promise from Howard, praising his ability to throw the ball with a strong arm as well as run when the pocket collapses. Fritz has also noted how hard it will be to tackle Howard when he gets a head of steam behind him, as his 220-pound frame could be a nightmare for opposing linebackers.
"He's doing a nice job," Fritz said. "He's a little rusty obviously because he hasn't played for a year and he was doing scout team, so he was doing something different every week. But he's got a lot of ability. I think his ceiling's very high and he's getting a little better each and every day."
Tulane's spring practice continues Thursday and concludes Saturday with the annual spring game at Yulman Stadium.
Tulane opens the 2019 season on Thursday, August 29 at home against FIU with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
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