Johnathan Brantley and Glen Cuiellette continued to get all of the reps at the end of Tulane's practice on Wednesday, but Willie Fritz reiterated the plan was to start Jonathan Banks. This was the equivalent of what is normally a light Thursday practice, so Banks sitting out is not as significant as yesterday. I never say never, but it would shock me if Banks is not the starter on Friday night. He was very mentally into practice yesterday even as he did not get reps at the end, but Tulane's pre-game warm-ups definitely will bear watching.
It turns out Robert Kennedy was cleared to play two weeks ago--as Charlamange8 intimated around that time--but he immediately tweaked a hamstring and was not ready to return until this week. He is expected to play against Memphis, with the amount of time being determined by how he holds up physically after missing all of preseason camp and the first seven games while recovering from spring knee surgery. Kennedy had a one-on-one discussion with Fritz at the end of practice.
"He's back feeling good," Fritz said. "Hopefully we're going to get him and get him to play this week."
Kennedy cannot be redshirted because he was redshirted as a freshman in 2014. I guess it would be possible for Tulane to apply for a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA and see what the answer was, but that's not the road Fritz is taking.
Tulane needs an extra body on the defensive line after losing starter Eldrick Washington to a season-ending torn ACL. Freshmen Cameron Sample and Patrick Johnson, senior starter Ade Aruna and redshirt junior Peter Woullard, who has played sparingly this year, are the only other ends getting any time in the Wave's primarily three-man front. A productive Kennedy, who is backing up Sample on the second team at the moment (Aruna and Johnson are listed as tackles on the side that usually has a rush end next to them) would provide a huge boost.
"It would be great if he were able to go," Fritz said. "Eldrick was playing really well for us and was a workhorse kind of guy, so that will help us."
With Braynon Edwards out, too, the backup to Sean Wilson at nose guard is De'Andre Williams, who has six tackles (three against Army), the same number as Edwards despite getting less playing time.
Tulane definitely is stressing cutting down on the penalties that killed them against South Florida. When John Leglue jumped early on a play late in practice, he immediately ran off to do push-ups as punishment while Keyshawn McLeod went on the field to replace him.
Practice does not always determine how a team plays, but Fritz has appeared happier about the quality of practice the last two days than he was the last two weeks.
"It was good," he said. "We did a little bit more than we normally do two days out, but we had to because of the circumstances. It's going well and we need to go out and execute it on Friday night."
The No. 1 key to beating Memphis is better tackling, an area where the Wave has slipped in the last two games. Defensive coordinator Jack Curtis counted 17 missed tackles against South Florida when he watched the video, and Memphis runs a lot of quick passes and bubble screens that rely on opponents missing tackles. The Tigers has a pair of 50-yard touchdowns on conventional screens earlier this year against UCLA, and Tulane absolutely, positively cannot afford to let that happen Friday. If the Tigers have to work their way down the field, they are liable to make a mistake.
"The big thing is you try to not allow plays over the top and make them work the whole field," Fritz said. "The other part, too, is just tackling in the open field. They are going to throw the ball out there use the whole field horizontally and vertically, and you have to tackle. When they do mix in runs, you have to tackle and not allow five yard passes to turn into 50-yard plays. They can do that."
Fritz can't put more emphasis on tackling than he already does. It's just a matter of better execution on game day.
"The big part is just getting nearer to the guy, dropping your center of gravity when you get in that target zone to tackle and not running at a guy. We call it a near-foot swoop. It's all about leverage. As I tell them all the time, the approach to tackling is just as important or more important than the actual tackle itself."
The other concern is not giving up a cheap score to brilliant kickoff returner Tony Pollard, who is averaging an astounding 41.9 yards on 14 attempts with three touchdowns, including a 93-yarder against Houston last Thursday. Tulane has been good covering kicks, allowing 19.0 yards per return with a long of 30, but it has not faced anyone like Pollard.
"We've got to do a great job," Fritz said. "The thing with these guys is you have to have field position. There's a lot of things we can do, but there have to be times where you kick it deep and make them go the (length of) the field."
I caught up with Jack Curtis after practice. Here's the Q&A:
What makes their passing game so dangerous?
"Well, they have probably an NFL quarterback right there throwing the ball. Very, very talented, a strong arm and a good athlete. They don't ask him to run the ball very much, but he's very elusive back there, he's got good speed but just really a strong arm. They do so much, especially on early downs, on getting that ball out quick to the skill positions--the backs, the receivers. That's where they're so dangerous, on those early downs. Third down, when you know they're passing the ball, they're still a talented team, but they get more normal (Memphis is 7th in third-down conversion percentage among AAC teams at .405.). It's the early downs that you've got to stop."
You've had two bad games tackling in a row. I understand South Florida was really hard to tackle, but how much is that a premium against Memphis?
"Tackling is always going to be important. We had 17 missed tackles in that game. I'm not sure exactly the yardage we gave up after the missed tackles, but it was pretty significant. The quarterback was extremely talented and could make you miss. We had two unblocked players on the first touchdown, and he just froze us and split us like that. He's so explosive in getting into the end zone. We have to tackle better and I've got to be honest. They are an extremely talented team and are going to make people miss sometimes. We have to keep our standards high and get better."
What makes Anthony Miller such a dangerous receiver?
"A lot of these catches, don't get me wrong, but they are run-pass options. It's the bubbles, the quick slants and all those things. You have to defend the run and the pass at the same time. What they like to do is create a lot of mismatches with their receivers and running backs and get the ball on the perimeter."
You did a pretty good job against them for the most part in last year's 24-14 loss at Yulman Stadium. How similar are they offensively?
"Real similar except the quarterback's a lot better. He has another year of maturity and he knows more what he's doing. Last year we were up 7-3 with about two minutes to go in the half, and we gave up a big play on second-and-long, and it really kind of took the wind out of our sail not only for that game but a little bit for the season. If we can keep battling like we did last week where you're down 34-7 but you're still competing, breaks are going to come our way."
Chase Kuerschen had 14 tackles against USF but I don't think it was one of his better games. What does it say about him always being around the ball?
"Every week you go in with a plan and what you think you are going to see. South Florida didn't deviate and give us a whole lot of new stuff. We loaded the box and he was going to be the unblocked player the plus-one guy. He had 14 tackles and four missed tackles. We put him in position to make a lot of plays and he did, and there were a few plays he didn't make. A couple of them were in crucial short-yardage situations when we had to get off the field and play a little bit better on third down."
P.J. Hall is going to start for Rod Teamer. How did he do when he came in against USF?
"He played outstanding. He played really well. He's very smart, and the thing that P.J. can do for you is line up and play corner, nickel and free safety and really not have to have a whole lot of reps at those things during the week. He's extremely intelligent and a good player for us."
Has Robert Kennedy been cleared?
"He's cleared and we'll see what he can do. It's been so long since he's played, and what kind of shape he's in, but we think he's going to be able to get some snaps this game. How many will depend on what he can do from a conditioning standpoint. It's nice to get him back. We've lost Eldrick, but now we've got Robert up and coming. Maybe he'll get some more reps. But where we are at this point in the season, this is probably typical."
