Positional Preview: Specialists
Aug 24, 2019 | Football
NEW ORLEANS – When it comes to success from the specialists position, one word comes to mind that seems to hold the most importance.
Consistency.
And that's something that this unit – made up of nine returners and one newcomer – has proven game after game.
THE UNIT
- Nine specialists are set to return to the Green Wave roster in 2019, with one incoming long snapper joining the group.
- Senior Geron Eatherly is set for his final season in Uptown, leading the long snappers into this fall after posting a 93.4 percent punt accuracy rate and a 100 percent field goal accuracy rate. Eatherly earned Phil Steele Fourth Team All-America honors following the 2018 season, and was most recently selected to the Phil Steele Magazine Fourth-Team Preseason All-America, Preseason All-AAC First Team and the Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List.
- Redshirt junior Matt Smith and freshman Ethan Hudak will back up Eatherly as long snappers on this year's roster.
- Sophomore punter Ryan Wright started the 2018 season as a backup before eventually transitioning into the team's top punter, recording a punt of at least 50 yards in seven of his 10 games. He also had two punts of 60 yards or more. Wright was selected to the Phil Steele Magazine Fourth-Team Preseason All-America earlier this summer.
- Placekicker Merek Glover returns to Yulman Stadium for his redshirt junior season as the team's placekicker. Glover hit two career-long 40-yard field goals last season.
- Placekicker/punter Coby Neenan, redshirt senior Randy Harvey and redshirt freshmen Sterling Stockwell and Casey Glover round out the specialists unit.
- Tulane lost punter/kicker Zachary Block after last season, who recorded a season-high 54-yard punt in his final season in Olive and Blue and averaged 37.95 yards per game.
POSITION HIGHLIGHTS
- Tulane punted an average of 41.23 yards per game in 2018, totaling 74 punts for 3,051 yards.
- The Green Wave went 10-13 in field goal attempts last season, standing at sixth in the AAC.
Tulane opens the 2019 season on Thursday, Aug. 29 at home against FIU with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Green Wave are coming off a memorable 2018 campaign that was highlighted by a win in the AutoNation Cure Bowl and an American Athletic Conference West Division Co-Championship.
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WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
