Tulsa hosts a dangerous Tulane team on Thursday night
Jaxon Player has a 'Show the World' type of mentality that makes him one person opponents don’t look forward to going up against.
After being under-recruited out of Waco Midway HS, Player is a leader on Tulsa’s defense that is showing everyone that it belongs. The 6-foot, 290-pound junior defensive tackle/nose guard has been a force this season.
“I came here with a big chip on my shoulder,” said Player. “Especially against SMU with them only being an hour and a half away from my house. I didn’t get an offer from them until a couple of days before signing day. When I came here I knew, that’s one game I mark off on my schedule every year.”
Player helped Tulsa (4-1, 4-0 AAC) defeat No. 19 SMU 28-24 last Saturday night to boost TU to the No. 25 ranking by the Associated Press. Tulsa had not been ranked in the Top 25 since 2010.
Tulsa will put that ranking on the line Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. as the Golden Hurricane hosts Tulane (5-4, 2-4) at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
It was apparent to anyone who watched highlight films of Player in high school that Tulsa was potentially getting a steal. Then and now, he is the type of player who jumps out at you on film. It was just his height, or lack of, that kept him from being perhaps the highest recruited lineman in Texas.
“I have to show them every year that size doesn’t matter,” Player said. “I’ve got to show everybody that. I hold it on my shoulder. I have to look at what advantages I do have. I have leverage. You can’t get lower than me. I’m strong. I’m going to out strength you, I’m going to out man you.
“I feel like it's elevated my game and made me work harder. It makes me work on the little things. It makes me a better player, so that’s a big factor, also.”
As hard as it is to get playing time as a true freshman, especially as a lineman, that is exactly what Player did. After paying his dues getting more and more playing time the last two seasons, Player is entrenched in the Golden Hurricane defense.
Defensive tackles and nose guards aren’t going to lead the team in tackles when they are occupying opposing offensive lineman to free up the linebackers. But Player has managed to still have three tackles behind the line of scrimmage to go with a team-leading five quarterback hits and a blocked field goal.
The Golden Hurricane defense had another stellar performance last week against SMU in its comeback victory. The defense allowed zero points after TU fell behind 24-7 at halftime against the explosive SMU offense. Also consider that 7 of those points were allowed by the offense on a pick-six, and another touchdown was set up by a TU offensive turnover.
“When we get some adjustments handled, we think we’re unstoppable,” Player said. “I think the camaraderie we have in the locker room and the belief we have in one another.
“We’ve given up only three touchdowns in the second half. Our confidence is at an all time high, and it is still climbing. I think we’re the best defense in the conference, and so do other people. We want to go out there and put it on display.”
Lucky for Tulsa that, besides being under recruited, Tulsa had a built in advantage when recruiting Player. Co-Defensive coordinator at the time Brian Norwood’s son was a teammate of Player’s older brother in high school. Also, Montgomery had spent so much time in Waco while coaching at Baylor less than six years ago.
With guys like Player, nose guard Tyarise Stevenson, and defensive end Anthony Goodlow anchoring Tulsa’s three-man line in its 3-3-5 defensive alignment, the linebackers are freed up to make plays. And make plays they do.
Zaven Collins added to what is already becoming a legendary career at TU with his performance against SMU. Collins was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in four league games.
Also, Collins won the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week award against SMU. In Tulsa’s only non-conference game at OSU, Collins won the Chuck Bednarik award for National Defensive Player of the Week.
Collins clinched the game with an interception at midfield when SMU was trying to re-take the lead from TU near the end of the game. Collins had two tackles for losses, including a sack and a quarterback hit, in the game among his six tackles.
One of Collins’ roommates, quarterback Zach Smith, recovered from a poor start to be named the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Player of the Week. The award is given to the best college performance by a player born in Texas or who played high school ball in Texas or has played juco ball in Texas or plays at a 4-year college in Texas. Smith is from Grandview, Texas.
Smith completed 26 of 38 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns. In the last three quarters, Smith was 20 of 28 for 269 yards in the game where Tulsa got down 21-0 after the first play of the second quarter.
Another national award went to TU coach Philip Montgomery, who was named the Bobby Dodd Trophy coach of the week.
All of those accolades, along with being in the Top 25, have Tulsa flying high going into the Tulane game. But Tulsa is trying hard not to let it go to its head.
“It’s cool to finally be ranked, but rankings are just a number,” Player said. “We still got to go out every week and win games and prove that we are the best, and we’ve got to keep winning.”
Montgomery is happy for those in the program, he was so busy preparing for the Tulane game that he didn’t even know he was in the Top 25 until a day after it was announced.
“I’m excited about our guys, just the amount of work and the things they’ve put into it,” Montgomery said. “Just to be recognized like that is great for our program and great for our young men that have worked so hard to make that happen.”
Montgomery and his players know, however, that a loss this week to Tulane would not only knock Tulsa out of the Top 25, but also would hurt its chances for a conference championship. And as Montgomery knows, Tulane is no pushover.
“This will be the best defensive front we’ve gone against so far this season,” Montgomery said. “They’ve got a couple of guys on the edges that can really rush the passer. They’re great against the run. They’ve got big guys up front. Their linebackers are very downhill and aggressive.“
Foremost on TU’s attention list is 6-3, 250-pound senior defensive end Patrick Johnson, who already has 10 sacks this season among his 13.5 tackles for loss. Fellow senior DE Cameron Sample (6-3, 280) has 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Nose tackle Jeffrey Johnson (6-3, 330) has three sacks.
On offense, the Green Wave offensive line was ranked No. 10 among offensive lines in the nation through week four by Pro Football Focus.
Tulane’s triple-option offense can be tricky to defend, as it is well balanced with running and passing.
Freshman quarterback Michael Pratt (6-2, 200) has done a nice job running Tulane’s offense. He hasn’t posted great numbers running or passing, with highs of 216 yards (22 of 34) passing at East Carolina, and 56 yards on 12 carries at home against Temple.
Both the Temple and East Carolina games against one-win teams mark the only conference wins for the Green Wave. Their four conference losses have all come against good teams. Tulane lost 27-24 at home against Navy (3-4, 3-2), 49-31 at Houston (3-3, 3-2), 51-34 at UCF (5-2, 4-2) and 37-34 in OT at home against SMU (7-2, 4-2).
Tulane just won 38-12 at home last week against Army (6-2). Other non-conference wins were 66-24 at Southern Miss (2-6) and 27-24 at South Alabama (3-5).
Tulane’s running game is led by Stephon Huderson, Cameron Carroll and Amare Jones. All three are capable of gaining big chunks or yardage. The 5-9, 200-pound Huderson’s best game was 132 yards on 19 carries. He leads Tulane with 548 yards and a 6.6 yards per carry average. Carroll (6-0, 225) had 163 yards on 15 carries against ECU, and has 542 yards for a 5.6 ypc average. The 5-11, 200-pound Jones has 314 yards for a 5.9 average.
One of the cool names in the conference, Deuce Watts, who fittingly wears No. 2, is a 6-2, 195-pound receiver who leads the Green Wave with 26 catches for 448 yards.
A big help to Tulsa this week would be not getting behind in the game, which has been its custom. It would be a nice change for Golden Hurricane fans to see TU get an early lead.
Tulane is a game that Tulsa should win, but that is something that makes it dangerous. Tulane is talented, and is very capable. And TU can’t afford a letdown after its high of defeating SMU.