Fritzmas Eve
Former high 4 star player Ashaad Clayton's commitment could be the start of an impactful holiday season for the Wave.
[Credit Ashaad Clayton via Twitter]
Tulane received a big commitment from former Colorado and Warren Easton running back Ashaad Clayton on the eve of signing day. Clayton had several big offers out of high school including Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and others. Clayton appears to have 4 years of eligibility remaining as he received a free COVID year and only appeared in 4 games in 2021 making him eligible for redshirt. Clayton should team with Tyjae Spears, Cameron Carroll, YG Booker and Iverson Celestine to give Tulane possibly the deepest backfield in the AAC.
Clayton’s commitment comes on the heels of commitments from offensive tackle Sully Burns, wide receiver Chris Brazzell and running back Makhi Hughes. It felt like Tulane might fill up its entire class yesterday the way commitments rolled in.
There are certain to be some surprises tomorrow. Under Coach Fritz, each year there has been a recruit or two who signs with Tulane seemingly out of nowhere. Cameron Sample was one of the first. Tulane coaches wanted to keep their love for Sample on the down low and when he signed with Tulane on National Signing Day, he did it without first committing to the Wave. Last year, Jadon Canady signed with Tulane after not publicly committing first. If there’s a Sample or Canady in store tomorrow, Tulane fans will be ecstatic.
The transfer portal could also provide some surprises tomorrow. Several possible transfers from the portal are considering Tulane including Deajaun McDougle, JH Tevis, Shaundre Mims and possibly more.
Tulane is almost certainly not going to be signing a couple of players who have been long time commitments including Gabriel Jacas, who did not list Tulane in his top 3 last night and Avery Sledge, who took a visit to Mississippi State last weekend. There’s no need for Wave fans to panic over these recent defections. Judging by the visitors lists the past couple of weeks, the recruiting staff has anticipated these moves and made alternate plans.
Regardless of a couple of recent defections, this class is shaping up to be very solid for a team that is coming off a 2-10 season.
Offensive Coordinator Search
Chip Long left Tulane over a week ago to join the staff at Georgia Tech and all has been quiet at The Wilson Center since.
Earlier this week, Guerry Smith reported that Tight Ends Coach Slade Nagle is likely an internal candidate. Even if Coach Nagle does not end up getting the OC job, I think he’s going to be a more important part of our offense next year. Nagle, a QB at Clemson and McNeese State, could be our next QB coach depending on who is chosen as OC.
As Guerry reported, there is no decision imminent and this search could last a few more weeks. Coach Fritz plays these moves close to the vest, and there’s really no way to know who he is targeting. There’s also a season still happening and coaches have contracts. It’s not always as easy as it seems to hire someone quickly. I think I echo most Tulane fans when I say that it doesn’t matter if it takes a few more weeks to hire a new OC as long as we make the right hire.
NIL Update
As some of you saw on Twitter today, I let the cat out of the bag and confirmed that Fear The Wave is working on a NIL project. It’s true. We’re going to be crowdfunding an NIL, but we want to do it the right way. We are still ironing out some of the details of the project and should be able to formally announce something in early 2022. Stay tuned….this is going to be big.