After a successful decade which saw just two losing seasons, Tulsa both surprised and disappointed as it struggled to a 3-9 record last year.
The reason? The running game and defense mostly held up their parts of the bargain, but the passing attack went nowhere. After 10 years of slicing up first the WAC and then Conference USA, this was unfamiliar territory for Golden Hurricane fans.
Last year, senior Cody Green was expected to lead Tulsa to a conference championship, but he completed only 55.5 percent of his passes for 1,339 yards, and threw just seven touchdowns and eight interceptions before injury cut short his season. Freshman Dane Evans started the last five games in his stead, and really struggled, completing just 43.1 percent for 898 yards and four TDs, with 10 interceptions.
Certainly neither played to the level we’ve come to expect from Tulsa quarterbacks.
With Green graduating, a battle ensued in the spring between Evans, junior Joseph Calcagni, redshirt freshman Ryan Rubley, and true freshman Jabe Burgess. It wasn’t long before the pecking order sorted itself out, although coach Bill Blankenship has allowed the contenders every opportunity to stake a claim for a higher position.
Coming out of spring and all through summer, Evans had a clear lead, with Calcagni,who also played in 2013, as the number two. Burgess suffered through some freshman jitters early on, but has shown recently that he has starter potential down the road. Rubley is in fourth place, but brings more athleticism than the others.
This season, the Tulsa defense will be a year improved, while the offense has a decent line, and some nice skill position players to keep the unit ticking over, but the quarterback, that is, Evans, has to take a big step forward going into a new season in a new conference.
With the schedule toughest at the end (Oklahoma in Week 2 exempted), Evans should get a chance to improve steadily until the late stretch, but he has to show early that he can play.
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