RB Shedro Louis plans to end career with bang for Tulane

Jun 21, 2023

Tulane Green Wave head coach Willie Fritz talks with an official during the game with Memphis Tigers at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, La., Saturday, October 22, 2022.

Although Tulane already had a handful of scholarship running backs, graduate transfer Shedro Louis embraced the competition when he chose the Green Wave as a transfer from Liberty after spring drills.

Louis, a 5-foot-8, 170-pound dynamo, rushed for 1,399 yards and 15 touchdowns and added 36 receptions in four years with the Flames. He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, with two more scores nullified by penalties.

“It’s mandatory that I play with a chip on my shoulder,” said Louis, who has dealt with doubts about his size since his high school days at Immokalee in Florida. “I don’t talk much. What I say you might not believe, so I’m going to show you. I can do it all. You need me to block, score, run downfield, I got you.”

Louis rushed for 101 yards on seven carries against Ole Miss in 2021, and he scored on touchdown runs of 75 and 52 yards against Syracuse in 2020.

“He’s compact and he’s strong,” Tulane coach Willie Fritz said. “If he were 6 feet, he’d be 210 pounds. He’s tough, physical and it’s hard to find a place to hit him.”

Fritz compared Louis to Kegan Coleman, a 5-7 back who rushed for a school-record 3,995 yards at Central Missouri from 2001-04 when Fritz coached him.

Louis gave Liberty’s new staff under former Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell a chance to keep him after Hugh Freeze left for Auburn, but Louis decided to play his final year elsewhere. He said Tulane beat out BYU, Florida International and Arkansas State because he liked the program's chemistry and culture.

Four days into camp, he is sure he made the right choice. Being indecisive is not part of his makeup.

“My running style is one decision and go,” he said. “I don’t have time to be hesitating. In my heart, I’m going to end with a bang.”

Tulane completed its fourth preseason practice in even more sweltering conditions than the first three. The temperature reached 98 degrees in New Orleans on Saturday afternoon, and it did not feel much cooler when the morning workout ended before 10 a.m.

Relief is coming with a pair of workouts set for the Caesars Superdome on Tuesday and Thursday. The Wave will rest Sunday in compliance with NCAA rules prohibiting teams from practicing five days in a row during camp.

“We wanted to come out here this first week and acclimate ourselves to the heat,” Fritz said. “Now we’re going to start going outside, inside, outside, inside.”

Cramping has not been an issue.

“The (staff) has done a really good job all summer taking care of us,” quarterback Michael Pratt said. “Everybody drank at least a gallon of water (the day before preseason camp started) during meetings.”

Pratt and receiver Lawrence Keys combined for the offensive play of the week Saturday, hooking up for a 50-yard throw-and-catch down the sideline on a play that started at the 1-yard line. Cornerback Lance Robinson ran stride for stride with Keys on a streak pattern, but Pratt’s deep ball floated right into Keys’ hands. He held on while falling to the ground.

“That was a good ball,” Fritz said. ”He (Pratt) works all the time on it. We talk about throwing a 1 ball on a short pass with some steam on it when you have to fit it in a window. You’ve got a 2 ball that’s usually up the seam or a deep comeback, and then you’ve got a 3 ball where you’ve got to put some air on it and it has to go over the top of a defender. He did a really nice job with the 3 ball on the sideline.”

The completion came in an 11-on-11 drill where every play started from the 1 — situational work Fritz considers vital. Look no further than the game-altering safety that defensive lineman Patrick Jenkins registered against USC in the Cotton Bowl in the same scenario.

“You’ve got to have a plan for every situation,” Fritz said. ”One year I was out here, we ran a stretch (play) when we were backed up at the 1. It’s going sideways and if you get any penetration, it’s a safety, so they have to be straight-ahead plays.

"It’s good to max protect and throw it there because most teams are going to out-populate you and you’ve got one on one on the perimeter, but you better be clean. If you hold in the end zone, it’s a safety.”