2021 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

The 2021 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa as a member of the American Athletic Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Philip Montgomery, the Golden Hurricane compiled an overall record of 7–6 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the American. Tulsa was invited to the Myrtle Beach Bowl, where they beat Old Dominion. The team played home games at Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

2021 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
Myrtle Beach Bowl champion
Myrtle Beach Bowl, W 30–17 vs. Old Dominion
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	7–6 (5–3 AAC)
Head coach	Philip Montgomery (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Veer and shoot
Defensive coordinator	Joe Gillespie (3rd season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium

2021 American Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Cincinnati y$^		8	–	0					13	–	1
No. 17 Houston y		8	–	0					12	–	2
UCF		5	–	3					9	–	4
East Carolina		5	–	3					7	–	5
Tulsa		5	–	3					7	–	6
SMU		4	–	4					8	–	4
Memphis		3	–	5					6	–	6
Navy		3	–	5					4	–	8
Tulane		1	–	7					2	–	10
South Florida		1	–	7					2	–	10
Temple		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Cincinnati 35, Houston 20
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

American Athletic Conference preseason media poll

The American Athletic Conference preseason media poll was released at the virtual media day held August 4, 2021. Cincinnati, who finished the 2020 season ranked No. 8 nationally, was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the 2021 preseason media poll.

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Cincinnati	262 (22)
2	UCF	241 (2)
3	SMU	188
4	Houston	181
5	Memphis	168
6	Tulsa	153
7	Tulane	132
т-8	East Carolina	85
т-8	Navy	85
10	Temple	46
11	South Florida	43

Schedule

Tulsa opened the 2021 season at home against UC Davis on Thursday, September 2, before a pair of road games at Oklahoma State, September 11 in Stillwater and Ohio State, September 18 in Columbus.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:30 p.m.	No. 23 (FCS) UC Davis*	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN+	L 17–19	15,085
September 11	11:00 a.m.	at Oklahoma State*	Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK (rivalry)	FS1	L 23–28	52,127
September 18	2:30 p.m.	at No. 9 Ohio State*	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	FS1	L 20–41	76,540
September 25	4:00 p.m.	Arkansas State*	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN+	W 41–34	14,881
October 1	6:30 p.m.	Houston	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–45	15,890
October 9	8:00 p.m.	Memphis	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN2	W 35–29	17,593
October 16	11:00 a.m.	at South Florida	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPNU	W 32–31	21,767
October 29	6:30 p.m.	Navy	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN2	L 17–20	16,279
November 6	2:30 p.m.	at No. 6 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH (College GameDay)	ESPN2	L 20–28	37,978
November 13	3:00 p.m.	at Tulane	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, LA	ESPNU	W 20–13 OT	22,784
November 20	3:00 p.m.	Temple	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN+	W 44–10	16,731
November 27	3:00 p.m.	at SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX	ESPN2	W 34–31	17,158
December 20	2:30 p.m.	vs. Old Dominion*	Brooks Stadium Conway, SC (Myrtle Beach Bowl)	ESPN	W 30–17	6,557
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 2 released prior to game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Tulsa in action at SMU

Further information: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	RV	—	—	—	—
CFP	Not released															Not released

Roster

2021 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 0 Ezra Naylor II GS QB 1 Braylon Braxton Fr WR 2 Keylon Stokes GS RB 3 Shamari Brooks RSr WR 4 Josh Johnson RSr WR 5 JuanCarlos Santana RSr RB 6 Jordan Ford Jr QB 7 Davis Brin RJr RB 8 Deneric Prince RJr WR 9 Sam Crawford Jr. RSr QB 10 Roman Fuller RFr WR 11 Josh Stewart GS QB 12 Seth Boomer RSr WR 13 Malachai Jones RFr WR 15 Malik Rodgers RSo QB 16 Carson Collins RSo TE 19 Grayson Boomer RSo WR 20 Cannon Montgomery RSr WR 22 Scottie Alexander Fr RB 23 Anthony Watkins RSo RB 24 Steven Anderson RJr RB 25 Bill Jackson Fr WR 26 Marquis Shoulders Fr WR 28 Corbin Daniels Jr TE 32 James Palmer RJr TE 38 Abe Anderson RSr TE 47 Ethan Hall RSo C 50 Gabe Cantu So C 52 Will Farniok RJr OL 56 Tyler Smith RSo C 66 Gerard Wheeler RSr OL 68 Tiller Bucktrot GS OL 71 Chris Paul RSr OL 72 Dillon Wade RFr OL 73 Dylan Couch GS OL 74 Jeremy Jones RSo OL 75 Dante Bivens RSr OL 76 Chester Baah RSo OL 77 Bryce Bray RSo OL 78 X'Zauvea Gadlin RSo OL 79 Jaden Muskrat RFr TE 80 Bayne Tryon RFr WR 84 Jalen Paxton RFr WR 86 Kamdyn Benjamin RSo WR 88 Kemani Brown RFr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 0 Tyon Davis RSr S 1 Kendarin Ray RJr CB 2 Travon Fuller GS S 3 Cristian Williams GS LB 4 Robert Revels III GS CB 5 Kenney Solomon So LB 6 Jon-Michael Terry GS S 7 TieNeal Martin GS LB 8 Brian Johnson RJr S 9 Daiquain Jackson RSr S 10 Sean O'Keefe RFr LB 11 Treyvon Reeves GS CB 12 Tyree Carlisle So CB 15 Reggie Ellis RSo S 16 Zion Hopes Fr S 18 Brad Hensley RSo LB 19 Grant Sawyer Sr LB 20 Jaden Moore Fr S 21 Bryson Powers RSr S 22 LJ Wallace RJr CB 24 DaMarco Williams RFr S 25 Jaise Oliver RSo S 28 Jett Hendrix RJr LB 30 Justin Wright RJr LB 33 Sam Clayton RSo CB 34 Kaylon Washington RFr LB 35 Yohance Burnett GS S 37 Hunter Rangel RSo LB 40 Mitchell Kulkin RJr LB 41 Dorian Hopkins RSo DL 44 Joseph Anderson RJr LB 46 Bershard Glaspie Jr. RSo LB 47 Daniel Giddens II So DL 48 Owen Ostroski Fr DL 52 Deven Lamp RJr LB 54 Trevor Reh RSo DL 58 Elijah Taylor GS DL 90 Jaxon Player Sr DL 91 Cullen Wick GS DL 92 Darrias Murdock RSo DL 93 Bryce Alonso RJr DL 94 Anthony Goodlow RJr DL 95 Cooper Laake RSo DL 96 Vincent Ume-Ezeoke RSo DL 97 Tyarise Stevenson GS DL 98 Haydon Grant So DL 99 Everitt Rogers So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 37 Lachlan Wilson RSo LS 42 Adam Higuera GS K 43 Tyler Tipton RFr K 90 Zack Long GS K 95 Alex Haight So	Head coach Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State) Coordinators/assistant coaches Joseph Gillespie (Angelo State) Defensive coordinator, linebackers Carlton Buckels (LSU) Defensive passing game coordinator, cornerbacks coach Jayden Everett (Indiana State) Running backs coach Zach Hanson (Houston) Offensive line coach Calvin Lowry (Penn State) Receivers coach Luke Olson (Southern Nazarene) Nickel safeties coach Jordan Najvar (Baylor) Tight ends coach Kendrick Shaver (Missouri State) Safeties coach Beau Trahan (Texas) Quarterbacks coach Jesse Williams (Sonoma State) Defensive line coach Mookie Carlile (Tarleton State) Defensive quality control Grant Lester (Oklahoma) Offensive quality control Brody Trahan (Baylor) Quality control special teams & recruiting Nick Franey (Central Methodist) Offensive graduate assistant Verkedric Vaughns (Baylor) Defensive graduate assistant Ravi Savitala (UC Santa Cruz) Co-director of football operations/external Diane McPheeters (Baylor) Co-director of football operations/internal Dan Bitson (Tulsa) Director of player personnel & development Katie Newton (Arkansas) Director of football video services Tom Ososkie Director of scouting Sam Lazarus (Tulsa) Director of creative media Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

After the season

2022 NFL draft

The following Golden Hurricane players were selected in the 2022 NFL draft following the season.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
1	24	Tyler Smith	Offensive line	Dallas Cowboys
7	230	Chris Paul	Offensive line	Washington Commanders