2015 Tulane Green Wave football team

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.

2015 Tulane Green Wave football
Conference	American Athletic Conference
2015 record	3–9 (1–7 The American)
Head coach	Curtis Johnson (4th season)
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
UConn		4	–	4					6	–	7
East Carolina		3	–	5					5	–	7
UCF		0	–	8					0	–	12
West Division
No. 8 Houston xy$		7	–	1					13	–	1
No. 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

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

US college sports recruiting information for 2015 recruits
Name	Hometown	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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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
	Recruiting star ratings: 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 Devin Powell  Jr RB 3 Sherman Badie  So QB 7 Dylan Richman So WR 8 Devon Breaux  Jr WR 9 Teddy Veal So WR 10 Fletcher Barnes So QB 12 Tanner Lee  So WR 13 David Dubriel So QB 14 Glen Cuiellette  Fr QB 16 Jordy Joseph  Sr WR 19 Terren Encalade Fr RB 22 Marshall Wadleigh Jr RB 25 Josh Rounds  Jr RB 26 Dontrell Hilliard So RB 33 Lazedrick Thompson  Jr WR 38 Frank Thomas So WR 44 Alec Macias Sr RB 46 Sergio Medina Jr C 50 Brandon Godfrey  So C 51 Junior Diaz  Fr OG 61 Colton Hanson  Jr OG 66 Nathan Shienle  Jr OG 67 Bob Bradley Sr OT 68 Arturo Uzdavinis  Sr OL 69 Anthony Taylor So OG 71 Jason Stewart  So OT 72 John Leglue  Fr OG 73 Alex Paul  Jr OT 74 Devon Johnson  Fr OG 75 Chris Taylor Jr OT 78 Todd Jacquet  Jr OT 79 Kenneth Santa Marina  So TE 81 Sydie London Sr TE 83 Trey Scott Fr TE 84 Charles Jones So WR 85 Larry Dace Sr RB 86 Leondre James So TE 89 Kendall Ardoin  Fr RB Nigel Anderson Fr OL Leeward Brown Fr RB Devin Glenn Fr WR Andrew Hicks Fr OL Keyshawn McLeod Fr OT Keeyon Smart Fr WR Darius Williams Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 2 Darion Monroe Sr LB 7 Edward Williams Jr S 10 Leonard Davis Jr S 13 William Townsend  So CB 17 Parry Nickerson  So LB 20 Nico Marley Jr CB 21 Donnie Lewis  Fr CB 23 Richard Allen Jr S 27 Richard Carthon Sr S 30 Tristan Cooper  So CB 32 Stephon Lofton  Fr DB 34 Jarrod Franklin  So S 35 Sam Scofield Sr LB 37 Rene Fleury So CB 39 Sam Hurley So LB 40 Zachery Harris So DE 44 Luke Jackson  So S 47 Carlton Williams  Fr DE 48 Royce LaFrance Sr LB 52 Eric Thomas Jr DE 54 Quinlan Carroll  So LB 55 Eric Bowie  Fr LB 56 Rae Juan Marbley So DE 57 Peter Woullard  Fr DT 65 Braynon Edwards  Fr DT 77 Tanzel Smart Jr DE 87 Ade Aruna  So LB 90 Robert Kennedy  Fr DT 91 Eldrick Washington Jr DE 92 Daren Williams So DT 93 Kenny Welcome  Sr DT 94 Sean Wilson So DT 95 Paul Staudinger So DE 97 Trey Cammisa So DT 98 Eric Bell  So DT 99 Calvin Thomas  Jr S Darius Black Fr S Eugene Malik Fr CB Jeremie Francis Fr CB Douglas Henry Fr CB Taris Shenall Fr CB Dedrick Shy Fr S Roderic Teamer Fr DT John Washington Fr DT Brian Webb Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 28 Andrew DiRocco So P 31 Peter Picerelli Sr K 36 Trevor Simms  Sr K 59 Brandon Purcell Jr P, K 62 Steven Broccoli Sr P, K 63 Casey Spinelli Jr P, K 69 Aaron Root So A 86 Leondre James Fr P, K 95 Logan Hilton Sr DS 97 Michael Lizanich Jr DS 98 Aaron Golub So P, K Zachary 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 No. 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	No. 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 No. 16 Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	CBSSN	L 13–41	30,381
November 7	3:00 PM	UConn	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 the game All times are in Central time

Source [6]

Game summaries

Duke

See also: 2015 Duke Blue Devils football team

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

See also: 2015 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team and Georgia Tech–Tulane football rivalry

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: ACCN

Maine

See also: 2015 Maine Black Bears football team

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

See also: 2015 UCF Knights football team

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

See also: 2015 Temple Owls football team

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

See also: 2015 Houston Cougars football team

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

See also: 2015 Navy Midshipmen football team

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

See also: 2015 Memphis Tigers football team

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

UConn

See also: 2015 UConn Huskies football team

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

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
UConn	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

See also: 2015 Army Black Knights football team

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

See also: 2015 SMU Mustangs football team

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

See also: 2015 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

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. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. 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.