This year’s Tulane squad has notable bond with 1973 Green Wave

With his next victory – perhaps this Saturday at Rice – Willie Fritz can become the second coach in Tulane history to win 50 games, joining the legendary Clark Shaughnessy. That run has included 18 wins in 21 games over the last two seasons, a victory total topped only by Georgia and Michigan at the FBS level.

“Willie Fritz is incredible, incredible,” exclaimed Steve Foley, a former Tulane quarterback (1972-74) who led the team in passing in 1972 and in passing and rushing the following season. Foley went on to play defensive back for the Denver Broncos’ Orange Crush defense for 11 seasons, playing in two Super Bowls and earning All-Pro honors in 1978.

“He’s got (the team) playing at such a high level,” Foley said. “He’s got a history of success. He’s having success in the transfer portal. Guys want to play for him. He stayed when Georgia Tech called.”

Although there is a half-century gap between squads, there is a bond between the 1973 Green Wave and the 2023 edition.

Mark Olivari was twice named All-South Independent (1973-74). Having never met Fritz, Olivari has been impressed from afar.

“We spoke on the phone for an hour and a half,” said Olivari, who now lives in North Carolina. “We talked about a lot of things. He is the nicest, most sincere, very focused individual. He is a class guy. He wants input from the former players.”

Former Tulane linebacker Jim Gueno spent five seasons with the Green Bay Packers following his time with the Green Wave. He paced the Tulane defense with 166 tackles in 1975 and was named All-South Independent that year.

“Willie Fritz is phenomenal,” Gueno said. “What he did last year was phenomenal.”

The 1973 squad that featured Foley, Olivari and Gueno finished 9-3 and spent seven weeks in The Associated Press top 20, finishing the season at No. 20 – one of only four Tulane teams in the last 70 years, including last year’s conference champion and Cotton Bowl winners, to end the reason ranked in the AP poll.

The 1973 defense pitched three shutouts, including a memorable 14-0 blanking of LSU, and held opponents to 11.5 points per game.

Tulane’s current defense holds the No. 2 spot in the American Athletic Conference in points allowed at 19.4 per game, allowing 341.6 yards per game. The Green Wave’s 21 sacks ranks second in the league.

The strength of the defense is up front.
*Darius Hodges is second in the conference with 5.5 sacks and has 6.5 tackles for loss.
*Devean Deal has seven tackles for loss and a pair of sacks from his defensive end spot.
*Inside presence Patrick Jenkins, a John Ehret product by way of TCU, has eight tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
*Keith Cooper, with 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, is an outside force.

Among the stars on the back seven for this year’s unit:

*Linebacker Jesus Machado has a team-high 51 tackles.
*Redshirt sophomore strong safety Bailey Despanie lowers the hammer on runners from the secondary with 37 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.
*Louisiana Tech transfer and former Holy Cross linebacker Tyler Grubbs has been a key component with 26 stops, three tackles for loss and a key sack last week against North Texas.
*Kansas State transfer and former De La Salle cornerback Lance Robinson paces the American and ranks tied for second nationally with four interceptions.
*Louisiana transfer nickelback Kam Pedescleaux leads the Wave with seven passes defensed.

“I’m not at all surprised by their success,” Olivari added. “The game has changed but their pursuit is the same that we had. No offensive lineman wants to allow a sack.”

Gueno recognizes a common thread between the two defenses separated by half a century. “The linebackers today change positions, they have fluid reads,” he said. “Our reads were the guard and running back. There is a lot more reading now. The offenses are different, but the defensive effort is the same as when we played.”

On the flip side of the football, the Wave’s offense has been steady and balanced.

Redshirt freshman running back Makhi Hughes leads the conference with 619 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry with five touchdowns. He is on pace to become the first freshman in school history to rush for 1,000 yards.

Senior quarterback Michael Pratt already owns the career touchdown passes mark with 80. He is closing in on Patrick Ramsey’s 9,205 career passing yards, needing 888 more to supplant that mark.

Foley has kept track of the progress Pratt and the offense has made. “They have really great athletes,” Foley said. “They have receivers with speed and great running backs. (Pratt) can make all the throws.”

Foley recognizes the talent of Pratt. “He is a competitor who makes good decisions,” Foley said. “I threw the ball 14-20 times a game. We ran the ball a lot. We ran a lot of play action because we were a heavy team.

“(Pratt) is a prototypical, big arm, big body, athletic quarterback who can make all the throws. He can move the chains with his feet. He is a really a good quarterback with all of the ingredients to play in the NFL.”