Green Wave Loses Two Talented Players

Sources close to the Tulane football team confirmed for Tulane Insider that two of the brightest prospects of the 2005 freshman class have left the team.

Running back Christian Ducre from Fontainebleu High School in Mandeville, La., the son of former Green Wave running back Brad Ducre, and wide receiver Cary Koch from The Dunham School in Baton Rouge, La., are reportedly not participating in spring practice, which commenced Monday.

Ducre, who redshirted in 2005 despite having an outstanding pre-season camp, is reportedly contemplating a transfer to 1-AA Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., and would have 4 academic years remaining in which to complete his four years of eligibility.

Koch played extensively last fall, appearing in all 11 games, starting 1, on his way to catching 23 passes for 308 yards and 2 touchdowns, before suffering a broken ankle in the regular season finale against USM.

Koch has reportedly undergone a very difficult rehab.

Four other Green Wave players are known have left the team since the USM game: true freshman freshman kicker Jacob Hartgroves, who attended Tulane on an academic scholarship and made 4-of-6 field goals and 28-of-30 extra points, on his way to leading the team in scoring with 40 points, left because his engineering major was dropped; and linebacker Ace Foyil, one of the brightest prospects on the defensive side of the ball transferred to LSU at the beginning of the spring semester because his major in University College was being discontinued.

Two other players, redshirt sophomore linebacker Ryan Bewley, and freshman defensive end Matt Slocum, have been medically disqualified. Slocum actually never attended class at either Tulane or Louisiana Tech because of a bad back.