2015 Tulane Green Wave football team

2015 Tulane Green Wave football
Conference	American Athletic Conference
2015 record	3–9 (1–7 The American)
Head coach	Curtis Johnson (4th year)
Offensive coordinator	Eric Price
Co-defensive coordinator	Lionel Washington
Co-defensive coordinator	Jason Rollins
Home stadium	Yulman Stadium (Capacity: 30,000)

2015 American Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Temple x		7	–	1					10	–	4
South Florida		6	–	2					8	–	5
Cincinnati		4	–	4					7	–	6
Connecticut		4	–	4					6	–	7
East Carolina		3	–	5					5	–	7
UCF		0	–	8					0	–	12
West Division
#8 Houston xy$		7	–	1					13	–	1
#18 Navy x		7	–	1					11	–	2
Memphis		5	–	3					9	–	4
Tulsa		3	–	5					6	–	7
Tulane		1	–	7					3	–	9
SMU		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: Houston 24, Temple 13
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of December 31, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Curtis Johnson and played home games at Yulman Stadium. They were members of the Western Division of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in American Athletic play to finish in a tie for fifth place.

On November 28, head coach Curtis Johnson was fired.^[1] He finished at Tulane with a four year record of 15–34.

Before the season

Recruits

2015 recruits
Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Nigel Anderson RB	Reserve, LA	East St. John	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	Oct 1, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Darius Black DB	Belle Chasse, LA	Belle Chasse	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	May 21, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 74
Zachary Block K	Clermont, FL	East Ridge	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jan 25, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 74
Leeward Brown OL	Miramar, FL	Miramar	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	345 lb (156 kg)	Feb 1, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 78
Malik Eugene Ath	Lafayette, LA	Acadiana	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	162 lb (73 kg)	Jul 27, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 72
Jeremie Francis DB	New Orleans, LA	Warren Easton	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Apr 22, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 71
Devin Glenn RB	New Orleans, LA	Warren Easton	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Mar 19, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 71
Douglas Henry DB	New Iberia, LA	Westgate	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	May 21, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 70
Andrew Hicks Ath	Belle Chasse, LA	Belle Chasse	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	Feb 3, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Keyshawn Mcleod OL	Port Charlotte, FL	Port Charlotte	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Nov 18, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Rickey Preston WR	Boutte, LA	Hahnville	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	May 7, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 77
Taris Shenall DB	Marrero, LA	John Ehret	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	161 lb (73 kg)	May 8, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Dedrick Shy WR	New Orleans, LA	Warren Easton	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Jan 7, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Keeyon Smart WR	Baton Rouge, LA	McKinley	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	300 lb (140 kg)	Apr 16, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 71
Roderic Teamer DB	New Orleans, LA	Brother Martin	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Dec 4, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
John Washington DT	West Monroe, LA	West Monroe	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	Jan 18, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Brian Webb DT	New Orleans, LA	Miller-McCoy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	Oct 19, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Darius Williams WR	New Orleans, LA	McDonogh 35	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	171 lb (78 kg)	Feb 4, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 114   Rivals: 104  247Sports: 87
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 Tulane Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 15, 2015. "2015 Tulane Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved April 15, 2015. "Tulane Green Wave 2015". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 15, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 15, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 15, 2015. "2015 Tulane Green Wave football team". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 15, 2015.

Award watch lists

Chris Taylor

• Outland Trophy^[2]
• Lombardi Award^[3]

Parry Nickerson

• Jim Thorpe Award^[4]

Royce LaFrance

• Lombardi Award^[3]

Nico Marley

• Lombardi Award^[5]

Roster

2015 Tulane Green Wave football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 1 Powell, DevinDevin Powell  Jr RB 3 Badie, ShermanSherman Badie  So QB 7 Richman, DylanDylan Richman So WR 8 Breaux, DevonDevon Breaux  Jr WR 9 Veal, TeddyTeddy Veal So WR 10 Barnes, FletcherFletcher Barnes So QB 12 Lee, TannerTanner Lee  So WR 13 Dubriel, DavidDavid Dubriel So QB 14 Cuiellette, GlenGlen Cuiellette  Fr QB 16 Joseph, JordyJordy Joseph  Sr WR 19 Encalade, TerrenTerren Encalade Fr RB 22 Wadleigh, MarshallMarshall Wadleigh Jr RB 25 Rounds, JoshJosh Rounds  Jr RB 26 Hilliard, DontrellDontrell Hilliard So RB 33 Thompson, LazedrickLazedrick Thompson  Jr WR 38 Thomas, FrankFrank Thomas So WR 44 Macias, AlecAlec Macias Sr RB 46 Medina, SergioSergio Medina Jr C 50 Godfrey, BrandonBrandon Godfrey  So C 51 Diaz, JuniorJunior Diaz  Fr OG 61 Hanson, ColtonColton Hanson  Jr OG 66 Shienle, NathanNathan Shienle  Jr OG 67 Bradley, BobBob Bradley Sr OT 68 Uzdavinis, ArturoArturo Uzdavinis  Sr OL 69 Taylor, AnthonyAnthony Taylor So OG 71 Stewart, JasonJason Stewart  So OT 72 Leglue, JohnJohn Leglue  Fr OG 73 Paul, AlexAlex Paul  Jr OT 74 Johnson, DevonDevon Johnson  Fr OG 75 Taylor, ChrisChris Taylor Jr OT 78 Jacquet, ToddTodd Jacquet  Jr OT 79 Santa Marina, KennethKenneth Santa Marina  So TE 81 London, SydieSydie London Sr TE 83 Scott, TreyTrey Scott Fr TE 84 Jones, CharlesCharles Jones So WR 85 Dace, LarryLarry Dace Sr RB 86 James, LeondreLeondre James So TE 89 Ardoin, KendallKendall Ardoin  Fr RB Anderson, NigelNigel Anderson Fr OL Brown, LeewardLeeward Brown Fr RB Glenn, DevinDevin Glenn Fr WR Hicks, AndrewAndrew Hicks Fr OL McLeod, KeyshawnKeyshawn McLeod Fr OT Smart, KeeyonKeeyon Smart Fr WR Williams, DariusDarius Williams Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 2 Monroe, DarionDarion Monroe Sr LB 7 Williams, EdwardEdward Williams Jr S 10 Davis, LeonardLeonard Davis Jr S 13 Townsend, WilliamWilliam Townsend  So CB 17 Nickerson, ParryParry Nickerson  So LB 20 Marley, NicoNico Marley Jr CB 21 Lewis, DonnieDonnie Lewis  Fr CB 23 Allen, RichardRichard Allen Jr S 27 Carthon, RichardRichard Carthon Sr S 30 Cooper, TristanTristan Cooper  So CB 32 Lofton, StephonStephon Lofton  Fr DB 34 Franklin, JarrodJarrod Franklin  So S 35 Scofield, SamSam Scofield Sr LB 37 Fleury, ReneRene Fleury So CB 39 Hurley, SamSam Hurley So LB 40 Harris, ZacheryZachery Harris So DE 44 Jackson, LukeLuke Jackson  So S 47 Williams, CarltonCarlton Williams  Fr DE 48 LaFrance, RoyceRoyce LaFrance Sr LB 52 Thomas, EricEric Thomas Jr DE 54 Carroll, QuinlanQuinlan Carroll  So LB 55 Bowie, EricEric Bowie  Fr LB 56 Marbley, Rae JuanRae Juan Marbley So DE 57 Woullard, PeterPeter Woullard  Fr DT 65 Edwards, BraynonBraynon Edwards  Fr DT 77 Smart, TanzelTanzel Smart Jr DE 87 Aruna, AdeAde Aruna  So LB 90 Kennedy, RobertRobert Kennedy  Fr DT 91 Washington, EldrickEldrick Washington Jr DE 92 Williams, DarenDaren Williams So DT 93 Welcome, KennyKenny Welcome  Sr DT 94 Wilson, SeanSean Wilson So DT 95 Staudinger, PaulPaul Staudinger So DE 97 Cammisa, TreyTrey Cammisa So DT 98 Bell, EricEric Bell  So DT 99 Thomas, CalvinCalvin Thomas  Jr S Black, DariusDarius Black Fr S Malik, EugeneEugene Malik Fr CB Francis, JeremieJeremie Francis Fr CB Henry, DouglasDouglas Henry Fr CB Shenall, TarisTaris Shenall Fr CB Shy, DedrickDedrick Shy Fr S Teamer, RoderickRoderick Teamer Fr DT Washington, JohnJohn Washington Fr DT Webb, BrianBrian Webb Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 28 DiRocco, AndrewAndrew DiRocco So P 31 Picerelli, PeterPeter Picerelli Sr K 36 Simms, TrevorTrevor Simms  Sr K 59 Purcell, BrandonBrandon Purcell Jr P, K 62 Broccoli, StevenSteven Broccoli Sr P, K 63 Spinelli, CaseyCasey Spinelli Jr P, K 69 Root, AaronAaron Root So A 86 James, LeondreLeondre James Fr P, K 95 Hilton, LoganLogan Hilton Sr DS 97 Lizanich, MichaelMichael Lizanich Jr DS 98 Golub, AaronAaron Golub So P, K Block, ZacharyZachary Block Fr	Head coach Curtis Johnson (4th season) Coordinators/assistant coaches Eric Price – Offensive Coordinator Lionel Washington – Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Jason Rollins – Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Kwahn Drake - Defensive Line David Johnson – Tight Ends/Running Backs Doug Lichtenberger – Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator John McDonell – Offensive Line Aaron Price – Quarterbacks Carter Sheridan – Wide Receivers Kenny Bourgeois – Graduate Assistant, Defense Chad Jenkins – Graduate Assistant, Defense Trey Johnson – Graduate Assistant, Offense Matt Jones – Graduate Assistant, Offense Byron Ellis - Director of Football Operations Detrick Belvin – Director of Player Personnel, Defense Wayne Cordova – Director of Player Personnel, Offense Liz Devlin-Ziegler – Program Manager Bradley Mathews – Graduate Assistant for Recruiting & Operations Lindy Wertz – Director of On-Campus Recruiting Will Woessner – Recruiting Analyst Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: April 15, 2015

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	8:30 PM	Duke*	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	CBSSN	L 7–37	25,470
September 12	2:30 PM	at #15 Georgia Tech*	Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ACCN	L 10–65	50,435
September 19	7:00 PM	Maine*	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPN3	W 38–7	21,114
October 3	11:00 AM	UCF	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPNews	W 45–31	20,024
October 10	11:00 AM	at Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPNU	L 10–49	35,179
October 16	8:00 PM	#24 Houston	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPNU	L 7–42	21,522
October 24	12:00 PM	at Navy	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	L 14–31	32,033
October 31	6:00 PM	at #16 Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	CBSSN	L 13–41	30,381
November 7	3:00 PM	Connecticut	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPNews	L 3–7	26,775
November 14	11:00 AM	at Army*	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	CBSSN	W 34–31	31,217
November 21	7:00 PM	at SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX	ESPNews	L 21–49	14,954
November 27	7:00 PM	Tulsa	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPNU	L 34–45	22,672
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Source ^[6]

Game Notes

Duke

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–2	2014	Duke, 47–13

Week 1: Duke Blue Devils at Tulane Green Wave – Game Summary^[7]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Duke	3	10	3	21	37
Tulane	0	0	0	7	7

at Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: September 3, 2015
• Game time: 8:30 PM CDT
• Game attendance: 25,470
• TV: CBS Sports Network

Georgia Tech

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
13–36	2014	Georgia Tech, 38–21

Week 2: Tulane Green Wave at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – Game Summary^[8]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulane	0	7	0	3	10
Georgia Tech	7	21	16	21	65

at Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: September 12, 2015
• Game time: 3:30 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 50,435
• TV: ACC Network

Maine

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First Meeting

Week 3: Maine Black Bears at Tulane Green Wave – Game Summary^[9]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Maine	7	0	0	0	7
Tulane	3	21	14	0	38

at Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: September 19, 2015
• Game time: 7:00 PM CDT
• Game attendance: 21,114
• TV: ESPN3

UCF

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–5	2014	UCF, 20–13

In this game, Tulane long snapper Aaron Golub became the first legally blind person to play in an NCAA division I game.^[10]

Week 5: UCF Knights at Tulane Green Wave – Game Summary^[11]

	1	2	3	4	Total
UCF	7	3	0	21	31
Tulane	7	17	14	7	45

at Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: October 3, 2015
• Game time: 11:00 AM CDT
• Game attendance: 20,024
• TV: ESPNews

Temple

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–1	2014	Temple, 10–3

Week 6: Tulane Green Wave at Temple Owls – Game Summary^[12]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulane	3	7	0	0	10
Temple	7	14	21	7	49

at Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: October 10, 2015
• Game time: 12:00 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 35,179
• TV: ESPNU

Houston

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–14	2014	Tulane, 31–24

Week 7: Houston Cougars at Tulane Green Wave – Game Summary^[13]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#24 Houston	7	21	14	0	42
Tulane	0	7	0	0	7

at Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: October 16, 2015
• Game time: 8:00 PM CDT
• Game attendance: 21,522
• TV: ESPNU

Navy

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–7–1	2005	Navy, 49–21

Week 8: Tulane Green Wave at Navy Midshipmen – Game Summary^[14]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulane	0	7	0	7	14
Navy	7	3	7	14	31

at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland

• Date: October 24, 2015
• Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 32,033
• TV: CBSSN

Memphis

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–19	2014	Memphis, 38–7

Week 9: Tulane Green Wave at Memphis Tigers – Game Summary^[15]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulane	6	7	0	0	13
#16 Memphis	0	15	12	14	41

at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee

• Date: October 31, 2015
• Game time: 6:00 PM CDT
• Game attendance: 30,381
• TV: CBSSN

Connecticut

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	2014	Tulane, 12–3

Week 10 (Homecoming): Connecticut Huskies at Tulane Green Wave – Game Summary^[16]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Connecticut	7	0	0	0	7
Tulane	0	3	0	0	3

at Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: November 7, 2015
• Game time: 3:00 PM CST
• Game weather: Rain
• Game attendance: 26,775
• TV: ESPNews

Army

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–9–1	2011	Army, 45–6

Week 11: Tulane Green Wave at Army Black Knights – Game Summary^[17]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulane	7	21	0	6	34
Army	7	14	0	10	31

at Michie Stadium • West Point, New York

• Date: November 14, 2015
• Game time: 12:00 PM EST
• Game attendance: 31,217
• TV: CBSSN

SMU

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
13–8	2012	Tulane, 27–26

Week 12: Tulane Green Wave at SMU Mustangs – Game Summary^[18]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulane	0	7	7	7	21
SMU	14	21	0	14	49

at Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, Texas

• Date: November 21, 2015
• Game time: 7:00 PM CST
• Game attendance: 14,954
• TV: ESPNews

Tulsa

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–9	2014	Tulsa, 38–31 ^2OT

Week 13: Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Tulane Green Wave – Game Summary^[19]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulsa	7	7	10	21	45
Tulane	7	17	3	7	34

at Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: November 27, 2015
• Game time: 7:00 PM CST
• Game attendance: 22,672
• TV: ESPNU

Led by former walk-on and fifth-year senior Jordy Joseph due to an injury to starting Quarterback Tanner Lee, Tulane led Tulsa by 10 points well into the fourth quarter. Joseph then threw two interceptions, both of which were returned for touchdowns.^[20] Following the Green Wave's loss, capping a 3-9 season, head coach Curtis Johnson was fired. His final record in four years with the program was 15-34. In Tulane's press release, Athletic Director Rick Dickson was quoted as saying "...the program has not progressed to the level that we aspire to."^[21]

References

1. http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/2015/11/tulane_fires_football_coach_cu.html
2. Dabe, Christopher (July 10, 2015). "Tulane lands first player on preseason watch list for 2015". The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Retrieved July 10, 2015.
3. Taylor, John (July 14, 2015). "145 — yes, 145 — players on Lombardi Award watch list". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
4. Lopez, Andrew (July 13, 2015). "Tulane's Parry Nickerson named to Jim Thorpe Award watch list". The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Retrieved July 13, 2015.
5. "Tulane’s Nico Marley added to Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List". Tulane Athletics. August 25, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
6. "2015-2016 Tulane Green Wave Football Schedule". Tulane Athletics. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
7. "Duke at Tulane". Yahoo! Sports. September 3, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
8. "Tulane at Georgia Tech". Yahoo! Sports. September 12, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
9. "Maine at Tulane". Yahoo! Sports. September 19, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
10. Tulane long-snapper becomes first legally blind player in D-I game
11. "UCF at Tulane". Yahoo! Sports. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
12. "Tulane at Temple". Yahoo! Sports. October 10, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
13. "Houston at Tulane". Yahoo! Sports. October 16, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
14. "Tulane at Navy". Yahoo! Sports. October 24, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
15. "Tulane at Memphis". Yahoo! Sports. October 31, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
16. "Connecticut at Tulane". Yahoo! Sports. November 7, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
17. "Tulane at Army". Yahoo! Sports. November 14, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
18. "Tulane at SMU". Yahoo! Sports. November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
19. "Tulsa at Tulane". Yahoo! Sports. November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
20. Guerry Smith (November 27, 2015). "Tulane loses fourth-quarter lead, falls 45-34 to Tulsa; no word on coach Curtis Johnson’s status". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
21. Guerry Smith (November 28, 2015). "Tulane football coach Curtis Johnson fired; new hire to be made after new athletic director on board". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved November 28, 2015.