Tulane Lands a Baker's Dozen on All AAC Team
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The Tulane football team (10-2, 7-1 AAC) earned a league-high 13 American All-Conference selections on Tuesday plus saw place kicker Patrick Durkin named the Special Teams Player of the Year.
Durkin was named the league’s 2025 Special Teams Player of the Year. On the season he is 22-for-24 on field goals and 36-for-37 on extra points. He is 7-for-8 from 40+ including four made kicks of 50+ with a long of 52. The 22 made field goals from Durkin this year are the second-most in school history for a single season and rank him fifth nationally. His 102 points leads the conference, is the third-most for a kicker in school history and tied for the seventh-most for any player overall in the school record book. He also had 63 touchbacks on 71 kickoffs this season (88.7 percent). He was also a First Team All-Conference selection for the first time in his career. Durkin was named the league’s Special Teams Player of the Week three times throughout the campaign (Sept. 1, Oct. 13 and Nov. 24).
The team’s other First Team All-Conference selections this year, besides Durkin, are Shadre Hurst (offensive guard), Santana Hopper (defensive line), Jack Tchienchou (safety), and Alec Clark (punter). It was a second time selection for Hurst and the first time at Tulane for Hopper, Tchienchou, Clark and Durkin.
Hurst, in his third year at the school, he has started all 12 games for Tulane this season with 11 at left guard and one at left tackle. He has helped the offense rank in the top 10 nationally in sack allowed per game (7th - 0.83) and tackles for loss allowed per game (9th - 3.75). The Green Wave offense is averaging 4.7 yards per carry on the ground with 2014 rushing yards. The passing game sports an average of 248.6 yards a contest with an impressive 13.02 yards per completion. The offense has scored 20+ points in 11 games including six contests with 30+. He was also a First Team All-Conference selection last season.
Hopper, in his first year at Tulane, he has played in all 12 games with 11 starts on the defensive line. On the season he has 26 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. His tackles for loss rank him second on the team. He was named the American Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 29.
Tchienchou, is in his second year at Tulane, has played and started all 12 games this season at safety. He is tied for the team lead with 68 tackles including two tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and a pass defense.
Clark, in his first year at Tulane, has proven to be one of the top punters in the nation with an average of 47.7 yards per punt with a long of 70. Of his 42 punts, 16 have gone for 50+ and he has placed 13 inside the 20. His punting average would place him fourth nationally if he had enough kicks to qualify statistically. He was named the league’s Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 29
Tulane’s Second Team selections consist of Tre’Von McAlpine (defensive line) and Sam Howard (linebacker). It was the first selection for McAlpine at Tulane and the second selection for Howard.
McAlpine, in his first year at Tulane, has played in all 12 games with 10 starts on the defensive line. He has totaled 31 tackles, two stops for loss, a sack, and a fumble recovery.
Howard, in his second year at Tulane, has played and started nine games at linebacker. Despite missing three games with injury, he ranks fifth on the team in tackles with 41 and is tied for second on the squad with 7.5 stops for loss. He also has three sacks and a forced fumble.
The Third Team American selections are Derrick Graham (offensive tackle), Harvey Dyson III (linebacker), Javion White (cornerback), TJ Smith (return specialist), and Jason Arredondo (long snapper). It is the second All-Conference selection for Graham at Tulane and the first time for Dyson, White, Smith and Arredondo.
Graham, in his second year at Tulane, has played and started 11 games at left tackle this season. He has helped the offense rank in the top 10 nationally in sack allowed per game (7th - 0.83) and tackles for loss allowed per game (9th - 3.75). The Green Wave offense is averaging 4.7 yards per carry on the ground with 2014 rushing yards. The passing game sports an average of 248.6 yards a contest with an impressive 13.02 yards per completion. The offense has scored 20+ points in 11 games including six contests with 30+. He was a First Team All-Conference selection last season.
Dyson, in his first year at Tulane, has played and started all 12 games for Tulane at linebacker. He has totaled 32 tackles, nine stops for loss, six sacks and a forced fumble on the campaign. He leads the squad in tackles for loss and is tied for the lead in sacks. His average of 0.50 sacks per game places him tied for fourth.
White, in his first year at Tulane, has played and started all 12 games at cornerback. He has totaled 42 tackles, three stops for loss, six pass breakups, a fumble recovery, and three interceptions. His three interceptions tie him for the team lead and rank him tied for third in the conference.
Smith, in his first year at Tulane, has played in all 12 games. He has four returns for 131 yards with an average of 32.8 yards per return with a long of 62. He also has 22 tackles, 2.5 stops for loss, and a sack on defense plus registered a blocked field goal attempt on special teams.
Arredondo, in his first year at Tulane, has served as the team’s long snapper on all punts and field goal attempts this season. The squad’s special teams’ unit has 22 made field goals in 24 attempts (91.7 percent) plus a punting average of 47.3 yards per kick.
Tulane also saw Jahiem Johnson (defensive back) earn All-Conference Honorable Mention honors for the first time in his career.
Johnson, in his second year at Tulane, has started all 12 games at cornerback. He has 33 tackles, a stop for loss, three interceptions, a team-high seven pass breakups and a forced fumble. His three interceptions tie him for the team lead and rank him tied for third in the conference.
Courtesy Tulane Athletics
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.