Maybe the most immediate impact Willie Fritz had in his first season at Tulane was turning around a defense that hit rock bottom under former coach Curtis Johnson. Despite an abundance of talent and experience, the Green Wave finished 2015 ranked No. 80 in the nation in total defense in Johnson's final season, but that number jumped up to No. 35 in 2016. Fritz's focus on fundamentals and tackling quickly paid dividends for the Wave and the unit has quite a few playmakers returning next season.
Fritz knew going into 2016 that his stable of running backs would be the greatest asset he had on offense and the first-year coach utilized his spread-option offense to get the ball into the hands of his best playmakers as much as possible.