The University of Tulsa football season begins on August 29th when Northwestern State visits HA Chapman Stadium, but the University of Tulsa is played almost every day.
Between strength-building and conditioning work, recruiting and skill work, and actual practices and games, Golden Hurricane football rarely sleeps.
Consider the schedule for head coach Kevin Wilson and his assistants on Thursday, February 29th, 182 days before the season opener. There were staff meetings, player conditioning periods and skill work sessions.
“We weren't allowed to go after each other very hard,” Wilson explained. “You could say it's light soccer training. We're still developing.”
Wilson went to work early that morning and returned home at 5:45 p.m. That night, he and his wife Angie went out on a dinner date.
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There was more to Wilson on Friday than what happened on Thursday.
On Saturday, for Wilson, the business of Tulsa football began to focus on actual football activities again.
As TU's second spring practice period began Saturday morning with high temperatures of 68 degrees, Wilson has an asset that many of his major college colleagues don't have. The two QBs – sophomore Cardel Williams and redshirt freshman Kirk Francis – have a lot of talent. gaming experience.
“A year ago, I was still getting to know the people here,” Wilson said. “Our focus was on building a team culture and a team atmosphere; setting the standard for what we believe in and what we strive for.
“Right now the emphasis is on individual development. Some players need more size and strength. We are working on that. Some players need more maturity. Confidence. Some guys don't have that. The veteran players in this program – we know them well now. The young guys we recruit here, we know them from our relationships in recruiting. I am.
Kevin Wilson's second spring practice period for the University of Tulsa began Saturday at HA Chapman Stadium.Daniel Schuller/Tulsa World
Daniel Schuller, Tulsa World file photo
“We feel like we really know all of them now, so we can work on (specifically) what each of them needs to become better players.”
“That's the goal: win more games,” Wilson concluded. “If each of them becomes a better player, we become a better team.”
The 2023 schedule appeared to be favorable to Wilson's impressive first season in Tulsa, but the 2023 Hurricanes went 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the American Athletic Conference. I was stuck with a losing record.
Wilson's coaching staff responded by buttoning down one of the most impressive recruiting classes in program history.
In 247Sports' rankings of the 2024 football recruiting class, No. 54 Tulsa was ranked higher on the national list than six Big 12 programs (Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Utah, Houston, Baylor and Colorado).
South Florida is No. 1 in the 247Sports rankings for the American Athletic Conference class, followed by the Golden Hurricane, Tulane and Memphis.
Sixteen of TU's incoming freshmen won't arrive until late May or June, at which point they'll try to impress Wilson and earn playing time right away.
Last summer, Francis joined the Hurricanes as a freshman after a superstar career at Metro Christian. He ended up playing snaps in four games, passing for 967 yards and averaging 14.2 yards per completion. You don't have to be a soccer expert to realize that Francis has special arm talent.
Braylon Braxton started in Tulsa's opening night game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but injured his ankle. Williams took full advantage of his opportunities, completing 13 of 14 passes for 233 yards and three TDs.
During every team's spring practice, there are storylines for each position. Of particular importance to TU are the changes to the three starters on the offensive line. I can't stress enough the importance of consistent blocks.
But with Braxton transferring to Marshall, Williams and Francis will likely be the most notable players at Hurricanes practice next month.
“Quarterback, that's a big position,” Wilson said. “They look good. They show potential. We were able to redshirt because Kirk only played in the last few games. But he was meaningful and great (playing) spent time.
“Some people might have said, 'Hey, he's great,'[in response to Francis' performance]but we only won four games. We've got to be better. All of us. A year ago, everyone had expectations of what our quarterback room would look like. Today, our quarterback room looks a lot different, but again, it depends on what our quarterback situation is. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what it should be.
“We know we have to get better and we want to see if any of our quarterbacks can be winning quarterbacks that make the guys around them better. Let's pitch to the right people. Don't turn it over. Make good decisions. Get us into the end zone and help us win more games.”
No matter what Wilson is discussing, he always focuses it on the ultimate point: the importance of winning football games.
The process moved to a more serious level on Saturday.
