Tulane’s 2014 season is kinda like the movie Animal House: just a bunch of young college kids trying to have the time of their lives.
Normally, you party your freshman and sophomore years in college because you’re trying to take advantage of not living with your parents and you know, eventually, you’ll have to buckle down and study if you ever want to get out.
In a way, the Green Wave football team has been full of impactful freshman talent that is trying to find its way in 2014 before breaking out for a big season in ’15.
Quarterback Tanner Lee (12 touchdown passes), running back Sherman Badie (No. 3 in the AAC in yards per carry: 6.10), and New Orleans native cornerback Parry Nickerson (six interceptions; leads conference and ranks No. 3 nationally) represent the next line of talented freshmen that have the opportunity to bring Tulane to new levels of success.
Tammy Nunez: That is a good call on this trio of very talented players. I think this group does have a lot of potential, but the big question is whether they will reach that potential in college. I don’t think we are going to see another season like the one Tulane had in 1998. There was a confluence of factors that led to that perfect season including finding a new fangled offense that most programs didn’t have an answer for defensively. I’m not sure that we’re going to see too many football teams from smaller private schools be able to make a run like that again, particularly if they are playing in a league like the American Athletic Conference.
TN: I do not think the program’s current struggles should be pinned on this coaching staff. You could attribute the Houston victory to the coaching staff, in fact. I don’t think the Bob Toledo era could’ve gone to Houston and beaten a team like that with all the youth that is currently in the program. I think that there are calls here and there that you could question and fans could have a legitimate beef with. I think that there could have been some better recruiting on special teams.
I saw the poll* you posted on Nola.com that asked fans if they think Tulane football is headed in the right direction. Do you think Johnson will be squarely on the hot seat in 2015?
TN: I think that Johnson is bringing in the right players and he’s putting them in the right places, a.k.a. defense. Eventually this will show up in the win column.
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