With the upcoming football season fast approaching, students have a lot of questions about the type of program and refreshed roster new head coach Willie Fritz will bring to the table.

Fritz has been able to turn many suffering football teams around, so it is not hard to believe that he can do the same for the Green Wave.

The first major change Fritz has expressed is the way he recruits. Recruiting is critical to a football team in order to maintain consistency from season to season.

For former head coach Curtis Johnson’s four seasons with Tulane, he primarily recruited local Louisianans with 11 in 2012, 18 in 2013, and 16 in 2014 and 2015.

Willie has decided to take a different route this year and recruit all across the southern states because he got to the process a little late. He still plans to increase and maintain a Louisiana recruit presence in the future, however.

The incoming recruiting class consists of athletes from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and, of course, Louisiana.

“People in the student body [represent] all 50 states,” Wesley Fritz, director of player personnel and Willie’s son, said. “There are kids from everywhere, so why not recruit on the national level as well.”

Wesley describes the ideal recruit as someone that “excels on the field” but is also “interested in life after football.”

A big selling point for recruits is the high-level education they will receive while pursuing their athletic passion.

With Tulane in the American Athletic Conference, the competitiveness and strength of teams become a big factor when recruits decide where to continue their football careers.

A couple recruits were in talks with Willie while he was still at Georgia Southern and they were hesitant to play for the school and the Sun Belt Conference. Once Willie transitioned to Tulane, they were all in.

“Soon we will be a winning team and [recruits] want to be a part of a winning team,” Wesley said.

Additional reporting by Samantha Shafia and Chandler Daddario