Tulane Green Wave Seniors Ready To Leave Their Stamp on Program History
It's hard to imagine that just four years ago, Tulane had a 2-10 record.
This had been a struggling program for a while.
Before the incredible 2022 campaign that saw the Green Wave win 12 games and beat USC in the Cotton Bowl, they had only put together five winning seasons during the 21st century
It was a long history of disappointment and irrelevance in the city of New Orleans, but after head coach Willie Fritz authored one of the greatest program turnarounds on a year-to-year basis when Tulane went from having that 2-10 record to the Cotton Bowl-winning campaign, things are now much different when it comes to the football program.
That's evident by Jon Sumrall leaving his post as head coach of Troy - a place where he reached the conference title game in this first two years in charge - to take over this Green Wave program.
He was able to get them back to the AAC championship for the third season in a row, easily the best stretch that Tulane has had in the modern era.
And with one more win, the seniors on this team know they can leave their stamp on this program based on the success they've produced during their time in New Orleans.
"One moment that really put stuff in perspective for me was there was this guy who was about 50 years old ran up to me just bawling his eyes out. He said I've been waiting 40 years for this, thank you so much. Just having that effect on people is something crazy and something to think about," senior offensive lineman and local native Josh Remetich said per Guerry Smith of Nola.com.
They'll have a chance to add to their legacy by beating Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Already authoring a stretch where they're the winningest team in program history during this three-year run, only Georgia, Michigan and Oregon have won more games at the FBS level than Tulane from 2022-2024.
It would also see the Green Wave beat USC and Florida in their bowl matchups, two legacy programs of the sport.
"Just from the time I got here, the culture has changed. Walking on campus, we hear people talking about football. We hear little whispers and stuff. That wasn't always the case. You used to get a little eye roll when you walked past people as a player. It's nice to see people starting to respect the program and respect the hard work that me and these guys put in every day," left tackle Rashad Green shared.
Tulane will have their hands full.
The Gators are looking to finish their season strong to build momentum heading into next year, so the Green Wave are going to have to play one of their best games of the season to secure their third double-digit-winning campaign in a row.
But, there isn't just motivation among the seniors to send them off in the right way.
All players who are draft eligible are slated to suit up in this one, a great sign regarding where the team's mindset is heading into the matchup, and where the culture is for this program going forward.
"We knew what we were capable of. It just took everything out of us as a team, players and coaches. We just knew what we wanted to do for this program, and that's what you're seeing now, just continuing to build," defensive tackle Eric Hicks stated.
They certainly will leave the program in a better place than it was when they arrived.
But a win against Florida on the way out?
They know what that would mean.
"My kids will hear stories about these guys," Remetich said.
