Tulane Will Lean on Experienced Safety Room in Big Moments
The Tulane Green Wave have had a lot of attention paid to the position battles on their roster, and safety has quietly gone under the radar due to the stability at the role.
The Green Wave return Bailey Despanie at strong safety, who started at the role last season opposite DJ Douglas at free safety. Douglas transferred out, but Despanie kept the role held down with his veteran presence; it mattered particularly in spring with inexperienced cornerbacks.
As Tulane has assembled its roster through training camp, I’ve noticed an uptick in size across the board at all positions. Previous teams had a lot of players who were undersized and had great mental traits. The corners they brought in are both over 6-foot, and that matters when looking at matchups down the line – particularly the SEC and Big 12 slate against Kansas State and Oklahoma.
The trenches will primarily make the difference in those games, as Tulane will look to continue their run-stuffing defense that stifled premiere running backs in their tracks. That forces teams to throw it and puts stress on the secondary to hold things down.
A theme of training camp heading into the season opener is proven versus unproven players, and frankly how much that matters. Every player has to make their first start. An area of the field where you don’t want to chance it is the secondary.
Tulane’s cornerback transfers have shown that to be obvious in the way they heightened the competition against the wideouts, especially in individual drills, and frankly affected the quarterback battle. That coverage has to come together with the safeties, and a lot of those responsibilities will be at the free safety role.
That’s where the experience of Jalen Geiger from Kentucky will be crucial, especially in those Power 4 matchups. Geiger was on the Comeback Player of the Year Watch List last season after suffering a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in 2022.
Immediately upon transferring in, his SEC size stuck out. Geiger is a long player with good length. Importantly, he’s been in big moments in big games – an unteachable trait. Last year, Geiger faced off against Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Alabama among Kentucky’s conference matchups.
Safety is a role you don’t always hear about and doesn’t pop up considerably on the stat sheet – especially if the secondary is doing their job. Geiger will close the middle of the field at the free safety role and his range will be crucial for Tulane’s pass coverage. With the pattern matching they run, experience is just as critical. The Green Wave can’t afford to be mismatched or screw up the passing off in coverage.
There have been a lot of players who’ve shown promise at safety in camp. Jack Tchienchou was competing with the ones with his scrappy play until injuries caused some setbacks. Kevin Adams had the tackle of their Thursday scrimmage and has improved considerably under the development of Rob Greene and J.J. McCleskey. Joshua Moore has had moments as well.
Ultimately, those players haven’t had too much experience being burned in games, or having to respond after allowing a touchdown. Defensive back play is as emotional as it is physical, and that’s where experience comes in. Geiger will be a player to look to in those critical moments alongside Bailey Despanie for Tulane.
MADDY HUDAK