Talked to Jewett before practice today.

Tulane is going with Kaleb Roper on Friday, Ben White on Saturday and Keagan Gillies on Sunday, leaving Ross Massey, my feature guy Trent Johnson and Chase Solesky out of the weekend rotation for now.

"It's really just kind of the way that they pitched (in preseason practice)," Jewett said. "Not that the other guys did poorly, but those three guys jumped out when it came to statistics and numbers and strike percentages and all those types of things."

Jewett has been high on Roper, an Arizona transfer by way of a juco, since the day he arrived.

"One it's the ability, but two it's the heartbeat, the composure, holding runners, it's fielding your position, the ability to rhythm change with his delivery," Jewett said. "That doesn't mean that he's going to win every time he's out there. That's not what I'm saying, but there's kind of an "it" factor in there I'm kind of attracted to. When you're the lead dog out of the gate on a Friday night, that's kind of an important. Friday night starters all have a little something to them, some mound presence, competitiveness and a little spirit. He fits quite a few of those."

White, a graduate transfer from Holy Cross, has an interesting history. He went 0-5 with a 3.18 ERA as a freshman, striking out 42 in 51 innings. He went 4-5 with a 3.82 ERA as a sophomore, striking out 55 in 61.1 innings while earning second-team All Patriot League honors. He got injured as a junior, requiring Tommy John surgery after pitching three times for 15 innings with a 3.60 ERA. Last year he really struggled in his return, starting five times and appearing in nine games with an ERA of 7.52. He did manage to strike out 25 in 20.1 innings, and Holy Cross made an NCAA regional for the first time since 1978, even beating Nebraska after losing its opener to top-ranked Oregon State. White pitched in relief against Oregon State and again versus Yale on the third day, giving up six hits and four runs in three innings.

Said Jewett: "He has the age, experience, strikes, the ability to throw three pitches, kind of do all those things."

Gillies, a Brother Martin product, gave up 46 hits in 35.2 innings with a 6:56 ERA over 23 appearances as a freshman. He was spotty at best, but Jewett says he is a different guy as a sophomore.

"Keagan might have made our biggest jump in terms of that freshman to sophomore year," Jewett said. "His game has just elevated. He's earned this opportunity.

"I talked to Trent and Chase and Ross and those guys that were in the running, and they still are. This is week 1. We've got quite a few five-game weeks and the rest are four-game weeks, so we are going to need all those guys for sure. And going into this weekend, it's kind of starter 1A and B because nobody's going to pitch nine unless we get 75 pitches out of somebody in nine innings. We've got almost like a two-headed monster going into it, and (Will) McAffer will be the closer.

Jewett mentioned Connor Pellerin as another strong candidate out of the bullpen, also references Josh Bates, Brendan Cellucci and Sam Bjorngjeld as possibilities. With Massey, Cellucci, Bjorngjeld and Justin Campbell, Tulane will have four available lefties in the bullpen.

As for the lineup, the starters for the opener are definite and the batting order is tentative after the first three, which are set in stone.

1) Ty Johnson LF
2) Grant Witherspoon CF
3) Matt Rowland, DH
4) Trever Jensen, 1B
5) Acy Owen, C
6) Kobi Owen, RF
7) Jonathan Artigues, 2B
8) Kody Hoese, 3B
9) Sal Gozzo, SS

The only surprise on the list is Artigues, who filled in as an emergency catcher last year, starting ahead of Alex Galy at 2B, and by surprise I mean not on merit but from what I had heard earlier in the preseason.

"That might be our best defensive (lineup)," Jewett said. "I don't know if it's our best offense,, but it's our best defense, and if you have good pitching and defense. then you're going to be in games."

No one who would be a candidate for playing time is unavailable due to injury.

The AAC released its football schedule yesterday, and for the first time since Conference USA sanctioned football, Tulane is playing all four of its non-conference games before its eight AAC conference games. I like that idea because, as we saw at FIU last fall, teams often don't come to play in random non-conference road games.

Tulane obviously will be focused for the season opener against Wake Forest on a Thursday at Yulman Stadium. Then comes Nicholls State, and no FCS team has ever beaten Tulane. Next is a game at UAB followed by a paycheck date at Ohio State. That UAB game would be more difficult if it came after the start of conference play.

The conference schedule is spaced nicely. alternating between home and road games with the exception of consecutive road games on the last week of October (Tulsa) and the first week of November (USF). The big difference is Navy. which was Tulane's conference opener the past two season, coming to Yulman Stadium for the season finale.

I know some people aren't happy with having three games on weeknights, including the home games against Wake Forest and Memphis (Friday, Sept. 28) plus the Thursday trip to Houston on Nov. 15. I sympathize with people who have a hard time getting to those games, but personally, as a college football junkie, I love the opportunity to watch games on television on the Saturdays Tulane won't be playing. With the AAC needing alternative TV times to get attention, the weekday games are a fact of life.

Here are my initial thoughts on each game:

1) Wake Forest

This is one of the most important games of the Willie Fritz era. Wake Forest was a lot better this past year than in 2016, when it beat Tulane is an ugly, boring game to open the season in Winston Salem, but this is the type of game the Wave needs to win to prove it is on the rise.

Key stat: Willie Fritz is 0-10 against Power Five conference schools. You can throw out the four games when he was Sam Houston State because of the massive talent discrepancy, but he came awfully close in three losses at Georgia Southern and one at Tulane. In his first game at Georgia Southern, NC State drove 75 yards for the winning points with 1:37 left to beat him 24-23. Two weeks later, Georgia Southern rallied from a 35-10 halftime deficit to go ahead of Ga Tech 38-35 and had a first down at the Ga Tech 24 with less than 4:30 left when it lost a fumble. Ga Tech then drove for the winning touchdown with 23 seconds left, converting a pair of third-and-7 situations along the way.

The following year, Georgia kicked a field goal with six minutes left to tie the score at 17, then beat Ga Southern in OT when Fritz gambled on fourth-and-1 and got stuffed. The Bulldogs scored a touchdown on their first play to win 23-17. And at Wake Forest two years ago, Tulane had plenty of opportunities to score a touchdown in the 7-3 loss but could not do it, failing on four straight possessions in Wake territory in the second half.

As competitive as he is, you know Fritz will do everything in his power to end his streak against Wake Forest.

2) Nicholls State

Yes, Nicholls is considerably better than Grambling was last year, but no, Nicholls is not considerably better than the Southeastern team CJ's squad beat relatively comfortably in 2014. Tulane's advantage along the line of scrimmage will be too large.

Key stat: Again, Tulane has never lost to an FCS team.

3) At UAB

UAB was one of the worst bowl teams ever this year, beating Alabama A&M and Coastal Carolina out of conference and feasting on a really bad CUSA for six wins. That said, the Blazers are on about the same level as FIU, which whipped Tulane last year, so this game will be no gimme by any stretch.

Key stat: Tulane's outlier 49-10 win at UAB in 2011 was the only game Bob Toledo won by more than two scores in five-year tenure. The Wave then lost four straight games, prompting his firing.

4) At Ohio State

Tulane can't win this game, but I like the idea of scheduling one of these most years. The timing isn't great coming six days before the conference opener against Memphis--the Wave probably will be banged up at the end of this one--but that's life.

Key stat: First meeting. Not counting Rutgers, which joined the Big Ten after the 2014 game was scheduled, Tulane's last game against a Big Ten opponent was Michigan in 1972 (l. 41-7). The Wave played Penn State in the 1979 Liberty Bowl, but the Nittany Lions were not in the Big Ten then.

5) Memphis

Tulane has been housed by Memphis in three of their years in the AAC, losing 24-14 two years ago in the only "close" meeting. This is an opportunity to turn the tide, with Memphis losing a lot of skill position talent from a sensational offensive team.

Key stat: Memphis had beaten Tulane 11 straight times dating back to a Wave win in 2000. That's a bad look against a team that used to be one of the worst in D1, but no longer.

6) at Cincinnati

Tulane's worst loss of this past season was to Cincinnati, which struggled all year but won at Yulman Stadium when the Wave missed a chip shot field goal. That was a year to pound the Bearcats, who should rise back to their former status as perennial conference contender quickly if Luke Fickell is a good coach. The Bearcats had the highest rated recruiting class of any Group of Five school this cycle.

Key stat: Tulane's last visit to Cincinnati was 2001. The teams have played in New Orleans three times since then.

7) SMU

Tulane gets the Mustangs after its open date, but SMU has the same open date, so no advantage there. After the controversial, bowl-costing loss in Dallas this past November, you know Tulane will have extra incentive in the rematch. I don't usually put much stock in stuff like that, but in this case I do. SMU has a new coach and lost a lot of skill position talent, too.

Key stat: Seven of the last 10 meetings between the teams have been decided by 7 or fewer point, often in dramatic, last-second fashion.

8) at Tulsa

Has there even been a worse pick than mine of Tulsa to win the West this past year? At least I have company in Phil Steele, but Tulsa turned out to be terrible, finishing 1-7 while stopping no one and getting destroyed by Tulane on a hurricane-affected morning kickoff that had the Golden Hurricane more interested in getting out of town than playing. This should be a winnable game on the road.

Key stat: Tulsa has won all six conference meetings between the two teams in Tulsa, and all but one were by 23 points or more.

9) At South Florida

Without do-everything QB Quinton Flowers, it will be interesting to see how USF fares. This team looked shaky in a lot of departments under coach Charlie Strong despite having plenty of talent on both sides of the ball this past season. Does he get more comfortable in the second year, or was he propped up by Flowers?

Key stat: South Florida has never won a conference championship and has not appeared in the first three editions of the AAC Championship Game.

10) East Carolina

This game will be Homecoming for a reason. East Carolina struggled in pretty much every department this year, and coach Scottie Montgomery is on thin ice.

Key stat: Tulane has lost four straight homecoming games since joining the AAC.

11) At Houston

Tulane beat Houston at Yulman Stadium this past season, and if the Cougars start slowly next year, coach Major Applewhite will be on thin ice, too. And if he loses to Tulane again, look out. The last time a Houston coach lost at home to Tulane (Tony Levine: 2014), he got fired at the end of the season.

Key stat: Houston is the only AAC team Tulane has beaten that finished with a winning record and the Wave has done it twice. Houston's combined conference record in those two years was 10-6. The conference record of Tulane's other five victims was 5-35.

12) Navy

It's really interesting that Tulane gets Navy at the end of the year after coming really close to beating the Midshipmen in September the past two seasons. Actually, the Wave has played Navy well in all three of their conference meetings but has no wins to show for it. Maybe the timing will make a difference.

Key stat: The halftime scores of their three conference meetings have been Navy 10-7 (2015), Tulane 14-13 (2016) and Navy 14-13 (2017).

By my count, we have 21 rising seniors, which could change if there are more defections before the end of this school year. That means we'll likely sign another full class in the coming year. Here's the count by position:

QB(1): Banks
TE(2): Jones and Ardoin
OL(5): Leglue, D. Johnson, Granier, Knighton and Briggs
WR(3): Encalade, Hicks, Clewis
RB(1): D. Glenn (recently moved back to RB)
DL(3): Kennedy, Edwards and Woullard
DB(4): Shenall, Teamer, Lewis, Lofton
LB(1): Harris
P(1): Block

OL, TE, QB, WR are clearly a priority. You can also see why we're trying to bring in more DBs and DL this year.

Tulane just tweeted Alfred Thomas had signed. That will move the recruiting ranking higher and means Tulane has gotten one of its best DT hauls ever.

I have to take my son to school at 8 but should be back by 8:30 to cover the rest of the day. Assuming Keitha Jones signs, the Wave has one more opening, which figures to go to either "Prime" Garland or La'Dedric Jackson.

With a week to go before the season opener, the projected lineup has not changed much.

Today, Travis Jewett confirmed as definite starters: Sal Gozzo at shortstop, Kody Hoese at 3B, Acy Owens at catcher and Grant Witherspoon in CF.

Ty Johnson could start in either LF or RF, with Koby Owen and Tyler Heinrichs also in the picture there and Matt Rowland having a shot, too. Jewett said Rowland had improved his outfield defense considerably.

Trevor Jensen is the likely 1B but it's not set in stone because Rowland might be there, too. Jensen is the better defensive player.

Grant Mathews may be the DH if Rowland is in the field. Jewett said Mathews has hit really well in the preseason.

Tulane is simulating games with the weekend starting times this weekend, with Kaleb Roper opposing Keagan Gillies earlier tonight in a 7-inning affair. Ben White and Ross Massey opposing each other on Saturday at 4:30 in a 9-inning game and Trent Johnson and Chase Solesky opposing each other on Sunday at 1 in a 7-inning game. Those are the six candidates for the rotation, with each due to pitch five innings this weekend.

Roper is a virtual lock for a weekend rotation spot, and Trent Johnson has an excellent shot, too. Both attended Arizona two years ago before going to junior college and arriving at Tulane.

The closer absolutely, positively will be Will McAffer, and Ryan Green and Connor Pellerin, who arrived in January, are competing for the setup roll. Jewett is high on Pellerin, saying the hitters talk about him like he's the next Cy Young. Josh Bates and Brendan Cellucci are competing for prominent roles out of the bullpen, too.

Jewett also mentioned OF Luke Glancy and IF David Bedgood as left-handed batting options and Sam Bjorngjeld as another possibility out of the bullpen.

That's what I have. I have not seen one second of preseason practice--the times just haven't worked for me--but Jewett was pretty forthright today, and the the intel I received two weeks ago proved to be spot on, too.

Of the nine players who visited in the last three weeks, one committed to Tulane (Keitha Jones), one (CB Erick Hallett II) committed to Pittsburgh yesterday and one (unrated OLB Demauryon Holmes, who likely never received a scholarship offer) committed to Central Arkansas).

The other six remain uncommitted--the two DTs in Ja'Quon Griffin and Tyrone Barber, the defensive end in Kurott "Prime" Garland, the OLBs in La'Dedric Jackoson and Demauryon Holmes, DB Joseph Norwood and TE Tyneil Hopper.

Norwood ended up not visiting Nebraska this past weekend and visited home-state Tennessee, which he will definitely choose if he gets an offer. He also visited UMass and Middle Tennessee State in January.

Hopper will announce his decision at 7 a.m. Wednesday at his high school. He has received interest from Syracuse, but 247 Sports lists ECU as the frontrunner. Who knows?

Barber, who has officially de-committed from South Florida, visited Syracuse the week before he visited Tulane. I'm not sure if he visited a school this past weekend.

Griffin visited Georgia Tech this past weekend and Appalachian State the weekend before he visited Tulane. He likely is leaning to Tech judging by his twitter account.

Garland visited Tennessee before he visited Tulane.

It does not appear that Jackson visited any school in January before visiting Tulane this past weekend. Incongruously, 247 Sports lists him as down to Ole Miss, Tulane and Alabama State.

I went to basketball practice yesterday for interviews. Here's what they said:

DUNLEAVY

What is Melvin Frazier's status?

"He's improving. He was better yesterday than the day before and better today than yesterday. It's a matter of seeing how he responds by game time."

How much did he do in practice today?

"He didn't do much. We didn't want to take a chance on him getting him again. He did some conditioning."

What exactly is the injury?

"It's his chest and kind of the capsules in your chest. It makes it hard for him to lift his hands over his shoulders. He can do all that now."

He leads the AAC in field goal percentage and steals. Where would you miss him the most?

"It affects us both ways. He creates offense with his defense and having a scorer out there, the plus-minus effect both ways is big."

You still were in position to beat Temple going into the last five minutes. Does that make the loss more disappointing?

"A little bit, but when we watched the film today, we saw stuff in bunches. We had a bad start to the second half on coverages. Guys were not too much late, but their positioning was soft and they weren't in the right spots. We were just a step behind, and they got a couple of 3s on us. And then even down the stretch, we missed some free throws and some good looks. But for the most part, the guys gave great effort and did some good things. It was still a winnable game."

You pointed out after the game their abnormally high 3-point percentage (12 of 25) was partly a result of bad defense.

"Yeah, they got some great looks. The looks they got were better than they were supposed to get. I'm not saying they're not going to get looks, but they shouldn't be naked looks, which means somebody rotating around. We missed on communications, and the guys who were supposed to help on the initial part of the play were late and put them behind the play. We couldn't get out to the shooters.?

You got killed on the boards in the first loss to Tulsa. Is that the primary area of emphasis?

"It's a good place to start. I don't think you have a chance to win many games if you get beat by 22 on the boards. We have to do a better job of boxing out and defending the rebound. We had misses but didn't clean them up."

What else do you want to see?

"Just growth. I don't even think that our guys who got a chance to play played as good as we were capable of playing (against Temple). But more guys got more experience and more minutes. Hopefully we'll get some benefit."

Samir Sehic is fifth in the league in field goal percentage but his defense has been an issue, particularly earlier in the year. How was his defense against Temple?

"That's really the key to his playing time. He plays with good effort. Defensively, at times there are really good matchups on the floor for him, and when he has really good matchups, he usually plays pretty well. And when there's a bad matchup, that's where we have to have growth. He's got to get better at playing the tough matchups so that we can use what he brings to the table offensively."

How much of the defensive issues against Temple were on him?

"We had a lot of guys with different stuff. There was plenty to go around. We had nobody that was immune. Melvin was the only guy who didn't make any mistakes (because he played only a few minutes before getting hurt; Frazier was standing within ear shot)."

FRAZIER

How are you feeling, and have you ever had an injury like this before?

"No, I've never had an injury like this, but I feel better. I've just been working on it. It's a little bruise. I'll be good, though. I think I should be ready by Thursday. I'll be good. Just keep working on, get treatment and stuff."

Did they tell you how long this could linger?

"I should be good. I should be back the next game."

How much did it hurt right away?

"At the moment it hurt. I came out, tried to stretch it out and tried to go back in but I just couldn't. It was just hurting a little too bad."

Where was it hurting? Right in the chest?

"Yeah, right in my chest."

What was the pain like?

"I can't even describe the pain. I couldn't even pick my arm up."

Did it still hurt when you were being interviewed by the ESPN draft guy after the game (he did a one-on-one with the guy 20 minutes later in the media room)?

"It was hurting all the time."

How tough was it to watch from the bench?

"It was tough, but I just stayed in there to help my teammates out and help them through it. This was a tough one we lost, but we'll try to get the next one."

You are leading the league in field goal percentage. How much does that mean to you?

"It's very good. I've just been working and it's showing up on the court, so I look forward to just keeping it going and helping my teammates keep scoring and doing whatever I have to do for us to win."

You told the ESPN guy you would not think about the NBA until the season was over. Is that your stance?

"Just keep playing until that time comes and when that time comes, just go from there."

There's still a lot of time left in the season. What will it take to start winning again?

"We've just got to keep working, keep playing next play, play together as a team and just hope the outcome is in our favor."

CAM REYNOLDS

It's questionable whether Frazier will play Thursday. What is it like not knowing whether he will be able to go or not?

"He's a big piece, not so much offense but just his defensive talk. He's our defensive leader, so we really have to step up. He makes a lot of steals, gets a lot of deflections and stuff, so we have to try to be him on the defensive end."

He looked like he was in a ton of pain after the injury.

"Yeah. I had the same thing happen to me last year but not as bad as him. I could really tell he was in pain, especially when we went into halftime and he came to me like I'm really hurt. We had to try to play without him. We had to try to win for him."

You came close to beating Temple, but what will it take to beat Tulsa?

"We have to be consistent on defense at the end of the game. We had a couple of lapses and that's what cost us. We have to knock down free throws. I missed two. That didn't really decide the game, but we have to stay consistent on the defensive end and we have to make free throws because we missed a lot."

How important is it to to turn the rebounding disadvantage around you had in the first meeting with Tulsa?

"It's the No. 1. There's a theme. Most of our losses come from losing the rebounding battle, so we have to take it to heart and come to the fight because they are going to bring it. We've got to be ready for it."

You were really angry at yourself after the two missed foul shots with the one-point lead late. What happened on those shots?

"They just didn't go down the hatch. The first one I shot short. The second one felt good but didn't go in. I came back yesterday and shot a lot of free throws and will just keep on shooting."

Is it more frustrating to lose when you put yourself in position to win and then can't do it?

"Yeah, that one hurt bad because we could have gone into fourth place with that one and now we're down, so we have to climb our way back up and get back on this win streak. It really hurt, but we can't harp on it. We have to get back and try to get this one on Thursday."

3* LB from Alabama is the final member of the class!!!



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BOOM. 3⭐️ LB out of Montgomery picks Tulane.<br><br>Held offers from Ole Miss, Cincy, and more.<br><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FRITZMAS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#FRITZMAS</a> <a href="https://t.co/ExVqIQ24Tt">https://t.co/ExVqIQ24Tt</a></p>&mdash; it&#39;s #Fritzmas (@FearTheWaveBlog) <a href=" Login to view embedded media ">February 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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He's transferring using the grad transfer rule. Weakens an already weak area.

As has been predicted, Tulane has one player in this weekend.

It's LB La'Dedric Jackson, a 3-star, 6-2, 200-pound OLB from Montgomery (Ala.) Lanier who is rated the No. 28 overall prospect is his state.

Analysis: Tulane needs a LB, and he's a big-timer who committed to Missouri before his senior season but backed out of that commitment at the end of September when his high school QB also backed out of a commitment there. Rivals lists him with offers from LSU, Louisville, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Cincinnati. He originally was only interested in SEC schools. listing LSU Among his top five before he committed to Missouri. The offer from LSU no longer is standing. With the exclusive attention he will get this weekend, you have to like Tulane's chances unless he just wants to visit New Orleans.

He had 172 tackles and 11 sacks as a junior.

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Here is his high school coach talking about him before his senior year:

https://missouri.rivals.com/news/coach-analysis-la-dedric-jackson

My source is telling me we may have only 1 visitor in this weekend, which makes sense as we may only have 1 or 2 slots available on Wednesday.

Well, Tulane avoided what would have been one of the embarrassing two-game stretches in program history by outscoring East Carolina 4-2 in OT last night. To have lost back-to-back games against USF and ECU would have meant losing to two teams that are a combined 2-16 against everyone else, with the two wins coming by ECU over USF.

Additionally. ECU had lost its seven conference games by a combined 153 points (average: 22) entering last night while USF's nine losses have come by a combined 197 points (average: 22). Performance-wise, they are the two worst teams in AAC history, and last night ECU was without 6-10 starting center Jabari Craig, a bad player who nevertheless provides some size the Pirates sorely lack.

Wow. Just wow. But the good news is teams NEVER play the same way each game. If Tulane plays like it did for the first 34 minutes against USF and the last 20 against ECU, it will not win another game, but that's not what will happen.

This is still the same team that scored on seven consecutive possessions during a decisive stretch to beat SMU, executed very well down the stretch to beat Houston and dominated Temple on the road.

At some point, Cameron Reynolds will come out of the shooting slump that has affected him on 2s and 3s. He started to come out of it last night before missing badly on three shots in the second half. He's a good player with a good work ethic with too much game to continue misfiring like he has.

I'm more concerned about Jordan Cornish, a good passer whose bullet entry to Reynolds allowed Tulane to tie the score in OT lats night. The problem is his shot selection and scoring ability. He just has not demonstrated an ability to finish inside or outside, drifting on his shots and missing badly more often than he misses by a little. My spies said he was the best player on the team in practice last year, but he has not shown it this year.

Blake Paul is Blake Paul. He plays hard and blocks some shots but struggles to score at all unless he has a size mismatch.

Ray Ona Embo is not much of a distributor but has become a pretty good outside shooter and scorer. If he cuts out the careless turnovers that have hurt Tulane at critical times, he can help Tulane win.

Caleb Daniels has not progressed as much as I expected, but there is still time. He has to start taking better care of the ball.

Samir Sehic is playing defense and rebounding a lot better than he did earlier in the year, when he became a liability on the floor. If he starts consistently knocking down open 3-pointers, which he is capable of but has not done to this point, it will open up the floor and complement his ability to finish around the basket.

Melvin Frazier, of course, has been spectacular. He tailed off in the second half last night before scoring the winning bucket on a put-back, but he did not even practice two days before the game because he was sick. I think he ran out of energy after his terrific first half.

Tulane is 4-5 with nine games left. Looking at the schedule, and assuming the last two games do not become the norm, the most likely outcome is 4-5 the rest of the way (pretty much sure losses at Houston and at Wichita State and at home against Cincinnati; likely wins at home against ECU and at USF; splits in the four games against Temple and Memphis at home and Tulsa and UCF on the road).

An 8-10 record would be worse than I expected when conference play began, but it still would be two games better than Tulane's high-water mark of 6-12 in 2014-15, its first year in the AAC. The conference is still so muddled in the middle that it is hard to predict where Tulane will finish.

The concern is Frazier leaving for the NBA, a real possibility. He has holes in his game that would be exposed, but it's hard to argue with a guy shooting nearly 60 percent in a pretty good league. Without him and Reynolds, Tulane would be less talented next year than this unless the two incoming freshmen (to this point) lit it up.

Joseph Norwood, the 6-2, 2-star, 160-pound WR from Brainerd High in Chattanooga, Tenn., has committed to Tulane, but I would not call it a done deal yet because Nebraska is trying to get him in for an official visit on the final weekend. He has nothing on twitter about committing to Tulane and has retweeted someone else committing to Nebraska.

Norwood visited Tulane two weekends ago. Cleary, Tulane wants to add a WR to the class.

Four guys will be in this weekend:

1) Kurott "Prime" Garland, a 6-3, 240-pound unrated DE from Heritage High in Conyers, Ga.

Analysis: Garland is in the Rivals database but has no stars. He does not have any listed FBS offers but visited Tennessee two weekends ago. He had 125 tackles and 12.5 sacks as a senior according to MaxPreps.com for a team that went 7-5 in Class 6A.

2) Ja'Quon Griffin, a 6-0, 268-pound 3-star DL from Rome, Ga.

Analysis: I had him visiting in December, but he must not have come because players are not allowed to take official visits to the same school twice. After committing to LSU, he never signed there because the interest was not mutual. 247Sports has Tulane in a three-way battle for him along with Appalachian State (visited last weekend) and Colorada State (visits next weekend). I like Tulane's chances, and as I wrote the last time he was supposed to visit, you can never have enough quality defensive linemen.

3) Tyrone Barber, a 6-4, 285-pound 3-star DT from Venice, Fl.

Analysis: Barber committed to USF but never signed, and I'm not sure why. Tulane does not have many spots left, but 3-star DTs are always well worth considering.

4) Demauryon Holmes, an unrated 6-0, 185-pound OLB From Mansfield Legacy High in Texas.

Analysis: He is not in the database of any of the recruiting services, so it depends on what the Tulane coaches see in him at a position of need.

Tulane has a must-win game at East Carolina tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNews. The Pirates are 2-7 in the AAC with a sweep of USF and seven losses by a combined 153 points. They are really bad.

Lose that one, and Tulane is a virtual lock for another finish near the bottom of the AAC.

I talked to Dunleavy, Cam Reynolds and Ray Ona Embo yesterday.

DUNLEAVY

This team has gotten off to glacial starts offensively that have hurt it big time in conference play. What is the solution?

"I haven’t really focused on that. It’s really more about execution and just getting good shots. That’s really more where our focus has been. We’re trying to defend the way we need to defend."

What were the primary defensive issues against South Florida?

"They had 29 points in the first half, so that wasn’t really necessarily THE issue, but on our pick and roll coverages, we just didn’t communicate them. It’s funny. SMU runs a lot of the same stuff, so we just did these coverages. We didn’t rebound the ball a couple of times. There were about 20 points out there that I would call 90 percent plays. If you did that play over, 90 percent of the time or better you wouldn’t get hurt by it. Clearly one of them was the guy throwing the ball over his head (and making a miracle basket off an inbounds pass with 1 second left on the shot clock). That might be a 99 percent play. We had the 5-point swing when Ray was trying to be unselfish when he had a lay-up breakaway. That should have been 2 and they got a 3-point play at the other end. We got a rebound under the rim and dropped it out of bounds and they got a 3-point play. Naked lay-ups, there’s nobody else there but you. If we have those point, maybe we’re down 1 at the half instead of 9.

"But the big difference was they played harder than we played, and in the last 6 minutes we played harder and gave ourselves a chance to get back in it, and then obviously we had the big play at the end that could have got us."

The term "cylinder" when it referred to guarding someone has affected your team in the last two games with offensive fouls not being called. What's that about?

"It’s a new rule I’m really not sure of. In some ways guys can get hurt. In some cases you’re encroaching, but it’s also a chance to manipulate the rule. Against SMU (when Ona Embo appeared to draw an offensive foul but was called for a foul instead), Ray didn’t start out in the guy’s cylinder. He was pressuring him, and the guy put his leg that was not his pivot foot in between Ray’s legs. Then it became in the cylinder."

Blake Paul has never been a big offensive threat, but he has made just three baskets since a good conference opener against Temple. What is going on there?

"At times he’s just not aggressive when he gets catches. He shoots a high percentage but he’s not being aggressive enough in the paint. We’re telling him to shoot the ball and be more aggressive with it."

Cameron Reynolds continues to miss a high percentage of his shots but there does not seem to be a concrete reason for it. What is your take?

"I saw him in the gym right after the game here shooting and the ball was going in the basket. It’s really just a lot of times with shooters a little bit in your head with confidence. There’s not a guy you can name, Steph Curry included. You look at Klay Thompson, he’s got a quick release and is a big-time shooter and they were talking about last year what a shooting slump he was in. It happens to everybody. You’ve got to work your way out of it, and the best way to do it is see the ball go through the basket and get a lay-up or two and make some free throws, take good shots and try not to press."

Jordan Cornish's shots have not been close to going in for a while now. What is his issue?

"His shooting comes down to a little bit at times of fundamentals of drifting when he shoots instead of going straight up and being locked in and getting a good rhythm shot."

What do you want to see the most at ECU?

"Play hard and your intensity defensively and rebound the ball. Basically for us that’s the way we want to play. We have to get the ball in transition and be in attack mode, get to the free throw line and get quick, easy scores, but at the defensive end of the score, we have to get stops."

ONA EMBO

What do you need to do the most against ECU?

"We have to start strong, try to push the pace, get easy buckets and rebound the ball and get the ball in transition. Just play our game and move the ball and play defense. We can’t fall behind again and have to catch up at the end."

You guys had another slow start against USF. What is the issue there?

"We couldn’t get a bucket to go in. We only had 22 points in the first half. We just have to keep working and keep trying to push the pace."

You had a clear path to the basket and tried a back pass to Melvin Frazier for what could have been a dunk but ended in a turnover, leading to a 3-point play at the other end. What was your thought process?

"I just wanted to get everybody going. It was a five-point swing, so it was a bad play obviously. I just have to go and finish it."

You've actually shot well lately. How much more confident are you offensively than a year ago?

"I missed three 3s in the first half (against USF; it actually was two 3s). I don’t really feel that good about my shot right now, but I’m a lot more confident than lat year. It’s my sophomore year, so of course you get confidence."

Is it tough to wait almost a week after a performance like the one against USF?

"Everybody’s itching right now. Everybody wants to get back out on the court and get a W."

REYNOLDS

I hear you took the loss really hard and stayed in the locker room a long time before going back on the court and practicing your shot, but then you tweeted later than night the team was ready to get back to work. What was it like?

"It was one game, but we lost an opportunity to make some headway in conference. USF came out gunning and we came out sluggish. We can’t get it back, and so our attitude is we have to come back and get ready for this one. We need this one."

Will it be easy to bounce back from a loss like that?

"It should be. We had a good practice on Saturday and a good practice today. I think we’re moving past it. That’s the only thing we can do because we can’t harp on it. We have to keep playing."

The first half has been rough for you guys for several games now. What is the issue?

"As a first group, we’ve just got to come out harder. We can’t let them punch us in the mouth first. We’ve got to punch them and come out to a good start and try to find the inside shots first and not settle for outside shots."

What changed in the last six minutes against USF?

"Intensity. We were fighting for life. A lot of people came, so we should have played better for 34 minutes. We can play with anybody. We just have to come out from the beginning.

I went out for interviews yesterday and here's what they had to say:


GRANT WITHERSPOON

What are your initial thoughts being back out on the diamond?

“It’s great to be back. Coach says treat it like another practice. We’re not really counting down at all, but everyone knows it’s getting close. It really feels good. I’m getting excited. A lot of people around here are really excited.”

Do you feel like you guys have your sea legs under you more this year compared to last year?

“Any time you have a new coach thrown into the mix like that quick, it’s going to be a tough adjustment. I feel like everyone this year is a lot more comfortable from both sides. Coach Jewett seems a little more comfortable and we’re definitely a lot more comfortable with everything.”

From a philosophy standpoint, what are you most comfortable with?

“I would say just for the guys who played last year, we know he wants to play fast, know he wants to be aggressive, wants to pitch and play defense and then clutch hitting.”

What are your thoughts on the non-conference schedule?

“It’s really good. That’s what we want. Good RPI teams, and that will be great for us. If we can have a good year against those teams, we are going to be set up pretty well. Postseason is the goal like in my freshman season, and playing those kind of teams is what is going to get us there.”

You had to introduce yourself to a lot of your teammates in the fall. How do you feel this team has jelled since then?

“I was kind of wondering how it would be with lots of new guys, but every new guy I’ve met is here for the right reasons. Everyone on our team is a good guy.”

You could not win with the inability of the pitchers to get the ball over the plate last year. Watching them, how much better do you think the control will be this season?

“It was impossible (to win with all the walks). I think it’s going to be night and day with this year’s staff compared to last year’s. Everyone just has a lot more confidence, even in the scrimmages. These guys can throw it, they can control the ball, we have some back end guys with good stuff and we’ve got a lot of guys who can start a game, which is nice.”

When you’re out on the field, how much more confidence does it give you when you trust the guys on the mound?

“I’ve been on the pitching side of it when everyone’s eyes are on you. When you’re having a good day it’s awesome and when you’re struggling, everyone’s a little bit down. It starts and ends with those guys.”

So you don’t expect to be called to pitch at all this year, right?S

“Coach asked, but I think my days are done there (laughing).”

What are your impressions of new hitting coach Eddie Smith?

“It’s good. Everything is going good, and Jarret DeHart has also helped out a lot, too, with everyone, making huge strides as far as mechanics wise and mentality wise. I’m really confident in the lineup we’re going to put together.”

There’s not as much pop in the lineup. How will you compensate?

“You don’t know that, but some new guys can hit some. We’re going to make up for it in other ways. We’re going to hit some home runs, too, though. We’ve got some power.”

ROSS MASSEY

What are your thoughts on the first day of practice?

“It’s a great feeling. We’re all excited, working hard. We’re transitioning from individuals to team practice and are just excited to get going here.”

What do you feel like you guys have coming back?

“We have a lot of new guys and a lot of returning guys, too. We started some junior college guys and then some new freshmen as well. The group’s coming together as a unit and we’re ready to go.”

What do you think about the challenging non-conference schedule?

“We’re looking forward to it. We are playing a great schedule, but coach Jewett always preaches just take it one game at a time, so we’ll get there whenever we see who we’ll play, but right now we’re just focusing on having a good practice today.”

How do you feel about playing Cal St. Fullerton and the other tough non-conference opponents?

“We want to play the best competition. That’s what we’re going to prepare for. That’s what we’re going to practice for, so I think we’ll be ready, but it starts today. We’re just looking forward to this practice and getting better out here today.”

How do you feel about being an upperclassman trying to help these freshmen along?

“This is my third year now, so I think I can help the younger guys and the junior college guys kind of get used to it and show them the ropes a little bit, but I think we have a lot of leaders. The junior college guys have played a lot of baseball. They are pretty good players, so we’ll have a lot of new, older guys as you’ll see throughout the season.”

You had a rough year last season. Where do you feel you are entering this season?

“I have a lot of confidence. I’ve been practicing hard and the team’s been practicing hard and we’re all just ready to get out there and show what we’ve been working on.”

When did you start getting your groove back in terms of control?

“Coming into the fall we all just wanted to get back in a groove together, and I think from that first practice forward we were just really focused and taking it day by day. Coming out here now, we’re trying to add all that up together and go into the season strong.”

Last year there were tremendous expectations, but this year you are picked near the bottom of the AAC. How different is it?

“We’re not too worried about all the outside noise. We’re just focused on our group. We’ll be ready to play each game as it comes to us. Right now we’re in a great position. All the focus is on this season. All the guys in our locker room, everybody is ready to go. I think it’s going to be a great 2018 year.”

Do things feel more calm entering your second season under coach Jewett?

“We all know what to expect out of coach Jewett. He’s a great coach with a lot of energy, and I think we’ve adapted well to that. We’re just ready to go with him as our leader.”

What do you think of the team’s overall pitching?

“Pitching’s everything. It starts with the pitching staff, and I think we’ve built a really good staff this year with a lot of new guys, a lot of freshmen. You’re going to see some new names emerge.”

Tulane had a much needed addition today, getting preferred walk-on kicker Sterling Stockwell from Orlando Dr. Phillips High.

He is the 20th rated PK by Kohl's. Hopefully the coaches found a good one because the status quo of Merek Glover and Coby Neenan is not strong enough, with Glover's leg strength an issue and Neenan's yips a huge problem.

https://kohlskicking.com/player-profiles/sterling-stockwell

Tulane released it on twitter today. It will start five days earlier than last year (March 12) and end seven days earlier (April 14) with the spring game, once again pausing in the middle for spring break.

The schedule has every practice at 8:30 a.m. with two exceptions, a 3 p.m. workout when they return from spring break on April 3 and an 11 a.m. start for the spring game. I assume almost all of the workouts leading up to the spring game will be closed to the public again.

Here's the schedule:

1) March 12

2) March 14

3) March 16

4) March 17

5) March 19

6) March 21

7) March 23

SPRING BREAK

8) April 2 (day after Easter)

9) April 4

10) April 6

11) April 7

12) April 9

13) April 11

14) April 14

15) Spring Game April 15

watching a lot of bowl games and it had me thinking can the offense become a offense that can put up major points next year and if so how do you see the offense attack looking like next year

It's Connor Crabtree, a 6-6 guard from North Carolina who signed with UNC-Ashville out of high school but elected not to go there, playing a post-graduate year at Hargrave Military Academy instead.

He visited Tulane in the fall and was starting to receive interest from high majors before committing to Tulane today.

Here's a story that was written on him in the fall:

https://virginia.sportswar.com/arti...wing-connor-crabtree-emerges-virginias-radar/

I'm hearing both of these guys are weight room warriors who are in better shape than the traditional freshman D-lineman. In other words, if they're good enough, they definitely will have a chance to play right away next fall after getting experience this spring.

Johnson, in particularly, is a special athlete, the kind of interior lineman schools like Tulane rarely get and someone who can be a star. Nothing is guaranteed because athletic ability does not automatically translate to football success, but I'm hearing this from a very reliable source.

Listened to the recruiting talk on TP’s Dunc and Holder this morning, they had Jimmy Smith (boo) and also Wesley Fritz (WF). Here are some of the highlights…

Jimmy Smith really didn’t know anything about our recruiting, big surprise.

We are recruiting West Feliciana’s Darius Davis & Derrick Turner (step brothers by the way) whom ESPN’s Ryan Clark, whose son plays for U-High in BR, said were the fastest football players he’s ever seen. Davis and Turner finished #1 and #3 in the state 200m final last season.

WF: We hit on our needs at DT with James, Johnson and Davon Wright, obviously Johnson and Wright are early enrollees.

We also hit on DB with Tate, Camel (whom Dunc and his guest host really seemed to like) and Macon Clark.

WF also confirmed that Dayne Ledford would be moving back to QB, spoke of C. Daniels and his speed (10.8 100m, 6.54 55m – for you non track guys he can scoot, and the 55 M time means he hits top speed rather quickly). WF did say that we are “still on a couple of guys” at QB and that we have 3-4 slots open for signing day in a couple of weeks.


My take is what we already knew…we have a few slots left, and we are still looking at a qb. Devin Black, Armwood, FL. ; Cordell Littlejohn of Roswell, GA., Trae Hall of Henderson, TX and Riley Smith (well Riley Smith Committed to Boise State today). I think Trae Hall is whom I would be really pressing for unless it’s someone I wasn’t told of. Otherwise I do not think we will reach for a QB just for the sake of numbers. And with a Senior returning starter who is locked into the starting job, we’re not going to get a ton of grad transfer looks at QB.

Tulane pulled its scholarship offer to Lindsey Scott on Friday, marking the second time he did not end up in New Orleans after the Green Wave recruited him heavily. It turns out the Jan. 15 signing deadline for juco midseason transfers is bogus--there is no hard deadline and it depends on the registration deadline at the individual institution-but Tulane moved on when its registration deadline came and went on Friday.

And yes, I know he said he was still considering Tulane along with Kansas and Missouri in an article published today by the 247 Missouri site in which he added he would sign somewhere tomorrow, but Tulane has taken itself it out of the running. I have that from an iron-clad source.

Guerry-

I know Tulane recently offered Riley Smith from Florida, who visited Boise last weekend. Is he possibly visiting us this week?

Also, Cordel Littlejohn is a QB Tulane offered early who hasn’t committed anywhere yet. He’s Tyneill Hopper’s QB and has some pretty good dual threat skills. Is he someone on the radar still?

Sorry for getting this up late. Had some pipe issues in the house after the freeze.

Two signees--Tyrick James and Cam Carroll--and four recruits are on campus as Tulane looks to complete its class with two or three more signees in February.

1) Joseph Norwood, a 6-2, 2-star, 160-pound WR from Brainerd High in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Analysis: Tulane wants another WR, as evident by the Louisville transfer who was in last week before choosing Troy. Norwood does not have any offers from Power 5 schools or other AAC schools.

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2) Tyneil Hopper, a 4-star, 6-2, 230-pound TE from Roswell, Ga.

Analysis: Hopper would tie Darion Monroe for being the highest rated Tulane signee since Rivals began rating players in 2002. He is the No. 17 TE in the nation and the No. 42 prospect in Georgia. He had offers from Auburn, Louisville and Kentucky among others, but I don't know if they are still standing. Auburn did not sign a TE. and he was very complimentary of Auburn during recruiting, so I'm guessing they are looking elsewhere.

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3) Keitha Jones, a 3-star, 6-2, 190-pound ATH from Port Arthur, Texas

Analysis: He committed to SMU at the beginning of August but never signed after Chad Morris left for Arkansas. He can play wide receiver or DB and was interested in Tulane before committing to the Mustangs.

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4) Erick Hallett II, a 3-star, 5-11, 175-pound CB from Cy-Fair High in Cypress, Texas

Analysis: He committed to Washington State in August but never signed and also had offers from Houston, Memphis and Tulane among others. If there is mutual interest, I like the chances of him joining the fold.

https://n.rivals.com/admin/prospects/69046/edit