On SI Tulane Picks the Greatest DB in Tulane History
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2026 is the 100th anniversary of the opening of old Tulane Stadium in Uptown. This Summer, we are bringing you a series looking back at who we, at On SI Tulane, believe were the best to perform there or other venues for the Greenbacks. A month-and-a-half ago, we gave our take on who we think was the greatest quarterback in the long line of outstanding QBs in Tulane history. Then, the On SI Tulane choice for best halfback. Three weeks ago, who we think was the greatest Wave receiver of all time. Two Wednesdays ago, our choice for the greatest defensive lineman. Then, the greatest linebacker to don a green uniform. Now, our pick for the greatest defensive back in the 100-plus years of Tulane football.
Tackling Machine: Mike Staid
We searched high and low and only found a very poor quality photo of Mike Staid from the Tulane yearbook site, "Jambalaya." If someone has a better action picture of Mike, please send it to us: varsvarsteeay@gmail.com and we'll post it here.
Despite playing through some tough seasons, safety Mike Staid made a name for himself as a sure tackler. He started in Greg Davis' last year (a 1-10 record) and finished in Buddy Teevens' second-to-last year (another 1-10 slate). However, the Mobile, Alabama native did something rarely done by a defensive back: collect 100-tackles all four years he played. His 481-stops came just eleven shy of tying the record set by linebacker Burnell Dent. Staid started all 45-games in his four years in the Superdome. Despite those four years of losing records, Staid found a way to make the tackles, even if they were well beyond the line of scrimmage.
Staid was a first-team All-South Independent player in 1994.
Licensed Thief: Paul Ellis
From 1969-1971, Paul Ellis roamed the secondary for Tulane. His three seasons saw the highs of the Liberty Bowl victory over Colorado in 1970 and the lows of losing seasons three of the four years he was in Uptown (freshmen were required to sit out their first year by the NCAA in those days). Though he only saw action in three seasons, Ellis did something no other Tulane player had ever done: intercept 18-passes thrown by the other guys. Now, fifty-plus years later, his career interception mark still stands as the most by any Tulane football player.
Ellis was a part of a Tulane secondary that included Joe Bullard and David Hebert, known as Bullard's Bandits. That group led the way to a school-record 28 interceptions in The Year of the Green. Ellis himself picked off nine that year, tying him for most in a season with the Greenies' Jimmy Glisson (1949).
Ellis was voted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
Leader of Bullard's Bandits: Joe Bullard
You've got to be good to have an entire secondary named after you, and Joe Bullard was. At Tulane the same time as his fellow aforementioned Bullard's Bandit, Paul Ellis, Bullard led the defensive backfield of the Green Wave, copping eight interceptions in 1970 as part of the squad that set a team high of 28 that year. However, he helped Tulane in other ways as well.
In 1969, Bullard established himself as Tulane’s all-time best punt returner that fall. He set the record for most return yards in a game against Vanderbilt that season (137-yards) and an average per return statistic neither of which have been approached to this day. His 92-yard return against Vanderbilt is still the longest in Green Wave history. And no one has returned more punts for touchdowns in a career than Bullard. He brought four to the house.
Bullard was voted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
Size Doesn't Matter: Lynaris Elpheage
If size is all that matters, Lynaris Elpheage should have never played major college football. For Tulane, it's a good thing that the size-thing is overrated.
His measurements of 5' 10" were considered by some a bit of an exaggeration. What was not hyperbole was what Elpheage could do on a football field. His blazing speed set him up for successful jaunts. His eight interceptions as a cornerback in 2002 is still tied for second all-time in a season, while his 14-thefts place him firmly in third place for career interceptions. He set the Tulane career record of pass break-ups (48) and the single season mark of 21 in 2002. In that same year, Elpheage became one of the few players in NCAA history to score touchdowns via the rush, an interception return, a punt and a kickoff return.
JIm Thorpe Semi-Finalist: Parry Nickerson
Though he was a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award in his senior year, the trophy that goes to the best defensive back in the NCAA in a season, Parry Nickerson could have been a nominee for the Comeback Player of the Year three years earlier. In his freshman year, Nickerson suffered a knee injury severe enough to be considered career threatening. Instead, the West Jefferson High School graduate came back to play in the next 48-games of his Tulane career, starting 46 of them. His 16-interceptions ranks second all-time in Wave history. In his senior year alone, Nickerson had 55-tackles, two of them for losses, six interceptions and eight pass deflections.
In the 2018 NFL Combine, Nickerson ran a supersonic 4.32 - 40, tying him with two other cornerbacks for the fastest time. He spent five seasons in the National Football League, drafted in the sixth round by the New York Jets in 2018. He would go on to play for a half-dozen more teams before hanging up the cleats in 2025.
Others On the List
The list of stand-out secondary men also included:
- Lorenzo Doss (2012-2014) Ranks third in career interceptions and holds the Tulane career record for interception return yards and defensive touchdowns.
- Mitchell Price (1987-1989) Starting at SMU, Price transferred to Tulane, snagging a dozen interceptions in his three seasons and earning First-Team All-Independent honors.
The On SI Tulane Choice for Greatest DB: Paul Ellis
This was our closest vote so far. Somethings could be said for each of the candidates, but when you hold a record for over a half-century and no on has eclipsed it, you're special. And Paul Ellis was.
Besides his ungodly numbers, Ellis was the cream of the crop in what is considered the strongest secondary to ever play football at Tulane. With Joe Bullard and David Hebert back there with him, it could have been a jump-ball situation as to who would get the most INTs. It wasn't Ellis claimed it.
For that, and many other reasons, the On SI Tulane pick for greatest defensive back in Tulane history is Paul Ellis.
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Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.