The city of New Orleans has overcome much adversity since Hurricane Katrina landed in August of 2005. The Tulane football team knows a thing or two about adversity as well.
Since 1949, Tulane has won just two conference championships (1998, 2022). They’ve also appeared in only 14 bowl games. The Green Wave and the good times have been rolling lately, though. They’ve made six bowl games in the past seven years, including a Cotton Bowl win in 2022.
There were a lot of losses that preceded that, however, and off-field hardships in the form of 2021’s Hurricane Ida (Tulane went 2-10 that year) and Katrina.
Fittingly, August 2005 is also when Patrick Durkin was born. The Joliet Catholic alum is currently the starting kicker for the Green Wave and he, too, knows a bit about adversity.
Top of the Hill
It’s not hard to find Durkin’s high school accomplishments. They’re pinned to the top of his X profile alongside the words “Joliet Catholic Academy alum.” 230/242 on combined kicks (nine of which were blocked), 268 total points scored, 160 touchbacks and multiple school records.
JCA also won state in 2021 and finished runner-up in 2023. Durkin credits Hilltoppers coach Jake Jaworski and assistant Francis “Rudy” Ruettiger for helping him become the kicker he is today.
“Those four years are some of the best of my life,” Durkin said. “Coach Jaws and coach Rudy are two pretty special people I still talk to. I always see them when I go back home. That place played such a big role in my growth on and off the field.”
It’s not easy being Green
Like the Wave and New Orleans, Durkin had his own share of challenges.
Durkin was set to hit campus in May 2024 when a doctor told him he had a benign tumor in his nose. He required surgery to remove it and ended up losing roughly 25 pounds during the recovery process.
With Louisiana Tech transfer Jacob Barnes and fellow freshman Ethan Head already making an impression on new coach Jon Sumrall, Durkin had an uphill battle to take the starting job. Still, it looked like he’d win the competition until a week before the season opener when that hill became much steeper. He was on the practice field when he was hit by a golf cart.
“It was kind of uncontrollable,” Durkin said. “I was initially misdiagnosed and then found out a couple weeks into the season my hip was broken. It was just shattered straight through.”
He decided to take a page from his program and new city. He never let his mentality waver and set out to help the Wave any way he could.
“To me it’s all about trying to help the team get wins in whatever way I can,” he said. “I leaned a lot on my faith and family in that time so I could grow on the field and off the field with that experience.”
Riding the Wave
Opportunity eventually presented itself for Durkin.
Barnes struggled with his own health issues and was eventually shut down while Head’s longest field goal was just 38 yards and he missed three extra points. Durkin had recovered enough late in the season that the door was open.
He took the field for the first time with Tulane November 9 against Temple. He made all six of his extra point attempts and his lone field goal in a win.
He wound up kicking in five games that year, making all 16 of his extra point attempts, going 2-of-4 on field goals and securing 11 touchbacks on 13 kickoffs.
“I was doing everything I could to get back,” Durkin said. “I was proud of myself for going out there and doing what I needed to.”
This year has been even better. Tulane is 3-0 with wins over Northwestern, South Alabama and Duke. Durkin’s a perfect 7-of-7 with a long of 50 and 9-of-10 on extra points while all of his kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks.
Durkin praised his “close-knit” teammates as well as Sumrall, whom he called “a great person and coach.” Special teams coordinator Jonathan Gallante credited Durkin for the work he’s put in.
“I’ve been very pleased with his consistency,” Gallante said. “He’s totally bought into what we believe. He’s developed a high level of consistency with his operation and it’s paying off for him.”
In the past 12 years, Tulane has produced current Bears kicker Cairo Santos and Vikings punter Ryan Wright. It’s quite possible Durkin could join them in the NFL the next two or three years.
For now, though, the 5-foot-10, 175 pound redshirt freshman isn’t thinking past this week, when the Green Wave face their toughest test of the season.
Tulane is set to visit 13th ranked Ole Miss on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN. A victory could push Tulane into the top 25 and solidify them as a potential College Football Playoff team.
Again, though, Durkin’s just thinking of going 1-0 this week.
“They’re probably the best team we’ve played this far and the margin of error is much smaller than previous weeks,” he said. “Ole Miss is a big time team and it’s a big time opportunity. We’re looking forward to seizing that opportunity and hopefully getting a big win.”