The Tulane Green Wave need to replace their starting kicker, and while they may have one on their roster, they added reinforcements in the portal.
The Tulane Green Wave have been active and aggressive in the transfer portal to say the least – and they frankly must be with their level of roster turnover. One of the strongest units for the team last season suddenly became one of the largest holes to fill when former kicker Patrick Durkin and punter Alec Clark followed their special teams coordinator, Johnathan Galante, and analyst Gunner Hudspeth, to the Florida Gators with Jon Sumrall. Now, Tulane will look to replace both.
At kicker, the Green Wave do have a potential option on the roster, but they added reinforcements in the portal on Monday. Former Ohio State kicker Jackson Courville announced that he’s transferring to the program.
Courville spent one season with the Buckeyes and only saw time in the team’s 70-0 win over Grambling State. He went 4-of-4 on his extra point attempts. He was behind starter Jayden Fielding, who struggled for Ohio State and missed kicks that helped them lose games, including against Indiana in the Big Ten Championship – after which coach Ryan Day was asked about a potential switch.
They ultimately stuck with Fielding, who missed his only field goal attempt in their loss to Miami in the CFP. Courville came over to the Buckeyes from Ball State, where he went 26-of-34 on field goals over two seasons. He was 4-of-5 from 40-plus yards out, made both 50-plus yard attempts in the 2024 season, and had a career-long of 52 yards – matching Durkin’s last year. He is 58-of-60 on extra points.
Tulane will also return Cooper Helmke, who was injured for most of his freshman season, but had two kickoffs in one appearance with one touchback. Helmke indicated he was returning via a post on X.
He was a huge signing for the Green Wave out of local St. Martin’s after de-committing from Boise State. His longest field goal in a high school game is 49 yards but has kicked a 70-yard field goal in a practice setting. He has a strong boot and will have a season learning in Tulane’s system, giving new coach Will Hall some strong competition options at the open role.
All of that is impressive considering that the team has not announced a replacement for Galante or his analyst at special teams coordinator. The team will still look for another punter, but the portal won’t close for four more days – and anyone who entered is fair game after that.