NFL Draft Path 2017: Tanzel Smart, Tulane Face First Conference Test
By Matt LaPan
Tulane senior defensive tackle Tanzel Smart enters his first big conference matchup of 2016 with his 2017 NFL Draft stock surely in mind
Tanzel Smart and the Tulane Green Wave face their first conference test when they welcome the Midshipmen of Navy into Yulman Stadium on Saturday night. The senior defensive tackle has helped lead his team to a 1-1 record outside of the conference, but will now have to deal with fifth-ranked rushing offense into their house in a massive early-season test.
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“We feel like we have great confidence, but we still have a lot to work on,” Smart said when asked about the team’s morale after a 66-21 drubbing of Southern. “We just want to keep building off the win.”
The Green Wave do have the benefit of welcoming Navy into Yulman Stadium, but head coach Willie Fritz has instilled the confidence in his team to play anywhere. “It’s always to have that home crowd advantage,” Smart said about hosting Navy. “But, like Coach Fritz said, we can play anybody anywhere on any given day.” This confidence is something that has helped both Smart and his teammates as they try to prove doubters wrong in a season where they are expected to finish near the bottom of the American Athletic Conference.
They do face a stiff challenge in Navy’s rushing attack, however. Coach Ken Niumataolo and his Midshipmen are ranked 5th in the nation in rushing with 331 yards per game on the ground. They are also averaging 457.5 total yards per game, giving a slight dual-threat look.
The 2-0 Navy team has Will Worth and Tago Smith as a two quarterback system that has worked extremely well in the early season. They have combined to complete 10-12 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown while adding 38 carries for 163 yards and five touchdowns. Combining that ability with the tough rushing of fullback Chris High makes stopping Navy a tough task. high has carried the ball 17 times for 212 yards and three touchdowns.
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This rushing attack actually plays right into Tanzel Smart’s wheelhouse. The defensive tackle has spent most of his career creating problems for opponents at, and behind the line of scrimmage in the run game. He already has five tackles on the season, three of which have gone for a loss. He has added a sack, showing good burst up the middle. “Every [defensive tackle] loves facing run-first teams,” Smart said when asked about taking on Navy’s option system.
This showed the last time Smart faced Navy – collecting six tackles on the game in October of 2015. The familiarity of having seen Navy before should help him again this season.
Following the Navy game, the Green Wave will host Louisiana-Lafayette before traveling to UMass and UCF in consecutive weeks. This string of games presents a great opportunity for the Green Wave to add to their win totals, but they still need to keep focus on the task at hand this week. “Coach Fritz delivers the same message, ‘Every game is winnable’,” Smart said when asked about the team’s attitude entering the matchup this week. “We just have to take it game by game and focus on this opponent.”
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This will be the 21st time the two teams have met, with Tulane holding an 11-8-1 advantage all-time. They have lost three of their last four, however, and have not taken down the Midshipmen since November of 2004. With a great opportunity in front of him, Tanzel Smart and the Green Wave will look to make an impact this week.