Seeing the new look 2023 Tulsa team, with Braylon Braxton at quarterback, is what the season opener with Arkansas Pine Bluff is all about.
UAPB (3-8, 1-7 SWAC in 2022) figures to be a pretty bad FCS team. Tulsa (5-7, 3-5 AAC in 2022) isn't taking the game lightly, and should be ready to roll and show fans what will make this season different under new coach Kevin Wilson from what took place last season under Philip Montgomery.
Wilson has found in all his different stops as offensive coordinator at OU and most recently Ohio State, among other places, as well as head coach at Indiana, that he is confident by the time game day comes around.
"I get jitters on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It's about practice," Wilson said about a normal week's schedule when playing on Saturdays. "By then, if you ain't got it figured out, you're stupid running around crazy."
Braxton has figured out that he expects to succeed at TU. The 6-foot-2, 211-pound redshirt sophomore spoke a little about what makes Wilson's and offensive coordinator Steve Spurrier, Jr.'s offense different than the 2022 version.
"In coach Monty's system, there was a lot of freelancing, guys just trying to get open," Braxton said. "Now we're more conceptual. We have precise routes, precise steps the receivers will make. A lot of timing stuff."
Returning junior receiver Malachai Jones is the only TU receiver with any substantial experience. He caught 37 passes for 470 yards and 2 TD's last season. The rest of the receivers played sparingly, if at all.
The potential Braylon to Braylin connection is the most intriguing, as OSU sophomore transfer and Bixby grad Braylin Presley has drawn raves from Tulsa coaches. That connection should be the most interesting to watch for the Golden Hurricane this season.
Tulsa is having to replace two really good receivers in Keylon Stokes, who is Tulsa's all-time leading receiver in yards, and Juancarlos Santana.
"We definitely lost some experience last year with some fifth and sixth year guys. We still have Malachai returning. He had a lot of valuable minutes last season," Braxton said. "Guys like Presley, and Nick Rempert, and Carl Chester, and Marquis Shoulders - we have a lot of guys who can make plays with the ball in their hands.
"I have all the confidence in the world in those guys. I put my faith in them that they're going to be where they are supposed to be, and they have put their faith in me that I'm going to put the ball where it is supposed to be."
Don't expect a finished product at the start of the season with all the relatively inexperienced players. But expectations for the offense are high.
"We just have to continue to build our trust and our relationships with our receivers and offensive line and running backs and tight ends," Braxton said. "We have to keep growing with our offense as a whole. We're not where we want to be at, but we're taking steps towards that every day."
It has been an interesting journey for Braxton, who had played no meaningful minutes as a true quarterback in his two years at TU, playing only as a wildcat quarterback, until starter Davis Brin injured an ankle at Ole Miss in Braxton's second season. Braxton did okay with a scaled back offense in that game, and as the season went on, he improved.
Braxton won his last two games as starter, and his performance on the road in the season finale against a good Houston team -- where he completed 25 of 43 passes for 316 yards with 3 TD passes and no interceptions -- gives everyone interested in TU football reason for optimism about his performance.
It originally was the transfer portal for Braxton after Montgomery was fired, but the hiring of Wilson got Braxton to quickly come back into the fold. Wilson's work as offensive coordinator at Ohio State and OU in developing quarterbacks helped convince Braxton to come back to Tulsa, but wasn't the only reason.
"Tulsa recruited me out of high school, and this is the school I committed to out of high school. This place has a special place in my heart," Braxton said. “Coach Wilson, coming from where he came from, has a lot of experience. He's put together a great staff.
"I just feel like this is where I'm supposed to be. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Brin's injury during the Ole Miss game was a program changer. Brin would have had another year of eligibility, and was leading the nation in passing yards before his injury.
But by the end of the season, it was evident that Braxton was the Tulsa quarterback of the future.
"That game (Ole Miss) was moving really fast in my first ever real game action in a game that mattered," Braxton said. "I would say it's been a good experience so far. Obviously, I'm nowhere near where I'm going to be as a player. Those are the stepping stones for my career. I'm trying to build off of that and carry that over into this season.
"I'm trying to be the leader of the team and trying to do everything right to put our team in the best position to win. I've improved a lot, preparation wise. Watching film every day. How to take care of my arm after taking all the reps and throwing the ball. Just learning how to sleep. I have so much on my mind. I have so much on my plate. I've grown a lot in all of those areas."
Besides Braxton and Tulsa's young receivers, expect tight ends to catch more passes than in any year under Montgomery. Senior Ethan Hall could be utilized more. True freshman TE Luke McGary has been making a really good impression.
Getting senior Anthony Watkins back will help a running back group that also features Jordan Ford, Bill Jackson and Tahj Gary. Watkins was terrific in 2021 for Tulsa before having to sit out 2022 due to academic reasons. He averaged an incredible 7.4 yards per carry while rushing for 634 yards. Jackson, Gary and Ford all got some playing time last season.
The offensive line returns former starter Bryce Bray, a Bixby grad and OSU transfer who started a season each for OSU and for TU before missing 2022 due to academic reasons. Bray, a senior and recent TU grad, can play guard or tackle, but has been working at guard.
Having sixth-year senior Kai-Leon Herbert available will be a plus. The Miami transfer started against Wyoming last season for TU before being injured in the first game. He is the likely starter at left tackle. Herbert is a talented player who coaches like a lot, but has very little game experience.
Will Farniok is a returning starter and anchor at center. Junior left guard Tai Marks is another returning starter who is on the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Watchlist.
Marks is currently listed at second team at left guard behind last year's starter at right guard, Chester Baah from Edison HS. Baah has recovered from a brutal leg injury near the end of last season. OU transfer Darrell Simpson is massive at 6-6, 345. He played at guard last season in his first season at TU, but is listed at first team at right tackle and has impressed Wilson going into his final year of eligibility.
On defense, Tulsa's new 4-2-5 defense replaces the 3-3-5, but the defense will present several different fronts, and there is uncertainty as to how much three-man vs. four-man fronts will be used. Defensive ends like redshirt freshmen Vontroy Malone and Zach Neilsen, as well as senior OSU transfer Ben Kopenski, will likely drop back to play linebacker at times.
Kopenski has already earned the honor of wearing the number 0, which Wilson said is earned on merit through hard work leadership, and playing.
"It's a blessing. It's an honor. I know K-Ray (Kendarin Ray) was offered it first, but he wanted to keep his number (#1), so it got passed to me," Kopenski said.
Sophomore Owen Ostroski is likely to make an impact, either at defensive end, or rushing the passer at defensive tackle. Jayden Simon is a massive interior lineman who played well after transferring from Colorado before getting hurt after 8 weeks.
Joseph Anderson is a former walk-on who is a solid hard worker.
Simon's brother Julien Simon is a USC transfer who is expected to start, perhaps alongside seventh-year senior and SW Baptist transfer Coleton Smith, who was a D-II second team All-American. Former walk-on, Jenks grad Mitchell Kulkin, is listed at first team as a senior.
Tulsa Booker T. Washington transfers Keuan Parker from Arkansas and Demarco Jones from OSU will help solidify Tulsa's cornerbacks. Senior Tyree Carlisle is solid, and watch out for talented redshirt freshman NuNu Campbell, a dynamic athlete from Holland Hall.
Ray is a standout sixth-year senior returnee at free safety, and senior L.J. Wallace is an accomplished returning starter at strong safety. Senior Jaise Oliver has played well in the past, and should start a nickelback.
Chase Meyer is a newcomer this fall who leads the competition at placekicker. Wilson said Meyer is the likely kickoff man. Meyer (5-10, 195, Soph.) is a transfer from Penn who is from Costa Mesa, California. But redshirt Mchael Slaba (5-11, 194) from Rogers, Arkansas is in the running. Also competing are Connor Bryan and Nate Walker.
"They go out there every day and knock it through," said new special teams/defensive line coach Joe Bolden, who wouldn't commit to who is the kicker. "Those guys have been working their tails off. Just kick the ball through the uprights. We'll find the guy who does that the best, and we'll put them out there."
Australian newcomer Angus Davies (6-1, 195, Fr.) is likely to be the punter, but is getting competition from redshirt freshman Scott Stanford (5-10, 193, Katy, Tx.), who Wilson said has improved a lot from spring practice.
Tulsa's biggest problem the last several years has been horrid punt and kick coverage, with fans rooting for the ball to be kicked out of bounds since so many long returns for touchdowns had occurred.
"I told those guys, what you've done in the past, I'm not here to judge you for that," said Bolden. "If you can do it to the best of your ability, that's how we're going to operate.
"Part of that is putting your best 11 guys on the field. A lot of it is the mindset of the guys. The want to, and the care."
Freshmen who are likely to get playing time, according to Wilson, are McGary, who could end up starting at TE, WR Grayson Tempest from Union, WR/RB Cam Crooks from Cushing, OL Kasen Carpenter and Bennett Ringleb (Union), DL Tyler Rich (Owasso) and R.J. Jackson (Choctaw), C.J. Turner, and safety Devin Robinson from Union.
Ark.-Pine Bluff has a new coach, Alonzo Hampton. It would be shocking if the game is close. UAPB lost to OSU 63-7 last season, and 59-3 to Southern. The Golden Lions won five games in the last two years, which is a far cry from its 2012 HBCU National Championship season.
Wilson has looked at a lot of tape from last year's UAPB in order to see their players, and is impressed with Pine Bluff's athleticism from their returning players. But the uncertainty over what schemes they will run due to all their new coaches with backgrounds at many different schools in different years has caused Wilson to not worry too much guessing what scheme they will run.
"A cluttered mind leads to a slow football player," Wilson said about not trying to make it too complicated when preparing for all the endless variables.
Seeing how Tulsa plays against UAPB should be fascinating. Not in the final score, which should be lopsided in Tulsa's favor, but in player and team development.
TULSA FOOTBALL: Position by Position
• TU Position Analysis: Cornerback
• TU Position Analysis: Safety
• TU Position Analysis: Linebacker
• TU Position Analysis: Defensive Line
• TU Position Analysis: Special Teams
• TU Position Analysis: Quarterback
• TU Position Analysis: Wide Receiver
• TU Position Analysis: Running Back
