Tulsa capped its spring football drills Saturday as the defense stood out in the Annual Spring Game.

“It was a good day for us. I was happy to walk off the field healthy. Our numbers are down a little bit right now with a few guys being out injured, but to be able to come out, compete and see guys fly around was good. They were juiced up and energetic. It was good to see them execute,” said coach Philip Montgomery.

“We know we still have a lot of things to get done, a lot to accomplish, but I’m proud of the effort today and throughout spring as well as  the progress that we’ve made.”

A number of key players were held out or played sparingly in the 76-play scrimmage.

Despite not forcing a turnover, the Hurricane defense had the advantage holding the offense to 16 points on a touchdown and three field goals. Tulsa’s defensive unit had eight tackles for loss with five sacks, a pass breakup and limited the offense to 48 yards rushing on 30 carries.

Tulsa’s offense was without or saw limited action today from players that combined for 2,749 all-purpose yards and 3,269 passing yards as well as 12 rushing, 18 passing and three receiving TDs in 2021.

With returning starting quarterback Davis Brin missing the spring game, redshirt freshman Braylon Braxton was the first to take snaps.

Alongside him were sophomore Roman Fuller and newcomer Cardell Williams. The offense would go on to score one touchdown and three field goals.

Tulsa quarterbacks completed 20-of-36 passes for 208 yards.

Williams connected on 4-of-6 passes for 93 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Jeshari Houston on the sixth drive of the afternoon.

Fuller connected on 10-of-15 passes for 72 yards and led one of the three field goal drives. Braxton finished 6-of-15 for 43 yards and led a field goal drive.

On the ground, Deneric Prince led the rushers with 10 carries for 35 yards. Bill Jackson finished with 19 yards on 10 carries, and Jordan Ford took one handoff and picked up 15 yards.

Scottie Alexander led the receiving corps with four receptions for 84 yards.

Marquis Shoulders also caught four passes and picked up 44 yards, while Jeshari Houston logged 37 yards on three receptions.

The defense dominated the early stretch of the game, and it wasn’t until the fourth drive when Zack Long connected on a 36-yard field goal to open the scoring, capping a 7-play, 47-yard drive.

Two drives later, Williams led Tulsa on a 6-play, 40-yard drive that ended with the game’s lone touchdown. The drive started with a 16-yard completion to Shoulders.

On the eighth possession, Fuller put together the longest drive of the afternoon, taking the offense 75 yards in 19 plays and ending with a 36-yard field goal from Long.

The 10th and final drive began with a 23-yard rush from Prince, the game’s rushing play, which got Tulsa down to the two-yard line.

A pair of plays later and Tyler Tipton knocked a 20-yard field goal through the uprights to end the day.

The Golden Hurricane will open the 2022 season on Saturday, Sept. 3 at Wyoming before opening the home schedule against Northern Illinois and Jacksonville State in back-to-back weekends at Chapman Stadium.

Scoring

Zach Long 36 FG (7 plays, 47 yards)

Jeshari Houston 14 pass from Cardell Williams, Tipton PAT (6 plays, 40 yards)

Zach Long 36 FG (19 plays, 75 yards)

Tyler Tipton 20 FG (3 plays, 24 yards)

Rushing Leaders

#8 Deneric Prince, 10-for-35 yards

#25 Bill Jackson, 10-for-19 yards

#6 Jordan Ford, 1-for-15 yards

Passing Leaders

#11 Cardell Williams, 4-for-6, 93 yards, 1 TD

#10 Roman Fuller, 10-for-15, 72 yards

#1 Braylon Braxton, 6-for-15, 43 yards

Receiving Leaders

#22 Scottie Alexander, 4-for-84

#4 Marquis Shoulders, 4-for-44

#86 Jeshari Houston, 3-for-37

#9 Nick Rempert, 1-for-15

Defensive Leaders

#8 Brian Johnson, 4 tackles, 1 TFL

#12 Tyree Carlisle, 3 tackles

#19 Grant Sawyer, 3.5 tackles, 1 TFL

#48 Owen Ostroski, 2 sacks

#40 Mitchell Kulkin, 1.5 sacks