Tulane Green Wave Workhorse Has New Goal After Thursday Milestone
It was a fitting setting Thursday, with the backdrop of Halloween surrounding the Tulane Green Wave in their dominating victory over the Charlotte 49ers.
In what can be best compared to a quintessential slasher from the 1990s, it was a slow and methodical attack that helped the Green Wave put another tally in the win column, and their workhorse running back Makhi Hughes was a big part of that attack.
Hughes rushed for 117 yards on 27 carries, notching two of Tulane's touchdowns to give him 11 on the year.
It was the back's 13th career 100-yard game and also pushed his season total over 1,000 yards, a milestone he has reached in two different seasons, marking only the third Green Wave running back to cross 1,000 yards twice in their career.
It has not been easy for the star, as he entered last night's game with 84 carries across the 12 days prior, but he is not worried about that.
"I'm sore. I'm banged up, but I know overall I'll be good though," Hughes said in his postgame interview.
Even if you saw the workhorse after the game, you would not have noticed how much he has been used over the last two weeks.
"He's a load, man, and he plays like it. He's that guy that doesn't flinch. Just down in the locker room, he acted like hadn't done anything today," Coach Jon Sumrall said about Hughes, "He looked pretty fresh to me. He's an impressive dude the way he carries himself. He's super physical and tough. We need to get him some rest this week as well, but he's a really tough runner for sure."
The college football season is a long and hard road, and taking that many hits every week can take a toll on a player's body.
Tulane did not have as much of a break between games this week, either, with only five days separating last week's game and Thursday, so taking care to remain fresh throughout the short week proved tantamount.
"It was just mentally. We knew we had to take care of our bodies because we had a game Thursday," Hughes added on the short week, "Coach Sumrall did a good job taking care of the players and taking care of our bodies as well. We wanted to be the fresher team out there Thursday."
Reaching 1,000 yards in a single season for a collegiate running back is a hard task to accomplish, especially with three games left on the schedule.
Hughes is only the fifth back to reach the milestone this year, while only 45 of over 500 rushers across college football reached the mark in 2023.
Hughes, who was one of the 45 to reach the mark last year, plans to continue being a workhorse for the team and now has a new goal in mind.
"I can't do it without my teammates, so shout out to them getting me 1,000 yards. I'll try to get that 1,500. That's my goal."
