Sophomore running back Stephon Huderson did not receive much publicity as Tulane began preseason football camp in early August. All of the attention went to top returner Darius Bradwell, dynamic Texas Tech transfer Corey Dauphine and eye-popping freshman Cameron Carroll.
Huderson let his legs do the talking, and his loudest statement came Monday when the Green Wave released its first depth chart since last November. He is listed on the left side of the page with all of the other starters for Tulane's season opener against Wake Forest on Thursday night at Yulman Stadium.
Technically, Bradwell is considered a co-No. 1 at the position, but he had zero repetitions Monday as he continued to recover from an unspecified injury that has kept him from practicing the past week and a half.
Huderson, a Petal, Mississippi, product who has practiced every day since the beginning of camp, likely has earned the right to start against Wake Forest. Dauphine, like Bradwell, missed significant time in camp.
“I showed the coaches that I can last, I can take hits and I can make it through a full game without getting hurt,” Huderson said. “I’ve just shown them that I can be reliable.”
“Reliable” is not a sexy word, but it describes to a T former Tulane running back Dontrell Hilliard, the school’s fifth all-time leading rusher. Last year, he became the first Wave player to gain 1,000 yards since Andre Anderson in 2009. His 1,091 yards on 210 carries (5.2 average) in 2017 were behind only Matt Forte, Mewelde Moore and Eddie Price in Tulane history.
Coach Willie Fritz sees plenty of Hilliard in Huderson, who plays bigger than his unimposing size (5-foot-9, 190 pounds).
“Stephon Huderson does everything well, kind of like Dontrell,” he said. “Dontrell didn't miss any assignments, he could block, catch, run inside and outside, and Hud can do all that, too. In one of our scrimmages he did a really good job of picking up linebackers on the blitz. Some of our guys do a poor job of that.”
Huderson was not arguing with his coach.
“I feel like I run between the tackles best,” he said. “I can pass block pretty well and catch out of the backfield, so I pretty much agree with (Fritz’s) statement.”
After playing sparingly behind Hilliard, Sherman Badie and Bradwell (411 yards. 6.2 average per carry) as a freshman — gaining 70 yards on 19 carries — Huderson said he is ready for a larger role.
“I learned a lot sitting on the sideline last year,” he said. “They just taught me how to set some goals and what the expectations were. They set the bar.”
Huderson’s ascendancy is not the only depth chart news of note. Junior Will Harper, who played almost exclusively on special teams a year ago and made zero tackles, is listed as the starting nickelback after beginning preseason drills on the third team.
Sophomore Tirise Barge, who held down the top spot at the end of spring drills, flip-flopped with Harper. Former rush end Larry Bryant is the second-team nickelback.
The competition between sophomore Jaylon Monroe and junior Thakarius Keyes to start along with senior Donnie Lewis at cornerback remains too close to call. Monroe and Keyes are listed a co-starters, as are junior De’Andre Williams and freshman Jeffery Johnson at nose tackle.
Constant shuffling will not be feasible against Wake Forest’s fast-paced, no-huddle offense, which rarely substitutes, but Tulane has more players who can alternate entire series than in Fritz’s first two years.
“We have a little bit more depth,” Fritz said. “We have to make sure we do a good job of getting the calls quickly and knowing that we’re going to play a bunch of snaps in a row, and then we’ll be able to play another guy the next series.”
Senior Zach Block is listed ahead of freshman Ryan Wright at punter. Fritz said Wright was inconsistent in preseason camp, the same problem that has plagued Block the past three years.
That is not an issue for Huderson, who plan to apply his practice-field work ethic to a real test on Thursday night. It is a tremendous opportunity considering the Wave ranked 20th nationally in rushing a year ago (231.5).
“I’m ready to face an opponent in a game that actually counts,” he said. “The reason we’re all here is to play football against other teams.”