Tulane Season Preview Part 6: The Safeties

Photo Credit: Parker Waters

After Lummie Young and Larry Brooks departed following the Cotton Bowl victory, the Green Wave primarily used a three-man rotation at safety in 2023 under then defensive coordinator and soon-to-be "fox in the henhouse" Shiel Wood. The rotation consisted of Kentrell Webb (now at Houston), DJ Douglas (now at Florida) and Bailey Despanie (who returns to Tulane for his redshirt junior season).

Kentucky transfer Jalen Geiger and Troy transfer Jack Tchienchou joined the mix, and returner Kevin Adams III, a sophomore who got some good run (albeit at slot corner) in the Military Bowl, last December, is not to be forgotten.

Jalen Geiger, #2

Geiger, a sixth-year redshirt senior comes to Tulane after spending the past five seasons at the University of Kentucky (2019-2023), where he compiled total of 704 snaps and four starts. Unfortunately for Geiger, he suffered a season-ending injury in week 2 of the 2022 season, after starting each of the first two games. He looks the part of an SEC safety and appears to be locked in as a starter for the Wave, next Thursday night. Of his 253 snaps, last season, over 140 of them came from deep, though he did spend about 110 either in the box or in the slot. He should be an improvement over both Webb and Douglas, in coverage.

Bailey Despanie, #32

The redshirt junior from Lafayette is clearly one of the smartest, most mature young men on the roster. Always in the right place at the right time, he seems to have yet again solidified his place on the field as the 2024 season begins. He started all 14 games for the Wave, last season, compiling at least 42 snaps in each and every contest. He has added noticeable muscle and strength over the last 8 months, which should serve him well, as he looks to improve in run support and tackling. Recall that while Darion Monroe was every bit an All-AAC caliber player as a junior and senior, he too struggled with physical runners and receivers as a freshman and sophmore. Expect a nice leap from Despanie, now in his fourth season uptown.

Kevin Adams, III, #23

Adams and Tchienchou, both, are going to be hard to keep off of the field. Such is the drawback of depth at a position that has been a vulnerability for Tulane over the majority of the [REDACTED] era from 2016-2023. Adams only saw the field for 38 snaps last season, 31 of which came in the Military Bowl. He did not appear at all overmatched against Virginia Tech and carried his performance over to a really strong spring. It's completely understandable that the veterans Geiger and Despanie will get the first snaps next week, but don't be surprised to see a rotation, at least early. Adams, a member of the class of 2023, is from Destrehan High School and chose Tulane over Houston, Mississippi State, Liberty, Nebraska and UTSA, among others.

Jack Tchienchou, #29

Tchienchou, a redshirt freshman, spent the 2023 season playing under Jon Sumrall and Greg Gasparato (Tulane's defensive coordinator) at Troy. He entered the portal after Troy's bowl game and enrolled uptown in January -- he was, without a doubt, one of the MVPs of spring practice. Expect him to continue to push the starters for time on the field as he continues to work his way back to full health. Tchienchou only saw the field in 3 games for Troy in 2023, thus preserving his ability to redshirt (a player may not participate in more than 4 games and take a non-medical redshirt). Prior to signing with Troy, he held offers out of high school from Wisconsin, Houston, Indiana, Minnesota, Colorado, Miami (the one that plays in the empty NFL stadium, not the one in Ohio), Duke and Boston College, among others.

Josh Moore, #30

Moore, a second-year player from League City, Texas only saw the field for the Green Wave against Nicholls State, last season, but has continued to earn reps with the second team defense this August, when others have been nicked or held out. Moore chose Tulane over Texas State and Texas Southern, and was rated as one of the top 200 safeties in the country by 247 in the class of 2023.

Chase Green, #27

Green, who checks in at 5'10", 185 pounds, is a true freshman from Largo High School in Largo, Florida. He committed to Tulane less than a week before the prior head coach departed for a commuter school named after a city that is not even the capital of the state within which it sits. Sumrall and his staff were able to hold the commitment, before Green ultimately signed on December 20, 2023. Unlike a handful of others, Green did not graduate early and participate in spring ball, so his first crack at reps has come this month. He chose Tulane over Ilinois, Liberty, USF, Temple, among others.