New Tulane Green Wave Hire Brings Combat to Football for Competitive Edge

The Tulane Green Wave brought back a key consultant on staff with a background in combat and karate and saw immediate results against the USF Bulls.

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Tulane Green Wave football team’s dominant victory over the USF Bulls came with a ferocious pass rush and an important hire.

Consultant Mike Storms, a United States Marine and 9th-degree black belt in karate, teaches essential hand-combat skills that directly translate to six sacks in the 45-10 win. He’s worked in the NFL, including with the New Orleans Saints.

Storms is familiar with both current Director of Strength and Conditioning coach Rusty Whitt and his predecessor, Kurt Hester, which is how he landed on the staff last season. It was a priority for head coach Jon Sumrall to bring Storms back, and his fight paid off when he returned last week.

After noticing Storms on the sidelines this weekend and the clear translation of his teaching to the production by Tulane’s pass rush, I asked Sumrall Wednesday about the effect he’s had and the importance of his role.

“He does a great job with our defensive line and offensive line. He does some stuff with our runners too, like a quarterback on how to take a fall and how to land. He's a really thoughtful, detailed guy who has great energy."

"The hand-to-hand combat stuff obviously correlates with our game," he continued. "I think explaining to our guys that this game is about striking, violence, leverage, angles, and making contact helps. It’s great to have Storms back. I think you saw some of the positive effects of him being back around."

A player’s use of hands is one of the critical factors used in scouting. Precise hand placement is crucial to controlling an opponent on the line of scrimmage. If a defensive lineman doesn’t shoot his hands at the armpits with his thumbs turned up and tight elbows, he’s lost the leverage battle before it started.

While walking out of practice, I noticed multiple position groups doing self-directed work on the field behind Yulman, including the tight ends. Then I noticed Storms walking over to give them some pointers, and I realized they were working on proper placement setting blocks, a crucial skill in that room.

Storms brings a unique array of experience to the Green Wave between his time in NFL training camps, his military background as a Marine, and his black belt in karate.

“He’s got a hand-to-hand combat background that’s really interesting,” Sumrall said. “His specialization provides a lot of value to our players, and I enjoy watching him teach. I really do. It's fun to watch him go through a progression of how he's teaching some things, and really, as much as anything, he's a great resource for our coaches on how to coach some leverage points. He’s able to give another lens on maybe how to use your hands.”

His expertise isn’t limited to teachings in the trenches. Sumrall brought up an intriguing skill he trains in running quarterbacks. Storms teaches them how to fall and protect themselves from severe injury, particularly concussions—something he did individually with Michael Pratt and now Darian Mensah this season.

“It’s to prevent whiplash when the back of their head hits the ground. I had (Storms) talk to our quarterbacks the other day about taking a hit and ducking your chin so that when you’re hit, you fall to your shoulder, your side, so your head's not hitting the ground. That’s not a hundred percent. You can't always see the hit coming. But if you can get your chin tucked, usually you're going to absorb that contact better than if your head's up, gets knocked back, and then you get thrown to the ground. He’s been in combat; his whole career is about that. I think there's some good lessons he can teach all our position groups.”

After the Green Wave’s best performance on both sides of the line of scrimmage against USF, it’s clear Mike Storms is a secret weapon for the team as they head to Birmingham to take on the UAB Blazers.