After conducting a regular practice, Tulane scrimmaged from 9:45 to 10:17 on Saturday morning at Yulman Stadium. Instead of having an Oklahoma-like kickoff coverage drill right before the start, they had three one-on-one races between offensive and defensive players. They lined up at the 45-yard line, ran around a cushion at the other 45 and race back to dive across the 45. The first two were so close that the offense and defense claimed victory, with Jamauri McClure going against Kevin Adams and a pair of numbers I didn't catch in the second one. The last one had Zycarl Lewis against Armani Cargo, and Cargo won.
Several players were held out of the scrimmage. On defense, Sam Howard, Dickson Agu, Kam Hamilton, Javion White and Adonis Friloux were notable absences. On offense, Arnold Barnes and LaRon Husbands (knee, crutches) sat out while Derrick Graham and Shadre Hurst got eight reps before heading to the sideline to let other gets needed work. TJ Finley of course was not there. Darion Reed continued to be unavailable with a minor injury, wearing his jersey but not having his helmet. Antwaun Parham is out with an injury, too, joining Omari Hayes.
The scrimmage started with the offense backed up to its 1-yard line. On the first play, there was a botched exchange between Jack Hollifield and Kadin Semonza. The ball went forward, and Jack Tchienchou picked it up for an easy scoop and score. Donovan Leary went in and nearly threw a pick-six, with Chris Rodgers reading the out pass, stepping in front of it but failing to hold on to the ball.
Next, they did a third-and-one drill from the offense's 20. Leary threw incomplete under heavy pressure, then the offense was called for holding on a nice run by Zuberi Mobley, Mobley picked up a first down by inches and Semonza sneaked for 2 yards.
The regular portion of the scrimmage started with the ball at the offense's 20. After Leary threw incomplete, a penalty backed the offense up to the 19 and McClure busted a 21-yard power run where he ran through tackles. A quick out to Shazz Preston picked up 4 yards--he was unable to break free as he did twice in the first scrimmage--and Maurice Turner powered his way for 8 yards. Leary hit Preston for 25 yards on an inside route before Turner gained 2 yards and McClure gained 9 yards on a powerful run to make it first down at the defense's 12. Leary kept for a 3-yard loss (the whistle of course blew before any contact with the quarterbacks), and McClure was met in the backfield by a host of tacklers, breaking two of them but still ending up with a 2-yard loss. Leary then threw late to the outside for Justyn Reed on a pass that was not close. Patrick Durkin kicked a 35-yard field goal to finish the drive.
Semonza was next and started with three straight incomplete passes--including an overshot and another that was broken up by Jah'Rie Garner. They started over and Turner was stuffed for a 5-yard loss before breaking loose on second down for 22-yard gain down the sideline. He fumbled at the end, but the ball went ouf of bounds. Rodgers, who is having a good spring, tackled Anthony Miller for a 2-yard reception on the next play, and Shaun Nicholas beat KC Eziomume for 10 yards to move the ball to the defense's 44. Joshua Moore blitzed for a 6-yard "sack," Turner picked up 6 yards and Semonza scrambled on third down before the whistle blew for a sack.
Leary got the next turn and found Anthony Brown-Stephens wide open on a crosser for 24 yards to the 49. McClure was cut down for 1-yard gain, failing to break a tackle for the first time in four runs and looking a little dinged up as teammates pulled him up, and Leary overshot McClure on a simple pass in the flat where McClure did not appear totally ready. On third-and-9, Leary held the ball a little too long and when he threw, it went right to bandit Ty Cooper for an easy interception.
Leary got another possession and threw a quick out to Garrett Mmahat for 3 yards. Javin Gordon bounced outside for 5 yards but got popped hard near the sideline. McClure, still not looking right, tried to run wide to his left on third-and-1 and lost 3 yards. Leary tried to throw a quick pass on fourth-and-4 and Adams jumped it for an interception.
Leary got a third consecutive series, this time from the offense's 40, and started with a beautiful pass to Nicholas down the sideline for 20 yards. Moore sacked him for 5 yards on the next play before Mobley gained 4 yards. Turner tried to bounce outside on a surprise third-and-11 run call but gained only 5 yards. On fourth and 6, Leary overthrew an open Lewis on a deep ball to the end zone. They still allowed Durkin to attempt a 52-yard field goal, and he nailed it with a couple of yards to spare. The last time a Tulane kicker made one of 50 yards or longer in a game was Cairo Santos in 2013, which is insane.
Semonza went back in and handed off to McClure, who looked recovered from his early ding, gained 8 yards but fumbled at the end. The offense recovered it. An incomplete pass followed before Oliver Mitchell caught a 4-yard pass and slipped. A quick throw to Gordon netted 9 yards, and he then broke a tackle on a 17-yard power run to the 22. After a throwaway, Turner gained 14 yards up the middle on a play that ended in a fight between two players whose numbers I did not catch (an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman). On first-and-goal from the 8, Semonza overshot Reed in the corner of the end zone. He then hit Lewis on a quick out, but he was pushed out of bounds for no gain. Deshaun Batiste had a sack on third down, leading to a 32-yard field goal by Durkin.
They went to red zone work next, and Semonza was not clsoe on a pass for Bryce Bohanon. Mobley ran through a big hole for 11 yards to move the ball to the 9, and I thought McClure scored on the next play. The offense celebrated as if it were a touchdown, but the ball was marked just inside the 1. A Semonzs sneak was ugly as he went too low, and McClure was hit for a 2-yard loss on third-and-goal from the 1. A TD pass to Reid, who ran into the end zone and simply turned around, was wiped out by a penalty before Semonza connected with Bohanon on an out route in the back of the end zone, floating it in nicely. over Chase Green. Durkin converted the extra point.
The scrimmage ended with one red zone possession for walk-on Dagan Bruno. He found Brown-Stephens for 18 yars on the first play. A 1-yard run on first-and-goal set up Turner for a 1-yard TD plunge, and Zach Marini made the extra point.
DEPTH CHARTS
The starting O-line from left to right was Derrick Graham, Shadre Hurst, Hollifield, John Bock and Reese Baker. The No. 2 line was Tristen Fortenberry, Landry Cannon, Elijah Baker, Robbie Pizzolato and Dominic Steward. Anthony Miller was the first-team tight end, backed up by Reid. McClure was the first running back, with Turner next, then Gordon, then Mobley. The starting wideouts were Bohanon, Mbanasor and Preston. The No. 2 wideouts were Nicholas, Brown-Stephens and Lewis. Kellen Tasby and Mmahat got in the rotation, too.
The starting D-line was Gerrod Henderson, Tre'Von McAlpine, Santana Hopper and Jah'Rie Garner, with Deshaun Batiste, Elijah Champaigne, Eliyt Nairne and Mo Westmoreland getting plenty of work inthe rotation along with Cooper, PaLanding Drammeh, Geordan Guidry. They rotate in and out so much it is hard to get a read on the order. I did not see Nik Alston but might have missed him.
The linebacker were Rodgers and Dallas Winner-Johnson, with Jean Claude Joseph and Makai Williams getting work.
The nickelbacks were Eziomume and Jayden Lewis. The cornerbacks were Jahiem Johnson and E'Zaiah Shine together at the sart, with Armani Cargo rotating in and Isaiah Wadsworht getting backup reps.
The starting safeties were Tchienchou and Despanie, with Adams and Moore behind them and Green rotating in at times.
