Virginia Tech football will face a tough opponent when it travels to Annapolis, Maryland, for the Military Bowl. No. 23 Tulane will be an interesting challenge for the Hokies as the program has undergone some post-season changes.
To start, Tulane finished the regular season with an 11-2 record and a visit to the AAC Championship. The Green Wave went on a 10-game win streak after starting the year 1-1 and dropped only their second game to SMU in the conference championship.
One of the biggest changes heading into the Military Bowl is head coach Willie Fritz leaving Tulane to take a new opportunity with Houston. Fritz has been at the helm since 2015 and has coached the program to back-to-back AAC Championship appearances.
Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle will serve as the interim head coach for the contest against the Hokies. Nagle has been on the staff since 2016 and has operated as the assistant head coach for the last two seasons.
The changes in coaching staff caused some ripples in the construction of the roster due to players entering the transfer portal. Among the changes, four players who were significant contributors on offense and defense may be unavailable for the bowl game.
Two offensive student-athletes unlikely to appear during the contest include their most productive receiver, Chris Brazzell, and tight end Alex Bauman. Brazzell (6'5", 195) led the team in both receptions (44) and receiving yards (711), while Bauman led the tight end room with 33 catches for 237 yards and five touchdowns.
Another player that will be absent is starting quarterback, Michael Pratt, the AAC's Offensive Player of the Year. Pratt is a dual-threat athlete, who threw for 2,406 yards with 22 touchdowns and is the second-leading rusher on the team (384) with 5 rushing scores.
Even with these potential losses in talent, the Green Wave still boasts dynamic running back, Makhi Hughes. Tulane's offense starts with its workhorse tailback, the reigning AAC Rookie of the Year.
Hughes finished 11th in the nation in rushing yards with 1,290 and scored seven times on the ground. The redshirt freshman led the conference in rushing yards after missing 2022 with a season-ending injury and amassed seven games with 100 or more rushing yards.
Tech defensive coordinator Chris Marve will have his hands full containing Hughes on offense. There are other skill players around him, such as running back Shedro Louis, who had a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown against Tulsa, and a trio of wide receivers to help mitigate the potential loss of Brazzell.
Wide receivers Lawrence Keys, Jha'Quan Jackson and Yulkeith Brown will likely see the bulk of the pass attempts when Tulane attacks the defense through the air. Keys is Tulane's second-leading receiver, with 33 catches for 599 yards and seven touchdowns. Jackson and Brown round out the group, accounting for 54 receptions, 767 receiving yards and six touchdowns combined.
On the defensive side of the ball, Tulane has two stalwarts on the second level, linebackers Jesus Machado and Tyler Grubbs. Machado led the team in tackles with 98, and Grubbs has 75 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss (TFLs) and 3 sacks.
The Green Wave's front seven has been a real threat with its ability to generate pressure and disrupt the quarterback. The defensive unit ranks third in the AAC and 26th in the country in sacks with 2.62 per game.
Although the defensive line group may look different with Devean Deal and Keith Cooper both entering the transfer portal. Deal amassed 12 tackles for loss to lead the team, while Cooper added five sacks of his own.
Looking further at Tulane's depth, defensive lineman Darius Hodges leads the way with 7.5 sacks, and he's accompanied by Patrick Jenkins, who has 5.5 sacks. Jenkins is very disruptive as well, registering 11.5 TFLs, which is second-best on the team.
One factor a significant pass rush provides for defenses is coverage time in the secondary. Generating pressure upfront helps defenders with their mental clock of when the ball may come out or how long, on average, they cover a receiver downfield.
Tulane's secondary has proven its ability to force turnovers when in coverage, as they rank third nationally in interceptions with 17. Cornerbacks Lance Robinson (4) and Jarius Monroe (3) combined for seven interceptions and defensive back DJ Douglas has three picks as well.
Monroe displayed a nose for the football with 10 total pass breakups, closely behind Kam Pendescleaux's team-leading 12 pass breakups.
Douglas is also a solid tackler, ranking fourth on the team with 54, and safety Bailey Despanie sets the pace in the secondary with 64 tackles.
Overall, the Green Wave have plenty of talent that has helped them reach consecutive AAC Championship games. It remains to be seen how the coaching changes will impact their play calling and personnel usage approach.
Tech is slated to face Tulane in the Military Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 2 p.m. ET. The ticket allotment for Virginia Tech is sold out, but fans interested in attending can visit SeatGeek, the official secondary marketplace of Tech Athletics.