The Monday Night Football theme music blaring at Yulman Stadium minutes after Tulane's practice on Saturday morning meant one thing--this is a Monday in Jon Sumrall's parlance since the opener is next Thursday and everything has moved up two days--and that means 10 minutes of live reps for the freshmen and scout-team players. I wrote about this last Monday when they did it for the first time, but it is Sumrall's idea to keep the guys who are not slated for playing time excited and eager while giving them some experience if they end up playing later in the year. Javion White, who is competing with Jayden Lewis for the top backup spot at nickelback (spear), was the most notable guy getting extra action. The offensive line from left to right was Tristen Fortenberry, walk-on Collin O'Carroll, Gabe Fortson, Jayce Mitchell and walk-on Leo Wulfratt. Elijah Baker and Reese Baker and Dominic Steward were not involved because they are in the mix for playing time.

During the regular practice, Darian Mensah continued to get the first-team reps, with Kai Horton and Ty Thompson flip-flopping from Wednesday and Horton getting the second-team reps before Thompson. Sumrall has not changed his stance on announcing a pecking order at the position, but he was forthcoming about the injury status of guys who did not practice today. Obviously guys like Trey Tuggle (out for the year) and J'ahrie Garner and Jesus Machado with long-term injuries will not be available, and wide receiver Shazz Preston is "very doubtful to out," and Sumrall admitted it was not certain when he would return because hamstring injuries are tricky. He discarded the crutches for the first time today but is not close to being able to practice. Outside of that, Sumrall was not ready to say anyone was definitely out.

"I would say a lot of questionables like (Jack) Tchienchou, Phat (Watts) and Reggie (Brown). I'm not going to push, but if they are ready, they're ready, and if they're not, they're not. Those are the three that have a chance to play but may not play. Don't know yet, and I'm not just saying that. That's the truth. Shazz is the most unique one in that he could be game 2, game 3, game 4, game 5. He's off crutches, which is good. The crutches were not necessarily a function of him needing to use them to be able to walk. The crutches were to protect the overuse of the hamstring, but I saw him in our building last week with the crutches over his head walking around, like why do you carry them? He's been fine to walk. Just trying to limit the amount of usage."

Tulane's official depth chart has no real surprises. I listed the safeties at the wrong spots in my depth chart the other day--Bailey Despanie is at strong safety and Jalen Geiger is at free safety--but the rest was accurate. The quarterbacks are listed as Mensah OR Thompson OR Horton in that order. Bryce Bohanon is behind Yulkeith Brown at wideout, with Sidney Mbanasor OR Shaun Nicholas backing up Dontae Fleming and Watts listed as Mario Williams' backup. With Watts unlikely to play in my opinion, the guy getting the most reps is Garrett Mmahat. We'll see if he actually goes in to replace Williams or not. I talked to Carter Sheridan about all of the healthy wideouts today and will have the full interview later, but he indicated Khai Prean and Zycarl Lewis were behind the others in knowledge of the offense although he likes their skill set. At running back, it is Shaadie Clayton-Johnson OR Arnold Barnes behind Makhi Hughes with no mention of Jamauri McClure.

On defense, four guys are listed as such: Terrell Allen OR Matthew Fobbs-White OR Michael Lunz OR Shi'Keem Laister. I'm kicking myself about Laister because I wrote up a practice report with him playing bandit a couple weeks ago, then edited it out a couple hours later because I didn't trust I was wright and figured someone else had worn his jersey number. He is listed at 207 pounds, but they clearly like his pass rushing ability. Chris Rodgers is listed as Tyler Grubbs' backup at Will, with Sam Howard OR Dickson Agu the starter at Mike. Makai Williams is third at Mike. It's Jayden Lewis OR Javion White backing up Caleb Ransaw at nickel. Johnathan Edwards' backup is Rayshawn Pleasant. Micah Robinson's backup is Jaheim Johnson OR Lu Tillery, with no mention at either spot for Rishi Rattan. Kevin Adams backs up Despanie at strong safety, with Joshua Moore OR Tchienchou backing up Geiger at free safety.

The kickoff return guys are Clayton-Johnsnon, who I believe can score Thursday, and Pleasant instead of Fleming. Fleming is the punt returner, with Bohanon behind him.

Sumrall is pleased overall five days before his debut:

"I like where we are in a lot of things," he said. "I'm in a lot better headspace because we did this last week (preparing as if they were playing last Thursday). We worked out the kinds. We have 56 new plays and maybe 58 since we added two walk-ons when school started to be look-team guys. The staff has meshed really well. There's a lot of holdovers and a good number of new guys, and then there are some things we've adapted here that I didn't do at Troy. When your location changes, there are some processes that are mandatory that I believe in deep down, but there are some processes that fit locationally. Morning practice is one of them. I hadn't done that until now (other than his three years as an assistant to Curtis Johnson)., so we're getting used to that. You have to frontload so the night before, when you leave, the whole practice plan has got to be in the safe to pull out the next day. When you're an afternoon practice, you come in in the morning and you're still putting that day together. The other thing I'm trying to make sure we do is going into game one I'm always worried about us as coaches (teaching) no more football than our team can execute. Let's have enough bullets in the gun, but let's not let the gun malfunction because it's just got too many things in it. Let's be smart there, and the morning practice deal, staff-wise, player-wise, because we're all here, I got in late this morning and it was 5:45. That was late for me. Because you're so early on the front end, I'm trying to remind our staff on the back end when the work's done, don't sit here. Coaches have a tendency to want to be here to midnight or 1 a.m., and I'm like, guys, if you do that all year and you're here at 5 and leaving at 1, you're going to end up falling apart and not being very good. It's just making sure we understand the flow. That's why last week was so good, too, to kind of work some of that out.

"But I like our team's mindset. There was a different energy this morning in the team room. You beat up on yourselves and you run around and the bar is get better every day. Now the bar is like, hey, there's going to be a scoreboard on Thursday night and we gotta go play and line up."

Javon Carter was back today but practiced with the scout-team defense along with Elijah Champaigne. I'd say those two guys were the most notable players working with the scouts. On offense, Blake Gunter took advantage of a busted coverage for a long catch with no one near him. Other than that, the scout team offense did not have any significant gains, but they can't afford to have a breakdown like that in the game.

A reminder that Tulane did not practice today. Tomorrow's practice, which is the equivalent of a Monday practice in a normal week, will be open to reporters unlike the actual Monday practices during the rest of the season.

We talked to Tulane's offensive coordinator earlier this week. Here's what he said.

CRADDOCK

On how he feels about the offense right now:

"Right now we've got a lot of weapons. We've just got to find the best ways to put guys in certain spots that helps their skill set and take advantage of what they can do. We've had some guys we felt were more deep ball threats, and they're not. We've had to get those guys more underneath stuff and try to get them touches and let them use their wiggle and go on the outside, and then some guys are deep threats. There's been a lot of mixing and matching in training camp, and I think we've finally found the right lineup at receiver, and we're excited about that. Obviously we have a really good running back who I think is different from last year. Last year you saw him break some big runs and get run down from behind. This year he's a lot faster, he's a lot quicker. He's definitely physical. He's shown that definitely in training camp, and the biggest thing is we have to keep continuing to find who that next guy is with more consistency at the second spot. And then the O-line has been really solid. We've had a couple of bumps and bruises along the way, but getting some guys back healthy is definitely going to help. We gotta continue to develop chemistry up front with those five guys, so it's been a good training camp. I'd still like to see us a little bit farther ahead from a detail standpoint. We've got a lot of offense in, which is a good thing. Now this next week and a half we've just to really focus on the details, splits, alignments and assignments to know exactly what we're doing."

On Troy's Kimani Vidal having 297 carries (the most for any back in the country) for 1,661 yards last year and possible similar numbers for Hughes:

"We had a really good running back last year at our last spot. Kimani Vidal is playing really well right now with the Chargers. He was a guy that made our offense go because if you can run the ball, you open up a lot of things on the back end, so really excited about him and where he is from last year to this year."

On how deep they can go at receiver:

"A couple of bumps and bruises. I'd like to see the second-rotation guys be a little more detailed in what they're doing, but I'm really excited about the talent. Behind those first couple of guys we're young, and those guys have to come on quick because it's a next-man-up mentality. If someone needs a breather, somebody's got to go in, so there can't be any drop-off. We talk about that all the time. They have to be locked in, focused and know exactly what to do if their number's called."

On experienced offensive line:

"That's what makes it all go. You can have a good running back, but if there's nowhere to run, you don't have anything going, so having those guys up front, the chemistry with those guys is going to be crucial. A few have missed some practices, and we've held guys just to get them back healthy for the long stretch of the season, so just developing that chemistry leading up to game 1 and even through game 1 will be critical for our offense."

On Shaadie Clayton-Johnson's hands:

"Yeah, he catches the ball well. Makhi's really worked on his hands as well. Jamauri's got good hands. Duda's got good hands. He's had a couple of drops here and there, but he can still catch the ball so I'm really excited about all of our running backs being able to catch the ball. Shaadie does give you a little bit different dynamic in that he can split out and play slot receiver and be in the backfield. A lot of times when you empty the backfield, he's like an extra receiver out there that people are going to have to pay attention to and they can't just man him up with a linebacker."

On Mario Williams:

"Here's the deal with Mario. He came in and had to learn a whole another offense than what's he used to his whole college career. He's done a very good job of learning how to be a pro and what it takes to learn and study at night. He's gotta continue to develop that because it's a different system for him. I keep telling him, like look dude, the more you know, the more I can move you around, the more I can get you touches in different ways and not just have you in one spot stationary all the time. I've obviously challenged him with that a lot because the more he knows and the more he can move around, the more different things I can do with him."

On Yulkeith Brown as a route runner:

"He's one of our top guys. He's doing a great job as well. He's probably been the more consistent of the older guys, and he's very versatile in what he can do. There's a lot of different ways we can get him the ball as well."

On the tight ends and Alex Bauman:

"He is proven, but he's a different kid right now. He had an offseason procedure that I think has really helped him. He moves better than he ever has. He's one of our most skilled ball catchers, and we've got to do a good job and I've got to go back to my roots from several years ago when I was the tight ends coach about how we can utilize him in the passing game. What's I say about Alex is he as all-around tight end that can run block as well. In our staff meeting yesterday I was watching (video of) Alex cut off the backside, and I was like that's pretty dadgum good. Not only is he a good pass catcher, but he's also a good run blocker and I'm excited about how he looks right now coming out of missing spring training. He looks like a completely different player."

On guys around him helping QB make transition to being full-time starter:

"That's definitely crucial. When I talk to the quarterbacks all the time, there's been several days when you see a guy try to win the job on every single play. Sometimes they put the ball in jeopardy or make a poor decision trying to be Superman. You don't have to be Superman. You've got plenty of people around you that can help you. This is all about distributing the ball and making sure you are playing within the system and getting the ball where it is supposed to go and letting your playmakers make plays. Having the weapons around those guys will definitely help, and as long as they know the game plan and know where the ball is supposed to go, their job should be very easy in my opinion. Quarterback is a very hard position, but when you have a talented group around you, it's about making the right decisions, not putting the ball in jeopardy and distributing the ball where it's supposed to go to the playmakers we have on the outside and the inside."

On if he would be comfortable using more than one quarterback:

"It's all about how you practice. That's what we've talked to all those guys about. Whoever we run out there in game 1 may not be the guy that finishes game 1. Everything's written in sand. You don't want a guy to feel like, oh, I've got to win my job on every play or keep my job on every play, but also you have to go execute. You have to execute within the system, make plays that are there, and if they're not, be smart with the ball and throw it away and live to play another down. If you practice well and you deserve to play, we are going to try to find a way to play you, and if you don't practice well and you have a bad week, then there's really no reason for you to play. We talk about that all the time in that room. Look, whoever we run out there in game 1, this is a long season. We're going to need everybody to be ready at any time, and if you practice well you deserve to get some time. I think coach Sumrall and I are on the same page with that. If we decide like, hey, this guy deserves a chance to go play, let's play him. We don't have a guy that's a proven starter at the position, so how do you do that? Well, you may say third series of the game this guy's going to go in, fourth series this guy's going to go in no matter what to get those guys the reps they deserve if they've proven it in practice and see what they'll do. Like we've told them, if you get your shot, don't ever let us bring you out. Go score the ball and make it very hard for us to put the other guy back on."