Tulane Football Breakout Defender Honored by Conference in Weekly Awards
The Tulane football team picked up a dominant 52-0 victory in their season opener against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions. While head coach Jon Sumrall was less than pleased with his team’s performance, he is certainly happy to get the win.
There is a lot that needs to be cleaned up ahead of a huge matchup against Kansas State in Week 2. Poor tackling and an inconsistent pass rush will doom the Green Wave against the Wildcats.
Sumrall will focus on those things during press conferences to ensure that he can help keep his team motivated. But, there were a lot of positives to take away from the victory as well.
One of them was the performance of cornerback Rayshawn Pleasant. The redshirt sophomore should be pushing for more playing time in the secondary after he made the biggest play of the game against Southeastern Louisiana.
In the waning moments of the first half, the Lions were driving again to put points on the board. But, an ill-advised pass from Eli Sawyer was intercepted by Pleasant and taken to the house for a 100-yard touchdown return.
That highlight was a big reason why he was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
101 yards to the house! @RayshawnPleasa1’s pick 6 is your Call of the Game!#UptownFootball pic.twitter.com/cHb8p3pdJ5
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) September 2, 2024
Pleasant was only the second player in AAC history to record a 100-yard pick-six, with the first being Josh Hawkins of East Carolina against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes on October 17th, 2015.
He is also the second player in Tulane history to accomplish the feat. David Herbert, in 1971 against Rice, was the last.
Joining Pleasant with Player of the Week honors are North Texas quarterback Chandler Morris and wide receiver Kamdyn Benjamin of the Golden Hurricanes.
Morris helped lead the Mean Green to an impressive victory on the road over South Alabama with five touchdowns scored; three through the air and two on the ground.
Benjamin was Special Teams Player of the Week, recording a 66-yard punt return in a 62-28 victory over Northwestern State. On the previous offensive possession, he scored a 36-yard touchdown.
Pleasant and the Green Wave defense are going to have their hands full in Week 2 when they welcome Kansas State to Yulman Stadium. A victory in that game would certainly put Tulane on the College Football Playoff watch list and announce their presence as a strong G5 team.
KENNETH TEAPE
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.