As we emptied the bench tonight I noticed Deon Rainey did not get in, but then I checked the official roster and he's no longer on it. Barring a mistake (not unheard of), it appears he's gone. Wish him well.

Roll Wave!!!

It's looking more and more like Tulane will not have Keyshawn McLeod against Grambling. He did not practice again today and, although he no longer has a protective boot on his leg, he was walking with a slight limp while his teammates worked out in full pads.

There are two possible starting lineups up front. One has John Leglue at LT, Leeward Brown at LG, Junior Diaz at C, Corey Dublin at right guard and Dominique Briggs at RT. The other possibility has Tyler Johnson at RT and Briggs at RG with Dublin on the bench. Both would be more scary if Tulane were not facing Grambling.

Thakarius Keyes has returned to practice. He worked with Willie Langham on the third unit today, with Tre Jackson and Jaylon Monroe on the second team.

For the second straight preseason, Donnie Lewis has been the interception king in practice. He picked off two more passes today, and it will be interesting to see if he can translate that play-making ability into games, which he did not do a year ago.

Lawrence Graham, who was on the scout team last week, got some reps with the regular defense today, playing with the second unit alongside Zach Harris, who is coming off that knee injury that sidelined him early in drills. Graham is on the second unit on the depth chart Tulane posted today, too, instead of Marvin Moody. It's a fluid situation there, with KJ Vault still in the picture, too.

The depth chart Tulane posted also has Peter Woullard as a tackle and De'Andre Williams at end. I did see Williams getting a few reps at end in a 3-4 look, but Woullard was an end and Williams a tackle on the second unit in the base defense. Other than those differences, there's nothing on there I haven't already reported, and you can ignore the offensive line depth chart since it has McLeod starting.

I talked to Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs last night, and he explained what happened to Edward Williams. It's the same problem he had at Tulane--academics.

"He was enrolled for a while, but he had some academic concerns that he needed to take care of, and he was unable to take care of those academic concerns," Fobbs said.

Fobbs had this to say about former Tulane players Dedrick Shy, who is the second-string right cornerback after getting limited time a year ago, and Keeyon Smart, who went to a juco after leaving Tulane and has resurfaced at Grambling as the projected starting right tackle. Smart, the younger brother of Tanzel Smart, checks in at a hefty 370 pounds on his 6-5 frame.

"Both of them are playing extremely well and working extremely hard," Fobbs said. "Keeyon is working himself in condition to be in shape, and Dedrick Shy, the light has come on for him and he's playing very, very well for us, so we're pleased with what we're getting from those guys and they've been pleasant additions to our program."

Freshman defensive lineman Nick Kubiet, who almost certainly will be redshirted this year, practiced today for one of the first times this preseason. I can't say for sure it was his first since Tulane's practice yesterday was closed and I didn't look for him in the first few days of camp, but he had been out with a knee injury.

Glen Cuiellette was wearing headphones during the team drills in practice, so he may be functioning as a quasi-coach as someone suggested a couple weeks ago. He still has a role as the holder for kicks.

Walk-on receiver Brian Newman, who earned positive reviews from coaches before getting a leg injury recently, played pitch and catch with a trainer while sitting on a bench today. He wants to keep those hands alert.

The first player I saw as I entered Yulman Stadium was Miles Strickland--on the exercise bike.

Jabril Clewis will start against Grambling, and he made a nice play with a sideline reception from Jonathan Banks. I no longer can say I have not seen him do anything in the preseason. He used his size well on that route, making a precise cut and shielding the defender from his body.

There were a few more dropped passes on both sides than normal. The most notable ones were by sure-handed receiver Darnell Mooney and safety P.J. Hall on a poorly thrown ball by Johnathan Brantley, who did not have one of his better days. Brantley apologized for another throw behind an open receiver.

Aside from McLeod, Tulane is extremely healthy entering the season. The most significant preseason injury came to Corey Dauphine, who is ineligible to play anyway as a transfer. He is wearing a bulky brace on his left knee and dragging his leg when he walks.

Practice was cut short by maybe just a couple of minutes when rain arrived shortly after sunny skies prevailed. That was good fortune because it would have been tough to practice after that brief, but torrential downpour. It turns out Tulane practiced last night at the Saints indoor facility. We had been informed a night earlier there would be no interviews because the Tulane campus was closed, but when the opportunity to practice indoors arose, Fritz jumped at it.

Welcome to another year of pick 'em, the contest started by former Wave Report publisher Scott Kushner and continued without interruption by me, where we pick eight games per week vs. the point spread in every week Tulane plays a game.

The rules haven't changed: the Tulane game counts double, home teams are listed first (neutral games designated as such) and the spreads come from VegasInsider.com consensus. In the case of the Grambling game, I picked my own line since there's no official line versus FCS opponents. For the uninitiated, if a team is favored by 7.5 points, that means it has to win by 8 or more to cover the spread and it will be listed as -7.5. If it an underdog by 7.5 points, it will be listed as +7.5.

I post a weekly recap and running tally each week. The person with the most points at the end of the year wins the grand prize, which is ... a nice recognition that stays on the top of the message board above the previous four winners. You get to drop your lowest weekly score so that you won't be penalized too much if you forget to enter your picks in one of the weeks.

I shy away from Thursday games always and usually Friday games (unless it involves Tulane) to give everyone more time to enter their picks.

Tulane (-19.5) Grambling
LSU (-14.5) BYU
Alabama (-7) FSU (Atlanta)
Michigan (-3.5) Florida (Arlington, Texas)
Notre Dame (-17.5) Temple
Virginia Tech (-4) West Virginia (Landover, Md.)
UCLA (-4) Texas A&M
Georgia Tech (+4) Tennessee

If you thought Willie Fritz would use a two-quarterback system against Grambling, think again. Asked today after practice if Jonathan Banks and Johnathan Brantley would play, he demurred.

"Maybe, we'll see," he said. "Right now it's Banks. More than likely he's going to go, and we'll see what occurs."

I'm sure Brantley will get in if it's a blowout, but coaches never, ever want to mention that possibility publicly. He'd also likely play if Banks really struggled.

Keyshawn McLeod did not practice today, and although Willie Fritz would not officially rule him out, it's very unlikely he will play against Grambling.

That leaves Tulane with an offensive line of John Leglue, Corey Dublin, Junior Diaz, Leeward Brown and Dominique Briggs from left to right. They might opt for Tyler Johnson at right tackle, Briggs at right guard and Brown on the bench, but the number of practice reps they are receiving says otherwise.

"We'll probably play about seven or eight guys," Fritz said. "We're pretty sure who will start but not positive. You can evaluate all you want with practice, but this is real situations here, and there's no better evaluation than a real game."

Hunter Knighton, backing up Diaz at center, likely will be the seventh lineman to play. I'm not sure about the potential eighth guy Fritz mentioned because freshmen Joey Claybrook and Cameron Jackel, two of the second stringers don't need to get on the field.

It is almost certain that Dublin will become Tulane's first true freshman offensive lineman to start an opener since Andrew Nierman in 2007. He's getting virtually every rep with the first team at left guard.

"He's had a great camp," Fritz said. "He really has a great presence to him. He's obviously well coached and very mature about the way he goes about his business. He's a tough kid."

I asked about Zach Harris working with the second team at weakside linebacker and whether they were still concerned about his knee.

"Not really," Fritz said. "We think he's in pretty good shape as far as that's concerned, but he's missed a couple weeks now learning and getting reps. He'll play on Saturday, though."

Redshirt senior Luke Jackson will start for the first time in his career, in front of Harris.

Today was Tulane's 26th practice of the preseason. Because two-a-days were eliminated, camp started earlier than in the past, exactly 31 days ago.

"We've had a very good camp," Fritz said. "It's been a long camp. I thought we did a good job of taking some time off and making sure we didn't do overkill. Sometimes you prepare too much and everybody's mind gets cluttered and they are not able to play to the best of their ability. I just got done talking to them about how important--I used to talk to them about the final 48 hours, but with us practicing in the morning, it's really more like the final 56 when you're playing a night game. It's getting the proper amount of rest, eating right, hydrating, studying the playbook, staying off your feet, all those different things that allow you to play to the best of your ability."

Rae Juan Marbley talked to reporters today. Here's what Tulane's starting middle linebacker had to say:

What does it feel like to be Tulane's starting middle linebacker for the opening game of your senior year?

"It's a great opportunity. I'm ready to go out and show what I'm capable of. It's a shot I've been waiting for for a long time. I'm ready to go out on the big stage and make it happen."

How long has it seemed like this wait's been?

"It's been forever, but I'm a person that believes in trusting the process. I feel like everything happens for a reason, so I feel like it's my time to shine and make it count."

Will you try to copy Nico Marley or be your own man?

"I'm definitely going to be my own guy. I'm a hustle, work-hard player in everything I do."

Nico had the lion inside of him. What about you?

"I've definitely got to work on something. In the fourth quarter when everyone's tired, I'll have to find it deep in myself to pull through and grind it out."

What's it like calling the defensive signals?

"It's been great training. I've always been in a leadership role since high school. I was the captain of the wrestling team in my freshman year, so I've always been in a leadership position. It's just something natural for me. I'm glad I can take my leadership position to this big stage and bring it to Tulane University and the national level."

How did wrestling help football?

"It's definitely helped a lot. Wrestling has a really gritty mentality. A lot of the success is based on yourself. I had to bring that aspect to me. I had to work on my game and improve myself. I also have to bring that work ethic to my teammates and bring the joy and the attitude so it rubs off on everyone else. I know if I come with the work-hustle mentality, it pulls over to guys like Rod Teamer and Donnie Lewis and Parry Nickerson. A lot of us are work-hustle guys, and we all bring that mentality together."

Can you talk about cleaning 400 pounds?

"That was actually a goal I had since my sophomore year of high school. I hit 315 in my sophomore year of high school, and I told my coach before I graduate from college, I want to hit 400. He was like you have to work hard to do it. I told coach (Kyle) Speer the vision I had when he first came in here, and we got it done."

Did that win the players' respect?

"I think a lot of people respected me before that, just from my leadership role. A lot of guys followed me. Sometimes I like to talk, but a lot of times I like to lead by my actions. A lot of guys had seen my actions before that and were really proud I was able to accomplish that goal?"

What was it like turning on SportsCenter and seeing yourself?

"It was crazy. I was going out for my mom's birthday, and I had a message from Bleacher Report and it was like, hey, can we use your video. When it hit SportsCenter, I was like this is the craziest thing that ever happened to me. It's been pretty amazing."

Guerry- Are you going to be able to get a list of visiting recruits for the Grambling game? I'd guess weather and travel issues could keep the number low, but who knows.

Roll Wave!!!

I say over with a 7-5 prediction.

He's not on the Grambling roster, and I can't find anything that's been written about what happened. Here's a story about him transferring there, but obviously something did not work out.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sp...ters-defense-second-tulane-transfer/87966398/

Guerry, will you be doing this again this year?

Just about every injured player who was supposed to be back at practice today, was back, with the notable exception of Keyshawn McLeod as Tulane worked out at the Saints indoor facility in shoulder pads and shorts.

The list included linebacker Zach Harris, who practiced with the second unit behind Luke Jackson and likely will need to show something in Tuesday's heavier practice to prove he is ready to play. Also practicing were backup center Hunter Knighton, who has been out with a knee injury for nearly three weeks,and backup tackle Tyler Johnson, but the coaches will still have a dilemma if McLeod cannot return for the game. He was wearing a boot on his right leg, but those are customary for any injured player with a leg issue.

Their solution right now is moving Dominique Briggs to right tackle from his normal guard spot, with John Leglue at left tackle, Corey Dublin at left guard, Junior Diaz at center and Leeward Brown at right guard. Briggs does not have the body type of a tackle, but Willie Fritz has labeled him versatile from day 1 in the spring. They also gave him some reps at right guard, with Tyler Johnson playing right tackle, so those appear to be the two possible lineups if McLeod is not ready. The backup line had Joey Claybrook at left tackle, Dublin at left guard, Knighton at center, Brown at right guard and Briggs at right tackle, with Devon Johnson and Cameron Jackel no longer getting any reps in the tint part of practice I watched. Knighton got yanked for a play after a false start.

There's not much else to report from a light practice, which took the place of the Sunday night practice Tulane has after games. Jaetavian Toles dropped a pass after getting open on an intermediate route. While checking out where the 12 Texas players on the team are from because of the horrendous flooding caused by Harvey.

It appears that all six Tulane players from Houston or close to Houston did not have floodwaters reach their houses--Jonathan Banks, Johnathan Brantley, Kevin LeDee, Jaetavian Toles, Brian Newman and Quentin Brown (from Conroe, 40 miles north of Houston) I did not get to talk to all of them because the team was in a race to get back to campus on the buses on the first day of the fall semester, but I know for sure the two QBs did not have flooding because I talked to them after practice, and Fritz said the other guys appeared to be OK. too.

Corey Dauphine is from Port Arthur in the southeast corner of the state, another area that experienced flooding. The other players from Texas are not in the storm's target area--Rocky Ferony of Cedar Park near Austin, Dane Ledford of Argyle near Fort Worth, Geron Eatherly of San Antonio, Toles of Stratford and Jaylon Monroe and Chase Napoleon from the Dallas area.

I will see if I can get more details later today or tomorrow.

Here are Fritz' quotes:

How did the flooding affect your players from Texas?

"We were real lucky. All those guys are in pretty good shape. I've been monitoring it because my daughter lives there, so I've been monitoring the heck out of it, and they're all good. It's kind of hit and miss. In some areas it's horrible and in some areas it's just a little wet."

(Note: that's his daugter, Lainie, who is a sportscaster for KPRC-TV in Houston. She was in New Orleans and was called back to Houston to report on the flooding and had to drive there)

How did Zach Harris look today?

"I haven't had a chance to really look at him, but it looked like he was moving around good early. Hunter Knighton was back, too, and hopefully Keyshawn will be back later in the week."

What are you looking to see from Jonathan Banks this Saturday?

"Great, great, great, great ball security and just understanding what we're doing. We're trying to do a great job of running the same plays over and over again so everyone feels confident with it. Just getting the game to slow down for him. That's true for everybody."

What are your thoughts on Grambling?

'They were one of the top 1-AA programs in the country. I was at that level for a long time as an assistant and a head coach. The top teams at that level can beat a bunch of Division I teams, so this is a big game for us."

BRANTLEY

Did your family come out OK in the flood?

"As far as I know. They got out yesterday and as far as I know it's good. There wasn't flooding in my neighborhood but around it."

You've had a good camp. How much do you feel you progressed?

"I progressed a lot from my freshman year getting back healthy with my shoulder. It's a different approach and I'm a year older. I didn't get the spot (as starter) but I think the coaches are proud of me."

How rough was last year? You played, which was great, and started twice, which was even better, but you weren't healthy enough to show what you could do.

"It was rough to go through as a freshman, but everything happens for a reason so I had to bounce back. I feel confident now that if they put me out there, I'll be ready."

BANKS

How is your family doing in Houston?

"I am going to talk to them this morning. I haven't really talked to them much, but as far as last night, everything was cool."

What do you want to show Saturday?

"I just want to be able to come out and execute and look sharp. That's pretty much it--execute and look sharp."

What do you do best?

"I feel like I can make throws on the field, be able to throw on the run and take off when needed."

How much are you looking forward to running when guys have to tackle you instead of just touching you to get the whistle?

"I feel like I can break tackles and use my speed. My philosophy is to never let one man bring me down. My motto is 'all gas, no breaks.'"

Tulane conducted a light practice today before getting the rest of the weekend off for the last time until a bye week at the end of September. The workout ended at 9:40 a.m, and coach Willie Fritz said he wanted the players to use their free time wisely.

"I told them let's rest, let's recover, let's stay off our feet," he said. "We do a campus move-in today from 1 to 3, and then basically they've got the rest of Friday, all day Saturday and all day Sunday off. We have a student-athlete welcome back, and then on Sunday evening Steve Gleason is going to speak to everybody, so that will be outstanding as well. We just need to be refreshed and ready to go on Monday."

Operating against the scout-team offense, defensive end Peter Woullard turned in one of the plays of the preseason, reading quarterback P.J. Hurst's eyes, taking a step back then leaping to deflect a pass that he intercepted as he fell to the ground. The Saints' Cameron Jordan made a similar play against Ben Roethlisberger a few years ago, and it was impressive to watch. Woullard won't start, but he should play significant downs as a backup at a position that demands breaks for the starters. If he continues to make plays like today, he will help Tulane win.

The pass of practice (and I was there for just the last 15 minutes) came from freshman Khalil McClain, who threw a deep strike to Jaetavian Toles against the scout-team defense. Toles is not competing for a starting spot, but he's the one true freshman receiver who will be in the mix at the start of the year. Wide receivers coach Curtis Conway said a couple of weeks ago Toles had the speed to contribute right away, separating him early from Kevin LeDee and Travis Tucker. McClain looks like a keeper at QB. He can do everything the Fritz and Doug Ruse offense requires of a quarterback.

With real game-week preparation beginning Monday, I talked to Fritz about the outcomes of what appeared to be the closest position battles entering preseason practice:

1) Redshirt freshman Coby Neenan winning the kicker job.

Fritz: "He's got a lot of ability. He has some natural advantages. He's got long levers and he's learning how to use them. We've got a really good snapper in Geron Eatherly and a really good holder in Glen Cuiellette. They've both been excellent in what they're doing, and we've shored up our protection. The last three or four days have really been good for (Neenan)."

2) Quinlan Carroll taking firm control of the defensive end spot opposite Ade Aruna.

Fritz: He's just a smart player. At that defensive end position you need to have a little size, and he's got quite a bit of it at 225 (pounds, compared to Larry Bryant at 210). He's quick, can get off blocks and then with our zone blitz package, he really can bring it."

3) Jabril Clewis having a slight edge as the third receiver in what remains a close competition.

Fritz: "Yeah, but we're getting a lot of push. Jacob Robertson's had a good camp. Chris Johnson's come on the last couple of practices. The big thing for us next week, and I told our coaches, is let's figure out by Wednesday or Thursday who's not going to make the mistakes. Who is going to line up right? Who knows the calls offensively, defensively and in the kicking game? In the first game that is just so important. We say around here we are trying to eliminate pre-snap and post-play penalties, the Wave doesn't beat the Wave. Every once in a while Tanzel (Smart) would jump offsides in his exuberance to beat the snap, and you had about 10-plus plays for that one minus. You better have that kind of ratio to have a pre-snap penalty. Otherwise, there's nobody we can have that's putting us five yards in the hole."

My note: Based on what I've seen at practice, Jacob Robertson deserves to start. But receivers rotate in and out so much that it hardly matters who starts anyway.

4) Corey Dublin, Dominique Briggs and Leeward Brown competing for two starting guard spots.

Fritz: "It's still a close battle. All three of them are going to play a lot. You use those first few games for evaluation as well, to see who can do it when live bullets are flying."

My note: Briggs and Dublin have gotten more first-team reps than Brown this week, but the performance in the opener of all three guys will determine the lineup. Dublin, who is poised to become Tulane's first opening-game starter on the offensive line since Andrew Nierman (right guard) in 2007, has to prove he can handle the load as a true freshman.

NOTES

---Zach Harris sat out practice again today. We'll see whether he is ready to go Monday.

---Tight end Kendall Ardoin has a stomach-muscle issue that kept him out of practice. I'll check on his status Monday.

---Tulane has a new walk-on offensive lineman. Yesterday when I wrote down the numbers of the linemen on the scout team, my roster did not include the No. 70 I listed. Today, I learned it is Timothy Shafter, a Massachusetts product whose dad approached Fritz at AAC Media Days in Newport, Rhode Island and told him about his son wanting to walk on. He played at Hingham High and listed himself as 6-2, 230 pounds on his Hudl page during his senior year.

I talked to Neenan for the first time ever after practice. He did not say a whole lot, but here's what I got:

How confident are you?

"Me and the unit have been working this whole summer, this whole fall camp. If we get a good snap, a good hold and a good kick with good protection, we'll have a good season."

You were a punter and kicker in high school. Did you have a preference at the time?

"At the time I did whatever the team needed most, and right now the Green Wave needs a placekicker, so that's what I'm doing."

How much did you benefit from last year's redshirt experience?

"That was a great learning experience, getting to travel with the team (he went on every road trip but the UConn season finale), learning how everything goes. I really appreciate that redshirt year."

Coach Fritz says he wants anything 40 yards or shorter to be made, and that didn't happen last year. Do you feel comfortable from that range?

"I feel confident. We have a good snapper, Geron Eatherly, Glen Cuiellette, he's holding. Get a good snap, good hold, good kick, that's all you have to say, man."

What is your range?

"I had a 48-yarder today in practice. I feel comfortable from 50 and in with my leg strength."

What do you need to get better at?

"I definitely have to work on concentration and being consistent, making sure it is the same kick every time."

A couple of your kicks were low in one of the live drills. Is that something you've worked on?

"We had an issue with that to begin with, but I've worked with coach (Shane) Meyer (a Fritz placekicker at Central Missouri, Meyer is director of football operations) and he's helped me get better elevation on my kicks. Fall camp has really been a great learning experience."

How eager are you to show what you can do?

"I'm super-excited. I can't wait for September 2nd against Grambling. It will be a heck of a time."

We respond to subscriber posts around here, so the first players I looked for at Tulane's practice today were the offensive linemen on the scout team, and one of them was a surprise. When the defense began preparing for Grambling in 11-on-11 situations, John Washington was one of the guards.

That's quite the come down for a guy whom coach Willie Fritz touted as a potential starter when he moved from defensive tackle to the offensive line midway through 2016. At the time, Fritz said his only regret was not moving Washington over sooner, giving him a better opportunity to emerge as a significant contributor.

Yet, here we are about 10 months later, and Washington was practicing with true freshman Cameron Jackel and injured guard Brian Webb (Webb was out there because it was not a contact practice).

"It's a combination of (other guys improving and Washington's growth slowing down) both," Fritz said. "He has to learn what he's doing, too. He hasn't played a whole lot of offensive line. He certainly has the ability to play at this level."

The first-team offensive line today had John Leglue at right tackle, Joey Claybrook at left tackle (due to injuries), Junior Diaz at center, Corey Dublin at left guard and Dominique Briggs at right guard, with Leeward Brown getting some reps with the top unit in place of Briggs. Keyshawn McLeod and Tyler Johnson did not practice, leaving the Wave very thin at tackle since Tyler Johnson also is out. Career reserve Devon Johnson has received reps with the first team as a result, although he worked with the second unit today while Briggs even got some work at tackle.

Fritz expects the two tackles to be ready next week.

"We sure think so," he said. "We're giving them four or five days off. If we had a game tomorrow, it's amazing how everybody kind of heals up. Right now (they) are just unable to go at the pace we want them to, and this is the time to rest guys. We've got a long haul coming up. If we get those two guys going, we'll be in a lot better shape."

Leglue played all over the line in preseason camp, but he will be a tackle against Grambling because Tulane's biggest need is there.

"He can play any position and he doesn't make very many mistakes, and that's a big deal," Fritz said. We'd like to play him at guard. That's his best position and probably the place he'll play the least, but for us, we'd love to be able to keep him out there at tackle. Junior really does a good job at center and is a great snapper. We're playing Corey Dublin a little bit there at center as well, and Briggs can do some of that, too."

The scout-team defense had Paul Staudinger, Justin Walton. Torri Singleton, Chase Napoleon, Monty Montgomery, Sean Harper, Michael Scott, Quentin Brown, Stephon Lofton, Eric Lewis and Jeremy Allen--three walk-ons, four scholarship true freshmen, three second-year guys and a redshirt junior in Lofton.

"It went a lot better than yesterday," Fritz said. "We're working with this apparatus called the go route. One of the alums of Tulane is a big investor in it, so we'll see how they work for us. It has a little picture that shows you the play, and the guys are learning how to use it. They've got it on their belts, and they turn it up, here's the play and it shows you what you do. You can get more plays in quicker and they can stay out there by positions. We've used it a little bit. We've used it about four or five times. We used it yesterday and are trying to get a little bit better with it. It's just a way to be more efficient. Sometimes you tell a guy something, and the thing that's need about it, if someone is playing fullback, we can even put notes in at the bottom of it about what he needs to specifically do on that play."

Fritz had not liked what he saw Wednesday.

"The problem was we talked about the guys that were going to go on scout team, and I don't think I emphasized enough to the coaches, you've got to define that for them. A lot of those kids have never played scout team before. They have to understand we're going at a pace but we're staying on our feet."

The defensive depth chart has stayed the same the last week or so. Barring injury, the starters in the base formation will be Quinlan Carroll, Ade Aruna, Eldrick Washington, Sean Wilson, Luke Jackson or Zach Harris (depending on Harris' health status), Rae Juan Marbley, Jarrod Franklin, Parry Nickerson, Donnie Lewis, Taris Shenall and Rod Teamer. There's nothing new to impart there, although Tulane definitely will use more looks with some different personnel than last year.

The second-team base defense is De'Andre Williams and Braynon Edwards inside, Peter Woullard and Larry Bryant outside, Lawrence Graham and Marvin Moody at linebacker (with KJ Vault getting some reps, too), Tirise Barge at nickel, Tre Jackson and Jaylon Monroe at cornerback (Willie Langham is out with an injury) and Chase Kuerschen and P.J. Hall at safety, with Will Harper getting some reps, too.

The guys I just mentioned are the 27 guys who will play other than in garbage time, with Thakarius Keyes joining the mix when he gets healthy. I did not see Cameron Sample or Patrick Johnson playing on the scout team or with the regular defense, so I will check on their status tomorrow.

NOTES

---They have created space between the words "Yulman" and "Stadium" on top of the scoreboard, clearing room for the installation of that Angry Wave multi-dimensional thing to be placed there. You guys probably know more what it will be than I do.

---When researching Tulane's lousy third-down production from a year ago, I came across a doozy of a stat. Navy allowed opponents to convert 53.5 percent of their third downs last year, ranking dead last in the nation. If you're skeptical about my pick of Tulane to beat Navy for The Advocate in my game-by-game rundown, think about it. Navy simply was not a good team last year except for the incredible development of quarterback Will Worth. The Middies came one yard from losing to UConn in its AAC opener and trailed Tulane late in the fourth quarter the next week on the night Worth found himself. From there, Navy became an offensive juggernaut, and the second Worth got hurt late in the season, the team fell apart. Look, I understand that everything changes from year to year, but I really think Navy is vulnerable now that Worth is no longer there.

Here is the rest of Fritz from today:

On Terren Encalade:

"Terren's also a guy that's smart. He knows how to line up, he's an aggressive player and he has a lot of toughness to him. We talk about the Wave not beating the Wave and staying away from presnap and post-play penalties because those are the ones we can control and anybody can make those calls. He does a good job of lining up properly."

That was quintessential Fritz. He is a detail-oriented coach, and that's the first thing he thinks about even when asked about a star player. He added he was not surprised by Encalade's development.

"He's a good player. We knew coming out of spring ball he had an opportunity to be one of our top guys, and you saw he was last year."

With Tulane getting into preparation for the opener against Grambling today at Yulman Stadium, the reports will no longer be as detailed as during preseason camp, but the first practice involving scout teams always brings some news when players are divided into the guys who will play and the guys who are not in position to play.

The most notable names on the scout-team defense were freshman linebacker Monty Montgomery, who has gotten reps with the second unit throughout camp, true sophomore safety Sean Harper, who began the preseason as the No. 2 strong safety but has been passed by multiple players, and redshirt freshman defensive tackle Deion Rainey, who failed to take advantage of the lack of depth at his position. The other scholarship players on the scout team were expected, with sophomore linebacker/safety Chase Napoleon, freshman safety Quentin Brown and freshman defensive ends Torri Singletary and Michael Scott.

Andrew Hicks is on the scout-team offense. As the fourth-string tight end behind Charles Jones, Kendall Ardoin and Will Wallace, there simply aren't any reps available for him on offense. It's probably a combination of not being 100 percent healthy coming off back-to-back ACL injuries and not being comfortable at tight end after being moved from wide receiver. I was surprised to see freshman wideout Kevin LeDee over there, too, and will check to see where he is tomorrow. Although he has made a lot of catches in the preseason, he is very thin and likely needs a year in the weight room to be ready. Another freshman wideout, Travis Tucker, joined him, but after looking really good in shorts on the first day of practice, Tucker has not done much, so his scout-team presence was not surprising. P.J. Hurst was the scout-team QB, with a lot more walk-ons around him.

Dane Ledford did not practice with the scout team and he did not practice at QB, getting all of his reps at wide receiver in the portion of the practice I saw. Although no announcement has been made, Khalil McClain is the third-string QB. Glen Cuiellette stood on the sideline by himself on the offensive end of the field, getting zero reps in the last 30 minutes of practice.

One amusing note: with a shortage of cornerbacks on the scout team, kicker Merek Glover spent some time "covering" receivers.

Zach Harris was held out of practice again with the hope he will return Monday for a full week of practice before the Grambling game. If he is unavailable, it sure seems that redshirt junior Luke Jackson will get his first career start at weakside linebacker.

Also not practices were cornerbacks Willie Langham and Thakarius Keyes, who both were pedaling the exercise bike when I arrived, and a few offensive linemen who likely will not return until Monday --Keyshawn McLeod, Hunter Knighton and Tyler Johnson.

I'm working on a story about Tulane's poor third-down defense. Although the Wave finished in the top half of the AAC in almost every defensive statistical category last year, it tied for ninth in third-down conversion defense (42.9 percent) and gave up some gargantuan ones that influenced the outcomes of games. The two most notable ones came in the fourth quarter against SMU, when the Mustangs converted a third-and-17 and a third-and-25 on two late touchdown drives after Tulane went ahead 31-21.

But there were plenty of others. Navy converted a third-and-12 and a third-and-8 (not the Midshipmen's forte) on separate touchdown drives in its 21-14 victory at Yulman Stadium. Wake Forest converted a third-and-8 and a third-and-9 before its long score in an opening 7-3 victory against Tulane. UMass converted a third-and-10 on its touchdown drive that cut Tulane's lead to 7 in the fourth quarter. Even UConn had some success in Tulane's season-ending rout of the Huskies, scoring its two touchdowns on a 62-yard run on third-and-2 and a 20-yard pass on third-and-8.

That deficiency must be fixed for Tulane to reach a bowl game this year.

"We spent about two days on that in the offseason just looking at why we were so deficient on third down," coach Willie Fritz said. "There were a lot of reasons. Part of it is the play call. We've got to make sure we're in what we want to be in, and there were too many occasions when we lost leverage in our pass rush and didn't stay in our lanes. The college game is different than the pro game. In the pro game (the defense) likes getting those quarterbacks out of the pocket because they are not as good athletes throwing the ball, but in the college game that's where those guys thrive because they can run. We had eight or nine times when teams converted on us just because we lost leverage, and we have to do a great job of that.

"You can't just run one thing on third down. You have to have a multitude of calls based on their personnel and also the score of the game."

Defensive coordinator Jack Curtis addressed the same topic.

"We did identify the problems and spent a lot of time over the summer studying ways to get better," he said. "Part of the problem last year was a lack of depth and the players that could get into the game and play and teach them enough so we could be more multiple on third down. I felt like we had enough pass rush on third down, but we didn't have enough in the coverage end of it to confuse some players.

"That was one of the bigger things, and being in a new system and trying to get guys to play, we had to take baby steps. We're light years from where we were last year."

The failures against SMU obviously was the most frustrating because they made the difference in winning by maybe 17 points and losing by 4.

"We really have devoted a lot of time to doing a lot more on third down and being a lot more multiple and giving the quarterbacks different looks and then trying to make him make post-snap decisions. Get in a similar look, and then when the ball is snapped, he has to make a post-snap decision of what he's saying, whether it's blitz or the illusion of blitz. Those are the things we've worked on."

Most, but not all, of the biggest third-down mistakes came late in the game or late in the first half, when Tulane's lack of depth became an issue. When the Wave went to its bench, it was using freshmen in the secondary like P.J. Hall, Thakarius Keyes and Will Harper, none of whom were ready. That's no longer the case.

"That's exactly right," Curtis said. "We won't have to throw freshmen in there. That's a tough position to put those guys in. You'd like for them to be able to grow up a little bit and play with a little bit more confidence, and it's hard when you're a freshman. That was part of the SMU game. P.J. was out there, and you don't want to give up the big play and you play cautious (as Hall did), and you can't play in the secondary that way."

Curtis said the third-down issues extended to giving up costly big plays in general.

"Memphis was another game, and I think it was a second down we gave up a long play (a 46-yard touchdown pass with 1:01 left) that changed the game right before halftime," he said. "We've worked at it hard. I think we can still generate some good pass pressure on our four-man rush. We've got to let Ade (Aruna) get into situations where he can win some one-on-ones and try to put him in some one-on-one situations where he can make a difference."

Safety Rod Teamer said he would leave the analysis of what went wrong on third downs to the coaches, but he knows it has to get better.

"We didn't finish drives," he said. "That's one thing coach Fritz always talks about is finishing everything you do, and third down for a defense is finishing a drive unless a team wants to press their luck on fourth down. We call that our money down. That's what we've been putting a lot of emphasis on in camp this year. If we are running team (drills), coach Fritz scripts everything for a reason. If we get to third down, he's like, 'Hey, what down is it, talk to the defense,' so that's something we are putting a lot of emphasis on--getting off the field."

Today was Sno-ball Wednesday. I was behind Hunter Knighton in line, so I know he got half ice cream flavor and half nectar cream flavor on his snoball. I'm much more simple and stuck with cherry.

Tulane has not announced where it will practice tomorrow, but with the Saints in town, any workout at their facility would have to be in the evening, as was the case in the first week when the torrential rain prompted the Wave to go indoors for three consecutive night practices. The schedule lists Yulman Stadium for tomorrow and Friday but that's not a done deal.

You miss a day, and stuff happens.

When I was let into the Saints indoor facility for the last 30 minutes of practice, there were a few new players outs with injuries, including offensive tackle Keyshawn McLeod. His absence caused the coaches to experiment with all sorts of combinations, with the makeup of the line changing by the snap because Tulane has only two known quantities at tackle--John Leglue, a two-year starter, and McLeod, a redshirt sophomore who played in only two games a year ago but has drawn praise from the coaches since the start of spring drills.

On one snap, it was Leglue at left tackle, John Washington at left guard, Junior Diaz at center, Corey Dublin at right guard and Dominique Briggs at right tackle, moving from his normal guard spot.

On the next snap, it was Devon Johnson at left tackle (now that's a rare sight), Dublin at left guard, Diaz at center, Leglue at right guard and Briggs at right tackle.

On the next snap, Leeward Brown replaced Leglue at right guard while the others remained the same.

On the next snap, Leglue was back at left tackle, with Cameron Jackel at left guard, Washington at right guard and Briggs at right tackle.

That's just a four-play snapshot, but you get the picture. With McLeod out (coach Willie Fritz said he expected him to return next week) and Hunter Knighton still recovering from a knee sprain (Fritz said he hoped to return next week, too), Tulane is trying different things to find the best five linemen and three more guys who can play. If McLeod's injury turns out to be more significant, the logical candidate to start at right tackle would be Tyler Johnson, who wasn't practicing when I was watching. Briggs appears out of place on the outside with his body type (a squat-looking 6-3, 295-pounds), and he got whipped by Quinlan Carroll on a running play. Freshman Joey Claybrook is not ready. Actually, I'm not sure Claybrook practiced today, which would explain how Devon Johnson got some first-team reps for maybe the first time in the redshirt junior's career.

Days at the Saints facility are scrambles for interviews because they want to get on the team bus and get back to campus for post-practice meetings ASAP, but I will look at it more closely after tomorrow's practice at Yulman Stadium, when they likely will divide into offensive and defensive scout teams for the first time this preseason.

If McLeod comes back for Grambling week, the starting O-line is likely set with Leglue at LT, Dublin at LG,Diaz at C, Briggs at RG and McLeod at RT, with Brown the first guard off the bench and Tyler Johnson the first tackle off the bench if healthy.

In the two-minute drill at the end of practice, Jonathan Banks heeded Fritz' advice and ran often. When he decides to tuck it and run, he has good acceleration and is a load to tackle in the open field. A practice observer praised his speed as he turned the corner on one play. Still, since he is not allowed to be heat, it is tough to gauge how far he would have gotten in a live drill. The coaches clearly believe he will be tough to bring down, adding another key element to the offense.

Johnathan Brantley ran quite a bit, too, in his series, but twice it appeared he should have pitched on the option when he elected to keep it. To me, the pecking order is clear, with Banks No. 1 and clearly ahead of Brantley, but all that goes out the window once the season starts. Banks will have to perform well to keep his job because Brantley has looked good for most of preseason camp, too.

Other players out with injuries today were running back Corey Dauphine, who appears to have a sprained knee and will miss the next two weeks (since he has to sit out the year anyway, it won't affect the depth chart), wide receiver Brian Newman (leg), and freshman cornerback Jaylon Monroe (ankle).

I heard Dane Ledford got some reps at wide receiver yesterday. Fritz said it was not a permanent move and that he had not decided on a No. 3 QB, but Khalil McClain clearly has a leg up there.

Fritz had machine-generated crowd noise echoing through the indoor facility during practice. It definitely sounds louder indoors than when they use it at Yulman.

The best catch of the day came from a female trainer, who backhanded a wadded up towel another trainer tossed to her from about 15 yards away. He threw a bullet and she caught it with ease. On the field, the best play I saw came when Brantley connected with walk-on Rocky Ferony in the back of the end zone against the No. 1 defense. Earlier, McClain threw a strike to D.J. Owens on an in route.

With the focus of practice shifting tomorrow, here's my best guess at a two-deep depth chart (and sometimes more):

OFFENSE

QB

1) Banks
2) Brantley
3) McClain

RB

1) Hilliard
2) Badie
3) Huderson
4) Bradwell

WR

1) Encalade, Mooney and Clewis
2) Owens, Glenn and Robertson
3) Johnson, Toles and LeDee

LT

1) Leglue
2) Claybrook

LG

1) Dublin
2) Washington

C

1) Diaz
2) Leglue

RG

1) Briggs
2) Brown

RT

1) McLeod
2) Tyler Johnson

DEFENSE

LE (rush end)

1) Carroll
2) Bryant

LT

1) Eldrick Washington
2) Williams

NG

1) Wilson
2) Edwards

RE

1) Aruna
2) Woullard

MLB

1) Marbley
2) Montgomery

WLB

1) Jackson
2) Graham

**I'm skeptical about Harris being ready to play, although that's pure speculation. He's a sure starter when healthy.

NB

1) Franklin
2) P.J. Hall

CB

1) Nickerson
2) T. Jackson

CB

1) Lewis
2) Langham

SS

1) Teamer
2) Hall

FS

1) Shenall
2) Kuerschen

No, I’m not referring to Lindsey Scott, who recently enrolled at East Mississippi Community College, made famous on the Netflix series, “Last Chance U.” Actually, I doubt we’ll ever see Lindsey Scott, though I’d be happy to sign him. But, what about Emanuel Bridges? He’s a 6’3” 215# linebacker who apparently enrolled at EMCC for the coming season.

Why it makes sense.

1. We need at least one linebacker in this class.

2. Bridges is a good one. Coming out of high school, he had over 20 P5 offers and chose Georgia Tech over Alabama, Wisconsin, Georgia, Clemson, and a host of other “top end” P5 schools. For what it’s worth, he was a 3-star on all four services and had solid highlights: http://www.hudl.com/profile/1626150/emanuel-bridges

3. Bridges will have three years of eligibility left after this season.

4. He should be able to report for the Spring term.

Why it’s possible

1. We’re interested. Coach Fritz has been on him for several years, offering him a scholarship at Georgia Southern over two years ago. He recently offered him a scholarship to Tulane for 2018.

2. He’s probably “qualified.” As noted earlier, he committed to, signed with, and enrolled in Georgia Tech after his senior year in high school. He was qualified then; should be now.

Why it might not happen.

1. Why did he leave Georgia Tech? I’ve found no hard evidence of a problem. Was it grades? Other controversy? Coach Fritz by word and deed has shown that he does not want to bring on “problem kids” for whatever the reason. That he has offered suggests no major problem, but who knows?

2. How many of his credits will transfer? Anyone who has watched “Last Chance U” realizes that EMCC does not have very rigorous academic standards. How about his Georgia Tech credits? But, assuming decent grades, does it matter how many transfer? He’d have three years plus three summers to get enough credits to graduate. Can he do that? Would he be interested?

3. Someone else might sign him. This is an obvious alternative for him. The kid was sought after by almost everyone two years ago; would Tulane be “good enough” for his perception of himself? To date, he apparently has only one “new” P5 offer, Iowa State, and, of course, Florida Atlantic, the favorite of EMCC “retreads.” Tulane should be competitive, but, again, who knows?

Anyway, I thought this kid’s potential was worth a look at a position of need next year. I also thought others might be interested in his history.

Roll Wave!!

This will be a shorter report because practice was light and ended early. They worked a lot on special situations like onside kicks and Hail Mary plays. There weren't many changes on the depth chart in the abbreviated no-contact, 11-on-11 they conducted, although Tre Jackson got some reps with the second unit at cornerback in place of Willie Langham.

Jaetavian Toles made a really nice catch in the corner of the end zone in individual drills when receivers were working on their routes. He has not been that noticeable lately in 11-on-11 drills--Kevin LeDee appears to make the most catches of the freshmen--but he has some ability. Chase Kuerschen, who is noticeable every practice, broke up a pass by Jonathan Banks downfield. Taris Shenall almost made a spectacular interception of a Johnathan Brantley pass on the sideline, breaking quickly to undercut a receiver and working hard to get a foot inbounds, but he could not hold on to the ball.

Zach Harris was in uniform but did not have his helmet on, missing another day. The other inactives were Thakarius Keyes, Miles Strickland, Brian Webb, Hunter Knighton, Andrew Hicks, Robert Kennedy and Nick Kubiet.

One thing I learned today is Willie Fritz and Tom Jackson have a big philosophical disagreement when it comes to defending the Hail Mary. Tulane's defense practiced on stopping them for a segment during practice today. Jackson, when he was on ESPN's NFL highlights show Prime Time, used to scream every time they showed a Hail Mary that the defense should "KNOCK IT DOWN" rather than attempt to catch the ball.

Fritz disagrees.

"Obviously you are trying to not let them get outside the pocket,"he said. "That's a big deal because everybody is trying to buy time to get the receivers down to the end zone on that last play of the game. You've got to make sure that you're defending the tip-back because sometimes the teams will to tip it have somebody behind, so we're going to try to put a square around the intended target, and you've got to really go after the ball. Too many times guys are trying to knock the ball down and it's awkward for them to do that, but you've got to aggressively go after the ball in those situations. It's our ball just as much as it is the the offense's ball."

Take that, TJ.

Tulane will practice at the Saints facility on Thursday and Friday while the Saints are out of town practicing against the Chargers.

Here is the rest of Fritz:

You are still balancing the outdoor and indoor practices. How did todays' go in the heat?

"It is a little more humid out here than it is inside at the Saints facility (laughing). We cut back a little bit because we are going to do some scrimmaging on Thursday and Friday, but there's a lot of things that we inserted today. The last two plays in the game we worked on a little more than usual. We worked on some obvious onside kicks with our hands team, so we're starting to work on special situations."

How many games are won and lost on that kind of stuff?

"Oh at least one or two a season. Over the course of a career there are so many situations that happen. I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day and we were going over a couple of situations with a game years ago where Philadelphia played Miami and they thought it was a first down and they had their offense out there and the clock was running and all of a sudden they measured it and they were short, and they didn't have enough time for their field goal team to get on the field and kick it. There are so many situations, and it seems like you learn another one every year."

Is that something you're in charge of?

"Yeah, we'll go over situations almost daily in meetings, and we'll talk about different ones we have to insert. I've got a checklist that I've accumulated over the years."

What is your number one concern right now?

"Getting everything in. Just crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is. It's kind of a race against time. Then also we've got to remember this is a marathon, not a sprint, as far as preseason camp is concerned. With the NCAA allowing you to meet with your guys throughout the summer--they used to not let you do that--our practice No. 1 was like practice 15 in the old days. We've got a lot of our stuff in right now, and I've just got to be cognizant that I don't want to wear these guys out before the first game."

How comfortable are you with the defensive tackle depth?

"I think we've got some decent depth inside. Sean Wilson's had a great, great spring and summer. He's gotten much stronger, he's gotten bigger and you need some big bodies in there. Braynon Edwards is another guy that's a big body. We've got some other guys we think can play inside as well. Eldrick Washington has started a bunch of games here. We've signed some freshmen we think are going to be excellent players for us in Cameron Sample and Patrick Johnson, so we've got some big bodies, and you've got to have big bodies in this conference."

How about De'Andre Williams?

"He's doing a good job. He's another one I didn't mention, but he's up to 280 pounds. We redshirted him last year, and the best thing about him is he's really a tough kid. He practices hard and does what he's supposed to all the time. He's mentally tough, too."

(Fritz did not mention Deion Rainey, who practiced with the third unit on Wednesday)

How big a factor will Braynon Edwards be?

"He's lost 80, 90 pounds. He's able to go hard and he's really quick-footed for a big guy. Surprisingly so."

What would it take to make a significant leap forward this year?

"We've got to get better offensively. We were pretty good defensively. We were 20-something in the nation last year defensively, and we did some good but not great things in the kicking game. My philosophy is playing complimentary football, so it's all intertwined, but the one area we were deficient last year was offense, and I told our guys that. There's no kidding around here. We've got to get a lot better in that area."

Do you feel like you're on the way?

"Yeah, I really do. I think we're running the ball a lot better. Part of that is Banks and Brantley and those two freshman can really run the ball extremely well, and that's going to open up the passing game. I remember a few years ago we weren't great pass protectors on the offensive line, and you'd have to check the stats, but I think we only gave up four or five sacks for the whole year because everyone had to play laterally because we were running the ball so effectively, and that allows you to throw the ball effectively."

Do you feel the option plays are like a night and day difference from a year ago?

"Getting out there on the perimeter is a big deal. Pulling it and outflanking people, sometimes it's just a footrace. If you're faster than that guy and have them outflanked by a yard, shoot, you're going to gain 15 or 20 yards."

AT&T showed up to deal with my ongoing wifi issues at 8:15 this morning, but the guy was not finished until 11, long after practice ended.

I will be back out there tomorrow at the Saints facility and should not miss any more.

Guerry I saw your tweet where you said you didn't see Sehic's numbers from the first game. According to the 2nd blog on Tulane's site he got 15 points and 7 rebounds.

I am hearing Tulane may get a nice CB commitment by the end of the week.

In the spread-oriented AAC you can never have enough cover guys, and this would be a good one.

Before resting on the weekend, Tulane had one more scrimmage on Friday morning at the Saints' indoor facility, although this time Willie Fritz put the kibosh on tackling because he did not want anyone to get banged up.

The practice ended 20 minutes earlier than expected, which means I caught only the final 10 minutes after being escorted to the facility. Even that little time turned out to be beneficial, though.

They were in the two-minute drills, and it went much better for Jonathan Banks and the first-team offense than yesterday's. In fact, he completed five passes in a row, making quick decisions and firing the ball on target in the hurry-up as he connected with Dontrell HIlliard outside, Terren Encalade on a square in, Darnell Mooney on a button hook, Mooney again on an out route and Sherman Badie on a dump-off when he was pressured to scramble. The streak ended when he threw behind wideout D.J. Owens, who got his hands on the ball but could not hold on.

Banks then hit Devin Glenn on a quick out and spiked the ball to stop the clock, giving the offense time for one more play around the 20-yard line. Jarrod Franklin blitzed in untouched to "sack" him, ending what had been an outstanding possession against the first-team defense.

"The two-minute was great, it was much better," Fritz said. "Obviously the offense has the advantage because we're not tackling, but the mechanics of it was so improved."

It would not be accurate to say Banks has improved steadily during preseason drills--he's had good days and bad days--but the highs are getting higher and the lows are getting higher, too.

"He's been a little up and down," Fritz said. "This is new. I'm an old JC coach and this is different. We've got coaches at every position who analyze every single practice, and there's so much going on, but he's a smart young man and really done a good job of picking up what we're doing. He's only going to get better."

While Tulane's passing game remains a work in progress and is subject to the success of the ground game, the difference between last preseason and this preseason is monstrous. As I've written before, Tulane had the worst passing attack I'd ever seen last spring and last August. Completions during 7-on-7 drills and 11-on-11 drills were few and far between. A quarterback completing five in a row during a two-minute drill? It never, ever happened.

Johnathan Brantley and the second-team offense were not as successful against the second-team defense. He bounced a throw to an open receiver on the run before almost connecting with freshman tight end Will Wallace on a nice play. Wallace made the catch but did not get a foot inbounds along the sideline. Brantley then completed a short out to Owens, scrambled for a few yards, spiked the ball to stop the clock and had Owens drop a pass he should have caught. Knowing there was only one play left, lofted a pass to the back of the end zone for Chris Johnson, who was double covered. Everyone jumped, and the ball deflected into the hands of safety P.J. Hall for an interception.

The first-team defense featured the usual suspects, with Parry Nickerson participating after being rested Thursday. The second-team defense had Jaylon Monroe and Tre Jackson at cornerback, Hall and Chase Kuerschen at safety and Monty Montgomery and Lawrence Graham at linebacker. I didn't get the numbers of the defensive line this time.

Fritz, who praised Graham profusely in an interview with Tulane's sports info department two days ago, doubled down when I asked him about Graham today.

"He's real tough and competitive," Fritz said. "He's a 225-pound guy who runs very well. He's a big-time thumper. I've tinkered with the idea of trying to play him both ways because he was a great fullback in high school, too. Right now he's got an opportunity to be a starter for us."

So there you have it. The guy I said earlier in the week had not made an impression on me has made enough of an impression on someone who matters that he's thinking about playing him both ways. It's interesting because Fritz never had mentioned his name in a post-practice interview with reporters through the first 16 practices.

Graham is backing up Luke Jackson at WLB while Zach Harris continues to rest a troublesome knee, but the competition is very close. Harris' return date is uncertain.

"We're hoping (to get Harris back) at least game week," Fritz said. "Hopefully sooner."

Sophomore second-string offensive tackle Tyler Johnson, who left Thursday's scrimmage with an ankle injury after getting caught in a mass of bodies, practiced today.. Cornerback Thakarius Keyes is still wearing a boot on his injured ankle, and his return does not appear imminent.

Tulane will come back Monday and have two more hard practices before beginning serious preparation for Grambling on Wednesday. Fritz said Monday and Tuesday would be good for the young guys on the depth to gain some more reps before the focus changes. In the meantime, he believes the weekend of rest will be beneficial.

"It's good time off," Fritz said. "Hopefully everybody uses it to their advantage and gets rested. It's good for the coaches, too."

BENSONS THERE

Before reporters were allowed into practice, Tom Benson and his wife showed up at the indoor facility and watched the workout before addressing the team. Fritz, who said yesterday the Bensons invited him to meet them soon after he took the Tulane job, has not made no secret of his fondness for them and the Saints.

"It was neat to be tweeting that out (about Tom Benson at practice)," Fritz said. "We were just really honored they would come out and watch practice. Like I told our guys, if you are rooting for the NFL, it's the Saints, the Saints, the Saints and nobody else but the Saints. It's great of them to let us come out here and use this great facility."

Tulane brought in American Athletic Conference officials for its practice at the Saints' indoor facility on Thursday (they will be there again Friday), and the scrimmage at the end of the workout was live for everyone but quarterbacks Jonathan Banks and Johnathan Brantley. Freshman QB Dane Ledford got crushed on one play when three people hit him in the backfield as he tried to run an option, and he got hit hard again as he ran down the sideline on another option. It's been a long time since QBs were live in a Tulane practice until Willie Fritz instituted this change last week.

The defense definitely got the better of the offense today in the portion I watched, which came after Banks and Brantley had received all of their work in the regular part of the scrimmage. Freshman safety Chase Kuerschen continues to impress with his play-making versatility, breaking up a pass downfield and then making a great tackle in the open field on Darius Bradwell after he caught a swing pass from Khalil McClain.

In addition to getting hit hard, Ledford did not have much success, getting plenty of heat as the backup defensive line beat the offensive line consistently. He threw wide of running back Stephon Huderson on an out pattern on one of the rare plays when he did not get pressured.

McClain came in and moved the ball downfield quickly. He hit Rocky Ferony for a short gain on nickelback Tirise Barge, threw incomplete deep to D.J. Owens with Stephon Lofton covering him tightly, gained good yardage on an option before being brought down by safety Will Harper and had a big run on a scramble before being tackled by Harper again. The series ended when Corey Dauphine was stuffed by linebacker Marvin Moody.

They ended the scrimmage with a two-minute drill. Banks got nowhere on a run, scrambled for decent yardage (hard to tell how much since he wasn't live, was pressured into a throwaway, scrambled again under pressure and then finally connected with a receiver after keeping a play alive, finding tight end Charles Jones on the sideline. His next pass, on an out pattern by Devin Glenn, was ruled incomplete because the ref said Glenn's left foot was out of bounds before his right foot landed inbounds. The scrimmage ended with an incomplete pass to a well-covered Terren Encalade, an incomplete pass lofted for Kendall Ardoin in the back of the end zone and an incomplete pass for Jones when Banks had to try to create a touchdown from 20 yards out on his final play.

Brrantley went in and hit Jacob Robertson for a short gain on the sideline with Tre Jackson right on him, threw incomplete deep for a covered Travis Tucker and hit Huderson for a short gain on the sideline with Jackson right there to shove him out of bounds again. The day ended with a sack when the pocket collapsed.

Parry Nickerson was given a rest today, and Jaylon Monroe got some reps with the first unit in place of him. The rest of the first-teamers were the same, with Luke Jackson continuing to play WLB for the injured Zach Harris.

The second-team defense had Willie Langham and Tre Jackson at cornerback, P.J. Hall and Kuerschen at safety (with Will Harper getting some reps), Barge at nickelback, Marvin Moody and Lawrence Graham at linebacker and the usual suspects on the line.

Tyler Johnson got hurt in traffic on one play, limped off the field under his own power and did not return.

Has anyone received their season tickets yet?

Tulane practiced for two hours at the Saints' indoor facility again, allowing me in for the last 30 minutes. I'll divide the report into categories again.

JACKSON BACK!

One of the first players I saw was No. 11 in green at third-team cornerback. I'm so used to not seeing Tre Jackson practice that I had to look at my numerical roster to figure out who it was.

Apparently, Jackson returned yesterday, but I know I did not see him out there in the part of practice I watched. Today, he looked healthy, running without a limp, but it's still wait-and-see on his health status after he re-injured the knee this spring that has bothered him since he arrived, the one he blew up a a senior in high school.

"It will be interesting," Willie Fritz said. "He's just been banged up since he's been here. He was banged up last fall and he was banged up in the spring. Number one, we've got to get durability. That's an important characteristic of a football player, but I think he's got the tools. He's a smart player. He really enjoys football, and he's got great ball skills. He's probably going to be involved in our return game as well. We just have to keep him healthy."

Jackson and Stephon Lofton were the third-team cornerbacks today, with freshmen Jaylon Monroe and Willie Langham continuing to work with the second team and Thakarius Keyes remaining out with an ankle injury. Lofton actually made a heck of a play, knocking down a deep pass in the end zone for Jacob Robertson after blanketing him. Jackson did not make any play of note while I was watching, but he ran well coming off surgery at the end of spring.

"He's feeling a lot better," defensive coordinator Jack Curtis said. "I think it's the best he's felt since he's been here. We're talking it a little bit easy to make sure that knee's healthy and we don't overwork it. I don't think it's still quite up to par with his other leg, so we're limiting some of his reps, but he's going out there full tilt, full speed."

DEFENSIVE DEPTH CHART

The rest of the third-team defense had Will Harper and Sean Harper at safety, Lawrence Graham and Marvin Moody at linebacker and Eric Lewis at nickelback. They obviously were rotating guys on the defensive line because it ended up with Larry Bryant, who is competing for a starting job, at one end along, and walk-on Paul Staudinger at the other, with walk-on Justin Walton (he's a freshman from Cleveland, Ohio) and De'Andre Williams at the tackles.

Playing with the third team has to be a blow to the two Harpers, who have been passed by freshman, and particularly Will Harper, who participated in 2016 spring drills as an early enrollee. It's funny. When either one of them was on the field last year, I noticed bad things usually happened defensively, although they weren't necessarily to blame. But they are looking up at Chase Kuerschen and P.J. Hall with little chance to pass them based on practice performance to this point.

Graham and Lewis, another pair of sophomores, have not made an impression on me, either.

Freshmen continue to dot the second-team defense, and KJ Vault has impressive speed. He blew up an option play in a situational drill on first-and-goal from the 9, "tackling" Johnathan Brantley six yards behind the line of scrimmage. Whether or not Vault knows what he is doing in the scheme, he certainly has the athletic ability to make plays and could be valuable this year.

"They (the freshmen) all have to learn quite a bit, but I've been pleased with where they are," Curtis said. "The older guys are setting a good example, and sometimes the younger guys can pick up quicker as well as a result. They are getting coached by the veterans as well. They have a long way to go, and I keep telling them it's a journey and you never arrive. You're always working to get better."

OKLAHOMA DRILL

The entire was fired up for the Oklahoma drill at the end of practice, and I do mean fired up. In Fritz' version, a ball-carrier at the end of a pad lined up one-on-one against a defender at the other end of the pad and had to get by him to score. The offense whooped and hollered when freshman QB Dane Ledford dragged a defender forward for a score (I was shielded from the defender), with everyone running up to slap him on the helmet. The most impressive guy of all, though, was Khalil McClain, who ran into Vault and refused to go down, dragging him about 20 yards through the end zone, to the side of the practice facility and requiring assistant coaches and managers to grab him from taking both of them into the wall. He never went down.

D.J. Owens beat Donnie Lewis in a closer battle, and Lewis went up to him to slap him hand for a good effort a second later. Chris Johnson scored on Sean Harper then flipped the ball on the ground and made it spin perfectly. They had a rematch, and Harper stoned him.

The atmosphere was electric, but it was under control. Not a single fight erupted.

"I'm not big into fights and the guys know I'm not into that stuff," Fritz said. "Shoot, we won 26 games in a row at one time and never had one fight, so it really has absolutely nothing with how tough of a football player you are. Our guys know that's not what we're about."

Fritz, who was in the middle directing the Oklahoma drill, came away pleased.

"I liked it," he said. "It's part of our progression, is getting tougher, and you can get tougher. You can build toughness, and that's one of the things we're building on this second year."

NOTES

...It was Banks' birthday today, so the team sang Happy Birthday to him at the end of practice. Tulane does not list his date of birth on its website, so I'm not sure if he's 21 or 22.

...The offensive line had a different look today, with John Leglue going back to right tackle and Keyshawn McLeod going to left tackle. I'll check to see what it looks like tomorrow.

...They had live tackling in the scrimmage. Brantley completed three consecutive passes at one point, hitting Darnell Mooney on a slant in front of Donnie Lewis for a short gain, throwing a TD pass to tight end Will Wallace and hitting Terren Encalade for 10 yards despite tight coverage from Parry Nickerson. A little later, though, Brantley tried to hit Charles Jones on a fade to the back of the end zone, and Donnie Lewis picked it off. You can't underthrow that pattern. It always leads to trouble.

...Banks looked good on the option today, running decisively and pitching at the right times, too. I saw less of him because the first team already had completed its first set of reps in the scrimmage when I was allowed in, but later he overthrew D.J. Owens on a deep ball that traveled 50 yards. The defense struggled at the very end, with Banks having a gaping hole on a option to the the right and Dontrell Hilliard running through a monstrous hole on the next snap before Banks pitched to Sherman Badie for another big gain. Those plays did not have live tackling, so the defense might have let up.

I was amused when Willie Fritz said at AAC Media Days that he wanted his defense to force more turnovers this year. Last year, Tulane led the AAC in turnovers forced per game at 2.25, so that's a tough ask.

It just shows how much he emphasizes the turnover/takeaway ratio. I did some research this morning, and in his 20 years as a head coach after leaving Blinn College (where stats are not readily available), Fritz has NEVER had a team commit more turnovers than it forced. That's an amazing stat considering it covers 20 years.

Here are his year-by-year numbers:

2016 (Tulane) +9

Forced: 27 (12 INT, 15 fumbles)
Allowed: 18 (8 INT, 10 F)

2015 (Georgia Southern) +6

Forced: 27 (17 I, 10 F)
Allowed: 21 (10 I, 11 F)

2014 (Georgia Southern) +8

Forced: 20 (13 I, 7 F)
Allowed: 12 (4 I, 8 F)

2013 (Sam Houston State) +4

Forced: 25 (12 I, 13 F)
Allowed: 21 (11 I, 10 F)

2012 (Sam Houston State) +10

Forced: 30 (18 I, 12 F)
Allowed: 20 (12 I, 8 F)

2011 (Sam Houston State) +28

Forced: 42 (23 I, 19 F)
Allowed: 14 (8 I, 6 F)

2010 (Sam Houston State) +4

Forced: 16 (9 I, 7 F)
Allowed: 12 (5 I,7 F)

2009 (Central Missouri) +4

Forced: 21 (13 I, 8 F)
Allowed: 17 (12 I, 5 F)

2008 (Central Missouri) +7

Forced: 21 (9 I, 12 F)
Allowed: 14 (6 I,8 F)

2007 (Central Missouri) +9

Forced: 34 (21 I, 13 F)
Allowed: 25 (14 I, 11 F)

2006 (Central Missouri) +2

Forced: 20 (11 I, 9 F)
Allowed: 18 (5 I, 13 F)

2005 (Central Missouri) +10

Forced: 25 (9 I, 16 F)
Allowed: 15 (5 I, 10 F)

2004 (Central Missouri) +2

Forced: 21 (12 I, 9 F)
Allowed: 19 (9 I, 10 F)

2003 (Central Missouri) +13

Forced: 30 (19 I, 11 F)
Allowed: 17 (9 I, 8 F)

2002 (Central Missouri) +7

Forced: 30 (19 I, 11 F)
Allowed: 23 (11 I, 12 F)

2001 (Central Missouri) +7

Forced: 34 (23 I, 11 F)
Allowed: 27 (14 I,13 F)

2000 (Central Missouri) +13

Forced: 34 (13 I, 21 F)
Allowed: 21 (10 I, 11 F)

1999 (Central Missouri) +4

Forced: 29 (13 I, 16 F)
Allowed: 25 (8 I, 17 F)

1998 (Central Missouri) even

Forced: 23 (12 I, 11 F)
Allowed: 23 (11 I, 12 F)

1997 (Central Missouri) +8

Forced: 27 (10 I, 17 F)
Allowed: 19 (10 I, 9 F)