The Greatest Linebacker in TU 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 little over a month 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. Two weeks ago, who we think was the greatest Wave receiver of all time. Last week, our choice for the greatest defensive lineman. Now a look at who we think was the greatest linebacker in the 100-plus years of Tulane football.
Dynamite in a Small Package: Bill Goss
Weighing in at less than 200-pounds, Bill Goss was not an intimidating figure. Playing for the Green Wave from 1963-65, his Tommy O'Boyle-led teams never saw a winning record. However, Goss found a way to make a statement. Named an All-SEC linebacker as a senior in 1965, Goss was the final Tulane player ever chosen All-SEC. Though picked in the 8th round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, he ended up serving as an SEC football referee, officiating over 200 games in a 23-year career. Goss was named to the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
Here is Goss' introduction video that year
Combined 720 Tackles: Ray Hester & Rick Kingrea
In Jim Pittman's last three seasons, he had put together teams that showed slow improvement leading to his last at Tulane, 1980, The Year of the Green. His linebacking corps from 1978-1980 included the dynamic duo of Ray Hester and Rick Kingrea.
Hester piled up 369-tackles through his three seasons at Tulane, giving him enough to be ranked 7th all-time. Kingrea, the defensive captain as a senior in 1970, was not far behind with 351-stops, putting him 9th on the list. Kingrea's senior year had him accumulating 171-wrap ups, placing him at the top of Tulane tacklers at the time. Neither played as freshman, as the NCAA did not allow it until 1972. The two helped Tulane to its first bowl game in three decades, the Liberty Bowl, and an AP ranking of #17 by season's end, the Green Wave's first time in the polls since 1950.
After his time in Uptown, Hester played linebacker for the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1973, and The Hawaiians of the WFL in 1974. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 1975. Two years later, Hester passed away at the age of 28. He was inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983.
Kingrea was drafted in the 14th round by the Cleveland Browns and ended up playing eight years in the NFL, including the Buffalo Bills and the New Orleans Saints, the latter from 1973-78. He was inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980.
Another Formidable Twosome: Frank Robinson & Marty Wetzel
A decade later, another pair of linebackers graced the Tulane defense, ending up even more prolific than the Hester/Kingrea duo. Frank Robinson and Marty Wetzel anchored a stout defense at the end of the Larry Smith era and the first year for Vince Gibson, playing in back-to-back bowl games in 1979 and 1980...up to that moment, the first time in the history of Tulane football that ever occurred.
The two combined for an incredible 834-tackles between them. Add that to defensive lineman Wilfred Simon's 413-stops, and you had an almost immovable object in the front seven for the Green Wave in the late 70s. Wetzel's 392-career tackles ranks him 6th, all-time. Robinson's ungodly 442-stops puts him in the 3rd slot. Though Wetzel is not in the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame, Robinson was feted in 2001
Robinson went the Canadian Football League route because he wanted to stay at the linebacker position. The NFL was telling him he would play safety. Instead, Robinson moved to Winnipeg, became a star CFL linebacker, playing briefly in Hamilton, winning the Grey Cup championship (the CFL's version of the Lombardi Trophy) twice.
Wetzel was drafted by the New York Jets in the 10th round in 1981, getting cut by them, but returning later in the season only to get his knee torn up, retiring early from his NFL dreams.
One-Man Wrecking Crew: Burnell Dent
From 1982-1985, Tulane did not have a winning record. That did not stop linebacker Burnell Dent from becoming a dominant player. Playing for Vince Gibson, Wally English, then Mack Brown's first year, Dent saw his teams collect a total of ten victories in those four seasons. But you can't take away what he did to opposing players.
Dent doesn't just own one category in Tulane history. He owns two. Dent collected 492-tackles in his career at Tulane, putting him at the top of an already dense list of Wave defenders. In 1983, he piled up 172-stops, setting Dent at the top of the list in tackles in a year, topping legendary 'backer Rick Kingrea for most in a season.
Dent went on to play in the NFL. The Destrehan native was drafted in the 6th round by the Green Bay Packers, where he played from 1986-1992. He was with the Detroit Lions for a short time and ended his career in 1993 with the New York Giants.
He was voted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.
The On SI Tulane Choice for Greatest Linebacker: Burnell Dent
Though there are many who deserve to be listed as greatest at linebacker, we choose Burnell Dent. Despite playing for poor Green Wave teams, Dent found a way to succeed, turning his four years at Tulane into a successful NFL career. For anyone who watched him play, and there weren't many in the Superdome who came to the games in those days, they were privy to a young man who just flew across the field, finding ways to tackle opposing players, and sometimes dealing licks that would knock off a helmet. His records speak for themselves, but his long career in the Dome and in "the frozen tundra" just put a candle on the cake for us.
The On SI Tulane choice for greatest linebacker in Tulane history is Burnell Dent.
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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.