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Head Coach: Trent Dilfer
Record at School: 4-8 (1 Yr) | Career FBS Record 4-8 (1 Yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Alex Mortensen | Defensive Coordinator: Sione Ta’ufo’ou
Perhaps the deepest room on the Rice football roster, the second and third levels of the wide receiver depth chart represent a fierce battle for playing time that will be worth following throughout fall camp and into the regular season. Replacing Luke McCaffrey is just part of the intrigue at this position which boasts a couple of experienced returns a pair of transfers and a host of players vying for more time on the field this coming season.
This piece is part of our 2024 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today.
Rice football fall camp officially kicked off on Friday and with it, we have our first depth chart on the fall. While most of the roster is intact, there has been a decent amount of churn over the summer, making this edition look somewhat different from where things left off this spring.
Tulane football looks to reload in 2024 with a new head coach and a retooled roster. Can the Green Wave weather this type of storm and find success in Year 1 under Jon Sumerall or will they fall back to the pack? We chatted with Jack and Reid of the Uptown Update podcast to get their side of the story and recap a busy offseason in the Big Easy.
You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 179.
The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.
We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite as is the Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Make sure you check out the brand-new sailor hat (pictured below) as you shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!
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The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.
Head Coach: Jon Sumrall
Record at School: 0-0 (1 Yr) | Career FBS Record 23-4 (2 Yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Joe Craddock | Defensive Coordinator: Greg Gasparato
Jon Sumrall went 23-4 at Troy over the past two seasons before taking over at Tulane following the departure of Willie Fritz. One of those many wins came over an impressive now-AAC rival, UTSA, in the Cure Bowl. Sumrall has won at this level. Now he’ll try to replicate that success at Tulane.
Tulane came up just short in the AAC Championship game last season, falling to SMU before matching up with Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl. The Green Wave entered that title game 11-1 with their lone loss on the road at Ole Miss with a backup quarterback under center. It was a tremendous season for the program which hung around the Top 25 rankings for most of the year.
Fair or not, winning the AAC is the expectation for Tulane football this season. This program is expected to be in the hunt for the College Football Playoff in late November. Is that reasonable considering they’ll be breaking in a new starting quarterback and head coach? Maybe not. But the talent on this roster is hard to ignore. Tulane should be a force in the AAC this season. How high they can climb will be the real test.
In the Transfer Portal era, there is less patience for a gradual start for coaching staffs. The Green Wave will be expected to maintain a high level of production with so many new faces and schemes. That’s going to be a tough task, especially with a rigorous nonconference schedule that features games against Kansas State and Oklahoma early in the season. Is this new staff up to the challenge?
Tulane has established itself as one of the premier brands at the Group of 5 level. The Green Wave have weathered the coaching switch about as well as they could have wished, given the circumstances, and look to be headed in the right direction. Most AAC programs would love to trade places with this one, even if the 2024 season might feature some additional hurdles to amp up the degree of difficulty. Tulane will vie with Memphis for preeminence in the AAC once again.