Big series this weekend. Aside from the opener, Tulane played its worst two game back-to-back leading into this one, with the bats going silent in both and the bullpen breaking down against USM. UTSA has not been good, but it just won a series from ECU, beat Baylor on the road last night and is hititng .312 as a team. Tulane needs much better at-bats to take this series and stay at or near the top of the AAC.

CHANDLER WELCH

On strikeout to walk ratio of 32-4 (8-1), the best in the AAC and the 16th best nationally:

"It's extremely important. It's a representation of what we've worked on in the offseason of just getting the stuff to move the right way and attack the zone. I'm confident with what my stuff does when it's over the plate, so it makes my job a lot easier. It's honestly just trusting what I have and just going right at hitters."

On finding the consistency that has eluded him in the past (five of six starts have been good):

"It's just more like a belief thing for me. As long as I know what my stuff's capable of and just having the same mindset and being consistent on a weekly basis. I think that's something that goes a little unnoticed in a way. It's easy when everything's going well to just act good, but for me even if the outing isn't good I still have to attack my work the exact same way as if it were a nine-inning outing. For me it's just being consistent on a daily basis and never getting complacent."

On first eight-inning outing of his career at Rice:

"I felt good. I really did. Going out there, it was a little hotter than usual, but being out there for an eighth inning was really cool. It shows that I'm giving everything I have for us to go out there and win. As the game went on the offense started picking me up a little bit. That's really cool to see as a pitcher. As hard as you're working on the mound, you see the hitters doing it as well."

On if he wanted to go back out for 9th:

"Yeah, without a doubt. As a competitor you want to go out there as long as you can and you want the ball for the whole game. It was a discussion after the eighth inning, and it was the best thing to do. It's still relatively early in the year and a short week coming up as well, so the coaches did a really good job of reeling me in a little bit and saying this is the best for us right now, to not push anything if we don't need to."

On coaches eliminating his four-seemer:

"Once they expressed we have to make this change, there were some hard conversations that we had. It was like a hit on the head a little bit, so for me I had to understand they are doing whatever they think is best for me and I have to believe in that. I fully bought into it. It was the beginning of the fall. Once we had that conversation and we talked about this is the best thing for your arsenal and the best thing for the team is eliminate the four-seem and use the sinker, and then once I understood they were trying to do everything they could to get me to where they thought I could be, that showed a lot of confidence in me. I owe them everything and more for what they've done so far."

On how it felt at first:

"It felt really comfortable honestly. For me during a weekly basis I'm trying to be as athletic as possible on the mound, so being able to use the sinker and then use the new slider and all that stuff allows me to be athletic and trust my stuff on the mound. I adapted pretty quickly once the results starting kicking in and the outings were going really well. As soon as they told me, I was in."

On reducing number of hits allowed even though he is constantly over the plate (37 hits in 36.1 innings compared to 80 hits in 58 innings last year:

"It feels good. Of course I want to knock down the hits just a little bit, but it is a show of I'm attacking the zone and throwing a lot of strikes. If I'm giving up singles, it takes three of them to score a run, so that's kind of the process that coach Izzo and coach Jay have impressed to me. It might suck to give up a single in an inning, but if that's what it has to be in order to eliminate the free bases, that's what they want me to do."

On no wild pitches:

"I feel really good. I feel confident. On a weekly basis I'm trying to be consistent. Each Monday I reset. I enjoy the outing until Sunday. Monday is a full reset and move on to the next opponent, but understanding I know my stuff is good. I just have to go out there and trust it. I don't need to do more than I'm capable of."

On showing his emotions on the mound:

"It is fun. It is easy to get caught up in the good and bad outings and play with a bunch of weight on your shoulders. For me, whenever I feel like I'm a kid out here and I get to smile and I get to make a cool sliding play, it's really cool. It makes the game so much more fun and enjoyable."

On his sliding play against Rice when he reached the ball on the first base line and made the tag from a prone position:

"Maybe I did that in my high school days. Realistically I'll take the blame on this. I didn't communicate at all. I just went for the ball. It was one of those plays of whoever gets to it first. I honestly thought I was going to get run over, so I made the decision to slide and had time for the tag. Everything worked out. It was pretty cool."

On different from this year and last:

"There are so many new guys, but all of them are so comfortable with what we're trying to do here. They all have a personality that fits what we're trying to do and they are all competitive, they are all high energy. There is so much more camaraderie, a being a part of it is really cool to the culture we're trying to build here. Coach Jay and coach Izzio did an awesome job of bringing in guys who were not just talented, but who fit the personality here at Tulane."

On being second-generation Tulane baseball player (David Welch pitched in 1991 and 1992):

He told me loved it, but was one of those things where he didn't want to pry on me too much and force me to come here. But on the only visit I came here, this was the only place that felt like home to me. Once I committed here and once I came here for my first fall, that was my sign that this is home. I'm not leaving ever. You belong here, it's engrained in your blood. I'm loyal to this place for the rest of my life. I bleed green and blue."

On commute from Slidell (where he lived) to Holy Cross (his high school):

"30 minutes, 35 minutes. I started my fifth grade year there and it was kind of similar to here. Once you felt the environment, it was something you didn't want to pass up on. This is home, and Holy Cross at the time was home. Now the drive wasn't really favorable, but it was awesome. My parents took me until my junior year when I started driving, but I don't regret a single moment of it. I enjoyed every bit of it."

On team's potential:

"We're winning a good amount of games, but our potential is not even close to being reached. We're not even at our peak yet. It's a confident thing. It's not really like oh, we think we're the best and all that stuff. We're confident in each game, and with the camaraderie and the energy we have here, we know we're not at our full potential yet, and that's scary to view and something I'm really excited for the rest of the year."

On adjustment to pitching on Friday this week:

"A little bit. I threw a bullpen yesterday so it's a day sooner than usually for a Saturday start, but it comes down to me being accountable and getting the right sleep that I neede dand getting my treatment. We did an awesome job of that. I feel really good and Friday I'll be ready to go."

On UTSA:

"It's challenging, but every team in this conference is challenging. It's a bring-it-on mentality for me, and it teaches me more about myself how competitive I can be in each outing and the midgame adjustments i have to make. It's not going to be an easy challenge this weekend. It will be a mental challenge for our fortitude and our competitiveness."




I

"

Tulane gets mentioned in this recruiting story.

Southeastern QBs

Has retired.

Before taking a week off for spring break, Tulane had an energetic practice in shorts and shoulder pads on Thursday. Clearly, Jon Sumrall was not happy with the intensity the first time they went in pads last Saturday--the one practice I missed--and he made it very clear to the players because the intensity was through the roof this time. At one point, linebacker Makai Williams tackled Mario Williams to the ground near the sideline, and although that one produced no conflict, there were a few near scuffles and heated words as the day went along. Bailey Despanie tackled Terez Traynor. Tackling is not supposed to be allowed in these drills, but I did not hear any complaining. Kai Horton continued to impress, making a really nice throw to Phat Watts after rolling out and coming under heavy pressure at the end of a 11-on-11 drills just as I arrived. He did not have much space for the throw on the run, and Watts, who also has looked better than he has in a long time, made a nice catch.

They went to special teams next, and this time the punters actually punted instead of simulating the punt. There were no returns, but the returners caught the ball, giving us a look at who is being considered for the job now that Jha'Quan Jackson is gone. UCF transfer Jaylon Griffin fielded the first one, a booming effort by Will Karoll. Others in the role were Hunter Summers, who I had not noticed much in the first two weeks, Watts and Mario Williams. Williams never returned a punt at USC. The No. 2 punter is William Hudlow, a sophomore Jesuit product. The three protectors were Angelo Anderson, Parker Peterson and Patrick Jenkins. The backups in that role were DeShaun Batiste, Adonis Friloux and Reggie Brown, with Michael Lunz and Elijah Champaigne also getting reps.

They had a pass rush drill where the front four lined up against the offensive line and only one rusher was live, going one-on-one against the offensive lineman in front of him after the call right before the snap. Batiste, a local product who transferred from Marshall after one year, showed a lot of ability to my eyes, but Jon Sumrall said he was still pretty raw when I asked him about it afterward. Eric Hick is an underrated player. He pretty much overpowered whomever he went up against. In general, the defensive guys won more than the linemen, but the drill was slanted in their favor.

The search for a backup center continues. Although Caleb Thomas is dressed, he is not getting any reps. I think he tweaked his back at some point. When Josh Remetich got his shot, he dribbled another snap that drew a "what was that" response from one of the coaches. It's safe to say Remetich, who starts at right guard, will not be the guy to go in for Vincent Murphy if he gets hurt during the season. Rashad Green has gotten most of the work in that role, but it is preferable to have an actual backup at the spot so you don't have to move other guys around if there is an injury.

When they went back to 11-on-11 work, Jenkins had a "sack" of Horton. Jenkins is a beast and a lock for first-team All-AAC honors at the minimum if he stays healthy.

DK McGruder broke up a long pass from Ty Thompson a play after Terez Traynor made a nice gain on a slant Traynor, a transfer from Idaho, looks good. McGruder is making a move at cornerback, where the competition is wide open. Jai Eugene, Jaheim Johnson, McGruder and Lu Tillery have gotten the most work with the 1s. Jalen Geiger has been the second safety alongside Bailey Despanie, with Jack Tchienchou getting reps there as well. Caleb Ransaw is getting a lot of work at nickel as the Troy transfers look to make an impact.

When the team gathered in the middle of the field after practice ended at 9:56, Sumrall told the players not to become fodder for the ESPN bottom line on the screen, meaning don't get in any trouble during spring break. The next practice is Tuesday, April 2.

Sumrall, defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato and Jenkins talked after practice. I will post the latter two guys' quotes later.

SUMRALL

"I think the physicality has finally taken an uptick. Day 1 in shoulder pads last Saturday did not bring a whole lot of physicality to the field. Tuesday was a lot better physical practice, and today there were some pads popping and some thumping going on. The defense got the better end of the day for the most part and was probably a touch ahead. The offense has to start being more efficient and lining up cleaner and playing with better pace, but the physicality has definitely taken an uptick. I was worried after Saturday did we want to hit anybody?

On Ty Thompson:

"He's cleared to do 11-on-11 work obviously. He's still not 100 percent. You can see it kind of here and there when he's guarding himself, but he's allowed to do 11-on-11 action and really done it the last couple of days now, which has been good for him to go cut it loose a little bit and get some confidence and work at the line of scrimmage and have to take command of the offense. He did a couple of nice things today outside the pocket with his legs and he's still not 100 percent, so there are some things there that are encouraging."

On DeShaun Batiste:

"Three of the four guys that came with us from Troy were true freshmen that had just come there with us. DeShaun is big, physical, athletic, moves really well and competes at a high level, plays with some strength and some power. He still really has a long way to go with development. He's very raw, but a local product, a New Orleans guy, and when we came here it made a lot of sense for him to want to come just because of being a home-grown product. He really has had a big impact through five days. He's flashed and made a lot of big plays."

On Caleb Ransaw:

"We know what we've got in him. A lot of those guys have played a ton of snaps last year wherever they were. You have to be cognizant of the wear and tear a guy's body took last season. He played a lot of snaps last year. He's going out with the 1s mainly right now at the nickel position. We call is spear in the structure of the defense. He's doing some good things. There have been a lot of fun matchups with him and Mario and Yulkeith. A lot of speed in the slot right there."

On Jack Tchienchou:

"Another young guy who redshirted last year at Troy just like DeShaun did. Jack has been very vocal all offseason. He's a confident guy. He's a really smart guy. He's the kind of guy that would do well at Tulane regardless of football. He's a Tulane student, but he really has come into his own. We've had him play three spots the first three or four days. He's played safety, strong safety and the nickel. We've decided to let him settle in and just play the field (strong safety), which is probably really his home base. He's probably really more of a strong safety and more a nickel and not as much of a free. The last day or two we've really let him play the field so he can get settled, but he's flashed, too. He's made some big plays so far."

On Chris Rodgers:

"Chris is playing Mike. Him and Dickson Agu are the first guys going in at Mike. He's doing a good job. He played as a true freshman last year, did not redshirt, but is still a very young player, very raw, very green. Really last year for us he played the spear spot against 12 personnel (one running back and two tight ends). We knew long term the plan was to kick him inside. He played third-down Mike last year but not base Mike. Now he's playing base Mike. He's doing a good job."

On Dickson Agu:

'He's flashed. I'm excited about what he can bring to the table. He's physical. He's smart. He's tough. He's got great length. He reminds me of a couple of guys I've coached that played past college. He had a great offseason. When I got here, he was a guy that I pretty quickly noticed, that this kid's got some physical traits, and then you get to know him and he's pretty smart. He has a really high ceiling of what he can become for sure."

On Patrick Jenkins:

"Pat's been awesome. We always talk about who's the leader in the room and then who's the emerging leader. Pat wont' be here forever unfortunately. I'd keep him here forever if I could, but he's a great leader. The most impressive thing is the extra work he does on his own. He doesn't know that I catch this, but I may be walking by and he'll be out on the field just doing something by himself--little things to get better. I'll look out in the stadium and he'll be doing some drill work on his own by himself, nobody around. Guys that do that are usually pretty good players. Pat's got great talent and he's a really hard worker. When you combine both of those things, you've got a special player. We're really leaning on his leadership, his experience. He's a great veteran. He's a guy that we can definitely build around in regards to this 2024 team for sure."

On his versatility:

"He can play more to the boundary. He can play the field. He's got the ability athletically to slide and move around. I don't think you're gong to see him line up off the ball, but on the front he's a guy that has the skill set to be flexible."

Is apparently headed to Nebraska. I guess he determined he could not win a national championship at Washington.

This was by many accounts the deepest team with the most overall talent. Multiple all aac players a year older, with better transfers & recruits. Hunter said himself- this was the best and most talented team he has had.

No significant injuries to blame. A refusal to adapt strategies, finishing last after you were picked to finish 3rd by other coaches in pre season polls.

Thank you for your hard work coach, and you are leaving this job better than you found it. Time to build off the success we have had as a university and athletic program (football in particular) and hold ourselves to higher standards. We need success in basketball as well to aid our candidacy for the acc.

Best of luck

This much we already know abut Jay Uhlman's second team:

1) It is the best bunting group Tulane has had in memory. That's a low bar, but these guys have been nearly flawless in their execution of sacrifice and squeeze bunts, although the Wave was a little fortunate that Connor Rasmussen slid around the tag after a squeeze bunt that was hit too hard. Going hand in hand with that, this group also is much better with a runner on third base and less than two outs than any Tulane team in recent times. It already has nine sacrifice flies, six RBI groundouts and two squeeze bunts that scored runs from third base. Last year, Tulane had 19 sacrifice flies in 61 games. All of this is a good sign.

2) The pitching depth out of the bullpen is better than in any year of the Travis Jewett era. Henry Shuffler (0.00), Billy Price (1.04), Jacob Moore (1.35) and Blaise Wilcenski (1.50) all have sparkling ERAs, and Trey Cehajic has been imposing at times. Shuffler's history at ULM gave no indication he would be anything like this--I guess that could be a cause for concern--but he has been totally dominant in six appearances, allowing one hit. The coaches have a lot more options after taking out their starters on the mound than in a good while.

This much we do not know yet: can Tulane hit good pitching and get good hitters out consistently.

Those two factors will determine what type of season the Wave has, and it is too early to tell. Yale's three starting pitchers combined to give up 1 run in the first three innings and one in the fifth inning while allowing five in the fourth. It was not until Tulane got into their weak bullpen that almost all of the damage was done. I love Connor Rasmussen, who plays with a combination of aggressiveness, confidence and smarts that has not been evident on this team in a long time. Brady Marget is a professional hitter whose average always hovers around .300 but could be even higher considering his sweet swing. Jackson Linn is batting above .400 in limited time against bad pitching. Teo Banks figures to come out of his second straight dreadful start to a season. But it is still unclear how Tulane will fare against average to better-than-average pitching down the road.

Tulane's pitchers struggled with UC Irvine, which returned every at-bat from 2023 and appears to be a very good hitting team. They are truly elite at getting hit by pitches, refusing to get out of the way of any errant toss, particularly in the second game when Tulane plunked what likely was a school-record eight batters but also seven times combined in the other two games. I don't put much stock in that because it was an outlier, but Tulane also gave up 28 hits for a .364 batting average in the final two games of that series. Yale did not present a real test at the plate, so it remains to be seen what will happen.

With four road games against better-than-average competition this week (Nicholls tonight and ULL over the weekend), we will get a better read on whether this team has promise or not. I like the makeup and the execution to this point, and the middle-infield defense is markedly better with Marcus Cline and Rasmussen. The question is whether there is enough talent. Tulane is counting on a lot of transfers whose numbers frankly were not that good at their previous schools.

Guerry
I asked on another thread and it was totally ignored, so I’ll ask on a new thread.

Have they practiced since Tuesday?

My two cents on the most likely teams to win the AAC tourney with quotes from Ron Hunter and Sion James to follow:\

1) Florida Atlantic

Comment: I truly believe this team will get to the Final Four again. It will take some fortune like it always does, but the dramatic improvement of center Vladislav Goldin makes this group even better than last year. The key will be making a higher percentage of 3-point shots than they did in the second half of the regular season.

2) Memphis

Comment: Having to play four games in four days will make it much tougher for the talented Tigers to win this since they have a hard time with consistency, but their top three guys are gifted offensively and can overwhelm opponents. I see them knocking off UAB in their second game and setting up a heck of a semifinal with South Florida, with that outcome determined by how focused they are that day. David Jones should have been the AAC player of the year, but most of the other coaches don't like Penny Hardaway, so his players pay for it.



3) South Florida

Comment: This is an excellent defensive team. The numbers say USF is an excellent 3-point shooting team, but the Bulls take some really bad shots and have droughts. I can't see them losing in the quarterfinal to either East Carolina or Tulsa, but they will need to avoid the droughts if they face Memphis in the semis.

4) Charlotte

Comment: I thought Charlotte would be where USF is now, but I overrated this team massively a month ago. The 49ers absolutely blew their first meeting with the Bulls on the road, making a series of unforced errors down the stretch when they should have won it, but since then their lack of athleticism has been exposed big time. I'm stubborn, though. The disciplined team I saw earlier in the year might be built for a conference tourney. They will be an underdog to 6 seed SMU in the quarters if the Mustangs win their first-rounder, but I see them sneaking past that one and setting up a much more difficult semi with FAU.

5) North Texas

Comment: If North Texas gets by Tulane in the first round, its lockdown defense will give it a shot against FAU in the quarters. It's all about making shots, which the Mean Green struggled with for much of the year aside from its two games with the Green Wave.

6) SMU

Comment: The Mustangs looked really good when they won in New Orleans, but they have gone off the rails since then. I saw a team with the offensive and defensive ability to do damage in Fort Worth, but that team has disappeared for some reason.

(naturally, UAB will win the tournament since I'm discounting the Blazers even though they are a 4 seed with a double bye to the quarters.)

On another note, it was ridiculous that Kevin Cross was relegated to the third team. He put up first-team numbers, and although I will buy the argument that it is hard to reward a player on a last-place team with a first-team honors, he absolutely should have been no lower than the second team. Maybe he will play with a chip on his shoulder in Fort Worth as a result.

RON HUNTER

On draw:

"I didn't think we were going to get a great draw because all the teams are good and about the same whether you're playing the 7 team or the 14 team. Our league is that good. I'm just more happier honestly that we got the extra day of rest. That was more important for us than who we're playing."

On getting bye:

"It does. We had to do what we had to do. I wasn't looking for any type of opponent. I wanted to make sure that mentally we were ready to play."

On how Tulane played Friday night:

"It's funny because I felt we played about the same except we took care of the little things. We made free throws and they didn't. The flow of the game was almost identical to the last five or six games except for at the end we made free throws and the other team didn't."

On waiting all year for something like Wich St missing four free throws in a row on one possession down 6:

"All year long. Sometimes you've gotta have breaks fall your way and so finally something like that happened. I just thought it was ironic that the game was almost identical to the last 10 or 11 games we played."

On what needs to do to win it:

"I think anyone can win the championship on Sunday. I really, really do, and for us it's going to be the same thing. That stretch can we make the right play, can we hit that free throw, can we not turn the ball over in a critical part. Every game we've played have been one- or two-possession games. We feel confident that we can play and we can beat anyone. Can we finish games when we do that?

On four games in four days:

"You gotta remember we're in the AAU age of basketball and these kids play three or four games in a day and turn around and have to play Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It starts when they are in AAU, so that doesn't bother me. These guys have played in conference tournaments before. Whether you play three games or four, there's really no difference. Whoever gets to Sunday is going to be tired. That's just part of it."

On his 10-1 recent record in opening games at tournaments, including 3-0 at Tulane:

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that. Things have been going kinda crazy. You can't get to that next game until you win the first one. That's what we want to do.."

On enjoying tournaments over the years:

"Yeah, I'm excited about it. I'm looking forward to it, mainly because sometimes you go into a tournament thinking we just don't have the team that can beat a certain team. For us the last couple of years, how do you climb that mountain with Houston? I don't feel that way. Florida Atlantic came down to one possession twice when we played them. We've beaten Memphis. We've beaten some of the better teams. Again, it's just can we make the plays at the right time. If you get to Sunday, anything can happen."

On if Houston was a mental thing:

"No, Houston was a mental, physical and every thing. Everything. Good riddance. Look what they've done in the Big 12. I'm sure the Big 12 teams are saying the same thing I used to say--get rid of these guys."

On what focuses on this time of year:

"The more relaxed you are, the better. It's not the physical part because everybody's tired or beat up. It's the mental grind and can you get through that and which team can play relaxed for three or four days, to be honest with you. You want your kids to walk into an environment enjoying themselves. I've been in other situations where I've been 17-1 and you've got to win a game to get to the NCAA tournament. That's why it was important for us to win the other night so we could be a little bit more relaxed, take that pressure off so we can just go play and see what happens."

On seed:

"I don't think seeding is going to really matter in this tournament. The teams are too close. I really look outside of the numbers next to it. I wouldn't call anything an upset. There are so many good teams that are all alike. I really believe that."

On North Texas:

"Not turn the ball over and make free throws. If we make free throws in both of them, we probably win those games. We've got to step up in those little things. When we get to the critical stretch, the number of easy free throws and lay-ups we missed at a crucial part of the game. We just can't have that. And really for us it's a road game because North Texas is near Dallas, so we have to treat it as a road game and play smarter basketball."

SION JAMES

On win helping:

"It's huge. We said for a while that we just needed to get a rhythm going into the tournament. Now we hoped it would have been more than one win as a rhythm, but to be able to pick up a win for our seniors on Senior Night feels good. It gets a little juice back in the building and we're ready to go to Fort Worth."

On mindset:

"The mindset's been pretty much the same. The job's still not finished. We've still got games to win. Winning one game feels great, but our goal wasn't to beat Wichita on a Friday night. It was to win the conference championship, which we still have an opportunity to do. Even through all the losing I feel like the vibe's still been pretty high in the building. We still know the talent we have. We know the opportunity we have, but getting a win kind of refocuses us and reminds us of what that feeling's like and what we're really chasing."

On extra day off:

"It was big. Obviously we're thankful because in a lot of sense we didn't really earn it. We were fighting to get out of the bottom. That's not the position we expected to be in, but we're thankful Temple was able to get a win, which was the last domino we needed. At the end of the day our goal's still the same. We still have control over what we want to do at this point."

On keys to getting that win against Wichita State:

"It was just a little extra sense of urgency. We knew that we wanted to get a win for our guys on Senior Night. We knew we had a lot of families in the building. We knew it was our last game of the year in Devlin and we wanted to send our fans out right, so there was a little extra focus which helped us make the timely plays, which we haven't done consistently this year."

On how can win the tournament:

"By being ourselves. That's really what it is. Being who we are, executing, getting easy looks on offense, getting stops on defense, just being us."

On no more Houston:

"Playing Houston is a different beast and I guess everyone is seeing that in the Big 12 right now. We know that we have what it takes to win the American this week. We know that on March 17, championship Sunday, we know that we have the pieces to be right there. It's not going to be easy, but we didn't ask for easy. We just asked for a chance, and we know that we have what it takes."

I did an entire update on Thursday after practice and it disappeared when I tried to post it, something that occurred a few times last fall but had not happened since then. Here is attempt No. 2.

Offensive tackle Rashad Green and tight end Alex Bauman will miss all of the spring drills. Sumrall did not say what Bauman's injury was, and I honestly did not realize he mentioned Bauman when I asked him about Green until I played back the tape

"Actually he's had a couple of shoulder procedures this offseason. He'll be fine for the summer. It's one of those type of deals where you get it done as soon as the season's over so he can be here for a fall and have as much time to rehab. Him and Alex both are out right now, but they both are going to be fine."

With onlookers ranging from Michael Pratt, who was there early before leaving, and Archie Manning, who addressed the team in the middle of the field after the workout ended, Tulane had its second practice of the spring under Jon Sumrall on Thursday morning. The first two plays I saw were a deep touchdown pass to Dontae Fleming, who had a disappointing year in 2023 after looking promising in preseason drills, and a diving catch by Bryce Bohanon, who came on a bit late last year but finished with only nine catches for 117 yards. All of the attention has been on Tulane's newcomers at wideout, but the development of the guys who already were on the roster will be key for depth. If Fleming and Bohanon and Phat Watts (who had a strong opening day) can contribute significantly, this group can be a strength despite the loss of Lawrence Keys (who has been at both practices to watch), Jha'Quan Jackson and Chris Brazzell.

Once again, Ty Thompson was limited to 1-on-1 and 7-on-7 work, but it is clear he has a strong arm and a quick release. He went 7 for 8 in consecutive sessions, hitting Fleming on a short out, Mario Williams down the middle of the field, walk-on Trevor Evans underneath and tight end Reggie Brown in the middle around a sole incomplete pass in the first set of reps and Bohanon on the sideline after holding the ball forever, walk-on Garrett Mmahat and walk-on Luke Besh underneath in the second set. I now believe it is going to be a close competition between Thompson and Kai Horton for the starting job, and I can't wait for Thompson to be ready for full 11-on-11 work later in the spring.

Horton's session in between the two Thompson 7-on-7 sessions I mentioned above had a dump-off to Arnold Barnes, a pass to Mmahat underneath, a throw that safety Jack Tchienchou broke up and a completion to Watts. Tchienchou, who played sparingly as a freshman at Troy last year, looks like has good instincts. Later, in an 11-on-11 drills, Horton made a nifty play when he avoided the pass rush and threw through traffic to walk-on Lucas Desjardins over the middle for a good gain. Horton also took off downfield scrambling, showing the underrated athletic ability that Sumrall mentioned Tuesday. He's no world-beater with his feet, but as he showed with his tying touchdown run in the second half of the Military Bowl, he's not afraid to run.

Darian Mensah makes some nice throws but is the clear No. 3 to my eyes and a little less accurate or sure of himself than Horton. He was off target to Barnes on a wheel route and threw behind Yulkeith Brown on a pass he still caught.

The first-team offensive line from left to right was Trey Tuggle, Shadre Hurst, Vincent Murphy, Josh Remetich and Sully Burns. The second-team line is Matt Lombardi, Noah Gardner, Hurst getting work at center ( a first-day experiment with Remetich did not go well), Landry Cannon and RJ Whitehead.

The first-team defensive line is Angelo Anderson, Eric Hicks. Patrick Jenkins and Jah'rie Garner. The second-team line is Deshaun Batiste, Adonis Friloux, Elijah Champaigne and AJ Thomas, with Gerrod Henderson and Parker Peterson rotating in, too.

The first-team linebackers are Tyler Grubbs and Dickson Agu. The second teamers are a combo of Mandel Eugene, Makai Williams and Chris Rodgers.

The first-team safeties are Bailey Despanie and Kentucky transfer Jalen Geiger, with Joshua Moore rotating in at times.The backups are Tchienchou and Moore along with Kevin Adams.

The first-team corners are Jai Eugene and Jaheim Johnson. The backups are DK McGruder and walk-on Rishi Rattan.

The guys I noticed playing nickelback were Lu Tillery and Tchienchou. I did not notice Jayden Lewis at any DB spot and will check on his status Tuesday.

They worked for a little while on special teams with Ethan Hudak snapping to Will Karoll, who simulated punting but never kicked the ball as the coverage unit ran downfield. The three protectors for Karoll in the backfield were Anderson, Champaigne and Jenkins.

Jesus Machado was at practice with a crutch and huge leg brace to protect his knee after ACL surgery. This is a full-service report, so I also will note 5-6 running back Tate Jernigan was in a walking boot on his left leg.

The practice ended at 9:55, six minutes earlier than Tuesday.

Sumrall spoke briefly after practice, followed by Makhi Hughes and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock. I will post the latter two's quotes shortly.

SUMRALL

"The energy was still really good just like day 1. We still have to work on some procedural stuff, some efficiency stuff offensively, substitutions, ball-handling. We're rolling three or four guys through at center, so we are just trying to get the C-Q stuff clean, and just the pace in drills, but we're on track. We're a very young team. We have a lot of new faces out there and are trying to get them up to speed, but all in all pleased with two days so far. We have to keep stacking days. It's about individual improvement, which I think we're doing."

On not having 15 guys back who started last year's opener:

"There's like four guys practicing right now that started game 1 last year (actually five: Patrick Jenkins, Eric Hicks, Bailey Despanie, Josh Remetich and Shaadie Clayton-Johnson. I was watching game 1 from last year and was like, all right, that guy's not here, that guy's not here. A lot of new faces, very young team. Not taking away from what we've got. We've got some talented guys. I like some of the young guys that were here when we got here and some additions we are excited about, but we are very unproven and very green."

On edge rushing need:

"Positionally it's not so much that I have to have a field end or a bandit. Moreso, we just need one or two more capable rush bodies. We're a 3-4 front with three guys with their hand down and the boundary stand-up guy is more of a rusher than a dropper. In a game we'd like to play eight down guys if we can, and for the bandit you'd like to have two guys, maybe three, that you can play in a game. We're working through that. We won't fully know until you get the pads on and evaluate who's ready and maybe who's not quite so ready, but that is an area we probably need to supplement what we have with a guy or two."

On Matthew Fobbs-White and Jah'rie Garner:

"With Fobbs, you see real natural movement patterns with regards to rushing the passer. He's really the last two practices and as we transition to football, you see what's there. And then Garner has had a great offseason through the winter conditioning all the way up until now."

On commitment to running game:

"Our running back last year (Troy's Kimani Vidal) was second in the country last year and is going to get drafted this year, and the type of offense we want to run, we want to be able to run the ball with physicality on our terms. Makhi had a great year last year. I think he is going to have a big-time year again. His work ethic is going to set him up for success because he is a fantastic worker and a great teammate."

On deep running back room:

"Yeah it is. Getting Shaadie back is nice. You got Trey (Cornist) in there, Duda (Barnes), all those guys. There's a good group in there competing and working. It's a group with a chance to compete at a high level."

The first practice of the Jon Sumrall era took place this morning at Yulman Stadium as Tulane opened spring drills with eight days left in the winter, and wide receiver Mario Williams' talent popped out immediately. With former wideouts Jha'Quan Jackson and Lawrence Keys in attendance, Williams made catches all over the field and just looked like a confident, elite player. It was a ragged practice, as you would expect on day 1 with a new coaching staff and a lot of players from the back-to-back AAC Championship Game appearances gone, but the overall speed at receiver was evident. The biggest play of the day came from Phat Watts, who was dismissed from the team after the Southern Miss game last year but hung around the program and worked himself back into good graces with the new staff. He beat a cornerback (I believe it was juco transfer DK McGruder) deep down the sideline, hauling in a pass from Kai Horton for a 75-yard touchdown. Watts had 17 catches in 2020 and 18 catches in 2021 before suffering an early-season injury in 2022 that lingered into last year, so he is 100 percent for the first time in nearly three seasons.

The biggest development Tuesday was Oregon transfer quarterback Ty Thompson sitting out all of the 11-on-11 work because of a left foot injury that was diagnosed during individual workouts. He participated in 7-on-7 and 1-on-1 drills but watched Kai Horton and Darian Mensah get the reps in any drill that featured a pass rush.

"He was going through the offseason drills and really dominating," Sumrall said. "He was doing a lot of movement stuff really well, and it's an injury that looks like after the imaging that he probably showed up here with that just was never fully aware of. He bit his tongue and kept fighting through it, and then felt like it was the best thing to get it addressed a couple weeks ago. I'm not a doctor, but he had something done, a procedure. We thought he could be in a boot this week. He got to throw some very static base stuff without really taking a drop. We're not comfortable with him being in an 11-on-11 period probably until next week. I would guess Saturday at the earliest, but next week probably. He'll be back. He's fine. It's nothing that he's done wrong. It's just a little procedure he had to have. We thought much better now. He really had two choices--get it fixed now and feel like in a couple of weeks green light, nothing really to worry about, and the medical folks thought that would be the way to have a long-term better comfort with his recovery, or we could have said, hey, no surgery, no procedure and just push it and see what happens, but then you run the risk of OK, what happens if something goes wrong in three or four weeks, then you're having to deal with something more serious. So we got it taken care of now so that hopefully he'll be fine for the long haul."

Sumrall added Thompson planted a few times one day during offseason conditioning work and it didn't feel right, so he went to the medical staff to say he was in discomfort. He told the staff he had felt that way last fall but never spoke about it to the Oregon staff and fought through it. Tulane had it looked at closer and was able to get ahead of the problem.

"I think at worst when we come back from spring break for practice 6, he'll be thumbs up, full go," Sumrall said. "Next week he'll probably be closer to normal.He was out there in tennis shirt, not cleats because we didn't want him to get stuck in the ground as much, but he was throwing and went through some of the early stuff, just not 11 on 11. You don't want to rush a guy that's dealing with a lower-body issue. 7 on 7 is pretty controlled, no rush, so we felt like he was good to go in those scenarios."

Sumrall said the issue was with the fifth metatarsal at spot in between the bone.

Thompson, wearing the No. 7 Michael Pratt wore (he had No. 13 at Oregon, which is Justin Ibieta's number), was not sharp in the 7-on-7 work, Defensive back Kevin Adams undercut a short sideline route and nearly had a touchdown interception but could not hold on to the ball. He threw a 50-50 deep ball that Bryce Bohanon got his hands on but could not come down with. Mostly, though, it was Horton and Mensah getting the reps, with walk-on Jack Risner the third quarterback in 11-on-11 work. Horton looked good, throwing a TD pass to freshman Shaun Nicholas Willie Fritz always said Horton had good arm talent, and Sumrall said the same thing after Tuesday's practice. Mensah had some good moments, too, but he threw a pass right to defensive back Jaheim Johnson, who dropped it. Later, he connected with Williams deep. Although the speed at receiver was clear, Williams was the one who really stood out. I have no idea why he had a rough year at USC, but he just looks like a difference-maker. The other guys are wait and see. Meanwhile, walk-on Garrett Mmahat earned praise from Sumrall, and I'm not surprised. I rarely get caught in the trap of thinking a walk-on should be playing when he is not, but after watching Mmahat get open consistently last preseason, I was surprised Fritz's staff never really gave him a shot in games, particularly when the receiving corps became depleted by injuries. It will be interesting to see if he can become a factor under Sumrall. He caught a deep ball from Mensah today and had several other catches.

Other notes from day 1:

The first-team defensive line at the start of 11-on-11 work was Angelo Anderson at end, Eric Hicks at nose tackle, Patrick Jenkins at defensive tackle and Jah'rie Garner at bandit, the new name for Joker. Matthew Fobbs-White rotated in for Garner and probably had the most reps with the first unit, and Deshaun Batiste got some time at first-team end.

The linebackers were Tyler Grubbs and Dickson Agu sinceJesus Machado will miss all of spring drills while he recuperates from knee surgery.

The cornerbacks were DK McGruder and Jai Eugene, with Jalen Geiger at nickel.

The safeties were Bailey Despanie and Jaheim Johnson. Former ULM walk-on turned scholarship player Lu Tillery got some time at nickel, and Jean Claude Joseph got some time at linebacker.

The offensive line from left to right was Sully Burns, Josh Remetich, Vincent Murphy, Shadre Hurst and Trey Tuggle for the first 11-on-11 work. The second-team line was RJ Whitehead, Landry Cannon, Hurst at center, Noah Gardner and Matt Lombardi. Hurst also got some time at left guard, with Cannon at right guard. Dominic Steward and Remetich also played center, but the drop-off in snap quality was dramatic. At one point,Remetich snapped one past Risner and told him he could not hear his snap call. Risner got more vocal, but Remetich dribbled the snap back. The coaches were on the players for a lack of focus a couple of times, particularly after the botched snaps.

Near the end, Troy transfer safety Jack Tchienchou had an interception. The long TD pass to Watts came soon after the pick, and practice ended at 10:01. There was more action and less special teams work on day 1 than under Fritz.

That loss to ULL yesterday was one of the biggest gut punches I've ever seen.

A day earlier, with a chance to win its eighth in a row after tying the score in the top of the 9th with two outs, the Wave lost in 10 after Teo Banks once again came up empty, missing a fat pitch with the bases loaded right after the Wave tied it. That should have at least been a two-run single and maybe a grand slam but he struck out two pitches later.

Yesterday was surreal. It's not just that Colin Tuft, who had been blocking every errant pitch with ease, let a bouncer that would have been a game-ending strikeout go through his legs with a 3-1 lead and two outs in the ninth inning, keeping the game alive. Tulane still was in commanding position, but Jacob Moore, who had been terrific all year up, either lost his composure or his concentration. After the single that put the tying run on the plate, who threw a hanger that was screaming "hit me out of the park," but the batter was too far in front of it and fouled it off. I figured he would get out of trouble then, but nope, the very next pitch turned into a walk-off three-run bomb.

Good teams overcome heartbreak like that, recovering a lot quicker than fans do. I guess we will find out whether Tulane is a good team. With series losses to the only two teams that have a pulse (UC Irvine appears legitimately really good), Tulane's at-large chances already are small considering the rest of the schedule and the lack of performance by the AAC as a whole through four weeks (it is ranked ninth). But there were some bad signs yesterday even before the awful conclusion. Tulane had only four hits and very few competitive at-bats in the later innings. With a chance to break the game open after Brady Marget's solo homer made it 3-0 in the fifth, they chose a terrible time to execute a hit-and-run, doing it with runners on first and second and one out on a 3-1 count from a pitcher struggling with his control. That forced Brock Slaton to swing (the pitch would have been a strike anyway, but I don't like the decision), he missed and Connor Rasmussen was a dead duck at third base. Slaton struck out on the next pitch, and the Wave went down in order in three of the next four innnings.

The pitching staff, comprised mostly of transfers who were unproductive elsewhere or played at a lower level. has been surprisingly good so far, but I wonder if it will last. Moore's confidence certainly will be tested. He was outstanding for LSU-Eunice a year ago, so maybe he will be OK. Henry Shuffler was wild yesterday and had to be removed for Moore. Trey Cehajic made some fantastic pitches to get out of a nearly impossible jam in the ninth on Saturday but got blown up an inning later. He, too, had really good numbers in Juco ball, and the coaches love his competitiveness, so maybe he'll be fine, too.

Tomorrow's game against Southeastern, which I will attend, is important. The Lions have been better than expected so far, and Tulane needs to wipe the sickening feeling of what happened yesterday away while improving to 5-0 in the midweek.

I can't wrap my brain around Banks hitting .1 9 through 16 games. That's even worse than his numbers at the same stage last year, although at least he is making contact (usually getting under the ball on pop-ups to the infield or shallow outfield). Obviously his return to form would be a big deal.

Pepperdine is an awful 3-13, so Tulane's only chance to do anything significant before conference play is against Southeastern and next Monday against St. Louis, which is 14-1 versus a light schedule.

I talked to Forbes yesterday to get his take on the tweet he made and later deleted after Tulane's latest loss, a tweet in which he said he was also labeled the bad guy and people needed to talk to him to get the real story. It was interpreted by some as taking shots at teammates or coaches. He put that idea to rest, saying he was referring to media talk that blames him for scuffles during the game. He definitely has a short fuse on the court, whch is a problematic for a team leader, and it happened again when he objected to being pushed by Johnell Davis of FAU and they ended up grabbing each other's jerseys and not letting go, both ending up with technical fouls. I don't think Forbes watched the broadcast after the fact, but Perry Clark, without naming him, definitely seemed to be blaming Forbes.

I talked to Forbes with one local TV sports reporter. He was upbeat from start to finish. Here is the entire interview:

On handling frustration of long losing streak:

"Just keep going. Of course things haven’t been going our way all year, but not one guy in the locker room is complaining about it. We’re going to come out and keep fighting. That’s all we can do. Eventually things will fall our way. It just hasn’t been going that way this year."

On knee issue that ended his four-year string of starts against FAU, preventing him from practicing all in between the North Texas and FAU games.

"I’m good. Regardless of how I feel right now, I’ve got a few last games before I’m done playing college basketball. I’m just going to make sure I’m as healthy as I can be before I go out there and play. If I thought that I couldn’t play, I’d sit out, but I’m good, I’m healthy, so I can go.”

On what they are learning through major adversity:

"We have a lot of guys that will fight. If you watch the games, you’ll see a lot of teams treat us like we’re little kids, but at the end of the day we are a team that will keep fighting. We have a lot of guys that will compete at the highest level for sure."

On how players can keep their heads up:

"We are doing what we love. Basketball’s not going to always be fun. Sometimes you’re getting whupped on and sometimes you’ll be doing the whupping. Right now we’re just getting whupped on if you just want me to be honest with you. We are just going to keep on fighting and see what happens at the end."

On his social media post:

"It’s just the media. People are always trying to make me seem like the bad guy like I’m always out there just starting a fight with somebody when that’s really not the case. If you watch the game, you saw when Collin just got run over. Teams try to run us over like over that, and me personally it’s just not in my blood to let that go. You can look at me as a Draymond Green in that sense. I just won’t go for it. A lot of teams try to make it seem like we’re soft, and we’re not soft by far. I’m not that type of player. I’m not that type of dude that will start a fight. I need people to know that, but if a dude tries to come at me with something that’s not basketball, I’m going to respond.

On taking the post down:

"Because a lot of people thought it was about my team and my coaches when that’s not the case at all. I would never go on social media and talk about my teammates or talk about my coaches. We’re all doing a great job if you ask me. A lot of teams would have folded if they had lost nine out of ten, but you see us come in each and every day still working. That’s what we do."

On 3 that went in and out when Tulane was making late run:

"That’s the story of my season for sure, let alone the story of the team’s seasons. It was over (7-foot-1 center Vladislav) Goldin when we was going on the run and it even felt good coming off my hand. I saw it go in and out the rim and I kind of dropped my head back, but that’s just how it goes. I’m not going to make every shot, which has been pretty obvious this year. Just keep fighting. Shots don’t determine what kind of team you are or what kind of player I am. Percentages may say that we’re not a good shooting team, but we are. Eventually the shots will start to fall."

On rowdy environment anticipated at USF, similar to the one at FAU:

"It’s fun going into environments like that. You’ve got fans yelling at you 24-7, so of course we just have to weather the storm. I’ve been saying that since the beginning, since we’ve been losing. As long as we weather the storm, we’ll be good for sure."

On what it will take to beat the regular-season champs:

"If we make shots and continue to guard the way we’re guarding. FAU had a 3-minute stretch where they hit three or four 3s in a row, and if you ask me, that’s where we lost the game. Just staying locked in for a full 40 and not 37, 36 because that four-minute stretch can be a big deal."

On fatherhood (his daughter was born Feb.5):

"It’s good. I was just with my daughter this morning. Put her to sleep right before I left, so it’s been good. I can’t complain at all. It seems like when we were out of town at FAU, she gave my girl a hard time, but as soon as I got home, she was calm. She’s definitely a daddy’s girl if you ask me."

And here was Ron Hunter:

HUNTER

On yet another frustrating loss with a lot of missed free throws:

"It’s been the last six or eight weeks. Missed opportunities and missing key free throws, but boy, that was a great effort in front of a hostile crowd. We’ve been going through this and the mental part continues to take over. Great free throw shooters that we see missing free throws, but I was proud of the effort."

On Forbes' knee injury:

"He hadn’t done anything since the game before. He has kind of an MCL sprain right now. Generally you sit those things out, but with a couple of games to go he’s going to try again and see what he can do."

On the tweet Forbes took down:

"Like everything, when things are going good and things aren’t going well there’s a certain way to handle it. He understands that, but the frustration for him not having the season he wanted, but he knows better han that and I think that’s why he took it down."

On Forbes shots going in and out:

"That’s the whole thing. I think we were 3 of 15 on 3s (actually 3 of 19). The wide open shots that would get us over the hump, we’re just not making. I am extremely frustrated, but I am not frustrated with the effort, and that’s the most important thing."

On facing USF:

"We’re going into a hostile environment with a great crowd. If we can find a way to fight through that valley, one time we have to do that and that’s the only way it’s going to get done. But if the effort’s there, as a coach that’s the only thing you can ask for."

On USF being 15-1 in league play but being considered on the outside looking in for an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney if it fails to win the AAC tourney:

"It’s crazy, and I’ve been there when we were 17-1 at Georgia State and we didn’t go ( in 2014 after losing by 1 point in OT at Lakefront Arena in the Sun Belt Conference championship game, which I covered for The Advocate). You go an entire league with that record, I think that’s absurd, but it shows you where we are in college basketball to be honest with you, but there’s no question that team should be an NCAA tournament team for what they’ve done. What he (first-year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim)'s done, I’ve done that before, and to not go is devastating for the program. We were in the NIT, but that (the NCAA tournament) is where we thought we should have been."

Is in school. WR grad transfer from Idaho. Must have been a late enrollee for the spring semester.

I will not be in Lafayette for the series, meaning I will miss five baseball games in a row. I had no interest in going to Nicholls when it was not even clear the game would be played because of wet field conditions and I was covering the UNO-McNeese State game for NOLA.com instead of Grambling on Wednesday. My paper has a writer who covers ULL full-time, and I hope he approaches the series like I would and writes down the middle, but I doubt that will happen, so the coverage from a Tulane perspective at NOLA.com may be limited.

Luc Fladda will start tonight for Tulane, becoming the third Friday starter this year. Jake Saum pitched the first two and struggled mightily. Carter Benbrook pitched last Friday and fared OK, but he struggled in relief on Tuesday and clearly they prefer to bring him out of the bullpen. Fladda, though not a power pitcher like many Friday guys, is a competitor who went 12-0 in junior college last year and was solid as a midweek starter the first two weeks. Maybe he will be the answer. Chandler Welch, who needs to start locating his pitches lower, and Will Clements, who has really good stuff and pitched well for the first time in three outings last Sunday, remain in their normal spots.

ULL got swept last weekend at the Houston Astros' ballpark but was in all three games, losing 7-4 to Vanderbilt, 5-4 to LSU and 13-10 to Houston in 11 innings. ULL also lost two of three at home to Rice, which has been terrible for a few years, so it is hard to know whether this team is any good. The Cajuns were picked fourth in the Sun Belt in the preseason poll, getting two first-place votes as the only team to get any other than favored Coastal Carolina, which got 12. Preseason Sun Belt player of the year Kyle DeBarge, a shortstop, is hitting .260 and was the only Cajuns player on the all-league team.

Right-hander LP Langevin (1-0, 3.09) a JC transfer, will start tonight. Lefty Andrew Herrmann (1-1, 2.31) will pitch Saturday, and righty Carson Fluna (1-0, 3.96) will pitch Sunday.

This will be another litmus test for where Tulane stands. The Wave failed the first one against UC Irvine ,but the Anteaters may turn out to be a legit top 20 team. Tulane won its first road game at Nicholls on Tuesday, but that was a game on a virtually unplayable field in which the Colonels made five errors. I doubt the Wave will get that much help this weekend. A series win would be another positive as this team tries to outstrip extremely low projections and prove it can be contender for an at-large bid if it needs one. Jackson Linn is hitting a preposterous .500 (16 for 32), and the team is hitting .280 despite a dreadful start from Teo Banks. If Linn continues to hit well and Banks get out of his funk, this team will have a potent lineup with the always steady Brady Marget, Gavin Schulz looking good (..318) and Connor Rasmussen having a team-high 14 RBIs.

Our biggest win in decades should have given us momentum moving forward but instead we have seen a complete implosion.

Hunter has had his chance and just hasn't gotten the job done. That is part of the business and we should move on. He guaranteed a NCAA bid in year one and here we are in year 5 and we haven't sniffed the post season and are moving backward.

With the small roster size basketball should be the easiest sport to turn around and yet we have been wandering in the desert for 29 years. It is hard to believe.

I requested interviews with both coordinators before the start of spring ball, but I know nothing will happen this week. They plan to set up interviews with some of the transfer players for all media some time next week, but I have not gotten word on one-and-ones with the coaches yet.

Anyway, a few weeks after my pre-spring look at the offense, here's one on the defense. Sumrall said the scheme would not change from last year because Shiel Wood ran the Troy defense at Tulane. There definitely are some question marks in the back end.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

No issues here. Patrick Jenkins is outstanding at DT and Hicks is solid at NT. The most interesting thing to watch will be how Friloux looks, who has been injured a lot the past two years and did not look 100 percent early last year coming off the ACL tear in August of 2022 even before he got hurt again. A healthy Friloux would give the Wave a heck of a 1-2 punch at NT. Kam Hamilton looked like he was going to have a big year last season early but was not as much of a factor in the second half of the season. I still believe he can be a big-time player, although he may have an adjustment as a hearing impaired guy when the coaches he was close to are all gone. There's your two-deep depth chart. Elijah Champaigne played in 12 games and made one tackle. Parker Peterson played in four games with one tackle. Maxie Baudoin did not play.

DT:

1) Patrick Jenkins
2) Kam Hamilton

NT

1) Eric Hicks
2) Adonis Friloux (subject to change if Friloux is back to full strength)

DEFENSIVE END/OUTSIDE LINEBACKER

On paper, this is the weakest spot on the team, which is why Sumrall wants another rush end. Keith Cooper transferred to Houston. Devean Deal transferred to TCU. Darius Hodges declared for the draft, leaving a group of Angelo Anderson, who has been a disappointment after being a heralded recruit from John Curtis, talented but unproven as an every-down player Matthew Fobbs-White, Troy transfer and New Orleans native Deshaun Batiste along with three guys who have played sparingly if at all in Michael Lunz (one tackle), Jah'rie Garner and Gerrod Henderson, who was still on the scout team defense during bowl practices. Even in the best-case scenario--Anderson living up to his high school ratings, Fobbs-White developing into the pass-rushing menace he showed signs of being and Batiste living up to Sumrall's belief in him--the Wave needs an impact transfer here. In the worst-case scenario, this group could be a liability. Spring will be very important for their development.

DE:

1) Angelo Anderson
2) Michael Lunz

OLB/rush end

1) Deshaun Batiste
1A) Matthew Fobbs-White

INSIDE LINEBACKER

Jesus Machado, a surefire starter next fall, will miss all of the spring as he recovers from a knee surgery he had after getting hurt early in the Military Bowl. Corey Platt transferred to Houston. Jared Small entered the portal, although I don't think he has any eligibility left and will need to win an appeal to be able to play anywhere. That leaves Tyler Grubbs and and some young guys the coaches were high on even though they could not get much time on the field. Mandel Eugene, who made five tackles, seemed to be the one they trusted the most, but Fritz believed Dickson Agu, Makai Williams and Jean Claude Joseph also would develop into quality starters down the road. I did not hear as much about Taylor Love, who has been invisible to this point in his career. Troy transfer Chris Rodgers will be in the mix, too. The spring will be their first chance to make a real move.

Starters in the spring: Tyler Grubbs and Mandel Eugene
Top backups: Makai Williams, Dickson Agu, Jean Claude Joseph and Chris Rodgers

NICKELBACK

The terminology for this position is Spear. I hate the cutesy terms for positions teams use, but that's neither here nor there. Kam Pedescleaux had an outstanding year but ran out of eligibility. so this spot will be wide open. I'm not sure who the coaches will try, but my guess is Shi'Keem Laister will be the first-team guy at the start of spring. Troy import Caleb Ransaw, who started five games in 2022 but did not play quite as much last year, is another possibility. We'll have to wait until spring starts to get a good read on this spot. Maybe true freshman Jayden Lewis, a top-rated recruit who will participate in the spring, will play there.

1) Shi'Keem Laister
2) Kaleb Ransaw

CORNERBACK

With Jarius Monroe, Lance Robinson and A.J. Hampton gone, Jayden Lewis, if he is as good as his rating, could be first team almost immediately if he is used at cornerback. Transfers will be in the picture, too. I honestly do not know where holdovers Jahiem Johnson, Jai Eugene Jr. and Rayshawn Pleasant fit in right now. I'm not even sure which of the newcomers will be safeties and which one will be cornerbacks, so I'm flying blind with DK McGruder, a JUCO signee, and Lu Tillery, who was a former walk-on at ULM who earned a scholarship there.

Starters: Jayden Lewis and Rayshawn Pleasant
Backups: No idea.

SAFETY

Bailey Despanie had a solid year at one safety spot, while Tulane needs a replacement for DJ Douglas, who transferred to Florida. The candidates in the spring will be second-year players Kevin Adams and Joshua Moore, both of whom Fritz liked, Kentucky transfer Jalen Geiger, a career backup who had his best year when he was coached by Sumrall, and Troy transfer Jack Tchienchou. I was skeptical about Tulane's safety play at this time last year and Despanie and Douglas exceeded my expectations considerably. If one of the other candidates emerges as a a productive player, the Wave will be OK here because starting safeties pretty much play every down on defense. The competition should be close.

Starters: Bailey Despanie and Kevin Adams
Backups: Joshua Moore, Jalen Geiger, Jack Tchienchou.

Solid win last night. Jackson Linn looks like he can be a major factor this year, which is a huge benefit. The pitching was pretty good. The defense was decent. And I got to see the first straight steal of home by Tulane maybe ever. Todd Graffagnini contacted Rick Jones and Jones could not recall one under his watch. I know there had not been any since then. Connor Rasmussen is the type of player Tulane has not had under my watch (2011 and on)--a hyper competitive, fast athlete with good bat skills. He would not have been in position to steal home without taking two bases instead of one on an errant pickoff throw. Whether or not he can consistently hit top level pitching remains to be seen, but the early signs are good and his competitiveness will rub off on his teammates.

The next step is putting the hammer to a bad team in Yale this weekend, something this team has not come close to doing under Uhlman. Yale got outscored 20-8 in its opening series at North Florida and was picked fifth in the Ivy League.

I talked to Rasmussen, Jackson Linn and Uhlman last night.

RASMUSSEN

On stealing home:

"Honestly we didn't really look into it pre-game, but I got to third base and saw that he was in his windup and saw the first couple of pitches and realized he was pretty slow to the plate. We were actually going to go with a fake steal just to see what he did, and he didn't look at me and I heard Jay yelling, 'yeah, yeah, yeah', so I just went and it worked out."

On getting to third on errant pickoff throw:

"Just trusting Jay what he was telling me. We like to be aggressive on the basepaths. We have a goal of leading the country in going from first to third and we had an opportunity there to take it. We did."

On bouncing back from UC Irvine sweep:

"It was huge. We had a lot of confidence coming off the weekend. I know we lost three games at home, which you never want to do, but we felt we beat ourselves those games, and we know if we minimize those mistakes that we're going to win a lot of games and we came out here and played our brand of baseball today."

On if had stolen home before:

"I believe that was the second time (did it in high school). I believe it was the same situation except I think it was off a lefty (in high school) so he couldn't see me going."

On significance of beating UNO:

"Definitely. We talked about it before the game, about how they took the Pelican Cup from us last year and that's something we want to have. We talked about that before the season started. We wanted to bring that back over to this side of town."

LINN

On what is working:

"I think keeping it more simple than I have been in the past. I haven't really gotten to my brand of baseball in a long time, so I kind of got back to that just staying through the ball, swinging at the right pitches. That's what makes a good player is if you can swing at the right pitches and take the ones that you're not going to be able to do damage with. That's what I've been doing. I've been trying for a long time to get to the mental place where that's kind of where I'm at, and finally I'm getting there."

On feeling 100 percent:

"I've had a long road. At the very end of my freshman year I got the bad news that I tore my UCL and it was going to be a long road. It was kind of more extensive than most UCL surgeries, so I've just been working really hard in the training room and working really hard to get through the fact that my body wasn't 100 percent and I'm taking better at-bats than I did last year."

On waiting a few games to get in starting lineup:

"I got that hungry desire to get back on the field. I really hadn't had that sense of peak desire to go out there and compete for a little while, and like I said, I've been getting back to my brand of baseball. It's been fun. I'm glad we won. It's a big game to win to get the momentum going in our favor, so I'm happy that we pulled it out at the end."

On doubts:

"Yeah. There were definitely points where I felt, I don't want to say sorry for myself, but I was feeling down at times, especially when I was struggling and I felt like there was an expectation for me to succeed. That was a challenging time for me, but last year's in the past. As a team we're doing a good job flipping the page and we're playing different this year."

On difference this year:

"With the transfer portal you can flip the team over. I think we've done a really good job with the guys that we got. There was a lot of development this fall, more than last year, where we got better. We made changes and we're in a place right now where I think we're going to start rolling."

On Rasmussen stealing home:

"That's a first for me being in the box. I saw him coming nonstop and I was like oh, man, he's coming."

On significance of Pelican Cup:

"We hated giving that up to them last year. We've got a vengeance on our mind. We took the first step and hopefully we can sweep this thing. That's our goal."

UHLMAN

on Rasmussen stealing home:

"We originally called it as fake steal knowing that he was slow to the plate. He started down the line and just my instincts I said, go, go, go, go, go and he went and we got lucky the guy threw a breaking ball in the dirt and he was safe. Those are really electric plays. A steal of home, you don't see it, so when it happens it's pretty cool."

On spark the play provided:

"I'd love to say I had some premonition, but I didn't. It was a good, unique way to start a game that way and get on top early, and then we extended the lead four times. We had a lot of shutdown innings. We punched back when they scored, so just a lot of team-oriented goals that happened during the game that led to what I think was a total team victory."

On waiting to start Linn until last Sunday:

"We all suffered and hurt for him what he went through last year, and then to delay, for him to trust the plan. I talked to him early and just said, look, I don't want to put you in a position to fail. I want to put you in a position to succeed and I'm going to kind of ease you into this. The first hit was a double and he got some confidence. He's been working really hard, so for him to have this kind of game--two absolute blasts and an unbelievable walk in the last inning, and he made a great play in left-center at a critical time in the game. Just really more than anything satisfied and happy that he had that type of game and is feeling good about himself."

On doubts about recovery:

"There were some doubts that he would ever play again. They had diagnosed a certain thing that nobody really knew about, so it kind of confused doctors for a little bit. They had a plan in treatment. He went through it all and I was fearful for the kid that he may never be able to do what he can really do. I'm just really happy for him more than anything."

On team seeing the ball:

"You can make some complaints about swinging at some bad pitches that were out of character, but for the most part situationally we hit and could have had another home run ball with Rasmussen's one at the fence, and he made a great slide on the push bunt at home. Just really proud of their effort tonight, especially coming off a rough weekend where we didn't get what we wanted."

On winning first game of Pelican Cup:

"They got it back last year. We had it the year before, and we want to make sure we keep that cup. That's an important piece, but you can't get that back until you get that second win. It's a series. I have tremendous respect for coach (Blake) Dean and their program and what they do. They are a tough club. It's always fun to play them win, lose or draw. It's a unique rivalry that I really appreciate."

On Henry Shuffler (ULM transfer) getting save and not having allowed a run in five appearances:

"I just like that he works low in the zone and throws most of his pitches down there in the zone. Actually he was elevated (tonight). I'm not sure if we were calling those elevated, but he just pounds the bottom of the zone. He's been better than advertised for me. I'm really pleased. We saw glimpses of it in the fall, but I'm really pleased with how he's transitioned from the fall to when the lights come on. And Blaise, too. Blaise was tremendous. He struggled in the fall. Coach Izzio and coach Niemann were tinkering with him, so he wasn't clean in the fall, so for him to come out and do what he's been doing is great, and I told the guys between Fladda, Blaise and Henry, to save our bullpen which was taxed this weekend was a huge thing for us."

Mario Williams and Ty Thompson met with reporters for the first time yesterday. I did not know who he was at the time, but Williams held the door open for me at the Reily Center when I was about 40 feet away and politely said hi. Then we proceeded to walk through the second door toward the interview room next to the Yulman Stadium field when I realized who he was.

Williams was not particularly open in his interview, but Thompson was. They spoke separately.

WILLIAMS

On how he ended up at Tulane:

"It was really just I felt the best decision for me coming from USC, with Lincoln Riley coming from Oklahoma to go to USC. Now I'm here. I just think it was the best decision for me and my family--closer to home."

On if Sumrall reached out to him:

"I knew (offensive analyst and recruiter) Collin (D'Angelo) before. He recruited me in high school, so once I entered the portal, we already had the relationship. The relationship was still there."

On Tulane's upswing the last two years being a factor:

"It was huge. They handled their business in the Cotton Bowl. That was a great team win for them. I was on the other side and it was not so fun, but it was a big decision coming here. They are on the rise. I'mjust trying to help them get to where they are trying to be."

On memories of Cotton Bowl:

"About the game and stuff, I honestly don't care. That's a moment out there. It was a great moment. It didn't turn out how I wanted, but you live to fight another day. Days go on. You can't live off that one game. That's all I've got to say about that."

On his game:

"Go-getter. I'm just willing to do whatever I need to do in order to be successful, and to help the team. I'm just that person that's got that green light. I'm always ready."

On Ty Thompson as factor in him coming to Tulane:

"We have to come here and do what we need to do, work every day. Ty is a great player. He's build around other great quarterbacks that are here. There are other great players on the team, but hey, Ty came here to do his job, I came here to do my job to help the team win and get to the playoffs. That's what we're here for."

On if he knew Thompson before this:

"No. I'd heard of him, though."

On ultimate factor in choosing Tulane:

"Really just building a relationship with the coaching staff. That's huge. That's one thing if I could go back and fix in college, it's just building that trust and that relationship with my coaches and actually understanding them and knowing them as people outside of just coaches being someone that's just telling you to do something. Just bettering that relationship with coach (Joe) Craddock and coach Sumrall and coach Carter (Sheridan), really all the coaching staff."

On conversations with Sumrall:

"It was just making sure that the plan that we set going out there and showing it every day, like no days off."

On if anyone asked him why he chose Tulane when it is not a Power Five school:

"Nah, man. At the end of the day it's my decision. I'm not really worried about what other people think. I'm just here to help the team win and do what I need to do in order to be successful and help my family."

On if anyone asked him about muffed kickoff in Cotton Bowl:

"No, I don't pay attention to stuff like that. That game is over with right now."

On why his numbers went down at USC this past year:

"That's a USC thing. I'm at Tulane now. We are here now. It's on to the next. Shout out to them boys, though. I still have some boys over there."

On not playing for Lincoln Riley:

"I'm coming into a great scheme here with coach Craddock. Coach Riley is a good coach and a great offensive analyst, whatever you want to call him, mind. He's a great coach. I just think coach Craddock, when I made my decision I build that relationship and I was able to see what he has to show his offense. I really like what he does with his receivers and the whole offense."

On his goals at Tulane:

"Win. That's it."

On how hungry he is to show his ability and provide for his family:

"That will never go away. I've always been that type of person to make sure the people that take care of me, I take care of them, so anywhere I can, I am going to keep fighting and keep going."

A litmus test:


If you don't have a spot in the Rosen Lot you can call Tulane and get a spot in the Diboll lot for Saturday's game for $8. Tulane is hosting the HBCU Legacy Bowl game which starts at 3:00 so parking will be tight.