Aug. 5, 2005

Tulsa, Oklahoma - Tulsa football enters a new conference in 2005, as the Hurricane begins play in Conference-USA. In this first season of C-USA, Tulsa Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe will look to return his team to a winning season, just as he did in his first year with the Golden Hurricane in 2003. Tulsa players report to campus today, and begin practice on Saturday.

The Hurricane returns 42 letterwinners, including 18 on offense, 19 on defense and five specialists. Tulsa returns six starters on both offense and defense, while nine more part-time starters return to the Hurricane roster.

The quarterback position is still up for grabs heading into preseason drills, but the Hurricane has two talented and capable players -- sophomore Paul Smith and red-shirt freshman David Johnson -- who can both direct the offense when called upon.

Both Smith and Johnson red-shirted last season, however, Smith, did see playing time as a true freshman in Tulsa's Humanitarian Bowl season of 2003. He completed 62-percent of his passes for 297 yards and one touchdown in eight games that season. His best game came against San Jose State, filling in for an injured Kilian, as he completed 10-of-17 passes for 166 yards and led Tulsa on four scoring drives to defeat San Jose State and guarantee Tulsa a Bowl game appearance.

Johnson had a solid prep career at Portland's Southridge (Ore.) High School. He completed 61-percent of his passes as a senior for 1,640 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also rushing for 375 yards and four TDs

"We have two very, very capable guys in Paul and David. We had the luxury of being able to red-shirt Paul last year and this year he is bigger, stronger and more physical. David is a tremendous athlete and throws the ball extremely well. Both these guys can throw the ball vertically and outside the numbers," said Kragthorpe.

"Both of their performances throughout the spring did nothing but confirm in my mind that we have excellent quarterback talent."

Whichever quarterback trots on the field for the opening drive for the Hurricane in 2005, he'll have a veteran and explosive group surrounding him.

"I'm excited about the explosive capabilities that we possess on the offensive side of the football," said Kragthorpe. "Modern day football has included an emphasis on explosive big-play opportunities. We feel that we have the weapons available to not only control the football, but create big plays."

Among those weapons is a pair of running backs who combined for 1,661 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns last season. Uril Parrish comes into his senior season after becoming just the 11th player in school history to gain over 1,000 yards in a single season and the first since 1997. He ran for 1,064 yards, a 5.1 average per carry and eight touchdowns in 2004.

Junior Brandon Diles is the other returning running back, as he totaled 597 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground for the Hurricane a year ago.

"The running back spot is probably the deepest position on our offense right now with two guys that have had significant playing time returning," said Kragthorpe.

The offensive front returns six lettermen, all of whom has had starting experience. Tulsa loses all-WAC first team center Derek Warehime and guard Matt Black, but returns starters Jeff Perrett, Aaron Danenhauer and Mike Mengers, all juniors. Senior Jesse Stoneham, a starter in 2003, also returns this season after playing in just four games last year due to an injury.

Danenhauer moves from his guard spot from a year ago to center, while Mengers and Perrett handle the tackle spots. Stoneham and Jon Hameister-Ries head into preseason drills listed as the starting guards.

"I like the way our offensive line has molded together and I believe we'll have an opportunity to have a very solid unit," said Kragthorpe.

The tight end position returns one of the nation's top tight ends in senior Garrett Mills, an All-America candidate. Mills is a two-time first-team all-conference selection and is a preseason candidate for the 2005 Rotary Lombardi Award.

Mills has led the team in receptions in each of the last two seasons, and in 2004 was the leader in receiving yards as well. He caught 51 passes for 560 yards and two touchdowns during his junior season.

All-America kickoff return specialist Ashlan Davis returns to the wide receiver position for the Hurricane. Davis caught 30 passes for 462 yards from his receiver slot last year, but stunned opponents and amazed fans with his kickoff return ability. He established a new NCAA single-season record with five returns for touchdowns, covering 100, 94, 83, 96 and 74 yards.

"We'll have some new faces in our receiving corps. Ashlan's role will expand offensively in 2005, and we'll supplement the group of returning receivers with the addition of two junior college transfers," added Kragthorpe. "A number of younger players who have been on the squad will have the opportunity to quickly jump into the mix."

Defensively, the Hurricane lost five starters but returns three of the top-five tacklers from the 2004 season.

Tulsa has two starters each returning to the front line, linebacker corps and the secondary. In addition, four junior college transfers are expected to make an immediate impact on the defensive side of the ball.

"We have continued to address the needs that we felt like existed over the course of our last two seasons. We want to be a bigger and more physical defense and have recruited to that philosophy, said Kragthorpe.

"As we have addressed our needs from a physical standpoint, I'm also encouraged by the fact that we have bolstered our defense with athleticism and speed at all positions," added Kragthorpe. "We've recruited junior college players to play, and expect that they'll compete for significant playing time."

The defensive front has added size to this year's edition of the Golden Hurricane, with seven players tipping the scales of over 260 pounds, including five players weighing over 295.

Defensive ends Brandon Lohr and Robert Latu return to the starting lineup. Lohr totaled 69 tackles while seeing time at both nose guard and end last year, while Latu tallied 21 tackles in 2004. Along with sophomores Walter Boyd and Brandon Jones, who both played as true freshmen last year, the four returning defensive line letterwinners will be joined by six players who will wear the Tulsa uniform for the first time this year.

Junior Nick Bunting, a second-team all-WAC linebacker last year and the 2003 WAC Freshman of the Year, anchors the linebacker corps for the Hurricane. He tallied 88 tackles and five stops for -22 yards a year ago. Bunting enters 2005 as a preseason candidate for the Chuck Bednarik Award.

Sophomores Nelson Coleman and Chris Chamberlain bring considerable playing experience from a year ago to the linebacker corps. Coleman started six games at middle linebacker as a red-shirt freshman, while Chamberlain started five games in his rookie season.

The Tulsa secondary appears to be a talented group with nine players who have earned letters and six of whom have been in a starting role for the Hurricane.

Returning starters from the 2004 season in the secondary include safeties Bobby Blackshire and Shannon Carter, while part-time starters Jeff Thibodeaux and Nick Graham will battle for the starting spots at cornerback. Blackshire was third on the team in tackles last year with 77, while Carter totaled 45 stops in just seven games and Graham had 40 stops.

Tulsa's leading tackler from the 2003 campaign, Kedrick Alexander, returns to the lineup after sitting out last year. Alexander had 121 tackles as a sophomore in 2003 while starting at safety.

Before beginning play in its inaugural season in Conference USA, the Hurricane will battle three non-conference foes, all making bowl appearances in 2004 and each with one of the best running backs in the country -- Minnesota (Laurence Maroney), Oklahoma (Adrian Peterson) and North Texas (Jamario Thomas). When the conference schedule approaches, the Hurricane defense will be tested with yet another of the nation's top running backs as Memphis and DeAngelo Williams visit Skelly Stadium for Tulsa's inaugural C-USA game.

ON SATURDAY: A LOOK AT THE OFFENSE