Tulsa Golden Hurricane Offensive Preview

Photo by: Brett Rojo

Tulsa Golden Hurricane Offensive Preview

7/29/2019 2:00:00 PM | Football

By: copyright The University of Tulsa

The Golden Hurricane may return just 14 lettermen to the offensive side of the ball, but nine of those have started at least one game in their careers.

Tulsa returns 85-percent of its rushing yards, 76-percent of its total offense and 75-percent of its touchdowns. Tulsa's top two running backs – Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II – return for their junior seasons after combining for 1,813 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns to lead the Hurricane offense in 2018.

Returning starter Seth Boomer and transfer Zach Smith will enter preseason camp as the top two signal-callers for the Hurricane, while the offensive front will be going through transition after losing 128 starts between three graduated players.

With the youth upfront, more pressure will be put on the skill positions players to make plays early. In addition to the running tandem of Brooks and Taylor, veteran receivers Keenen Johnson and Keylon Stokes will need lead the receiving corps and be playmakers for the Hurricane.

"We have to be more diverse on offense. I expect us to come out and put points on the board – to be who we are," said Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery.

QUARTERBACK
The quarterback position appears to be in its best shape since Dane Evans led the Hurricane to a 10-3 season and Miami Beach Bowl Championship in 2016.

Although Tulsa still goes into the fall looking to see who will claim the starting spot, Montgomery feels good where the position sits with the top two players having done it on the field of play before.

Sophomore incumbent Seth Boomer (6-3, 208), who showed incredible progress in his eight starts as a red-shirt freshman last season, and junior red-shirt Zach Smith (6-3, 224), who sat out last season after transferring from Baylor University, are the two sitting atop the depth chart for the Hurricane.

"As you look at the three scholarship quarterbacks I feel real good about that position," said Montgomery. "Seth was thrown into the fire last year, grew a lot, learned a lot, experienced a lot, and now he's gone through a spring practice knowing what a Saturday feels like. He's really been able to build on that. He's very competitive, very intelligent and can be very, very effective in what we're doing when he plays within himself."

Last season, Boomer showed steady progress each game. In his first three starts, he completed just 35-percent of his passes for 433 yards, two TDs and two interceptions, while in the final five contests he completed 61-percent of his passes for 945 yards, seven touchdowns and just two pickoffs.

Smith last played in the 2017 season at Baylor, where he threw for 1,471 yards and eight TDs as a part-time starter in nine games. His most extensive playing time came against 3^rd-ranked Oklahoma as he completed 33-of-50 passes for 463 yards and four TDs.

"Zach had a great spring," said Montgomery. "He has a really talented arm. He can throw any throw you want. For him, it was knocking the rust off, getting back in the groove, trying not to do too much, playing within the offense and becoming more comfortable making changes at the line of scrimmage."

In addition, red-shirt freshman Davis Brin (6-2, 201), who has been through the last two spring sessions after enrolling early from Boerne Champion High School in San Antonio, is that third quarterback Montgomery mentioned at the quarterback position. Brin had an impressive prep career as he threw for 6,650 yards and 58 touchdowns as a two-year starter.

Sophomore walk-on Brandon Marquardt (6-1, 210), who quarterbacked his Norman North (OKla.) High School team to the Oklahoma Class 6A state championship game in 2016, also adds depth to the position.

"I feel good about the quarterback position. We have to stay healthy. That's a must. But those guys are going to be at a level that I think we'll be able to do what we want to do offensively," added Montgomery.

RUNNING BACK
Tulsa's running back corps is led by a pair of juniors that enter the 2019 season with a combined 2,683 yards and 33 TDs in their careers. The duo of Shamari Brooks (5-9, 195) and Corey Taylor II (5-10, 222) totaled 1,813 yards and 18 touchdowns to lead the Hurricane offense last year.

Brooks started all 11 games in which he played as a true sophomore in 2018, gaining 967 yards and seven touchdowns. Taylor was not far behind with 846 yards and led the Hurricane with 11 touchdowns.

"Corey and Shamari have been very productive in our offense," said Montgomery. "Shamari has that quick first step, in and out, runs with a lot of power, but it's a different type of power than Corey. Corey is very dense, very strong and hard to tackle. Both can run inside and both can run outside. I feel good about the combination, but we have to stay healthy.

The only other running back on the roster to have seen playing time is freshman red-shirt TK Wilkerson (6-2, 228), who played sparingly in three games last year. On his first career carry, Wilkerson raced for a team season-high of 75 yards, while totaling 95 yards against UConn.

Newcomer Christian Lovick (5-9, 180), from Tomball Memorial (Texas) High School, will have an opportunity to see playing time in 2019. Lovick was effective as a prep ball-carrier and receiver, rushing for 1,523 yards and 16 touchdowns and catching 27 passes for 342 yards his senior season.

Red-shirt freshman walk-on Elijah Lucas (6-1, 198), who was able to get a lot of reps during the spring, adds depth for the Hurricane.

OFFENSIVE LINE
The Tulsa looks to rebuild an offensive line that lost 128 career starts from three players. The Hurricane will replace four-year starter Chandler Miller at center, four-year right tackle starter Willie Wright and three-year starter at left guard Tyler Bowling.

However, the cupboard is not bare when it comes to restocking the front line for the Hurricane.

The two starters returning to the offensive front include tackle Chris Ivy Jr. (6-3, 296) and guard Chris Paul (6-4, 324). Paul, who missed the spring with an injury, started at right guard in eight games in 2018, but is expected to move to left guard, while Ivy started all 12 games at left tackle in 2018.

Tulsa has two linemen returning who also saw starting time last year. Junior Dylan Couch (6-3, 299), who started three games at left guard, has moved to the center position, while Tiller Bucktrot (6-5, 322) started four games at right guard in 2018.

"Any time you lose 128 starts up front that's a significant hole that you have to fill," said Montgomery. "The good part is that when TB (Tyler Bowling) went down, Dylan had to come in and start at guard for us. Now, he transitions to the center spot. Chris Ivy and Chris Paul return as starters, and Tiller Bucktrot has started games for us."

Tulsa played a lot of young, inexperienced players upfront in Montgomery's first two years, and those two seasons resulted in bowl games. "We had that same challenge of building an offensive line when we came here. We had to play a lot of young guys my first and second years, then those guys got older," said Montgomery.

Dante Bivens (6-3, 321), who received a lot of first-team reps at left guard during spring drills, will compete with Paul at that spot. Paul will back-up Ivy at tackle, while true freshman Chester Baah (6-3, 290) from local Edison High School, and walk-on red-shirt freshman Jake Coleman (6-5, 302) add depth at left tackle.

Couch took control of the center position is spring drills and is backed up by sophomore Gerard Wheeler (6-3, 325) and red-shirt freshman Josh Owens (6-4, 275).

On the right side of the offensive front, 2018 part-time starter Bucktrot came out of the spring as the starting right guard. He will be backed up by junior Clay Greathouse (6-4, 310) and true freshman Jeremy Jones (6-5, 301). At right tackle, red-shirt freshman X'Zauvea Gadlin (6-4, 300) enters the fall as the starter, while junior Judge Hartin (6-4, 300), who is versatile enough to move inside as well, will battle Gadlin for playing time. True freshman Tyler Smith (6-5, 312) will start out fall camp at right tackle.

TIGHT END
For the previous four seasons, Tulsa had Chris Minter at the tight end position, but both he and part-time starter Cole Neph have graduated.

The spring season saw red-shirt freshman James Palmer (6-3, 251) come out as the starter, while highly-regarded junior college newcomer Denzel Carter (6-5, 275) joined the roster in the summer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Other than Palmer, who played four games on special teams, no Hurricane tight end has received any playing experience.

"There are still some questions marks at the tight end spot coming into the fall. It's hard to replace two guys like Chris and Cole. James Palmer did a nice job in the spring and we have high expectations for Denzel Carter coming in from junior college," said Montgomery.

Palmer last played regularly as a senior at Westmoore High School in 2017, when he caught 28 passes for 448 yards. Carter was an NJCAA all-region selection in 2018 after catching eight passes for 65 yards and three TDs.

Sophomore Jordan Rodriguez (6-6, 242) is a junior college transfer who didn't play football until coming to Tulsa last fall after a season of playing Division II college basketball. Sophomore walk-on Abe Anderson (6-3, 249) and true freshman Ethan Hall (6-3, 200) also add depth.

WIDE RECEIVERS
Tulsa's receiving corps returns two seasoned veterans in the likes of four-year senior Keenen Johnson (6-1, 200) and third-year junior Keylon Stokes (6-0, 190). But, it's still a rather young unit with 11 freshmen or sophomores on the roster.

Stokes led all Tulsa receivers in 2018 with 575 yards and two touchdowns on 41 receptions, while Johnson has tallied 1,283 yards and 6 touchdowns in his three years.

"Our receivers have continued to grow," said Montgomery. "We made some great progress in the spring. Keenen looked good early, but then got injured late in the spring. I thought Keylon was spectacular. He did an outstanding job of leading, competing and also pushing the younger guys to stay up with the tempo."

"Josh (Stewart) had a high ankle spring most of the spring, but he worked his way through it. Sam (Crawford) did some good things, and JC (Santana) had his most productive spring. I think he's a guy that if he continues on that same trend, he can turn some heads this fall," added Montgomery.

Stokes headlines the group of inside receivers for the Hurricane. Sophomore Cannon Montgomery (5-10, 180), who lettered last year on special teams, and red-shirt freshman Imiee Cooksey (5-11, 181) came out of spring drills behind Stokes. Tulsa could get another boost at inside receiver with the return of Jarion Anderson (5-9, 180) per a medical absence waiver.

Two transfers – Josh Johnson (5-11, 183), from Iowa State, and from Air Force Malik Rodgers (5-10, 170) – will likely have to miss the 2019 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules. A pair of true freshmen Korey King (5-10, 170) and Trey Collier (6-1, 180) had solid prep credentials, as King caught 27 passes for 552 yards and six TDs, while Collier was a three-year starter at quarterback. King and Collier will both have an opportunity to move into the rotation at the inside receiver slot.

Keenen Johnson holds down one of the outside receiver slots, while Sam Crawford Jr. (6-1, 206) and Josh Stewart (6-3, 210) will battle for the other starting receiver spot. Both Crawford and Stewart played the receiver position last year, while Crawford also returned 15 kicks for 252 yards. Stewart started nine of 11 games in 2017 and caught 13 passes for 162 yards, while in nine contests last season he caught two passes for 46 yards.

Sophomores JuanCarlos Santana (6-1, 176) and Malik Jackson (6-2, 210), who both have not seen game time at receiver, will also be expected to make contributions this season. Santana played in two games on special teams in 2018, but Jackson has yet to see playing time. True freshman La'Darrion Florez (6-2, 200), who had 110 receptions for 1,288 yards and 13 TDs in his four-year prep career, could compete for playing time on the outside.

Walk-ons Joseph Breedlove III (6-1, 194), Andrew McKinnis (6-0, 191) and Dhailon Phillips (6-3, 208), who transferred to Tulsa after catching 32 passes for 425 yards last year at Trinity Valley Community College, add depth to the receiving corps.