No. 25 Football’s Offensive Line Named a Semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award

NEW YORK – The No. 25 Tulane football team's offensive line was recently named a semifinalist for the 2024 Joe Moore Award, the Foundation for Teamwork and the Joe Moore Award revealed on Tuesday morning.

The award recognizes college football's Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit since its inception in 2015. The Joe Moore Award has recognized elite O-Line units for their unparalleled toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique and ability to finish

Earning a spot on this year's semifinalist list are the O-lines of No. 9 Alabama, No. 16 Army, No. 5 Indiana, Iowa, No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 1 Oregon, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 3 Texas, and No. 25 Tulane.

"In a season marked by inconsistency, only a handful of units have truly begun to elevate their level of play," said Cole Cubelic, lead college football analyst for SEC Network and Chairman of The Joe Moore Award Voting Committee. "This year has been unique—many of the units we expected to excel have struggled, and week-to-week performance has been oddly unpredictable at our position."

"This has been an unusual year," said Aaron Taylor, CBS Sports college football analyst and co-founder of The Joe Moore Award. "The loss of even one key player has had an outsized impact on many units across the country. Several of this year's semifinalists began the season facing challenges—whether from injuries or finding their rhythm—but have admirably rebounded in their quality of play. We believe 'portal parity' has made it harder to build and maintain depth, yet the standout units are continuing to rise above—demonstrating excellent resilience, coaching, effort, and technique."

"Even with all the inconsistency, it's fascinating to see how closely tough, physical, well-coached O-line play correlates with winning football," said Lance Zierlein. "As the season winds down, the 'gotta have it' moments over these next three weeks should reveal which of these units truly stands out as the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit in college football."

"I'm honored to join The Joe Moore Award Voting Committee," said Harry Hiestand, longtime, well-respected college football and NFL O-line coach, and 2017 recipient of the award. "Joe was a mentor and one of the best to ever do it, so I know firsthand what it takes to be recognized as the nation's most outstanding unit. We're looking for lines that are the backbone of their offense—units that play hard, establish leverage, and punish defenders whenever they get the chance. It's about playing as one, with every lineman blocking in sync. There are some hard-working units out there, earning the committee's attention through their leadership, consistency, technique, and effort."

"The semifinalists for The Joe Moore Award represent excellence in college football, embodying the spirit of resilience and the importance of teamwork in achieving shared goals," said Terry Ross, Group President of Enovis Prevention & Recovery. "DonJoy is honored to partner with The Joe Moore Award, providing cutting-edge technology that protects players, enabling them to perform at their peak. We are in this together, protecting the trenches."

Tulane (8-2) Profile
●          Average 2.69 seconds to pressure (8th best in FBS).
●          Average 3.06 seconds to throw (16th longest in FBS).
●          Converting on 83.3% of 3rd and shorts when running the ball (4th best in FBS).
●          Six games with 200+ rush yds (T-5th in FBS).
●          Offense ranks second in the conference and third in the nation in third down conversion percentage (53.2)
●          Offense leads the AAC in completion percentage (65.2)
●          Offense leads the AAC in first downs and ranks 11th nationally (228)
●          Offense leads the AAC in scoring and placed fourth nationally (41 pts. per game)
●          Offense leads the AAC and ranks second nationally in time of possession (34:49)
●          Offense second in the AAC in total offense (442 yds per game)
●          Running Back Mahki Hughes leads the AAC in rushing and ranks fourth nationally (1,209 yds.)
Offensive line coach: Evan McKissack / Dan Roushar

Award Criteria and Selection Process
The Joe Moore Award Voting Committee judges solely on six criteria: toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique, and finishing.

Looking Ahead
The ten semifinalists have gained the attention of The Joe Moore Award Voting Committee as it moves closer to announcing its finalists on Tuesday, December 3, following the completion of the 2024 regular season.

Unlike in previous years, the 2024 Joe Moore Award selection will exclude conference championship game results due to the new playoff format. The award winner will be announced during a surprise visit to the winning university's campus, scheduled for late December

Voting Committee
The Joe Moore Award Voting Committee is composed of 15 experts in offensive line play, including former linemen, coaches, talent evaluators, and qualified media analysts. Each week, they conduct in-depth analysis of game tape to assess both the fundamentals and subtleties of O-line performance. In addition, the committee occasionally reviews advanced data and analytics provided by Sports Info Solutions to provide valuable context in evaluating a broad range of talent and units.

The 2024 Voting Committee includes Charles Arbuckle (UCLA, Indianapolis Colts); Randy Cross (UCLA, San Francisco 49ers); Chairman Cole Cubelic (Auburn, SEC Network); Gerry DiNardo (Notre Dame, head coach at LSU); Mike Golic, Jr. (Notre Dame, Draft Kings and TNT Game Analyst); Harry Hiestand (Joe Moore disciple, decades-long CFB & NFL O-line coach, 2017 award winner), Greg Hudson (Joe Moore grad assistant, long time college coordinator); Eric Mac Lain (Clemson, studio analyst ACC Network); Trophy Guardian Duke Manyweather (Humboldt State, player and coach; founder of OL Masterminds); Geoff Schwartz (Oregon, Carolina Panthers); Steve Shankweiler (four-decade O-line coach, ECU); Phil Steele (publisher of Phil Steele's College Football Preview, ESPN); Aaron Taylor (Notre Dame, Green Bay Packers, CBS Sports); Brandon Thorn (editor of Trench Warfare); and Lance Zierlein (NFL draft analyst, NFL.com).

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Tulane has started the 2024 season with an 8-2 record and 6-0 mark in the AAC. The Green Wave earned a Homecoming 52-6 conference victory over Temple on Nov. 9. Makhi Hughes led the team with 153 yards rushing including a pair of rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Darian Mensah was 14-for-21 in the game for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Mario Williams hauled in four passes for 94 yards. The win was Tulane's seventh straight overall and the 16th consecutive AAC regular victory dating back to the 2022 campaign. Both losses for Green Wave this season have come to teams that were ranked in Associated Press Top 25 including a 34-27 home defeat to then No. 17 Kansas State on Sept. 7 and a 34-19 road loss to then No. 15 Oklahoma on Sept. 14.

Tulane leads the AAC and the nation with six defensive touchdowns. The program is placed second in passing efficiency in the conference with a 167.10. Hughes is placed No. 4 nationally in rushing this season with 1,209 yards. The team has already been honored by the league office 11 times this season with Rayshawn Pleasant (Defensive Player of the Week - Sept. 2 and Special Teams Player of the Week – Oct. 6), Darian Mensah (Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 9 and Sept. 30), Tyler Grubbs (Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 16), Makhi Hughes (Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 23, Oct. 21, Oct. 28, Nov. 4 & Nov. 11) and Gerrod Henderson (Defensive Player of the Week - Sept. 30).

Tulane's football team was chosen for third in the AAC Preseason Media Poll with 362 points plus two first-place votes at the annual conference media day.

Tulane finished the 2023 season with a mark of 11-3 and a perfect 8-0 record in the American Athletic Conference. The program concluded the campaign with the 16th bowl appearance at the GoBowling Military Bowl contest against Virginia Tech. It was the fifth time in the last six years that Tulane has appeared in a bowl game. The team is 31-7 over the last three seasons.

The school announced the hiring of Jon Sumrall as the 42nd head coach of the team on December 8, 2023. The Huntsville, Alabama native was one of the most successful head coaches in the country the last two seasons. He guided Troy University to a 23-4 record, two Sun Belt Conference championships and a pair of double-digit winning streaks. He was named Sun Belt Conference Coach of Year and was twice named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year honor. Sumrall returns to Tulane after serving as the Green Wave's Co-Defensive Coordinator for three years (2012-14). In 2013, he was a crucial part of Tulane's run to the New Orleans Bowl, the program's first postseason appearance since 2002 and third since 1988. Sumrall also was named a finalist for FootballScoop Defensive Line Coach of the Year
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Next, Tulane's football team travels to take on Navy (7-2, 5-1 AAC) on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 11 a.m. in a game that will be shown live on ESPN2.

TICKETS
Tickets for the football and the men's and women's basketball seasons can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

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No. 25 Football’s Offensive Line Named a Semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award

Players Mentioned

Tyler Grubbs

Gerrod Henderson

Makhi Hughes

Darian Mensah

Rayshawn Pleasant

Mario Williams

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