Hurricane Elite Spring 2015: The University of Tulsa by Austin Chadwick

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8 | Basketball Remembered The men’s and women’s teams for the Golden Hurricane competed in the post-season and we take a look back at the year that was.

14 | Laying the Foundation New Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery has hit the ground running and is developing a foundation for success. Ingredients include, fast, faster and fastest.

16 | Class of 2015

Tulsa inked 20 athletes in football for this year’s 2015 Class. With a 4-star recruit highlighting the class, TU looks primed to build for the future.

Annual Subscription includes three publications: • ANNUAL FOOTBALL AND FALL SPORTS PREVIEW (AUGUST) • ANNUAL BASKETBALL PREVIEW (NOVEMBER) • ANNUAL RECRUITING ISSUE (APRIL) For all the best in the highest quality publication covering The University of Tulsa Athletic Programs, get it all with Hurricane Elite. Go to HurricaneElite.com

22 | Meet the Coaches Philip Montgomery has hired his staff and now has the men he will go into battle with. Meet the coaches as we give you the bios of all the new leaders of the TU football program. Trinity Media Group, LLC 12330 E. 60th St. Ste. A. • Tulsa, OK 74146 All rights reserved. Publisher Austin Chadwick Senior Writer/Recruiting Chris Harmon Contributing Writers Kyle Kendrick, Austin Chadwick Feature Photographer Brandy Moton, Brad Heath, Dave Crenshaw Contact Information Website: www.VYPEOK.com • Phone: 918.495.1771 • Fax: 918.495.1787 Hurricane Elite is published tri-annually by Trinity Media Group, LLC. Reproductions in whole or in part without permission are prohibited. Hurricane Elite is not responsible for the return of unsolicited artwork, photography or manuscripts and will not be responsible for holding fees or similar charges.

WHERE TULSA FANS GO FOR DAILY COVERAGE OF GOLDEN HURRICANE FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL AND RECRUITING • Daily exclusive information on Tulsa athletics and recruits, including feature articles, team and player notes, recruiting updates and video you won’t find anywhere else. • Access to the most in-depth Tulsa recruiting coverage available for football and basketball. • Hurricane Alley access, where you’ll find breaking news, team and player notes, the latest recruiting tidbits and more. Plus, a Tulsa-fans-only spot to discuss hot topics.

DON’T MISS OUT! GET A 30-DAY FREE TRIAL! Use the promo code HURRICANE30 for a 30-day free trial of all the premium information. Just go to: InsideTulsaSports.com/subscribe.asp Code expires January 31, 2015. Part of

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3905 S Memorial Dr Tulsa, OK 74145 9186654294 jaguartulsa.com

Setting the Standard in The American Once in a while it behooves one to step back, lift his head from where they are, and assess the situation from a 30,000-foot level. Well, that is what I am doing here in assessing the athletics at our beloved university. And the site is fantastic.

First and foremost, let me be the one to say “told you so” to those who doubted whether or not The University of Tulsa football coaching job was a quality AUSTIN CHADWICK -H U R R I C A N E E L I T E job. Let me remind everyone PUBLISHER that we turned down the best coordinators and up-and- R A D I O H O S T 9 7 . 1 F M coming coaches in the country. T H E S P O RT S A N I M A L Dr. Derrick Gragg decided on the absolute best (Statistically speaking over the last few years) offensive coordinator in the country. Enter Philip Montgomery, who’s lightning-fast pace and offensive schematics at Baylor have made the best programs look, quite frankly, stupid in trying to defend the Bears the last couple of years. Montgomery takes over a program that ranked 7th nationally in the amount of wins of any D1 program from 2005 to 2012. Yeah, the unprecedented success of 2012 was not a decade ago, it was two and a half years ago. Some pundits had us supporters thinking that we had gone back in time to 2003 where this program was on the verge of extinction. Over the last 10 years, the program has seen

facilities arise and the stadium renovated (To the tune of more than $37m), an overhaul in athletic support, and plans for development of a new indoor facility. Couple all that with the fact the salary of the head job for The University of Tulsa is believed to be in the range of $1.3m-$1.4m annually. One would have to think that anyone who claims it was a subpar job is simply not very smart. Montgomery will take over a Hurricane team that has decent talent and with his infusion of offensive philosophy, a young, energetic coaching staff, and the experience of two defensive coordinators, the Golden Hurricane will definitely be much improved next year. Then the sky is the limit thereafter.

In addition, our men’s basketball team surprised many on a national level by being able to not only compete, but lead the American Athletic Conference for the majority of the year. On the women’s side, Maltida Mossman turned the corner this year with her squad and we are seeing the fruits of their labor. In the fall sports, TU claimed conference championship after conference champion and the spring looks promising with soccer and golf. Overall, it is not very often that we get a chance to look at the big picture and I can tell you from being around the school and the athletic programs, as a whole it is extremely good and getting even better every season. Well done TU. Keep up the good work.

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THE University of Tulsa

2014-2015 HURRICAN Photos Provided by The University of Tulsa - TulsaHurricane.com

Rashad Smith led the Golden Hurricane in rebounding with a 6.0 average and was third on the team with an 8.4 scoring average.

The TU Band, along with the Hurricane spirit squads, was an integral part of the atmosphere at TU games this season.

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Head coach Frank Haith led his first Tulsa team to a 23-1 overall record, second-place in the American Athletic Conference and an NIT appearance.

Rashad Ray celebrates a 66-58 win over defending national champion UConn.

NE BASKETBALL REMEMBERED

A crowd of 7,314 fans attended the TulsaSMU game in early February

Guard Shaquille Harrison goes to the hoop against UConn’s sevenfooter Amida Brimah. Harrison will enter the 2015-16 season with 329 assists to rank eighth on the school’s all-time chart and 184 career steals to rank fifth on the school’s career chart.

Who’s that masked man cheering on the Golden Hurricane?

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THE University of Tulsa

James “Juice” Woodard shoots over the Big 12’s Player of the Year Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield. Woodard went on to earn first-team all-conference honors, while leading Tulsa in scoring with a 14.5 average.

Brandon Swannegan had a team high 49 blocked shots and with 118 career blocks moved into fifth place on the school’s career blocks list.

Marquel Curtis led the Hurricane to a first round NIT victory over William & Mary with 21 points.

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SPRING 2015

Junior D’Andre Wright averaged 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 2014-15.

’ve that you unity, t r m o m p o p e, u C ndous s each gam s. e nd Tulsa t a i m s e t r n h t a g e F u bro TU ame or th us win g nk you f son. You a a d e h e s t s lp y i e a h s h t am u’ve be and nt to need to apllpporrotgtrhat yovatedamoue,r team munityI, wa e b t m w e o t k s a u C a s h a t b s i ls age our dou mot ch g hletic and Tu srhtohw t aeds.vant e ntremenno doouubbtr,oyuoguht it ea e-cnoguarm rican At e TU Fans m o f A u rt m i Y w o ’s thank y dthtihsesreeason. ed usnad ghreelpatedhous w p ubpe” to the ne nity effo n y u a a s m o t m m t o a a e c r vid m r “esdt to I wan prog ng a Yaoteudporuor tea roggream sketball aitnwoeune tradleiticon of bei a h t b iv t r o u a p o t m a h n ul aasdva t, you shown nd allerhicaasna At ort tbm soumccee-scsofurt TtUhebnasekweA no doub ’s e players a rove h r r eff e t a u . h y t e e t ! i r O s e g . a o n c r t c u a a and n ” e e s e p Cro“nstfepr up tionfubeesintog baecothmm plished this y vided u adily im e u t s o o n i t You pro m r n isplayed thraadt ictioon f what we acco program d all yea d r d a a y a n s e h a a s h l a t ly u h t e f i d s n gr ud o etball rtsream succes fight and s and competed I .am pro ourrkpedlayeex m TU bask e e e ! O s w h e v t . a f c r o c f r a r n a e o e t e p f y r s h t e s s e Conf ectation toeuadr iglyuiy p sohaecdhitnhgi c s ues to b ence f x li e n e o o p i r t t i d d t m r d n e a u o n e o d e c e o y c e e confer llpyr pxclae h e ac a s t i e w ’m f d d I r t o a . y a m e a h d h and that e h e ason t w m t mceclye ud of nnd. gTrhitis was a se ede last ga enxdtresu a t o a e h I t s t d p . a h e t e n g k a m s r o fi h o I am pro e o t c e p taff w foruthth onpsioandshi encloe t of credit for cthataim aching s uthr rgouuygsh eC o o p c ll. e f x c e e o r n i d d t e e r u n d e e eoenf edceosnerfevre a sonproud of as we pro c h om x t e C s ’m f I r o . e m h e y a d t e e a la r to e swe ere nding fr a a t t guarmp s s t a y u t w i o t n d and succ the season. This f ip ronsetahseonla!sO I n u t. m has bee t fonrdthcoam sghula r staff an y u t n u t i o i o o d e i a h n r e p g s g r u n c n u m i a m f o a c f thr bra lot oour ll. com e Ch oftahsewTeulsa ing faronm u for em t creating more ehsaetrIvehaope profurodm onferenc o d y C s r t k e e h y t la r d h e t fo werpor ur p tstan s. T f and xcited abou eason! O and commuTnhiteysup ity hraisvebdeeonnocuampuour sW taf re e . r n regular s inughave. e are ies in the future mduay I a c fans a k in r m r o u b c t o o s m y a e r e t ls p o mmemor d at wor Tu the fi fwoar y tha r g e a u n h h o i t t y y a that I ho k e d m d e r a n o n h ealre out c ts a . Tha es t port fr ard to se camopuurs familie are esxkceittbeadllabmomuenre. our players are w The sup n r o o f d e k o iv t d a TU b the fu aff an have. W k in . We lo day I arr hat youspeciald memnoorwietshiant ourasdty har2d0a1t5w-1o6r season t the first y a w ar! e anlease k ilies th ents P anreevaelrne betterrward toCseeen-ter next ye m s o r e m y ll la our fam a p o olds tb our for a e lookt fR U baske u eyn staffparnepdaratio6 nseasona. cW o r d u e o k special T t a h 1 15- at a p r! now t betteirn2g0you aCllenter next yea Please k n e v e n a s old ! ion for out Reyn Go TU d e preparat k c a p all at a , ing you Sincerely Go TU! , Sincerely

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THE University of Tulsa

Ashley Clark, Kelsee Grovey and Kadan Brady celebrate after Grovey knocked down two consecutive three-pointers late to lead the Hurricane to a comeback victory over Tulane to clinch third-place for the Tulsa women.

Senior Kadan Brady scored 7.4 points per game and had a season-high 23 points against Lamar.

Captain ‘Cane gets s fist bump at a TU women’s basketball game.

Ashley Clark scores two of her 13 points in a Tulsa home game against No.1-ranked UCONN.

Tulsa’s Matilda Mossman and UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma meet before the Tulsa vs. #1-Uconn game at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on February 21, 2015.

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After getting two teeth knocked out in a game at UConn 10 days earlier, Ashley Hughes was at her normal 110% in a win over the Houston Cougars.

A show of Sportsmanship — The Tulsa women’s basketball team was traveling via charter airline to play at the University of Cincinnati on March 2, but the Cinci women’s team was stranded in Dallas due to snow and ice. The Cincinnati team made it to Tulsa via bus and joined the Tulsa women on the same charter flight.

Senior Mariah Turner finished second on the team with an 11.9 scoring average and 5.5 rebounding average.

The Tulsa women finished the season with an overall 18-14 record, placed third in the American Athletic Conference behind nationally-ranked UConn and USF with a 12-6 record and advanced to the second round of the WNIT.

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THE University of Tulsa

TULSA’S MONTGOMERY SIGNS 20 IN FIRST 15th, and his coaching staff had less than three weeks to recruit to the school. NCAA rules prohibited college coaches from getting back on the road recruiting during the dead period, Dec. 15 - Jan. 15.

Philip Montgomery

In his first recruiting class, University of Tulsa Head Coach Philip Montgomery signed a total of 20 newcomers that will join the Golden Hurricane football team in 2015. Three of the newcomers are already enrolled in classes and are participating in spring drills, while a total of 17 players signed national letters of intent in February. Montgomery, introduced as the Tulsa head coach on December

David Richardson

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Tulsa’s 2015 class totals five players from Oklahoma, 12 players from the state of Texas and one each from Arkansas, Florida and Kansas. One student-athlete from Oklahoma is transferring from an outof-state school, while the player from Florida comes to Tulsa via the Kansas junior college ranks. “I’m thrilled about our first class. We had a short amount of time, where we basically had to do a years’ worth of recruiting in about 10 days. Our coaches did

Keidrien Wadley

an outstanding job,” said Montgomery. “We were able to get on a lot of tremendous kids. We signed some key guys from the state of Oklahoma who will really help elevate our program and we went heavy into the Texas area. We were able to get some kids out of the Metroplex and Central Texas. I’m excited what they’re going to bring to us.” Montgomery emphasized that speed was one characteristic needed in this year’s recruiting class. “We added speed across the board. There are a lot of things we can coach, but speed isn’t one of them. This group brings some solid intangibles,” added Montgomery.

“We added high morale, high character kids who are excited about being in this class, being a part of our football program and being a part of this University.

“Our coaches did a tremendous job evaluating and making quick decisions on guys, and getting them here for visits. We had some guys that flipped from other commitments to come on board. Our community and our players did an outstanding job in the recruiting process in those weekends that we had

Chad President

Chris Minter

T GOLDEN HURRICANE RECRUITING CLASS

Cristian Williams

them here. I’m excited about their help and I am thrilled about the direction the program is heading,” said Montgomery.

Among the newcomers, nine are on offense and 10 on defense, while one is listed as an athlete. On offense, the Hurricane signed four linemen, two quarterbacks, and one player each at running back, receiver and tight end. Defensively, Tulsa added a total of three linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs. The three student-athletes al-

Blake Browning

ready enrolled in classes include linebacker Khari Harding, a transfer from Auburn University, defensive back J.R. Reed and quarterback Chad President. Harding played two years at Auburn and is returning to the state of Oklahoma, where he played his prep football at Edmond Santa Fe High School. Reed sat out last fall after finishing his prep career in 2013 at Prestonwood Christian Academy in Texas.

President is one of two quarterback signees to join the Hurricane ranks. He was one of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks this year from Temple (Texas) High School, where he threw for over 2,300 yards, rushed for another 878 yards and totaled 29 touchdowns. Tulsa’s other QB signee, Will Hefley, was recently named a Parade Magazine honorable mention All-American from Pulaski Academy in Little Rock,

Chris Ivy

Arkansas. Hefley threw for nearly 10,000 yards and had 128 passing touchdowns in his career, while posting a 24-2 record as the starter. The secondary was one area that the Tulsa coaching staff focused on with this year’s class.

“The first day that I got here, I sat down and looked at our roster. said Montgomery. “When you start looking at where we needed help and where do we have deficiencies, it jumped out that our back seven needed help. We just didn’t have the depth back there, so we had to put a big emphasis on that in our recruiting and went out and found guys that have length and speed, guys that are natural corners, guys that will come downhill and be physical at the point of attack. We also felt we had to add depth at the linebacker spot. We feel that we accomplished both of those goals in the short amount of time that we had to recruit.” Tulsa signed five defensive backs, all from the state of Texas - J.R. Reed, Reggie Robinson, David Richardson II, Keidrien Wadley and Cristian Williams - and another player, Oklahoma’s McKinley Whitfield. Listed as an athlete,

McKinley Whitfield

Michael Anderson

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THE University of Tulsa Whitfield could end up playing in the secondary, and see playing time on offense. Auburn transfer Khari Harding spent two years at the SEC powerhouse, while freshman Diamon Cannon brings good size and tremendous ability from Killeen, Texas.

Austin Grotts

Tulsa also added three defensive linemen, who each played at the end position in high school, including two Oklahoma first-team All-State performers - Michael Anderson and Austin Grotts both from nearby towns Owasso and Bixby. Cedar Hill (Texas) product Trevis Gipson was named by the Dallas Morning News as one of the Dallas area’s top-100 players.

In addition to the two quarterbacks, four of the nine offensive signees came up front on the offensive line - JUCO transfer Alex Pagonis, Oklahoma All-State selection Tristan Wyatt, Christopher Ivy from Kansas and state of Texas signee Blake Browning.

“Everything starts upfront, and you have to be good on both sides of the ball upfront,” said Montgomery. “We wanted to make sure we addressed those needs from an offensive line standpoint.

Trevis Gipson

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Javon Thomas

The thing we’re looking for on the offensive line more than anything is length, size and feet. Guys that can run and get out and be athletic, but guys that have some length that can create some leverage, and create power and create strike at the point of attack. You still need to have suddenness to play on the offensive line just like you do at receiver, so we went out and found guys that had those type of characteristics and can bring those intangibles to our offensive line.” Also on the offensive side of the ball, Tulsa brought in a pair of teammates from Texarkana’s Texas High School-receiver Jarion Anderson, who had 645 receiving yards and nine TDs in 2014, and running back Javon Thomas, who had 1,181 yards in total offense and scored 16 touchdowns with his big 6’2”, 215-pound frame. The Hurricane also added tight end/fullback Chris Minter, who

Will Hefley

Jarion Anderson

joins his prep teammate Chad President in Tulsa’s signing class.

Montgomery is excited about this first class, and given the short amount of time that the Tulsa coaching staff had to recruit makes it even more pleasing to him.

“Out of this first class, and I’ve told all these guys as we’re recruiting them, I’d love to red-shirt all of them. Are you going to be better at age 18, or are you going to be better at 21? But at the end of the day, we have to make sure that we have the top 11 guys on the field. Whoever those 11 are, whether it’s a senior or a freshman, the top 11 guys will be on the field competing every Saturday - the guys that can light it up, the guys who can create opportunities and create points, or create turnovers on the other side of the ball.”

Tristan Wyatt

Diamon Cannon

2015 Tulsa Football Signees Name

Pos. Ht.

Wt.

Cl.

Jarion Anderson

5-9 167 Fr.

Texarkana, Texas/Texas HS

Michael Anderson

6-3 235 Fr.

Owasso, Okla./Owasso HS

Blake Browning

6-0 290 Fr.

Pflugerville, Texas/Hendrickson HS

Diamon Cannon

6-2 210 Fr.

Killeen, Texas/Shoemaker HS

Trevis Gipson

6-5 210 Fr.

Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill HS

Austin Grotts

6-3 250 Fr.

Broken Arrow, Okla./Bixby HS

#Khari Harding

6-2 220 Jr-TR Edmond, Okla./Auburn University

Will Hefley

6-5 205 Fr.

Little Rock, Ark./Pulaski Academy

Christopher Ivy Jr.

6-4 295 Fr.

Wichita, Kan./Wichita Heights HS

Chris Minter

TE/FB 6-3 230 Fr.

Alex Pagonis

6-5 320 Jr-JC Gulf Breeze, Fla./Fort Scott CC

*Chad President

6-3 206 Fr.

Temple, Texas/Temple HS

*J.R. Reed

6-1 185 Fr.

Frisco, Texas/Prestonwood Christian Acad.

David Richardson II

5-11 170 Fr.

Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall HS

Reggie Robinson

6-1

Cleburne, Texas/Cleburne HS

Javon Thomas

6-2 215 Fr.

Texarkana, Texas/Texas HS

Keidrien Wadley

6-1 185 Fr.

Irving, Texas/Ranchview HS

McKinley Whitfield

ATH 6-4 194 Fr.

Spiro, Okla./Spiro HS

Cristian Williams

6-0 170 Fr.

Dallas, Texas/Lincoln HS

Tristan Wyatt

6-5 290 Fr.

Shawnee, Okla./Shawnee HS

185 Fr.

Hometown/Previous School

Temple, Texas/Temple HS

*Enrolled at mid-semester #Mid-semester transfer from Auburn

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Javon Thomas Keidrien Wadley McKinley Whitfield Cristian Williams Tristan Wyatt

RB DB ATH DB OL

6-2 6-1 6-4 6-0 6-5

215 185 194 170 290

Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr.

Texarkana, Texas/Texas HS Irving, Texas/Ranchview HS Spiro, Okla./Spiro HS Dallas, Texas/Lincoln HS Shawnee, Okla./Shawnee HS

Coaches Association (KFCA) all-state team honors . . . was a first-team all-conference and secondteam all-city selection as a senior . . . earned honorable mention all-city merits his junior season . . . high school coach was Terry Harrison . . . chose Tulsa over South Dakota and Missouri State.

Chris Minter TE/FB 6-3 230 Fr. Temple, Texas/Temple HS THE University of Tulsa Was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at Temple High School . . . caught 21 passes for

2015 TULSA FOOTBALL NEWCOMER BIOS *Enrolled at mid-semester #Mid-semester transfer from Auburn

2015 Tulsa Football Newcomer Bios

Jarion Anderson WR 5-9 167 Fr. Texarkana, Texas/Texas HS Was a three-year letterwinner and starter at Texas High School . . . started three seasons at receiver and his junior season at cornerback . . . totaled 645 yards for a 15.7 average and nine TDs his senior season . . . earned first-team all-district and all-area both his junior and senior seasons . . . compiled 540 yards and five touchdowns on 30 receptions his junior season . . . caught 20 passes for 340 yards and two TDs as a sophomore . . . high school coach was Barry Norton . . . chose Tulsa over South Dakota, Central Arkansas and Southern Illinois. Michael Anderson DE 6-3 235 Fr. Owasso, Okla./Owasso HS Was a three-year letterwinner and starter at Owasso High School . . . started three years at defensive end . . . helped lead his team to a 10-2 record and state semifinal appearance as a senior . . . was credited with 279 career tackles and 27 sacks . . . had 90 tackles and 19 sacks his senior season . . . earned first-team all-state accolades by the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman as a senior . . . was named the District 6A-1 Co-Defensive Player of the Year his senior season . . . tallied five sacks and a fumble recovery in a playoff opener against Westmoore . . . totaled seven tackles, one sack and six QB hits in a 7-6 win over eventual state champions Jenks . . . ranked as the 12 th top prospect in the state of Oklahoma by Rivals.com . . . compiled 95 tackles and six sacks as a junior . . . also tallied 94 stops and two sacks in his sophomore season . . . high school coach was Bill Patterson . . . chose Tulsa over Air Force, Arkansas State, New Mexico and North Texas.

Blake Browning OL 6-0 290 Fr. Pflugerville, Texas/Hendrickson HS Was a three-year letterwinner and starter at Hendrickson High School . . . started all three years on the offensive line as a center and guard . . . also played on the defensive side of the ball as a sophomore . . . was on 13-6A District championship teams as a sophomore and junior and was Bi-District champions his senior season . . . started his senior year at center, when he had 120 decleators . . . earned first-team all-district and all-Suburban league both his junior and senior seasons . . . was an all-Central Texas selection as a senior . . . played both center and guard as a junior and was credited with 135 decleators . . . was named to the Austin-American Statesman’s Central Texas Super Sophomore Team . . . high school coach was Chip Killian . . . chose Tulsa over Navy, Air Force and UTEP. Diamon Cannon LB 6-2 210 Fr. Killeen, Texas/Shoemaker HS Was a two-year starter at Robert Shoemaker High School . . . played quarterback and receiver on offense and linebacker and safety on defense . . . earned academic all-district accolades as a senior . . . was a second-team all-district selection as a junior . . . high school coach was Channon Hall . . . chose Tulsa over Nevada, Northern Illinois, UTSA, North Texas and New Mexico State. (pronounced die-mon) Trevis Gipson DE 6-5 210 Fr. Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill HS Played his senior season at Cedar Hill High School . . . named to the Dallas Morning News top-100 for the Dallas-area, coming in rated No. 91 . . . began his prep career at Richardson Berkner High School . . . high school coach was Joey McGuire. Austin Grotts DE 6-3 250 Fr. Broken Arrow, Okla./Bixby HS Was a three-year letterwinner and starter at Bixby High School . . . helped lead his team to a 12-1 record and state championship as a senior . . . played tight end and defensive end . . . tallied 122 tackles, 23 quarterback sacks and forced three fumbles in two years on defense . . . was credited with 79 tackles and 20 sacks his senior campaign . . . earned first-team all-state honors by the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman . . . was named the 6A-2 Defensive Lineman of the Year as a senior . . . named to the Oklahoma Coaches Association (OCA) all-state team . . . compiled 43 tackles and three sacks his junior season . . . caught two passes for 25 yards as a sophomore . . . high school coach was Loren Montgomery . . . chose Tulsa over Air Force and Arkansas State. Khari Harding LB 6-2 220 Jr-TR Edmond, Okla./Auburn University Transferred to Tulsa from Auburn University . . . enrolled at mid-semester . . . played in two games as a true freshman in 2013 and saw action in three contests in 2014 . . . was credited with four career tackles, including three stops his sophomore season . . . was an all-state safety at Edmond Santa Fe High School his senior season . . . collected 109 tackles and three interceptions his senior season . . . earned all-state honors by the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman as a senior . . . was ranked as the No. 3 player in the state of Oklahoma and No. 31 defensive back in the nation by 247Sports . . . was ranked as the 11th top prospect in Oklahoma by Rivals.com his senior season . . . also earned PrepStar all-Midwest accolades and was an all-Oklahoma selection by MaxPreps . . . was also a member of silver medalist Team USA in the 2012 IFAF U-19 World Championships. (pronounced kah-har-ree)

Will Hefley QB 6-5 205 Fr. Little Rock, Ark./Pulaski Academy Was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at Pulaski Academy . . . had 9,795 passing yards and 128 touchdowns in his career, while completing 67.1 percent of his passes (661-of-985) . . . posted a 24-2 record as the starting quarterback . . . was named a Parade Magazine honorable mention All-America team . . . was named the Arkansas Class 5A Player of the Year as a senior, while leading his team to a 13-1 record and the state title . . . was named the Class 5A state championship game MVP . . . completed 72-percent of his passes (332-of-462) for 4,897 yards and 62 touchdowns his senior season . . . tied a national record with eight TD passes in the first-half of a game his senior season . . . completed 68-percent of his passes (264-of-400) for 4,165 yards and 54 touchdowns as a junior . . . high school coach was Kevin Kelley. Christopher Ivy OL 6-4 295 Fr. Wichita, Kan./Wichita Heights HS Was a two-year letterwinner and starter at Wichita Heights High School . . . started two years at left tackle, helping his team advance to the state quarterfinals both years . . . earned Kansas Football Coaches Association (KFCA) all-state team honors . . . was a first-team all-conference and secondteam all-city selection as a senior . . . earned honorable mention all-city merits his junior season . . . high school coach was Terry Harrison . . . chose Tulsa over South Dakota and Missouri State. Chris Minter TE/FB 6-3 230 Fr. Temple, Texas/Temple HS Was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at Temple High School . . . caught 21 passes for 332 yards and six TDs as a senior . . . earned first-team all-district and honorable mention all-state accolades his senior season . . . also earned first-team all-district honors his junior season . . . high school coach was Mike Spradlin. Alex Pagonis OL 6-5 320 Jr-JC Gulf Breeze, Fla./Fort Scott CC Played two years at Fort Scott Community College . . . helped pave the way for an offense that gained R R I .C. A. earned N E E Lsecond-team ITE | SPR I N G 2 0 1Conference 5 167.9 yards rushing all-Jayhawk and all-region accolades 18 HinU2014 as a sophomore guard . . . before that played at Gulf Breeze (Fla.) High School . . . junior college head coach was Curtis Horton . . . chose Tulsa over Buffalo, Tennessee State and Southeastern

332 yards and six TDs as a senior . . . earned first-team all-district and honorable mention all-state accolades his senior season . . . also earned first-team all-district honors his junior season . . . high school coach was Mike Spradlin.

Alex Pagonis OL 6-5 320 Jr-JC Gulf Breeze, Fla./Fort Scott CC Played two years at Fort Scott Community College . . . helped pave the way for an offense that gained 167.9 yards rushing in 2014 . . . earned second-team all-Jayhawk Conference and all-region accolades as a sophomore guard . . . before that played at Gulf Breeze (Fla.) High School . . . junior college head coach was Curtis Horton . . . chose Tulsa over Buffalo, Tennessee State and Southeastern Louisiana. Chad President QB 6-3 206 Fr. Temple, Texas/Temple HS Enrolled at mid-semester . . . was a three-year letterwinner at Temple High School . . . led his team to an overall 13-2 record and the Texas Class 5A state championship game his senior season . . . was named the 17-5A Offensive Player of the Year as a senior . . . completed 146-of-246 passes for 2,391 yards and 23 touchdowns, while rushing for 878 yards, six TDs and an 8.2-yard average his senior season . . . was the third-rated senior quarterback in the state of Texas by Rivals.com and the No. 9 dual-threat quarterback in the nation . . . ranked as the 28th overall prospect in the state of Texas by Rivals.com . . . was ESPN.com’s No. 279th prospect in the nation . . . was also ranked 171st nationally and 21st in the state of Texas by MaxPreps . . . high school coach was Mike Spradlin . . . chose Tulsa over Baylor. J.R. Reed DB 6-1 185 Fr. Frisco, Texas/Prestonwood Christian Enrolled at mid-semester . . . was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at Prestonwood Christian Academy . . . was the only two-way starter as a senior at Prestonwood in 2013 . . . started as a receiver and defensive back his senior season . . . helped lead his team to a 12-2 record and the state championship game as a senior . . . caught 18 receptions for 308 yards and three TDs . . . tallied 53 tackles, three TFLs and five interceptions, while returning three for touchdowns his senior season . . . earned first-team all-district and second-team all-state accolades as a senior . . . his father, Jake, was a receiver for the Minnesota Vikings . . . high school coach was Chris Cunningham . . . chose Tulsa over SMU, Akron and UNLV.

David Richardson II DB 5-11 170 Fr. Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall HS Was a two-year letterman and starter at Rockwall High School . . . started both his junior and senior seasons at cornerback . . . was credited with 50 tackles, 10 pass break-ups, four interceptions and three caused fumbles as a senior . . . totaled 50 tackles, five interceptions and five pass breakups his junior campaign . . . earned 12-5A first-team all-district honors both his senior seasons . . . also earned honorable mention all-state accolades as a junior . . . high school coach was Mickey Moss . . . chose Tulsa over Abilene Christian. Reggie Robinson DB 6-1 185 Fr. Cleburne, Texas/Cleburne HS Had 45 tackles, two interceptions and three pass break-ups as a senior at Cleburne High School . . . on offense, caught 17 passes for 269 yards and four TDs . . . also returned 11 kickoffs for 309 yards for a 28.1 yard average . . . was a two-time all-district selection . . . high school coach was Jeff Merket . . . chose Tulsa over Stanford, Minnesota, Kansas State, North Texas and Houston. Javon Thomas RB 6-2 215 Fr. Texarkana, Texas/Texas HS Was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at Texas High School . . . totaled 1,784 rushing yards and 511 receiving yards in his career . . . had 814 rushing yards and caught 31 passes for 367 yards for a total of 16 touchdowns as a senior . . . earned first-team all-district honors as a senior . . . rushed for 466 yards and five touchdowns on 50 carries, while catching seven passes for 144 yards and two TDs his junior season . . . was a second-team all-district selection as a junior . . . high school coach was Barry Norton . . . chose Tulsa over New Mexico, Navy, Rice, Toledo and UL-Monroe. Keidrien Wadley DB 6-1 185 Fr. Irving, Texas/Ranchview HS Played quarterback and cornerback at Ranchview High School . . . helped lead his team to a 9-3 record his senior season . . . completed 116-of-179 passes for 2,029 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior . . . also ran for 1,558 yards, 25 TDs and 8.4 yards per carry . . . high school coach was Terry Smith . . . chose Tulsa over Nevada. (pronounced Key-dren) McKinley Whitfield ATH 6-4 194 Fr. Spiro, Okla./Spiro HS Played quarterback and safety . . . was named the Times-Record Oklahoma Offensive Player of the Year . . . rushed for 1,223 yards and 14 touchdowns on 128 carries his senior season, while passing for 892 yards and eight TDs . . . was ranked No. 9 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list of the state’s top college recruits . . . ranked as the 11th top prospect in the state of Oklahoma by Rivals.com . . . was named to the Oklahoma Coaches Association (OCA) all-state team as a senior . . . earned honorable mention all-state honors by the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman his senior season . . . chose Tulsa over Purdue, Houston, Memphis, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wyoming. Cristian Williams DB 6-0 170 Fr. Dallas, Texas/Lincoln HS Was a three-time all-district selection at Dallas Lincoln High School . . . high school coach was John Towels . . . chose Tulsa over SMU and Wake Forest. (pronounced Chris-tin) Tristan Wyatt OL 6-5 290 Fr. Shawnee, Okla./Shawnee HS Was a two-year letterwinner and starter as an offensive tackle at Shawnee High School . . . named to the Oklahoma Coaches Association (OCA) all-state team his senior season . . . was ranked No. 17 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list of the state’s top college recruits . . . earned first-team all-state honors by The Oklahoman as a senior . . . received all-district accolades as a senior . . . has only played four years of organized football . . . helped lead his team to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the state championship game as a junior . . . high school coach was Billy Brown.

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THE University of Tulsa

SIGNING DAY WHIRLWIND By Chris Harmon

On National Signing Day, the Golden Hurricane received 17 letters of intent for the class of 2015 to go along with three mid-term enrollees. It was an impressive haul for new head coach Philip Montgomery considering he had taken over the program less than two months earlier. The Hurricane had quite a flurry of activity in the last week, with a total of six commitments between January 31st and February 3rd, including two prospects that switched their pledges from other schools. Spiro (Okla.) safety McKinley Whitfield was getting a strong push from two Power Five programs, Dallas (Texas) Lincoln defensive back Cristian Williams had a late offer from Wake Forest, and TU saw one commit (Waco Midway DB Brenndan Johnson) flip back to Navy, a school he was previously committed to.

After all the drama was gone, TU held on to highly-rated recruits such as Whitfield, Owasso’s Michael Anderson and Cleburne (TX) safety Reggie Robinson. • RECRUITING ON A TANK OF GAS Philip Montgomery, like many past Tulsa coaches, emphasizes the priority of recruiting the state

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of Oklahoma’s top talent. While he and his staff didn’t sign a large number of in-state prospects, the ones TU did sign were some of the state’s best. Although there were only four instate signees, all four were listed in the Rivals.com Sooner State Rankings: #9 Michael Anderson (Owasso), #12 McKinley Whitfield (Spiro), #17 Tristan Wyatt (Shawnee) and #29 Austin Grotts (Bixby).

Those four were also part of the Oklahoman Super 30: #12 Anderson, #13 Whitfield, #20 Wyatt and #23 Grotts. Additionally, mid-term enrollee and Edmond native Khari Harding, a linebacker transfer from Auburn, was rated as the 11th-best prospect in Oklahoma by Rivals.com in 2013.

Whitfield was named the TimesRecord Oklahoma Offensive Player of the Year, while Grotts was named the District 6A-2 Defensive Lineman of the Year. Both were selected to the Oklahoma Coaches Association All-State Team, as was Wyatt. Anderson was chosen the District 6A-1 Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Anderson and Wyatt originally committed to Tulsa’s previous coaching staff and stayed solid with the Hurricane through the coaching change. Whitfield also committed to the previous staff, but decommitted after the coaching change. New TU coaches Bill Young, Brian Norwood and Calvin Lowry combined to pull Whitfield back into the fold in late December and help fight off strong overtures from Minnesota and Louisville. Bill Young is also credited with

identifying Grotts. Young has incredible ties to the Oklahoma high school coaching fraternity and should help TU keep talented Oklahomans at home in the future.

• OTHER RANKINGS OF INTEREST There are many other impressive rankings up and down the list of Tulsa signees, including a nationally ranked quarterback.

Four-star signal caller Chad President was rated by Rivals.com as the No. 9 dual-threat quarterback in the country and the No. 28 overall prospect in the state of Texas. He was also a member of the Rivals250, coming in at No. 212, as well as the VYPE Magazine DFW Area Top 115. President enrolled at TU in January and is currently going through spring practice with the Hurricane.

Tulsa’s other quarterback signee, Will Hefley, was the Arkansas Class 5A Player of the Year and was named one of the nation’s top ten quarterbacks by Parade Magazine. Cedar Hill (Texas) defensive end Trevis Gipson sat at No. 91 on the Dallas Morning News Area Top 100, while Dallas Lincoln defensive back Cristian Williams was included in the VYPE Magazine DFW Area Top 115. • BEATING OUT THE BIG BOYS

Over the last 12 years, the University of Tulsa has made a habit out of beating programs in Power Five

chance to really set the foundation and build a program and put your stamp on it.”

President had been a longtime Baylor commit before his switch at Christmas, and he also held offers from Texas, Houston and Texas Tech. conferences for a few prospects. Philip Montgomery is no stranger to that level of recruiting competition, and his new TU staff is continuing that trend.

In fact, mid-term signee Chad President was previously committed to one of the nation’s top programs, Baylor, where Montgomery was offensive coordinator last season. “Chad and I have had this deal going on for a couple years now, so he was firm with what he was doing

prior to my hiring here,” said Montgomery. “He gave me a call and I told him, ‘you need to sit down with your parents and your head football coach, you all talk about what you want to do and if you feel like something different needs to go on, then give me a call back and we’ll have a really high-level discussion on it’. But for him, I think he just looked at the opportunity to start fresh, start fresh with me here, start fresh in a program and have the

Cleburne (Texas) safety Reggie Robinson picked up early offers from Stanford, Kansas State, Minnesota, Houston and several others. McKinley Whitfield held offers from Purdue, Minnesota and Louisville. The list goes on. Four Tulsa signees held scholarship offers from programs in the Big 12, Big Ten, ACC and Pac 12 conferences. TU beat out regional Big 12 schools for two prospects. The biggest victim overall was Minnesota, which lost out on two of Tulsa’s signees.

IN FOCUS: TULSA SIGNEE WILL HEFLEY The visit gave Hefley a chance to bond with his future teammates, as a large number of other Tulsa commits were also on hand. “We all had a good chance to get to know each other,” he said. “They were all friendly and seemed very excited about Tulsa.”

By Chris Harmon

Little Rock (Ark.) Pulaski Academy quarterback Will Hefley was one of Tulsa’s earliest commitments back in June of 2014, and he remained solid with the Hurricane through its coaching change. Hefley is now looking forward to his college career at TU. “I was so excited for signing day,” he explained. “I had a great home visit with Coach (Philip) Montgomery the week before. We had a school assembly at 9:30 am on Signing Day. It was a big party.”

The 6-foot-4, 205 pound signal-caller made his official visit to TU back on January 16. “It went really well,” he described. “I had a lot of fun meeting the coaches and recruits and getting to know some of the players.”

Hefley also spent time with Hurricane coaches and got a glimpse of the new TU offense.

“I really like them. I talked a lot with Coach Montgomery and Coach (Sterlin) Gilbert, and they seem to have immense football knowledge and are great men,” said Hefley. “I learned some of the formations and a little about how he calls the plays. I was able to sit down and watch a few minutes of video with Coach Gilbert.”

In January, Hefley picked up a major accolade when he was named Parade All-American Honorable Mention. He was one of only ten quarterbacks selected overall.

“I am extremely honored. I know a lot of great players over the years have been named Parade All-Americans,” he said. “I am especially grateful to Coach Kevin Kelley and all of my teammates at Pulaski Academy. I could not have achieved any of this without them.”

Hefley was named the Arkansas Class 5A Player of the Year as a senior after leading the Bruins to a state title. He completed 332-of-462 passes for 4,897 yards and 62 touchdowns, connecting on 72-percent of his pass attempts with only 14 interceptions.

“It felt great to win the state championship. I felt like all my hard work had finally paid off, and I couldn’t have asked for a better senior season,” Hefley said. “It was a great way to end my career at Pulaski Academy. I was so proud of the way my team overcame all of the talk about how we wouldn’t be as good as previous teams. “I felt like I became a lot more aware in the pocket and a lot more mobile. I also feel like I became better at making reads.”

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THE University of Tulsa

TULSA ANNOUNCES 2015 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE vision will have UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, USF and Temple.

Tulsa kicks off the season with a home contest against Florida Atlantic of Conference USA on September 5. The teams will play the second leg of a two-game homeand-home series that began last season in Boca Raton, Florida.

Keevan Lucas

Seven 2014 bowl participants for Philip Montgomery’s first season as the University of Tulsa’s head coach are featured on the 2015 Golden Hurricane football schedule. Non-conference foe Oklahoma played in the Russell Athletic Bowl a year ago, while six bowl participants from 2014 come from the American Athletic Conference, including UCF (Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl), Cincinnati (Military Bowl), East Carolina (Birmingham Bowl) Houston (Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl), Memphis (Miami Beach Bowl) and Navy (San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl).

This season the American Athletic Conference will be divided in to two divisions. Tulsa is part of the West Division with Houston, Memphis, Navy, SMU and Tulane. The East Di22

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A week later, Tulsa and New Mexico renew a series with the game in Albuquerque on Sept. 12. The two teams last met in the 2009 season as Tulsa captured a 44-10 road win and improved its series record over the Lobos to 4-2. Tulsa continues its schedule on the road the following week, but this time will only have to travel down the Turner Turnpike to face the Oklahoma Sooners on Sept. 19.

“We’re excited to be opening the 2015 season against Florida Atlantic in front of our home fans,” said first-year Head Coach Philip Montgomery. “The first month of the season with challenging road games against New Mexico and Oklahoma will help prepare us for our schedule in the American Athletic Conference.” Following an open date, Tulsa will return to H.A. Chapman Stadium to open the conference

season against the Houston Cougars on Oct. 3. The Cougars, who finished the 2014 season with an 8-5 record and winners of the Armed Forces Bowl, lead the overall series 21-18. Tulsa’s final non-conference matchup will be a home game against Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 10. ULM and Tulsa will be meeting for the third time in school history, as the Hurricane leads the series 2-1. The last matchup came in the 2007 season as Tulsa claimed a 35-17 victory on the road.

“Six of our league opponents played in bowl games last year, including four of those teams coming to Chapman Stadium. It will be a very challenging and entertaining home schedule, one that we’ll need to have a home-field advantage with a packed stadium,” said Montgomery. “Our league games on the road will be just as important and competitive as two of the top-four teams in The American a year ago (Cincin-

Dane Evans

ricane hosts UCF on Nov. 7. It’s the first time UCF has returned to Chapman Stadium since the two teams met in the 2012 Conference USA Championship Game when Tulsa grabbed a 33-27 overtime victory. The Knights, 9-4 and 7-1 in league action in 2014, won last year’s meeting in Orlando by a score of 31-7.

Derrick Luetjen

nati and East Carolina) are tough matchups anywhere you play them.”

As Tulsa gets back into American Athletic Conference action, it will be a road game-home game schedule the remainder of the season for the Hurricane. Tulsa gets back into league play on Oct. 17 as the Hurricane travels to the East Coast to face the East Carolina Pirates. ECU had an 8-5 overall record and 5-3 league mark last season.

Tulsa returns to Chapman Stadium for its Homecoming with a matchup against the first of the three trichampions of the American Athletic Conference that the Hurricane will face in 2015, as the Memphis Tigers visit Chapman Stadium for an ESPNtelevised game on Friday night, Oct. 23. The Tigers finished the 2014 campaign with a 10-3 record and 7-1 league mark. Memphis leads the overall series 15-10, but Tulsa has won four of the last five meetings. A visit to Dallas, Texas, on Halloween weekend has the Hurricane facing the SMU Mustangs (Oct. 31). Tulsa captured a 38-28 win against the Mustangs last season for its eighth victory against 13 defeats in the series.

The month of November has Tulsa playing back-to-back games against two of The American’s tri-champions from a year ago, as the Hur-

Tulsa has a 5-3 series advantage against UCF.

A week later, Tulsa goes back on the road to renew a series with Cincinnati (Nov. 14), the 32nd meeting between the two teams. Former co-members of the Missouri Valley Conference, the two teams met for the first time in 1946 and last met in the 1997 season. Cincinnati leads the overall series 16-13-2. The Bearcats ended the 2014 campaign as tri-champions of The American with a 7-1 league mark and an overall 9-4 record.

American Athletic Conference newcomer Navy will close out Tulsa’s home slate as the Midshipmen come to Chapman Stadium on Nov. 21. It will be just the third meeting between the two schools, as each won on the others’ home field in the previous games. Navy grabbed a 29-0 win in 2004 in Tulsa, and two years later the Hurricane captured a 24-23 overtime victory in 2006. Navy closed out the 2014 season with a 17-16 victory over San Diego State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.

Tulsa closes out the regular season in New Orleans against the Tulane Green Wave on Nov. 28. The Hurricane leads the series against Tulane with a 9-2 record, while winning last year’s season opener in double overtime, 38-31. Tulsa lost the first meeting of the series in 1968, then won eight straight before dropping a seven-point road decision in 2013.

2015 SCHEDULE

SEPTEMBER 5 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 12 @ New Mexico 19 @ Oklahoma OCTOBER 3 HOUSTON* 10 LOUISIANA-MONROE 17 @ East Carolina* 23 (Fri.) MEMPHIS* (ESPN) – HOMECOMING 31 @ SMU* NOVEMBER 7 UCF* 14 @ Cincinnati* 21 NAVY* 28 @ Tulane* DECEMBER 5 American Athletic Conference Championship (ABC/ESPN) *American Athletic Conference games

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THE University of Tulsa

SETTLING IN: MEETING THE TULSA FOOTBALL STAFF BILL YOUNG CO-DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, DEFENSIVE LINE COACH Bill Young is in his second stint as an assistant coach at The University of Tulsa. He was appointed co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach on January 8, 2014.

In his first stop at Tulsa, Young joined John Cooper’s coaching staff, where he coached from 1980-84, coaching the defensive line all five seasons and serving as defensive coordinator from 1983-84. He then made the move with Cooper to Arizona State.

Young’s career has spanned more than 45 years at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. He has served as the defensive coordinator at prominent college football programs like Ohio State (1988–1995), Oklahoma (1996–1997), USC (1998–2000), Miami (2008), and Oklahoma State (2009–2012). Young coached in 19 bowl games throughout his collegiate coaching career. In 2014, Young was the head football coach at Yukon High School after spending the 2013 season as the defensive quality control coordinator at Wyoming. Young, who graduated from Oklahoma State in 1968, returned to OSU as defensive coordinator in 2009 for four seasons (2009-12). The Cowboys compiled a 20-5 record in Big 12 play from 2009-12, the best of all Big 12 teams during that span. OSU won a share of the Big 12 South title in 2010 and won the Big 12 outright in 2011. The Cowboys appeared in - and won - their first-ever BCS bowl game in 2011 with a victory over Stanford in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

With Young coordinating, the Oklahoma State defense was the nation’s most opportunistic from 2010-11, as the Cowboys forced an NCAA-best 78 turnovers 24

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over those two seasons. OSU led the nation with 44 turnovers forced in 2011 and was fifth with 34 in 2010. Oklahoma State also led the nation in turnover margin and fumbles recovered and ranked second in the nation in passes intercepted in 2011. OSU led the Big 12 in scoring defense in conference games and was 12th nationally in red zone defense. Young served the 2008 season as defensive coordinator at Miami (Fla.). Prior to his year at Miami, Young was part of the major turnaround at Kansas, where he was the defensive coordinator from 2002 through 2007.

His 2007 Jayhawks finished the year No. 12 nationally in total defense and fourth in scoring defense as KU won the Orange Bowl. It was the highest national ranking for a KU defense in 39 years. His 2005 Kansas squad led the Big 12 in rushing defense. Young spent three years coaching the defensive line at Arizona State (198587) before three straight stints as a defensive coordinator - Ohio State (1988-95), Oklahoma (1996-97) and USC (1998-2000). While at USC, Young’s Trojan defenders led the Pac-10 in total defense and were second nationally in takeaways. Young also coached the defensive line for the Detroit Lions in 2001. He spent six years in the Oklahoma high school ranks at Carl Albert and Putnam City West before returning to OSU as a graduate assistant coach. Young’s collegiate coaching stops have included OSU, where he coached the offensive and defensive lines from 1976 through 1978. He also spent the 1979 season at Iowa State as defensive tackles coach

Bill Young

before moving to Tulsa.

As a player, Young was an outside linebacker and defensive end at Oklahoma State. He was a three-year starter and an academic All-Big Eight honoree. He received OSU’s outstanding football award in 1967, when he was also named honorable mention all-conference. Born in Hereford, Texas, Young attended Grant High School in Oklahoma City. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Oklahoma State in 1968 and a master’s degree in education at Central Oklahoma in 1971. His wife, Lawana, is also a native Oklahoman and a graduate of Northeastern State in Tahlequah. BRIAN NORWOOD

CO-DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, SAFETIES COACH Brian Norwood was appointed co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at The University of Tulsa on January 11, 2015.

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Norwood has spent the previous seven seasons on the Baylor coaching staff, including the last four as Associate Head Coach and safeties coach. From 2008 to 2010, Norwood served as defensive coordinator, and oversaw a defense that totaled nine All-Big 12 honorees and two All-Americans. Norwood has been involved in 12 bowl games in his 25-year collegiate coaching career with coaching stops at Arizona, Richmond, Navy, Texas Tech, Penn State and Baylor.

During Baylor’s 2013 Big 12 championship season, Norwood coached first-team All-American and NFL draftee Ahmad Dixon. Both of Baylor’s 2011 starting safeties, Mike Hicks and Sam Holl, earned All-Big 12 honors that season. Holl finished second on the squad with 113 total tackles and Hicks was third with 105 – each had three interceptions. In 2010, Norwood coached first-team All-Big 12 honoree Byron Landor, who totaled 127 tackles. Prior to Baylor, Norwood spent seven seasons as safeties coach on College Football Hall of Fame head coach Joe Paterno’s Penn State staff.

Norwood began his career as a graduate assistant coach at Arizona (199091), before spending three seasons (1992-94) as outside linebackers coach at Richmond. He then spent five years at the U.S. Naval Academy (1995-99) as defensive backs coach and one season at Texas Tech (2000) as defensive backs coach before moving to Penn State in 2001. During Norwood’s seven seasons at Penn State, the Nittany Lions led the Big Ten in pass efficiency defense twice (2004 and 2005) and finished third on two occasions (2003 and 2006). Nationally, Penn State ranked among the nation’s top 25 in pass efficiency defense four times including a No. 4 ranking in 2004. At the end of the 2007 regular season, the Nittany Lions’ defense ranked sixth nationally against the run (87.92 ypg), eighth in scoring defense (17.58 ppg), ninth in total defense (306.58 ypg) and 44th in pass efficiency defense (119.14

rating).

Norwood coached 2006 Big Ten interceptions leader and first-team All-Big Ten safety Anthony Scirrotto, and developed All-Big Ten and NFL defensive backs Shawn Mayer (led conference with 144 tackles as a senior) and Calvin Lowry, now on the Tulsa coaching staff as receivers coach.

At Navy, Norwood tutored Sean Andrews, who earned second-team All-America honors in 1995, as well as Brian Norwood Robert Green, an All-Independents team selection. In Norwood’s second season in Annapolis, Navy fashioned receiver at Baylor in 2014. Brianna its best record since 1978 is completing her senior year on at 9-3 and registered a 42-38 victory the George Mason Masonette Dance over California in the 1996 Aloha Bowl. With Norwood on staff, the Mid- Team, while Zaccariah is a freshman shipmen posted back-to-back winning at George Washington University. seasons (1996 and 1997) for the first time since a five-year run of winning STERLIN GILBERT campaigns ended in 1982. CO-OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR, In his lone season at Texas Tech, QUARTERBACKS AND RECEIVERS Norwood coached strong safety Kevin COACH Curtis, a first-team All-Big 12 honoree Sterlin Gilbert was named to The who shared the Red Raiders’ MVP University of Tulsa coaching staff honor. The Red Raiders played in the on December 22, 2014. He serves 2000 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl. as Tulsa’s co-offensive coordinator, Norwood, who calls Honolulu, Hawai’i while also coaching the receivers and and Glenarden, Md., home, graduated quarterbacks. from the University of Hawai’i in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in communi- Prior to his appointment at Tulsa, Gilbert was on Dino Babers’ staff at cation. He was a four-year letterman Bowling Green State University for as a cornerback/safety for the Rainone season, serving as co-offensive bows from 1983 through 1987 and coordinator and receivers coach. In received the team’s Most Improved his only year, the Falcons averaged Defensive Back award as a senior. 432.9 yards to rank 42nd nationally He and his wife Tiffiney have five chil- for total yards, averaging 173 yards on dren: Gabriel, Jordan, Levi, Brianna the ground and 259 yards passing. He and Zaccariah. helped coach BGSU to a victory over Gabriel was a member of George South Alabama in the 2014 Camellia Mason’s 2006 men’s basketball Final Bowl in Montgomery, AL. Four team and plays professionally Before his stint at Bowling Green, in the Philippines, where he has been Gilbert was the offensive coordinator a key member of the Philippines’ at Eastern Illinois for two seasons, national basketball team. Jordan has where he was named FootballScoop’s played wide receiver in the NFL since FCS Coordinator of the Year in 2013. 2009 and is currently with the DenThe Panthers led the nation in yards ver Broncos. Levi was a senior wide HURRICANE ELITE

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THE University of Tulsa first playoff win in 12 years. He was named the West Texas High School Coach of the Year in 2008.

Gilbert developed a name for himself as a prolific offensive coach at Cooper High School in Abilene during the 2006 and 2007 seasons when he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. His 2006 offense led 5A with 3,172 yards passing. In 2007 the team advanced to the Texas Class 3A playoffs.

Sterlin Gilbert

per game (589.5) and points per game (48.2) in 2013. In addition, EIU averaged 372.4 yards per game through the air and 217.1 yards on the ground.

Under the guidance of Gilbert, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was named the Walter Payton Award winner, the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, given to the nation’s best player. Garoppolo threw for 5,050 yards and 53 touchdowns in 2013. During his two seasons under Gilbert’s guidance, he threw for 8,873 yards and 84 scores. In Gilbert’s first season as the offensive coordinator he helped direct the Panthers’ up-tempo offense, which ranked sixth in the nation in passing offense, eighth in total offense and 12th in scoring offense. EIU averaged 470.9 yards per game, while scoring 36.5 points per contest. In 2012, Eastern Illinois’ offense set several school records including touchdown passes with 34. Gilbert came to EIU following a successful career as a prep coach in Texas. He served as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Temple High School where the team advanced to the Texas Class 5A playoffs.

Prior to joining the staff at Temple High School, Gilbert served as the head coach at San Angelo Lake View High School for three seasons (2008-10). Gilbert rebuilt a program that had won only three games in three years prior to his arrival to a team that won the 2008 BiDistrict Championship and the school’s 28

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Gilbert’s first collegiate coaching experience was as a graduate assistant at Houston in 2005 when the Cougars earned a trip to the Fort Worth Bowl. Gilbert assisted with coaching the quarterbacks and running backs. His first job was as the quarterbacks and running backs coach at Springtown High School from 200305. A Texas native, Gilbert was a two-time All-Lone Star Conference quarterback at Angelo State in 2000 and 2001, while serving as team captain both those seasons. Gilbert earned his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology with a minor in History from Angelo State in 2002. MATT MATTOX

CO-OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR, OFFENSIVE LINE COACH Matt Mattox was appointed to the position of co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at The University of Tulsa on December 22, 2014.

yards and more than 3,000 rushing yards.

Mattox spent six years as an offensive line/tight ends coach in the junior college ranks. He served as the offensive coordinator during the 2012 season at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. In his one season at CCC, Mattox coached five offensive players that earned all-conference honors. His offensive unit averaged 370 yards per game and 28.8 points per contest finishing the year at 6-4. Prior to his one season at Coffeyville, Mattox was the offensive line/tight ends coach at Butler County Community College in Kansas. During five seasons with the school he helped coach the program to four conference and NJCAA Region VI Championships. In 2007 and 2008 he was part of a staff that coached Butler to the NJCAA National Championship while losing in the NJCAA National Championship game in 2010. He coached 31 all-conference offensive linemen and six junior college All-Americans. Mattox began his coaching career at the University of Houston under Art Briles, first working with the football program as an assistant strength coach in 2005 and then as a graduate assistant, coaching offensive tackles in 2006. Houston posted a 10-4 record in 2006, winning the Conference USA Championship

Previously, Mattox spent one season on Dino Babers’ staff at Bowling Green State University as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. In that season, Mattox helped coach BGSU to a win in the 2014 Camellia Bowl over South Alabama. The Falcons averaged 432.9 yards to rank 42nd nationally for total yards in 2014, while averaging 173 yards on the ground and 259 yards passing.

Before his move to Bowling Green, Mattox coached the offensive line at Eastern Illinois University for one season, helping that offense amass over 8,000 yards in 2013, including 5,000-plus passing

Matt Mattox

game to make an appearance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

A native of Holton, Kan., Mattox was a second-team junior college All-American playing tight end at Butler County Community College. He played his final two seasons at Houston for Art Briles, moving from tight end to offensive tackle prior to his senior season. As a senior, Mattox earned secondteam All-Conference USA honors at offensive tackle as the Cougars went 7-6 and played in the Hawai’i Bowl. Mattox earned his bachelor’s degree in sports administration with a minor in health from Houston in 2005. He and his wife, Stacey, have two children, Kirby and Macey. JERMIAL ASHLEY

DEFENSIVE LINE COACH Defensive line coach Jermial Ashley was named to the Golden Hurricane coaching staff on January 12, 2015.

Ashley spent the previous two seasons (2013-14) coaching the defensive line at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas. In his first season, the Cardinal defense led the Southwest Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC) for total defense, rushing defense, scoring defense and quarterback sacks. TVCC posted a

10-2 record in 2013, while winning the SWJCFC title, regional championship and the Heart of Texas Bowl crown with a 72-23 win over Mesa (Ariz.) CC. TVCC repeated as 2014 Conference, Regional and Heart of Texas Bowl Champions, while compiling an overall 12-0 record.

In 2013, Ashley coached the Conference Defensive Player of the Year and NJCAA first-team All-American Jhaustin Thomas. Thomas and fellow defensive lineman Duval Jackson finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the nation for sacks. In 2014, two of his defensive linemen, Manasseh Miles and DeVonte’ Fields, were onetwo on the team for sacks and tackles for lost yardage.

Before his stint at TVCC, Ashley spent three seasons working with the defensive line at Oklahoma State University under the tutelage of current TU co-defensive coordinator Bill Young. During his time at OSU, Ashley helped coach three defensive linemen that earned All-Big 12 honors, including Ugo Chinasa, Jamie Blatnik and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Calvin Barnett. He coached in three bowl games with Oklahoma State-the 2010 Alamo Bowl, 2011 Fiesta Bowl and 2012 Heart of Texas Bowl.

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Ashley attended Keller Fossil Ridge High School, then attended Tyler Junior College where he was an NJCAA All-America defensive end. He went to the University of Kansas to continue his education and playing career. Ashley was a two-year starting defensive end for the Jayhawks, earning All-Big 12 honors both in 2004 and 2005.

Following his playing career, Ashley signed a free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns. He also spent a few years in private business before entering the coaching profession at Oklahoma State in 2010.

Jermial Ashley

Ashley earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Kansas in 2008. AARON FLETCHER

Aaron Fletcher CORNERBACKS COACH Aaron Fletcher joined The University of Tulsa football coaching staff on January 27, 2015, as the Golden Hurricane cornerbacks coach. Fletcher spent the 2014 season as an assistant coach at Houston Baptist University, where he coached the cornerbacks and nickel backs.

Previously, Fletcher served as an assistant coach at three Dallas-area high schools. He spent the 2013 season as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at David W. Carter High School after a stint at DeSoto High School as the school’s secondary coach. Fletcher was the secondary coach at Lancaster High School from 2006-11 and was also the assistant track and field coach from 2006-09. Fletcher began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Lyndon B. Johnson High School in Austin, Texas.

A native of Austin, Fletcher received his degree in Health Education from Texas A&M-Commerce in 2003 and played one season for the Lions in 1997. He played in the Arena Football League for the Laredo Law Football Club in 2004, the National Indoor Football League for the Austin Knights in 2001, the Minor Football League for the Austin Rattlers from 2000-01 and participated in an NFL Pre-Draft Camp. An active member of his community, Fletcher founded 3 and Out Productions, to enhance community and student relationships through sports camps and clinics in East Austin. He HURRICANE ELITE

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THE University of Tulsa has also been involved with Boys and Girls Club, worked several football camps, served as youth minister at Disciples of Faith in Commerce and was an active member of The Potter’s House in Dallas. Fletcher and his wife, Tanzania, have two daughters, Anaiya and Taylor, and one son, Aaron Jr. JOSEPH GILLESPIE

LINEBACKERS COACH Joseph Gillespie was named to The University of Tulsa football coaching staff on January 23, 2015. He coaches the Golden Hurricane linebackers.

Before coming to Tulsa, Gillespie spent seven years as the athletic director and head football coach at Stephenville (Texas) High School. His teams compiled a .758 winning percentage with an overall 72-23 record, while winning the district championship three times, sharing the district crown once, advancing to the state playoffs six times and winning one state championship. Gillespie led his 2012 team to a 13-1 overall record and the Class 3A state title, while a year later his team compiled a 12-2 record and advanced to the state Class 4A semifinals. Gillespie’s 2014 team finished the season with a 9-4 record and advanced to the state quarterfinals.

In his first season, Gillespie led Stephen-

ville to a 10-4 record and a quarterfinal appearance in the 2008 Class 4A state playoffs. His 2009 team recorded a 9-3 mark and was undefeated in the District 7-4A, while in 2010 posted an 8-6 record and advanced to the Class 4A state quarterfinals. The 2011 team registered an overall 11-3 mark and again advanced to the Class 4A state quarterfinals. Gillespie earned District Coach of the Year honors four times (2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013) and was the Big Country Coach of the Year for three seasons (2008, 2011 and 2012).

Before becoming the Stephenville head coach in February 2008, Gillespie served 14 years as an assistant coach at the Texas high school. He coached under Art Briles, now the head coach at Baylor University, for six years, Texas High School Hall of Honor inductee Mike Copeland for three seasons, and Chad Morris, recently named the head coach at SMU, for five years. As an assistant coach, Gillespie helped lead Stephenville to two additional state titles, coming in 1998 and 1999. Gillespie coached linebackers and safeties under Morris and was the co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach before that under Copeland. A Stephenville native, Gillespie earned his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Angelo State University in 1994.

Gillespie and his wife, Jodi, have three children, including sons Josh and Jake and daughter Chelsea.

running back in 2007 and due to injuries at linebacker was asked to move to that position as a sophomore. As a running back, Hill started seven games and was Rice’s leading rusher with 321 yards and three TDs as a true freshman. In three seasons on defense, Hill collected 97 tackles, six pass break-ups and three forced fumbles. Hill was elected a Rice co-captain for his senior season (2010) and finished that season as the Jess Nealy Award winner, an honor given to the Owls’ top linebacker. Hill earned his bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Rice in 2011. CALVIN LOWRY

RECEIVERS COACH Calvin Lowry, a four-year NFL veteran, joined The University of Tulsa football coaching staff on January 2, 2015. Lowry coaches the Golden Hurricane receivers and is also involved with coaching special teams. Before coming to Tulsa, Lowry spent three years at Baylor University, including two as an assistant director of operations and one as a graduate assistant coach, spending time working with Baylor’s offense and special teams. Previously, Lowry spent one season at St. Andrew’s Episcopal High School in Austin, Texas, where he coached wide receivers, secondary and special teams

JUSTIN HILL

RUNNING BACKS COACH Justin Hill joined The University of Tulsa football coaching staff on January 9, 2014 as running backs coach. Hill came to Tulsa from Baylor University, where he spent two seasons as the associate director of athletic performance for the football team.

Joseph Gillespie

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Before his stint at Baylor, Hill spent one season at Iowa State as a graduate assistant coach. A 2011 graduate of Rice University, Hill began his collegiate career as a

Justin Hill

Calvin Lowry

in 2011.

A former All-Big Ten safety, Lowry spent three full seasons in the NFL, where he played special teams and safety for the Tennessee Titans (2006 and 2007), Denver Broncos (2008) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2008), and also spent the 2009 training camp with the Detroit Lions. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Titans in 2006. Lowry played in 43 games and totaled 86 tackles, 13 pass deflections and started 14 games in his NFL career. His best season statistically came in the 2007 campaign when he collected 57 tackles, including 42 solos, and had two interceptions for Tennessee.

A four-year letterman and starter at Penn State, Lowry was named a 2005 first-team All-Big Ten safety as a senior after making 79 tackles and four interceptions. He totaled nine career interceptions and was PSU’s leading punt returner for three seasons. Lowry became the first true freshman to start for legendary head coach Joe Paterno during the 2002 season. Lowry was a four-year standout at Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville, N.C., as a wide receiver and defensive back. A native of Fort Hood, Texas, Lowry called Fayetteville home from age 3 through college. Lowry received his bachelor’s degree in Crime, Law and Justice from Penn State University in 2007.

LUKE OLSON

MICHAEL BLOESCH

DEFENSIVE QUALITY CONTROL COACH

OFFENSIVE QUALITY CONTROL COACH

Luke Olson was named defensive quality control coach for the Golden Hurricane football program on February 27, 2015.

Michael Bloesch came to The University of Tulsa in January 2015 as the offensive quality control coach.

During his coaching tenure at Tulsa, Olson has been involved in every aspect of helping prepare the Tulsa defense, from directing the offensive scout team, film break down, defensive signal-calling, conducting position meetings for safeties when called upon and directing position drills, among other responsibilities.

Before that, Bloesch spent three seasons (2011-13) as the offensive coordinator at Temple (Texas) High School. In his three seasons with the Wildcats, Bloesch helped the program to a record of 19-13, capturing the District 8-5A championship in 2013, while averaging 44 points and 512 offensive yards per game. He also served as the school’s Powerlifting head coach, middle school coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

Before being named to his current position, Olson served as a Tulsa graduate assistant coach for two seasons (2013-14), helping with coaching the defensive backs. Before that, Olson was a volunteer quality control coach for the Hurricane in 2012, where he assisted with coaching the defensive line.

When Olson helped coach the Tulsa defensive line in 2012, the Hurricane defense ranked among the nation’s leaders for quarterback sacks, while defensive linemen totaled 32 of 53 team sacks for minus-205 yards. The Hurricane won the 2012 Conference USA Championship and AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Before coming to Tulsa, Olson was a four-year starter (2008-11) at Southern Nazarene University, where he played free safety and linebacker. Olson was an Academic All-Central States Football League (CSFL) selection each year, while earning all-conference accolades in 2009.

Olson earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Southern Nazarene in 2012, while receiving a master’s degree in May 2014 from The University of Tulsa in Methods in Educational Research. Olson played prep football at Tulsa’s Union High School.

Before coming to Tulsa, Bloesch spent the 2014 season as Football Analyst at his alma mater, the University of Houston. In his role, Bloesch was responsible for providing analytical support for the offensive coaching staff including video breakdown, self and opponent scouting, game day support and analysis of the football program.

Bloesch began his coaching career as the offensive line coach at Abilene (Texas) Cooper High School in 2009. In two years, Cooper captured the District 4-4A championship in 2009 and District 3-5A championship in 2010. Cooper had a combined record of 20-6 in Bloesch’s two seasons, while setting school records for most points in a season (528) and most offensive yards in a season (6,040) in 2010. At Houston, Bloesch started 37 consecutive games at offensive guard from 2006-08, while helping lead the Cougars to their first bowl victory in 28 years. He earned Conference USA honorable mention all-conference honors in 2007 and 2008.

Bloesch received his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology-Sports Administration from Houston and a master’s degree in Education Administration from Lamar University in 2013. He and his wife, Lexi, have one son, Beau. HURRICANE ELITE

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THE University of Tulsa

EMILEE KLEIN-GILLE TAKES OVER WOMEN’S GOLF ence as a collegiate head coach to the Tulsa position, coaching previously at UCF and San Diego State. With this position, she returns to the coaching ranks after spending the past two-plus years in private business.

FORMER NCAA CHAMPION AND BRITISH OPEN WINNER PEGGED TO LEAD TULSA WOMEN’S GOLF BACK TO NATIONAL PROMINENCE Last June, former NCAA Champion and 1996 British Open Women’s Champion Emilee Klein-Gille (Gill – Lee) was selected to lead The University of Tulsa women’s golf program back to national prominence. Klein-Gille was an All-American at Arizona State University in the 1990s and went on to compete in over 300 events during an 11-year LPGA career.

Klein-Gille is very familiar with the past success of Tulsa women’s golf, and the recent hard times. When a prep senior, Klein was recruited by legendary Tulsa coach Dale McNamara, but instead chose to attend Arizona State University. Under McNamara, Tulsa golf won four national championships and placed second five more times at the national event. National championships are something that Klein-Gille is expecting to bring back to the Hurricane program. Klein-Gille brings six years of experi32

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“Emilee has been successful on all levels of golf. She brings the enthusiasm, experience and knowledge that we need at The University of Tulsa to elevate our women’s golf program back into the national limelight. We’re excited that Emilee and her family are joining our TU family,” said TU’s Vice President and Director of Athletics Derrick Gragg at the time of Klein-Gille’s appointment. “Her successes and experiences as a junior golfer, NCAA Champion and again on the LPGA Tour clearly identifies a road map for success that translates well to young golfers.”

“I’m excited. Tulsa has so much history, and the tremendous community support and administrative support. Everything that goes along with the package of being at Tulsa is just, for me, an incredible opportunity, and something I’m really excited about,” Klein-Gille said. “All the history and success they’ve had in the past and watching it when Dale McNamara was the coach, in my mind I always know that’s where the program should be. I’m really looking forward to getting in there and rebuilding, and getting it back to a national championship-level program. It’s always been a special place, and Dale did something tremendous with the program. It just shows what can be done, and where the program should be. That’s where we have to take it back.”

Following her LPGA career, KleinGille became the head coach at UCF in 2005, where she spent four seasons improving the program’s national ranking from 114th to as high as 35th in those four years. She led her UCF team to the NCAA Regional Tournament in her second season, a first-ever feat for the program since the regional format began in 1993. Klein-Gille helped raise funds for a new on-campus golf facility and created and developed The UCF Challenge Golf Tournament.

Klein-Gille was the head coach at San Diego State University for two seasons (2009-2011) and improved the Aztecs’ national ranking from 86th to as high as 27th in those two years. Her team made NCAA regional appearances in consecutive seasons, ending a long drought for the San Diego State women’s golf program. At SDSU, Klein-Gille established The Battle at Rancho Bernardo Golf Tournament, becoming the fourth-ranked women’s collegiate tournament nationally in 2011. “Looking at it now, I have a fire and a desire that I think is even greater than it was before,” Klein-Gille said

1996 British Open

win a national championship.”

of returning to coaching after a hiatus. “I knew if the right opportunity arose I would be interested in getting back into coaching, because I did miss being around golf, being around the girls, helping them improve their game, and helping programs get better. When Tulsa opened up, it was really exciting to see, because that’s the first time a school had opened since I left that I really felt was the right opportunity for me to go in and work with a program and have a chance to

As a collegian, Klein-Gille earned firstteam All-America honors in 1993 and 1994, while leading her Arizona State team to the NCAA team title in both seasons and capturing the NCAA individual crown at the 1994 championship. As a junior golfer, she was the 1988 California Women’s State Amateur Champion, the 1991 USGA Junior Girls Champion and the 1991 AJGA Junior Player of the Year. Klein-Gille was named the 1994 Golf Digest Women’s Amateur Player of the Year. Klein-Gille began her professional career as Golf Digest’s LPGA Rookie of the Year in 1995. She won three LPGA tournaments, including the

1996 Weetabix Women’s British Open, the 1996 Ping/Welch championship and the 2002 Michelob LPGA title. During her career, Klein-Gille represented Callaway Golf, Tommy Bahama and MasterCard.

The British Open championship was Klein’s second ever victory, at the age of just 21 years old. Her second round of 66 saw her draw away from the strong international field giving her a five-stroke halfway lead. Final rounds of 71 and 72 helped her win comfortably by seven shots.

In 2002, Klein-Gille was a member of the U.S. Solheim Cup Team that defeated Team Europe, 15.5 to 12.5, at the Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minnesota. Klein posted a 3-10 record at the event and was joined on the American team by former Tulsa All-American Kelly Robbins, while competing against another former TU golfer Carin Koch on the European team. A native of Sherman Oaks, Calif., Klein-Gille and her husband, Jon, have two young sons.

TULSA GREAT NOLAN RICHARDSON RETURNS TO TU THIS SEASON Tulsa coaching legend Nolan Richardson returned to the Donald W. Reynolds Center on January 21 to be recognized for his recent induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in August 2014. Richardson coached at Tulsa from 1980-85, where he turned Tulsa

basketball into the talk of the town. Richardson’s teams won the 1981 NIT Championship and made three trips to the NCAA Tournament. He compiled a 119-37 record in five seasons at TU, and later went on to win a national championship as head coach at Arkansas.

Nolan Richardson

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THE University of Tulsa

TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE SUCCESS Junior Marc Scott claimed the men’s individual title, while senior Brandi Krieg paced the Hurricane women with a fifth-place individual finish.

Marc Scott

After winning 56 conference titles in nine years as a member of Conference USA, Tulsa teams opened a new era of competition in the American Athletic Conference just like it left C-USA . . . by winning championships.

The men’s and women’s crosscountry teams captured the first league titles in The American during the fall season, as the event took place at Tulsa’s Mohawk Sports Complex. The TU men’s team placed the top three runners, and secured its fifth consecutive conference championship, while the women’s team won its second straight league crown. All seven Golden Hurricane men’s runners finished in the top-16 of the 8K race, while all seven women’s runners placed among the top-14 in the 6K run. 34

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More than two weeks later, it was the men’s soccer team that would secure an American Athletic Conference championship. Tulsa advanced to the championship match after a 1-0 win over Cincinnati and a 2-0 victory over SMU.

The Championship match, featuring Tulsa and USF, ended in a 0-0 tie after two overtime periods. However, Tulsa captured The American Championship winning on penalty kicks by a 6-5 margin. The first five attempts in the shootout for each team went to the back of the net, including Tulsa scores by Akeil Barrett, Geoffrey Dee, Tony Rocha, Ray Saari and Zack Satvrou. With a 5-5 tie, the Tulsa’s Abe Matamoros scored for the Hurricane, while Hurricane goalkeeper Jake McGuire pre-

vented a USF score with a save on their attempt to tie the shootout at six. The men’s soccer title made it three-for-three for Tulsa in winning the first American Athletic Conference championship events. TWO STUDENT-ATHLETES EARN ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA HONORS DURING THE FALL SEASON

Men’s soccer student-athlete Quinn Starker and volleyball athlete Valerie El Houssine were named Capital One Academic AllAmericans as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Starker was a second-team selection and is TU’s ninth men’s soccer player in school history to earn Academic All-America accolades. A senior defender from Tulsa, Starker maintains a 4.0 GPA in Me-

Valerie El Houssine

team accolades. El Houssine earned the award after maintaining a 4.0 grade point average, while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Management. TULSA TRACK TRIO EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS

Audrey Jean-Baptiste

chanical Engineering. The threeyear letterman started in 38 of 69 games in his career.

El Houssine was named to the academic third team and is just the second player in program history to earn Academic All-America honors, and the first since 1989, when Tamara Holzhuter earned second

Quinn Starker

Three University of Tulsa track and field student-athletes – first-team performers Bryce Robinson and Marc Scott and second-team selection Audrey Jean Baptiste – earned All-America honors by placing among the top finishers at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark earlier this month. Robinson and Scott were named first-team All-Americans by finishing among the top-8 in their respective events. Robinson earned All-America honors in the 200-meter

dash after finishing in third place. He finished with a time of 20.75 in the 200-meter final. Robinson was also named as a second-team AllAmerican in the 60-meter dash, after finishing with a time of 6.67 for 11th place at the Indoor Championships.

Scott placed fifth in the 5000-meter run with a time of 13:54.25. Scott clinched a spot into the 5000-meter championships, after winning the race at the American Championships in the final weekend before the NCAA Championships and finished in a season-best time of 14:37.72. Audrey Jean-Baptiste earned second-team All-America honors in the 400-meter dash after finishing in 14th place with a time of 53.60 at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. JeanBaptiste qualified for the NCAAs after running a 52.82 400-meter at The American Indoor Track and Field Championships, a meet record, and the first time a female athlete ran a sub 53-second time in Tulsa history.

Bryce Robinson

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THE University of Tulsa

TULSA DOWNS #1 USC AND #10 OHIO STATE IN MEN’S TENNIS tennis and winners of five of the last six national championships, were heavy favorites against the Hurricane.

In singles play, No. 71 Ram-Harel, who had just broken into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles poll, handed the nation’s 6th-ranked Yannick Hanfmann his first loss of the season and doing it in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Hanfmann was the Pac-12 Player of the Year last year and two-time ITA AllAmerican.

Or Ram-Harel The Tulsa men’s tennis team took to the west coast to face three perennial powers –Southern Cal, Pepperdine and UCLA – in college tennis earlier this spring.

Tulsa opened its west coast swing by turning in the biggest victory in Tulsa Tennis history with an upset of the No.1-ranked Southern Cal Trojans by a 4-3 score. USC, the most dominant program in college

The Trojans picked up its second point to take a 2-1 lead after No. 31 Jonny Wang defeated Matthew Kirby in straight sets, 7-5, 6-0, from the No. 3 position. Tulsa evened the match at the No. 2 slot when Alejandro Espejo upended No. 20 Roberto Quiroz, 6-0, 7-6(0), handing the senior just his second loss of the year. Dylan McCloskey gave the Hurricane the go-ahead point, 3-2, after topping Connor Farren in one of the afternoon’s more exciting matches, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6).

The match was clinched at the No. 5 singles spot, as Tulsa’s Mitchell Pritchard had to go the distance in a three-set thriller

Marcelina Cichon posted a 24-10 singles record this year heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Julie Kernen is enjoying a spectacular senior season as she is hitting over .270 with 50+ RBI.

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Tulsa runners take-off at the annual Tulsa Track Duels in March.

against Rob Bellamy, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5), to give Tulsa the program’s most memorable win. It was just the second loss of the season for the Trojans, dropping their record to 10-2, while Tulsa improved to 9-6 and the next week jumped 25 spots in the ITA national poll into 26th place. Sixteen days later, Tulsa hosted No. 10-ranked Ohio State at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center and captured another top-10 victory with a 5-2 victory over the Buckeyes.

Just like against USC, Tulsa started the match 0-1 after losing the doubles point to the Buckeyes, but got wins from McCloskey at No. 6 and Carlos Bautista at No. 5 to take a 2-1 lead. OSU knotted the score at 2-2 before Ram-Harel gave Tulsa a 3-2 lead with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 44-ranked Chris Diaz.

Tulsa garnered the match-winning point when Espejo fought off match point in the third set, before turning around and winning his flight 7-6, 3-6, 7-5, over No. 28 Mikael Torpegaard to end an over threehour up and down battle.

RECRUITING SPOTLIGHT Inside Tulsa Sports 2016 Prospect Hotlist

The dust has settled from National Signing Day for the class of 2015, and the attention is now focused on the rising stars of the 2016 class. The Tulsa coaching staff has deep roots in Oklahoma and Texas, and those fertile recruiting grounds produce most of the initial 2016 Hurricane Hot List, released today by InsideTulsaSports.com.

Tulsa was the first school to offer OL Rowdy Frederick from Broken Arrow (Okla.) Over the last decade, it became apparent that the Golden Hurricane is not afraid of taking up recruiting battles against the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top programs. It appears to have stayed that way under first-year head coach Philip Montgomery and his staff.

During the past 10 years, TU has hosted several 4-star and 5-star prospects on official and unofficial visits. Although many signed elsewhere, Tulsa has pulled in a few of those 4-star recruits, including Rob Boyd in the 2013 class and Chad President in the class of 2015. Most of those players switched their commitment to Tulsa after being committed to programs in the Power Five conferences. It appears that the 2016 class will be no different. Eleven prospects on the 2016 Hot List are currently listed on the Rivals250. Five of those are in the Rivals100.

A few of the names on the 2016 Hot List have already given early verbal commitments to programs such as Arkansas, Oklahoma State and LSU, but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve included them on the initial list since it is so early in the recruiting process and also to provide a true example of the quality talent TU coaches are targeting. The majority of the Hot List is made up of players from two states. A whopping 41 of the 86 prospects on the initial 2016 Hot List are from Texas, and 28 are from Oklahoma. Also included on the list are 10 of the top recruits in Arkansas, as well as five from Louisiana and one each from Kansas and Missouri. This list contains only players that have been actively recruited by Tulsa coaches, as identified by our staff through conversations with the prospects and/or their coaches. This is an ever-changing list, as college coaches continue to evaluate prospects and extend scholarship offers. The list will continue to change throughout the recruiting process. Without further ado, we give you the 2016 Hurricane Hot List. Chandler Garrett QB Dagan Haehn QB Patrick McKaufman QB Brock Monty QB Devin Williams QB Micah Wilson QB Terry Wilson QB DeAndre Cook RB Damarea Crockett RB Walter Dawn RB Kyandus Hall RB

Mustang, OK Corinth, TX Lake Dallas Oklahoma City, OK Douglass Wichita, KS Kapaun Mt. Carmel Mansfield, TX Timberview Tulsa, OK Lincoln Christian Del City, OK Arlington, TX Bowie Little Rock, AR LR Christian Mesquite, TX Mesquite Poteet Irving, TX

Rowdy Frederick

Justice Hill RB Quan Hogan RB Jeremy Lewis RB Terrell Love RB Jamarqueza Mims RB Nic Smith RB Brandon Stephens RB Dee Anderson WR Tariq Bitson WR Davion Curtis WR Devin Duvernay WR Anthony Hawkins WR Jordan Jones WR DeShawn Lookout WR Jason Pirtle WR Paxton Segina WR T.J. Vasher WR Austin Anderson OL Riley Anderson OL Sheldon Barnes OL Trystan Castillo OL Alex Criddle OL T.J. Fiailoa OL Rowdy Frederick OL Luther Harris OL Tope Imade OL Mackenzie Nworah OL Walker Reed OL Brandon Scott OL Zach Shackelford OL Dylan Soehner OL Jacob Todora OL Cooper Williams OL McTelvin Agim DE Michael Badejo DE Noah Jones DE Justin Madubuike DE John Tate DE Austin Capps DT Kendell Jones DT Cameron Murray DT Corey Tipsword DT Tre Towery DT

Tulsa, OK Booker T. Washington Norman, OK North Lone Grove, OK Oklahoma City, OK Heritage Hall Shreveport, LA Evangel Christian Arlington, TX Martin Plano, TX Mesquite, TX West Mesquite Tulsa, OK Booker T. Washington Temple, TX Sachse, TX Sachse Arlington, TX Bowie Smackover, AR Smackover Moore, OK Westmoore Locust Grove, OK Austin, TX Vandegrift Wichita Falls, TX Rider Mineola, TX Mineola, TX Jenks, OK Webb City, MO Tulsa, OK Edison Lawton, OK MacArthur Broken Arrow, OK Oklahoma City, OK Heritage Hall Arlington, TX Bowie Manvel, TX Norman, OK North Owasso, OK Belton, TX Prairie Grove, AR Frisco, TX Wakeland Spring, TX Klein Collins Hope, AR Hope Senior Arlington, TX Timberview Moore, OK Southmoore McKinney, TX McKinney North Pine Bluff, AR Star City, AR Star City Senior Killeen, TX Shoemaker Bryant, AR Norman, OK North Moore, OK Westmoore HURRICANE ELITE

SPRING 2015

Abe Anderson LB Zach Barrientos LB Calvin Bundage LB Erick Fowler LB Deontre Hardwick LB Kolbi McGary LB Jimmy McKinney LB Brayden Stringer LB Tuck Tucker LB David Beasley DB Eric Brewington DB Dreyvon Christon DB Parrish Cobb DB Eric Cuffee DB A.J. Green DB Kenan Ivy DB Brandon Jones DB Jaylon Jones DB Jared Mayden DB Charles Oliver DB Joseph Pickney DB Austin Quillen DB Chanse Sylvie DB Max Wariboko DB Rodarius Williams DB Andraez Williams DB Tyrell Alexander ATH Travis Brannan ATH Darrian Hammonds ATH T.J. Hammonds ATH Corey Henderson ATH Dillon Stoner ATH

Tulsa, OK Metro Christian Academy Mesquite, TX Poteet Edmond, OK Santa Fe Manor, TX Manor Fort Smith, AR Northside Senior Cedar Hill, TX Cedar Hill Oologah, OK Houston, TX Cypress Ranch Mesquite, TX Poteet Pine Bluff, AR Pine Bluff Manor, TX Manor Warr Acres, OK Putnam City Waco, TX La Vega Waco, TX DeSoto, TX Lancaster, TX Nacogdoches, TX Allen, TX Sachse, TX Fairfield, TX Crosby, TX Jenks, OK Shreveport, LA Calvary Academy Oklahoma City, OK Casady Shreveport, LA Calvary Academy Shreveport, LA Calvary Academy Lancaster, TX Austin, TX Vandegrift Arlington, TX Juan Seguin Little Rock, AR Robinson Shreveport, LA Evangel Christian Jenks, OK

2016 Prospect to Watch: QB Micah Wilson By Chris Harmon 6-foot-3, 200 pound quarterback Micah Wilson of Tulsa Lincoln Christian has the attention of college coaches and will be one to watch in the class of 2016. TU has been in constant contact with Wilson, who has already picked up offers from Nevada, Wyoming and Illinois State. “Texas Tech, Tulsa, Duke, Purdue, Bowling Green, Wyoming, Harvard, Princeton, Old Dominion, UTEP, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Utah -- they all contact me on a regular basis,” Wilson recently told InsideTulsaSports.com. “Some more than others, but I’ve heard from them all in the past few weeks.” With Wilson being right in the University of Tulsa’s backyard, the new Golden Hurricane coaching staff quickly made contact with the talented signal-caller. “We got an opportunity to meet and get to know one another,” he said of TU head coach Philip Montgomery and co-offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert. “They seemed like great guys, and considering that it was one of the first days that coaches could visit schools, it meant a lot to me to have the head coach and OC come to my school.” Wilson has been very busy this spring, as numerous Junior Day invites were sent his way. He’s already been to Oklahoma State, Duke, Wyoming, Purdue and Illinois. He also made a stop at TU to watch a spring practice session. After his junior season, Wilson has seen a steady rise in his recruiting interest. He threw for 2,371 yards and 34 touchdowns last season while also racking up 549 rushing yards and six scores on just 83 carries. “The season went great. Our team did great, but lost a tough one in the quarterfinals in overtime,” he explained. “As far as my performance this year, I’m not satisfied. I’m back in the weight room and throwing balls -- working harder than ever 38

HURRICANE ELITE

SPRING 2015

before trying to improve my game so we can get to that state championship.” Wilson’s junior season was the first time he was able to use his speed and athleticism in the running game. Recognizing his 4.6 second forty-yard dash, Lincoln Christian coaches added the zone read to its offense. “Running comes very natural,” he added. “I’m very comfortable with that part of the offense.” Wilson’s unique combination of size, speed and natural throwing ability landed him the top quarterback spot in Rivals.com’s Sooner State Rankings for the class of 2016. He’s currently ranked as the state’s No. 7 overall prospect. “Wilson’s mental game is really impressive to watch,” said Josh McCuiston of Rivals.com after watching Wilson in the fall. “Of all of the talented quarterbacks in the state of Oklahoma, Wilson is probably the player you feel most confident of knowing what you’ll get.” Reflecting on his junior season, Wilson feels he improved in several areas. However, he’s not satisfied. “I improved my speed, pocket presence, arm strength and leadership. My strengths are my accuracy and athleticism,” he described. “I’m working to improve on my game management and leadership.” When it comes to evaluating the bevy of colleges that have shown serious interest, Wilson has a clear idea of what he’s looking for. “Academics and the right fit for me as a student athlete,” he concluded.

Micah Wilson

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