National Signing Day

I gotta admit...Tulane did a lot better than I thought they would.

Five months ago, you thought the program was dead.

Three months ago, you thought the program would sign, at best 10-12 warm bodies featuring 5'10", 210# defensive tackles and 6'0", 150# receivers.

Today, you have to say that Scelfo and company exceeded EVERYONE's expectations.

The importance of signing 24 mostly Division 1-calibre athletes to play for Tulane should not be underestimated. This class, and the overall quality top-to-bottom, will help ensure that the program won't go backwards from a talent standpoint. On paper, this class is just as solid as any other Scelfo has signed.

Am I excited about any particular player...not necessarily. But I'm not pointing to any one player and thinking "Geez, TU must have been pretty desperate..." either. Analyzing the class, you see that Tulane was able to address particular needs...you don't see 8 running backs/athletes, you see guys that will most likely play the same position in college as they did in high school.

Hopefully, finally, Tulane addressed it's woeful placekicking problems with the signing of Ross Thevenot. Do you know the last time Tulane had good, reliable placekicking? Yes, not since 2001, in Seth Marler's junior season, has Tulane not hesitated to kick an extra point at any point during the season. I know Marler played four years, but his senior year was a sneak preview of the bad kicking to come for the Wave.

(We make fun of kickers, but damn are they important in winning and losing! There were at least four games in the last three years Tulane could have and SHOULD have won if the kicking was reliable; the ECU game in 2004 is an example. Think about that for a second...Tulane lost that game 27-25, and I'm certain that Tulane scored four touchdowns and only made one extra point. The Wave have basically played the last three seasons without a kicker to count on.)

Smartly, Scelfo also went back to what he knows best...the Georgia and Texas pipelines. With limited resources, I imagine Scelfo telling his troops, "Look, we don't have much time or money, so let's focus on these areas and hit them hard." Fortunately, it worked.

Through it all, Tulane was able to fend off the likes of Texas Tech to keep the "jewel" of the class, Flower Mound quarterback Kevin Moore. I don't know this kid, never spoke to him, but I like him already. He committed way early (prior to Katrina), and never, ever wavered, even when every opposing recruiter packed a CNN Katrina-highlight DVD with them on the trail. That's the kind of kid you want on your team, and eventually the type of kid you want leading your football team. I think big things are ahead of him at Tulane.