Tulane Green Wave College Football Postgame Quote, 01/02/2023

CHARLIE FISS, MODERATOR: Okay, we are now joined by the Green Wave of Tulane University. Coach Willie Fritz, his three student-athletes are Dorian Williams, Tyjae Spears, and Alex Bauman.

Coach, congratulations. Tell us about the victory.

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: I’m still trying to soak it all in right now. It was an outstanding job. There’s a couple of calls I wish I had back. I did the onside kick early, and obviously it didn’t work. And it was kind of 50-50 on kicking it deep or onside kicking around. We kicked it deep. We had a fortunate outcome. Ball on the 1. Got the big safety. And we do a little drill called fastball during the season on Wednesdays where we just kind of go as fast as we possibly can and have music on and have a lot of chaos and everything. And the guys, you know, really executed each play the way they needed to execute it.

So big touchdown there at the end. Alex [Bauman] had the big catch. I just wish there wouldn’t have been any time left on the clock. That’s the only thing Alex screwed up on. It’s great.

You know, again, I’ve said it 20 times this week, Cotton Bowl [Classic] people are just fantastic. What a game. You know, they treated us like kings all week. So thank you all for what you do and we’re just all proud to represent Tulane University.

CHARLIE FISS, MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

Let’s go to questions for our three student athletes for the next couple minutes. And then we will bring Coach Fritz back in.

Alex, this was the eighth catch you’ve had all year, but it was probably the most important catch in the history of Tulane football. Can you just take us through that moment and kind of your emotions after the call was ruled a touchdown?

TE ALEX BAUMAN: So we made a streak call. And I knew I could run a three-seam. And the mic [MLB] was playing the low inside. So I had to attack him across his face. And [Michael] Pratt put a perfect ball where I can make a play on it. And kept my hand under the ball, and scored. I knew right away that I scored.

I know the replay did show it, but not everyone was convinced. But yeah, it all goes back to my teammates, my coaches just having trust in me to make a play. And that’s what happened.

Tyjae, this is your eighth game in a row with over 200 rushing yards. Can you talk about that? And also what drives you as well?

RB TYJAE SPEARS: So I can’t do it all by myself. I have an amazing O-line. Come to work every day. They’re the hardest-working group on the team. So them pushing me every day, we compete with each other. Me and [Michael] Pratt versus Joey Claybrook and Sincere Haynesworth every day, we see who is going to work harder.

But my drive, it’s now. I’m from a place where I’m trying to get out of, and I don’t want to go back to it. So that’s what drives me every day. And I’ve got these guys around me, great guys and also a great man over there that’s pushing me and making sure I stay on track with it. It’s just a blessing to be here.

For each of you student-athletes, 2-10 last season. 12-2 this season. Champions of the Cotton Bowl [Classic], Champions of the American [Athletic Conference]. Just what has this turnaround meant and that belief in each other?

LB DORIAN WILLIAMS: I know we all believe 2-10, that wasn’t our best foot forward. We all knew we were a better team than what we showed. Coach Kurt [Hester] came in and he installed a different mindset in the team. This is a real-life family. And I commit to that. I know both these guys, all these guys, he’s like our dad, man. And these guys are my brothers, man. I feel that’s the biggest change that we had.

RB TYJAE SPEARS: Even like with last year at 2-10, most of the games came within five points so, we knew we had to finish on our end. So to go back off what he said, we went into the offseason, now it’s time to play together. Now it’s time to hold each other accountable.

I think that’s the biggest thing going from last season to this season, everybody was getting held accountable.

And we hold Coach Fritz accountable on some occasions, too. But that’s the respect level that we have for each other, man. Without him, we wouldn’t have done it. Him getting his great coaching staff and everything else, man, so we wouldn’t have done it without him.

TE ALEX BAUMAN: I think my experience is a little different from theirs because I wasn’t on the team last year. But since I got here in the summer, the competitiveness and the intensity that Coach [Kurt] Hester brought and all the coaches brought and every single player on the team brought, it just showed that we were destined to do something and win a lot of games this year, as opposed to what happened last year.

Coach Fritz, the way USC was really explosive in the passing game, what did you tell the defense as they were kind of dealing with those big plays, that 74-yard catch?

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: Well, there’s a reason why he [Caleb Williams] won the Heisman Trophy. He’s a pretty good player. He’s hard to get down. I don’t know how many sacks we almost had. With him, we had a good group of receivers. We were trying to keep him in the pocket as best

we can. And it’s always tough when you haven’t played for a month and you get out there and play. Some guys probably tackle better than other guys in the ballgame. And some guys had a little bit tougher time tackling in the ballgame.

But they’re a great team. They were a 10th-ranked team in the country. And they’ve got some outstanding players over there. And a really, really explosive offense.

One time, I think they had 35 plays they ran, and we had 6 that we ran. That’s pretty tough. We were betting a whole lot and breaking down there towards the end zone, but we needed to get some stops, get the safety. And we got a turnover and missed field goal. Those were the ones that led to the victory.

So just a very, very explosive offense by USC.

Coach [Fritz], what does this win mean for the program? And what sort of message do you think it sent to the rest of the country today?

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: It’s a huge win for the program. Huge win for the university. Huge win for the city. We represent New Orleans. We represent Tulane University. We represent our football program. And I think we’ve seen this year what a great football season and competing at a high level can do for an institution. So I’m just very proud to be a part of it.

Alex, I was able to talk to Coach [Slade] Nagle a little bit about how special this tight end room really is, last week. Can you speak a little bit about what it is to like to play in that tight end room and what you have been learning from [Will] Wallace, Tyrick [James], and those guys?

TE ALEX BAUMAN: Yeah, Will and Tyrick are great role models. And Coach [Slade] Nagle and Coach Hester are all great coaches.

But what I’ve learned and what Tyrick and Will have taught me has really helped me, and I look up to them going forward. And I’m glad that we could send them off with a win in a game like this. It just really means the most to me because I looked up to them every single day. And I want to be like them.

How does a win like this help propel Tulane to future successes? Especially looking towards the expanded College Football Playoff coming in the next couple of years?

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: It’s big. Getting in the national playoff picture, you win a national championship from the Group of 5 league. And I don’t like that language, but a lot of people use it.

Yeah, I think it’s big for our conference. I know our commissioners back there, we feel like we’ve got a really top-notch conference from top to bottom. I think new additions to our conference are going to help us be an even stronger conference.

Dorian, on that same note, you guys just beat USC. You beat Kansas State. How much validation do you think your team has for an expanded playoff?

LB DORIAN WILLIAMS: Yes, sir. We felt like we could compete against anybody. And we have the utmost confidence in the guys in that locker room. And we have so much love for each other, and it just shows on the field, and it shows in our play.

First, Dorian, how tough was it for the defense to keep its composure the way USC was moving the ball? And what were you saying to guys to get you in position to make a couple of plays that you needed to make to turn the game?

LB DORIAN WILLIAMS: It was tough in the first half. Seeing it on film and then playing against it is two different things. And I felt like our play, it wasn’t the best in the first half. And then second half, I told the guys, I said, man, let’s go out and just play football. I felt like we were all just playing two stiff, man, too tight. Just trying not to make any mistakes. I said, man, let’s go out there and make plays. That’s something we all knew we could do.

Alex, the play before the touchdown, you dropped a pass that if you had caught it, the game might have ended, if you hadn’t gotten into the end zone. Did you think about that at all, or what happened on that play?

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: Darn right you did.

TE ALEX BAUMAN: Obviously, I’m trying to catch every ball that’s thrown to me. But it happened that way. And like I said, it was a blessing in disguise.

Coach [Fritz], you’ve coached at all levels, junior college, D2, FCS, and so forth. What does it say about trying to attract the type of athletes you wanted, a Group of 5 conference team and the type of men that you are able to get to play for Tulane? And then I have a follow-up after that.

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: Well, I think we have figured out how to recruit at Tulane. It might have taken me a little while, but we’ve got unbelievable representatives of our university. I’ve had very few issues and problems. I don’t know how many people from the Cotton Bowl [Classic] have told me this is the best group they’ve been around all the years they’ve been working in the Cotton Bowl. I know they’re trying to whisper that in my ear because they didn’t want to say it too loud, I guess, but I’m proud of that. I’m very proud of that.

I think we’ve got guys ‚Äì and then also, I think we’ve done a great job developing guys in the program as well. I’ve got Dorian [Williams] sitting right here. He’s 190-something pounds. He’s from South Carolina. My son who works in the recruiting office just kept pushing him and pushing him and pushing him. And we’re fortunate enough to get him here. And he’s going to be playing in the NFL next year. And same thing with Tyjae [Spears] and Alex [Bauman]. These are guys we thought hey, these guys are going to develop into great football players, and they came here and put the work in, obviously.

But it can definitely be done if you do a good job of getting the right guys who fit your program. That’s what’s important to me. And I love the fact that we’ve got student-athletes at Tulane. These guys up here are all great students. They’re not just football players and that’s important to us.

Does this make up for the 1932 Rose Bowl against USC?

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: Yes, it does. I told these guys, this was revenge for the ’32 game. I did tell these guys that a few weeks ago.

LB DORIAN WILLIAMS: They did.

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: They didn’t know what the heck I was talking about.

Coach [Fritz], from that first moment that you walked into Tulane to where you are right now, just bring me into everything that you’ve had to do in that first feeling stepping into the building and now being Cotton Bowl [Classic] champions?

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: Well, there’s so many things, I couldn’t mention them all. But getting the right staff together. I feel like we’ve done that. And we just had a bunch of bad luck in a few different years. These guys can tell you.

One season, I think we lost four games in the last play of the game. That’s tough. And we had [won] maybe 10 wins that season. Or maybe even 11 that season.

So we’ve learned how to finish. And I feel like we’ve got a complete team now with offense, defense, and kicking game. Some years one side of the ball might have been a little better than the other side of the ball. So all three phases can rely on each other. There’s a lot of things.

I talked about recruiting, recruiting the right guys. And finding guys that fit what you’re looking for. And I think we’ve done a great job of that.

Coach Fritz, despite Caleb Williams putting up five touchdowns which is a Cotton Bowl [Classic] record, this team is still able to come away with a tremendous win. What qualities of this program do you feel like that best highlights?

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: Well, I think it shows the character of the guys that are playing in the program. And then going out and executing the plays. I talk all the time about preparation. And that’s how important it is during the course of the week. And flipping the switch on game day and playing hard for three and a half hours.

We’re going to look back at this, and there were some times that we didn’t play real good. But we hung in there. And we were able to pull it out at the very end. I think that says a lot about the coaching staff, support staff, and obviously, these young men. You can have great support staff and great coaches and all that stuff, but if you don’t have the Jimmys or the Joes or the Dorians or the Tyjaes and Alexes, you’re not going to win very many games.

My question is for the student-athletes. What has this senior class meant to you guys? And to the man on your left, what has Coach [Fritz] meant to you guys throughout this amazing season?

LB DORIAN WILLIAMS: Oh, wow. The senior class, it means everything to me. We came in with those guys. That’s probably like the closest class, I felt like. We play around in the locker room. We have a good time. We spend time outside of football with each other. And I feel like that’s the biggest thing, having a brotherhood.

And yesterday before the game, we were in there. And Coach said just dapper everybody up because it’s going to be the last time everybody is going to be in the same room together. It almost made me cry. I was trying to hold back tears. I couldn’t let the guys see that.

RB TYJAE SPEARS: It’s a complete brotherhood. Something I’ll never forget about, that man over there. It’s crazy. He took a chance on me coming out of high school. He took a real big chance on me. And it could have gone any way. So, I forever appreciate him for that. It’s crazy. I love you, Coach Fritz.

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: Love you, buddy.

TE ALEX BAUMAN: I just appreciate all the seniors. They’re all role models to me. Every day they inspire me to do my best. They’re the best leaders I’ve ever been around.

And Coach Fritz, I just want to say thank you to him for believing in me, putting me out there as a true freshman and going to make a play. Thank you, Coach.

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: Thank you, buddy.

Tyjae, with about 4:30 left in the fourth quarter, USC had taken that two-touchdown lead, the 15-point lead. Talk about what you guys were talking about, the offensive side of the ball, going out there knowing you need to score, you need to move quickly. What was the mood like for you guys?

RB TYJAE SPEARS: The words we were saying, it was going to be like whatever it took, whatever it took. However it looked, we were going to get it done.

And we never lost faith on them. Steady telling the guys the whole time and they were telling me, we’re going to still win this game. We’re going to win this game. We’re going to win this game. The mindset, whatever it took.

Even the fourth-down play, I was telling [Michael] Pratt, we got to get to first, man. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes. So we just carried that mindset on, and it worked out for us.

Coach Fritz, I want to ask you about the crowd today. What did you think about the atmosphere, as far as the Tulane fans?

COACH WILLIE FRITZ: I thought it was awesome. I thought it was a little different. These guys may have seen it as well. We were driving into the stadium. And we were loading the bus, there were all sorts of people out there. And we were driving into the stadium and they were on the streets and hollering and yelling, and they were into it.

As I’ve said many times before, I think our stadium, Yulman Stadium, is just unbelievable. We saw that this season. In the last game, I thought it was really special with everybody winning on the field.

And I thought our crowd was extremely loud and into it the whole time today. So really, really excited about that. I love seeing the signs up there ‚Äì about football school up there in the stands too. Our fans are into it. I think we’re finding more of them.

CHARLIE FISS, MODERATOR: Guys, Congratulations. Thanks for being with us. It’s been a great week.