I'm working on a story about the AAC's dominant starting pitching (seven guys have an ERA below 2.00 when the league had zero by the end of 2015), and I caught up with David Pierce after practice today in his office. Here's what he said as the Wave prepared to face Houston's terrific 1-2 punch of Seth Romero and Andrew Lantrip. Tulane, of course, has two of thus sub-2.00 ERA guys in Emerson Gibbs and Ross Massey.

On the great starting pitching across the league:

"They talk about the SEC and the power five conferences, but we have as good a pitching as anybody in the country. It makes for a tough weekend because we have to overcome that as a hitter."

On Houston being second nationally in ERA at 2.37:

"That’s what makes them so dangerous. You know they are going to be in every game. A clutch hit here and there and it will change the outcome of the game."

On getting Houston's best shot as Cougars desperate to make late push after disappointing year:

"They’ll be at their best. They got stung last weekend (a three-game sweep at the hands of UConn two weekends ago). They’ll be well prepared. They got great film on us last night, so they’ll come in with a team that’s hungry and a team that’s fighting for their position."

On preseason AAC co-pitcher of the year Seth Romero:

"He’s so unique because he throws a fastball to the glove side with such angle. It’s hard to get to that pitch and if you do barrel it, it’s tough to keep it fair. And if hit that pitch, you usually don’t handle the rest of the plate. So he’s a guy that’s going to attack a lot with the fastball to his glove side. He’s very confident and he’s got power. He goes up to 95 and he’s left-handed."

On Lantrip, who has a better ERA than Romero and has walked four batters in 74 innings:

"He doesn’t walk anybody. He’s 88 to 92 and he has a very good breaking ball. Especially when he gets to two strikes, he tries to put you away with it. He’s very competitive, but they don’t walk anyone, so everything that you get against Houston, you really have to earn."

On overcoming that great pitching to win:

"We have an objective of the game is to score more runs than the opposing team. The philosophy of our offense is to do it in multiple ways. Fortunately we’ve had opportunities with the long ball. Unfortunately we’ve probably struck out more than most or what we want, but we do have the ability to play the short game. We won the game against Central Florida on Saturday because of the hit and run in the eighth inning as opposed to just bunting. Stephen ends up hitting a double after the leadoff single, so we have runners on second and third with nobody out and get those two runs in. The ability to do that with personnel gives you options."

On getting the job done at the plate in last five games:

"We also had two-out hits last night. It’s clutch hitting. Hitting’s about timing. That’s the thing that makes you definitely prepared for a team like Houston because anything can happen there."

On the potential for low-scoring games against Houston:

"You better get to the ball park on time because the game might be over in about two hours when you’re looking at Gibbs and Ross Massey going against Lantrip and Romero. There’s a lot of strikes and stuff on the ball. I don’t see any type of base on balls or a long type of game because of poor pitching."

On Gibbs and Ross Massey having huge years:

"The thing with Emerson is he has the ability to throw the fastball up to 92 now, and he understands how to command it. He throws a spike curve ball that it is a dominating pitch now, and he has a workable changeup. He’s really good at pitching to spots and understanding the actual hitter. He’s cerebral. When you look at coaching and what you’re trying to strive for, he’s the model.

"And Ross has been such a pleasant surprise. To have Ross in between Emerson and Alex gives us a chance to win three games. The thing that you’re always looking for is your starting pitching gives you a chance. You want to be close at the end or leading a close game. If you blow it open, that’s great, but if you don’t pitch and play defense, you’re not going to win."

On splitting against UConn's dominant 1-2 punch:

"When you look at (Anthony) Kay, he can throw a power 95 and throws a very good breaking ball. The key to getting to him is getting him in the stretch. The freshman, (Tim) Cate, has a plus curveball and is really tough on left-handed and right-handed hitters. Left-handed hitters are hitting .113 against him. You get a kid like Grant Witherspoon to hit a home run off of him to allow us to win the game, it’s guys coming up at the right time.

"There’s just so much to the pitching in our league. It’s not only just stuff, but what we’re really seeing is the command. UCF didn’t walk anybody. We had to earn three wins, so there’s not a lot of bad baseball in this league."

On Tulane being a half-game out of first place:

"It’s a good position. We would like to be three games up, but when you look at a league like the AAC and you look at the balance in it, that tells you the strength in the league. Usually when you have one or two teams running away from a league, the league’s not as strong as you would like it to be. Our league is very balanced. Our position is good, but every weekend you can go from a half game back to two games up to being four games back and being in seventh place."

On not being flat after LSU win:

"It’s an interesting question because it’s a very emotional win on a Tuesday night. We’re in exams. Everybody is pretty occupied with exams and excited about the win. That’s why I’m so glad we had two days of practice. Today we made sure we got a sweat in. We focused on the short game offensively.

"The only thing I said to them in the meeting is how quickly it could turn on you, and they understand that. We’re not guaranteed anything. We could go out and play three great games and still struggle winning the games. You’ve just got to go to work every day and then we have to have some guys step up. We have to have pitching performances to give ourselves a chance."

On sticking with the lineup that has produced a 30-5 surge in last five games:

"I’m pretty good at sticking with what works, so I’m going to stick with it. I kind of like it the way it is right now."

It didn't happen with Randy Livingston like I thought it would, but that's ok. Sometimes things don't always work out. Here's the article about who was hired: http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/2016/04/tulane_coach_mike_dunleavy_sr.html#incart_river_home

Rumor has it that we have a new commit, Jaelen Greene, a 3-star RB by both Rivals and 247 out of Georgia. According to his HUDL info, he’s 5’10” and 190#. More impressive, he presumably benches 315# (pretty good for a junior RB in high school) and has run a 4.39 40. His tape looks good. He’s clearly faster than everyone else and can bull his way through tackles. Take a look: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/4231802/highlights/285878434

Coach Fritz has not posted his usual “Roll Wave” so I don’t know how accurate the rumor is. Kid has a lot of G-5 offers but none from P-5 schools.

Still, I like him. Hope it’s true.

Roll Wave!!!

He definitely will play football for Tulane in the fall.

I didn't doubt his Facebook account, but I still wanted to get it confirmed from Tulane.

Tulane will not run the exact same system as Georgia Southern because the QBs are not as comfortable in the option, but I expect the offense to be pretty similar next fall--limited passing and very-run heavy. Plus, Willie Fritz had so much success there that it made him a believer he could win big that way. Coaches evolve, and after watching Tulane's QBs this spring, I think it would be counterproductive to throw much until they get a QB they trust or a QB with experience in the passing game.

Here is some stuff I learned from researching Georgia Southern:

In all but two games the past two years, Georgia Southern began with three wide receivers, a tight end and a running back. The lone exceptions were against ULM and Bowling Green last year (Fritz did not coach that one), when they had three wide receivers and two running backs without a tight end. Now, I'm not sure what defines a wide receiver, but it was generally the same guys. That jibes with what I saw this spring, when Tulane's base formation had three wideouts even though the team was incredibly thin there. Fritz and offensive coordinator Doug Ruse like to spread the field and run out of that formation with a ton of inside zone plays. That's the huge difference between the system he ran at Georgia Southern and the true option teams like the service academies, which rarely spread the field.

In 2014, Georgia Southern began every game with three WRs, 1 RB and 1 TE. Only the tight ends have varied, with four different ones starting in 2014 and two sharing the starting role last season. The two guys last year combined for one touch--a 23-yard reception by James Dean--and no carries, so I'd be a little concerned if I were Charles Jones or Kendall Ardoin. In 2014, the tight ends combined for one touch, too--an 8-yard reception. Obviously Tulane recruited tight ends heavily under CJ and Fritz tailors his offense to his personnel, but I'm not sure Jones and Ardoin are good enough to merit a significant change in approach.

Another question is whether or not Fritz has played more than one quarterback regularly, and the answer is yes. He did it at Georgia Southern. His starter the past two years was Kevin Ellison with the exception of the first two games of 2015, when Favian Upshaw took his place due to an academic suspension. But Upshaw played in all 13 games last year as a running specialist, gaining 583 yards on 80 carries. His bowl MVP performance distorted the stats a little bit when he rushed for more than 200 yards against Bowling Green, but he had 40 or more rushing yards three other times in games he did not start. He had a 48-yard run to set up a TD against Georgia. He also played in 11 games in 2014 and rushed for 385 yards while completing 19 of 27 passes. That must have come via the element of surprise because his passing stats were abysmal last season --19 of 48 with five interceptions.

After watching Tulane's spring practice, I do not think Darius Bradwell will morph into an effective passer in the fall. He has too far to go and will be thinking too much to suddenly become accurate if he plays a key role in the fall. That being said, I fully expect him to be a change-of-pace QB who enters almost every game and runs. If he is successful, he will stay in. The starter will likely be Glen Cuiellette. Since Cuiellette struggled for most of the spring, I'm not totally ruling out Johnathan Brantley although it is awfully tough to be effective as a true freshman QB who missed spring ball.

And for the first time in his stay at Tulane, I'm not even rulling out Devin Powell. With Powell, the option would be used less and he would hand off to the talented running backs. If the offensive line proves it can block effectively for a straight ahead running attack (I have my doubts), Powell would give Tulane its only real threat of the pass, and there are going to be games Tulane loses next fall simply because it has no threat of the pass (Georgia Southern fell behind early in its three losses to West Virginia, Appalachian State and Georgia State and still threw for only 29, 64 and 68 yards while going 18 for 43 with eight INTs).

I can't stress enough how much better Powell was as a thrower in the spring than either Cuiellette or Bradwell. The issue with Powell is all of the ancillary things a QB needs to do in Fritz offense (or any other one, for that matter). He has to know the plays (a problem under CJ), and his focus has come and gone in every game he started under CJ, exacerbating his own inaccuracy. Really the only thing he did well in his starts was the first two OTs against East Carolina in 2013. The rest of the time he got by on luck or the team did well in spite of him in 2013, including his long stint in the New Orleans Bowl. But he can hit open receivers most of the time, something Cuiellette demonstrated only sporadically in the spring and Bradwell never showed.

My guess is Tulane will throw as little as 10 to 15 times a game in the fall provided it runs well, and from talking to the coaches, I believe they believe they can make the offensive line work. They need a second guard and a second tackle they can trust (right now it is Junior Diaz, Chris Taylor and John Leglue), and they need all of the guys with the exception of Diaz to get in better shape.

This will be a real test for Fritz and his offensive staff. The schedule is friendly, but they either have to get the QBs to improve a ton or figure out a way to win without a passing attack or any proven player on the offensive line. The good news is they know what they have now and still have more than four months before the season opener.

I attended all 15 of Tulane's spring practices and posted reports after all of them. Here is my unofficial depth chart based on what I observed.

OFFENSE

QB

1) Glen Cuiellette--took reps with first unit every practice
2) Darius Braswelll--took reps with second unit at start of team drills every day
3) Devin Powell--took reps with third unit every day.

Comment: Nothing is settled. Brantley will enter picture in fall. I expect 2 to play because none has full skill set.

RB

1) Dontrell Hilliard--He can be a stud
2) Sherman Badie --Still a home run hitter
3) Josh Rounds --For first time, I get why coaches like him
4) Lazedrick Thompson--will have a role

Comment: Fritz is every bit as high on these guys as CJ was. Says all have 1,000-yard ability. A lot of times two of these guys will be on field, with one as an H back, a role Devin Glenn and Trey Scott can handle, too.

WR

1) Terron Encalade --Only guy with any real experience
2) Rickey Preston--Hurt for most of spring. Has ability, but untapped

1) Trey Scott--Runs well but a total unknown at wideout
2) Marshall Wadleigh--Converted RB is better than walk-on designation, but won't scare anyone

1) Larry Dace--Most polished receiver on the roster, but struggles to get separation
2) Devin Glenn--Also an H back but spent most of spring as WR

Comment: At least two incoming freshmen need to be productive. This group is weak, inexperienced

TE

1) Charles Jones-Didn't notice him much in the spring
2) Kendall Ardoin--Noticed him as receiver a little more often than Jones

Comment: tight ends don't catch the ball much in this system, at least from what I've seen.

LT

1) Todd Jacquet--It's a scary concept
2) Devon Johnson --still needs to shed pounds

LG

1) Chris Taylor --trying to rebound from rough year
2) Leeward Brown--did not make impression

C

1) Junior Diaz--Fritz loves him
2) Keyshawn McLeod--someone had to be the backup

RG

1) Kenneth Santa Marina--don't get sense coaches are totally sold on him at G
2) Jason Stewart --a placeholder unless he loses massive weight

RT

1) John Leglue--Fritz likes him, too
2) Devon Johnson--no depth on OL

Comment: Diaz, Taylor and Leglue could be OK. The other two spots need work.

DEFENSE

LE

1) Quinlan Carroll -- He looked decent in practice with Williams hurt
2) Daren Williams -- Can reclaim starting spot with good preseason

LT

1)Sean Wilson -- Improved as spring went along.
2) Eldrick Washington --injury issues slowed him after good start

RT

1) Tanzel Smart--best player on the team. Hands down.
2) Braynon Edwards--a placeholder unless he sheds significant weight. Good feet, though.

RE

1) Ade Aruna --The coaches really like him but recognize he has to get better
2) Robert Kennedy--up and down but finished with bang. Still needs work.

Comment: Tackles are terrific. Ends have potential.

WLB

1) Nico Marley--Coaches like him, recognize he can't play conventionally
2) Zachery Harris--a playmaker and hard hitter who will carve out time at some spot

MLB

1) Eric Thomas --Dependable.
2) Rae Juan Marbley--Came on late in spring, can play multiple LB spots

Buck LB

1) Eric Bowie --Had a good spring. Buck usually not on field in base defense, though.
2) William Townsend--Learning the position. Can be a good pass rusher.

Comment: The backups will be better than most people think.

NB

1) Richard Allen --although Donnie Lewis often moves here and Allen goes to CB in nickel)
2) Taris Shenall --This was Dedrick Shy's spot but he missed most of spring.

Comment: Not the strongest spot on the roster, but usually 3 CBs are on field.

CB

1) Parry Nickerson --the knee issue is worrisome. Needs to regain 2014 form for defense to excel.
2) Richard Allen--Coming off rough season.

CB

1) Donnie Lewis --The coaches are high on his potential, want more focus.
2) Dedrick Shy --missed most of spring with injury.

SS

1) Jarrod Franklin--Good leader who makes plays but needs to be more consistent
2) Will Harper --Really did not get much of a read on him because of passing issues

FS

1) Leonard Davis --Must play better than he did in 2014. Not tested in spring.
2) Roderic Teamer --Will have shot to win job, but played behind Davis all spring.

Comment: the safety spots concern me. Lack of passing game did not allow them to prove themselves.

K

1) Andrew DiRocco--Pitiful performance in spring game leaves position wide open
2) Randy Harvey--looked decent in two viewings.

Comment: Hopefully Coby Neenan is accurate with a strong leg

P

1) Zach Block --looked pretty good in spring game.
2) Go for it on fourth down

Comment: Block should be better as a sophomore than he was a freshman.

I have no idea what they are going to do at punt returner. The three guys who got the work--Hilliard, Nickerson and Dace--are not players I would use in that role.

Hilliard could be on kickoff returns, but I would prefer they use someone who is not as important as he is. It's not like he's a game-breaker in that role.

If I were doing a third-team depth chart, the CBs would be Shenall and Jeremie Francis. The DEs would be Luke Jackson, who spent plenty of time with the second unit, and Peter Woullard. The DT would be John Washington. I didn't see enough from Eric Bell to put him there. The safeties would be Tristan Cooper and Sam Davis. there are no third team LBs because of depth issues.

On offense, there's really no third-teamer to mention other than WR Chaz Augustini, who caught a TD in the spring game and got plenty of reps all spring because of the severe shortage at his position. I didn't see anything from Sergio Medina.

Tulane had two visitors on Thursday for the 2017 class and offered both of them.

One of them is OG Charlie Clark, an offensive lineman from Marist (Ga.) who lists himself as 6-4, 270 on his Hudl page.

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3592952/charlie-clark

I'm hearing Tulane is very high on him even though he is not in the Rivals.com database and does not have a rating from 247Sports. He is underrated to this point, and Tulane will have a monstrous need for O-linemen in the 2017 class. He's had offers from Georgia Southern and FAU.

The other one is DE Carson Wells from Bushnell (Fla.) South Sumter. He is a 6-4, 235-pound 2-star recruit with offers from Army and Southern Miss.

DP's faith in Alex pays off. Real good outing for him. We hit well again and get the sweep. Way to bounce back w/a 4-0 week. Now let's sweep those tiggers. We set our record for shutouts.

Another Great Win; some thoughts:

1. Terrific performance by Massey. 8+ innings and zero earned runs.
   
   
2. Great relief job by Simms. After Duester’s effort on Friday night, that’s two in a row. Really needed.
   
   
3. Tough luck on what started as a great play in the fifth inning to eventually set up the one run. With men on first and second and no outs, UCF tried to bunt them along. Terrific jump on the bunt by Rogers and a quick relay to first by Hope. Cameraman missed the play on that end so I don’t know exactly what happened, so I don’t know if we would have gotten the double play with a good throw. Too bad; great effort.
   
   
4. Spectacular play later in the next inning by Alemais to throw a runner out at the plate from fairly deep short. When I first saw the play, I thought he was safe. On looking at replays, Rogers clearly had the plate partially blocked and one of the baserunners feet didn’t get to the plate on time. The other? Still not sure. Anyway; big play.
   
   
5. Two really nice hit and runs executed by Alemais with DeHart running. I’m not sure I’ve seen a successful hit and run all year before this game.
   
   
6. Speaking of DeHart: he’s started to swing the bat much better. His batting average is still way down (.196), and he’ll have to hit .300+ to get to .250 by season’s end. But he’s making contact now, which he didn’t do at the beginning of the year.
   
   
7. Staying on DeHart, I questioned the decision to send him home on the short blooper to left by Witherspoon. He was out a mile if the catcher doesn’t drop the ball. But, he did. So there is that. On that play: some odd official scoring. They credited "Spoon" with a sacrifice fly and an RBI but gave the catcher an error and called the run unearned. I don’t see how it could be both a SF/RBI and an error.
   
   
8. After fanning in the first, Witherspoon got a hit and put the ball in play on succeeding at bats. He’s clearly still struggling, but it was progress from recent efforts.
   
   
9. Montalbano, Kaplan, and Williams, the middle of our line-up, went 0-11 in the game. Only one hard hit ball among the three. We need more production than that over the long haul. I’m confident we’ll get it.
   
   
10. Rogers looked much more comfortable at the plate than in the last few weeks. Big HR to give us some breathing room late, but generally good swings throughout the game. And he’s still making great throws.
    
    
11. Carthon has been out for quite a while. Is he hurt? I know he was slumping a little but I thought he might give Witherspoon a rest during the latter’s prolonged slump; but no. We’ve been playing well the last few games so the strategy has worked, but I’m surprised that we’ve not seen him out there.
    
    
12. We need to keep winning. Our opponents are not helping us on the RPI front. Even with the win on the road against a 50/50 team, our RPI went down.

Roll Wave!!!

This is a big series for Tulane. A sweep on the road would probably move our RPI to the range of 40. Going 2-1 would also likely move our RPI up a little while losing 1-2 would drop us into the #60+ range. Let’s not even contemplate getting swept: that would move us into the #70+ range.

Despite my strong feeling that we are definitely a tournament-worthy team, some numbers mitigate against us. According to Warren Nolan’s computer predictions, our current strength of schedule (#66) would drop to #90 over the rest of the regular season.

Nolan goes on to predict we will go 10-5 in our remaining conference games and 3-1 in our OOC games (13-6 total) to finish the year at 36-19. That sounds pretty good to me, but Nolan predicts that record, with our predicted SOS, will give us a #58 RPI. In recent years, very few teams with 50+ RPI's have made the tournament. But,frankly, I have trouble getting to that RPI with 36 wins. Even with a worst case SOS, I see a 36-19 record putting us in the top 50 as a minimum. And, BTW, Boyd's world agrees with me. In his RPI needs report, he says that 13 more wins would put us in the top 45, and 14 more wins would put us in the top 32. Big differences.

Regardless, the key is to go on a solid win streak, continuing this weekend off of Tuesday's big win.

Roll Wave!!!

After losing 4 of our last 5, our RPI has dropped from #40 to #63. From people talking about “hosting” a regional, we wouldn’t even be an “outside-the-bubble” team if the season ended today. From competing for the conference lead, we’re now in 5th place out of 8, having played six home games and only two away. Not good!

We’re not hitting; everyone knows it. But, it’s worse than most think. It’s not just the last few games. Over the last 20 games, we’re hitting .240 as a team. Last year, we hit .253 for the season. Who’d a “thunk” it after “feasting” on our early season opponents?

In recent games, Alemais is 2 for his last 20; Wetherspoon is 0 for 19; Williams is 2 for 16; and Rogers is 1 for 20. Those are some severe slumps from four of our best hitters prior to this stretch.

Our two consistent starting pitchers, Jake Gibbs and Massey the younger, are looking great. That they allowed one earned run over two games against Cincinnati and only won one of them is unbelievable.

Massey the elder and France are not looking good at all and Merrill is clearly not ready to step into the rotation—at least off of Sunday’s appearance.

With only two reliable starters facing four games a week with a bullpen that has been inconsistent at best, it’s hard to see us getting more than two solid-pitched games each week. Combined with our woeful hitting it’s hard to see how we can win more than 2 out of 4 most weeks.

As and aside: Three errors by pitchers on pickoff attempts in one game? I don’t know if records are kept on such a statistic, but I doubt I’ve seen or heard of that in the roughly 60 years I’ve followed the game

The Good.

We do have two starting pitchers who are pitching ‘lights out.”

Merrill is coming back and though he’s clearly not ready, his return bodes well. A third solid starter would be important.

Massey and France are capable. They could “turn it around”

Duester appears to be returning to form.

And when Simms can find the plate, he’s almost unhittable.

It’s also good to see Gross back. He hasn’t pitched that well at Tulane but had a very good summer. If he can replicate that against the occasional lefty, that will help.

Some guys are actually hitting pretty well. Despite going 0-5 on Sunday, Kaplan is 9 for his last 25; Hope is 8 for 24; Montalbano is 7 for 24; and Willsey is 6 for his last 14.

And I don’t believe Alemais, Rogers, Williams, and Witherspoon will continue to hit “sub-100” for very long.

Finally, we have 20 games to go. If we could go 14-6, our RPI would probably be in the mid-40’s and we’d be in the regionals, barring a conference tourney collapse. 13-7 would probably put us just outside, in the low 50’s RPI. But, there are plenty games left to get hot and have a good season. It's what I hope for and expect.

Roll Wave!!!

Two days after the spring game, Tulane conducted its final practice of the spring to make up for the one that was rained out twice last week. It's not that rare an event for new coach Willie Fritz, who estimated his teams has practiced 10 or 11 times in his 35-year career after the spring game, but it has not happened at Tulane in the six years I have covered the team.

When I arrived, backup center Keyshawn McLeod was sitting on a trainer's table next to the field with a right leg injury. He had tape on both his knee and his ankle after getting his leg rolled up during practice. Although he told linebacker Nico Marley he was OK when Marley came over to him and asked, he was going to be examined by a doctor after practice. The good news is he has plenty of time to heal over the summer. The bad news is is stinks to get hurt on the last day of drills. Hopefully for his sake, it was not a significant injury and he will be able to participate in all of the offseason workouts.

"I haven't had a chance to see him," Fritz said. "Hopefully it's not serious."

The linebackers did a drill I had not seen in the spring midway through practice. One linebacker had to make contact with another and pretend like he was looking back for the ball as they both moved down the field about 10 yards. The idea was to keep the guy from getting free and establish leverage. They ran it over and over for about 10 minutes, just another example of the attention to detail and fundamentals in Fritz' practices. The defense moved on to its typical tackling drill, with each player getting six reps on the Hawk tackling style Fritz preaches with the shoulder to the thigh. Instead of hitting each other, a trainer rolled a tackling ring and the player had to bring it to the ground with the correct technique. Fritz oversaw the entire drill and was quick to tell players when they had not done it correctly.

While that was going on, the offense worked on option pitches. Both Fritz and offensive coordinator Doug Ruse have commented on the lack of familiarity the quarterbacks have with knowing when to pitch and executing it properly, so the QBs got plenty of work on it.

In team drills, it was the usual suspects on the first and second units. Taris Shenall served as the nickel corner with Dedrick Shy unavailable due to a minor injury. On the offensive line, John Leglue did not practice, so Devon Johnson took his place as the first-string right tackle.

A bunch of players were unable to practice with injuries, although only Andrew Hicks' ACL is a long-term problem. Daren Williams (concussion protocol), Donnie Lewis (pulled muscle), Sam Davis (pulled muscle during the scrimmage), Peter Woullard, Brian Webb and Rickey Preston watched the workout from the sideline.

Tulane's shocking lack of wide receiver depth is evident at every practice when the second team plays and the three guys lined up wide are Devin Glenn, Marshall Wadleigh and Chaz Augustini. They back up Terren Encalade, Larry Dace and Trey Scott.

Darius Bradwell had one of his better days passing, completing consecutive passes to Glenn and Lazedrick Thompson. Bradwell does not like to throw, running on a much higher percentage of plays than Glen Cuiellette or Devin Powell, but he did a nice job of finding the open man on those two plays. Dontrell Hilliard made a nice cut and was off to the races for what would have been a 60-yard touchdown in a live drill. Usually it's hard to judge what would happen in no-tackling 11-on-11 work, but he had enough room and enough speed that it was pretty clear no one would have gotten him in a live drill. A little later, Sherman Badie burst through a hole up the middle and kept going to the end zone, but it was harder to tell if he would have been tackled in a live drill.

The practice ended at 10:02 13 minutes ahead of schedule right after Tanzel Smart got hit on the knee on a rep. He was fine, but I wonder if Fritz decided not to take any more risks of injury when he saw it considering what happened to McLeod.

I liked what I saw all spring in terms of the organization and teaching in practice. I'm not going to rewrite history and pretend I could tell the practices under CJ were bad, but it was very strange last year how the defense always finished its scout-team work last fall about 15 minutes ahead of the offense and then just stood there watching the rest of the practice. They also never practiced tackling unless they were having a live drill, and Fritz works on tackling at least 15 minutes in every practice.

The running backs look great. The quarterbacks looked terrible as throwers with the exception of Powell, who is not world-beater as a passer, and it was impossible to judge how effective they will be as runners, although Bradwell certainly looks the part and runs with authority. The offensive line was not impressive in pass protection during the spring game, but it does look to have made progress on run blocking. The front seven on defense is above average, although I'm not sure the ends are a sure thing as Aruna continues to learn how to play football. The secondary is a question mark with potential. The key is Parry Nickerson staying healthy and playing like he did in 2014 rather than 2015, Donnie Lewis carrying his performance in practice over to games (unlike Richard Allen, who looked good in the preseason last year and looked lost once the games started) and the safeties not making mistakes. Jarrod Franklin makes plays but he also gets out of position. Leonard Davis was terrible two years ago and did not play last year. He has ability, but he still has to show he can do it on game days. At least two of the incoming wide receivers need to play well right away because only Terren Encalade is anywhere close to proven among the returning players. Trey Scott gets open but he needs to finish the play. Devin Glenn is very raw as a receiver and is a small target. Preston did not get much of a chance to show what he could do before getting hurt.

I caught up with Nickerson after practice to get the lowdown on the injury that kept him out of the first three weeks of drills. He is not a talker, but he did reveal the problem was knee soreness, which is concerning since knee issues threatened to derail his career in 2013.

"It felt great to get back practicing," he said. "It build confidence on the defensive side and it built my confidence. I just had a little minor knee ache (earlier in the spring)."

Here is what Fritz had to say yesterday after practice. I also talked to Ruse but will put that as a Q&A on the front page.

What were your thoughts on practicing after the spring game?

"We made some strides. This is my 35th spring and probably about the 10th or 11 time after we've had practice after the spring game. Some of the guys take advantage of it and for some of them it's tough to get them to be tough in this practice. I was impressed with the effort and attitude of some of the guys, and they got better today. Some guys didn't get better today. That's the way it goes."

Can you name one or two guys who stood out on the offensive side and one or two guys that stood out on the defensive side throughout the whole spring?

"It's just hard to mention everybody, but on the offensive line Junior Diaz really impressed me. He had an excellent spring. He finishes plays. He plays hard. He has a bounce in his step every single day. He's a 300-pound guy that runs around like a little guy, which is good. I thought our running backs all had good springs. Badie, Thompson, Hilliard and Josh Rounds all played really well. We have four backs that I think in this offense are capable of being 1000-yard rushers depending on how many times we give the guy the ball. That's impressive. I'm really excited about those guys. I saw a lot of guys get better. I thought John Leglue got better up front.

"Defensively we have some guys who can be very good players over there if they have good attention to detail every single snap. Parry and Donnie can be very good corners, but at that position you've got to be mentally tough every single play. You can't take a snap off. If you play 65 plays good and three bad, ooh, man, it looks like you had a horrible game. We just have to make sure that we're on point every single snap, and that's what we're working with with a bunch of those guys.

"Tanzel had a great spring. He brings it every single practice. He practices like a Division I football player is supposed to practice. It's impressive to watch him go about his work."

What are you the most concerned with exiting spring drills?

"Depth. When you come in and you have to decide what am I going to emphasize, the one thing I wanted to emphasize was our strength and conditioning program. I wanted to get us stronger, so we really lifted heavy in January, February and March. Well our conditioning wasn't that great, and with limited depth, that hurts you. Tomorrow we're having a team meeting and I'm going to explain to our guys we're going to run like crazy this summer. That's going to be a strength of our team, not a weakness, and it doesn't matter if we don't have quite as many guys."

As I had posted previously I had a conflict but I was able to get there for the last 30 minutes of the scrimmage. He said it would be 54 plays and I was there for 32 of them on an overcast and breezy day.

They had refs who Fritz thanked when they left the field. The first drive I saw was led by Cuiellette. The O-Line was left to right Devon Johnson, Leeward Brown Keyshawn Mcleod,KSM and Leglue. The D-Line was Quinn Carroll, Sean Wilson, Smart and Aruna. They started on the north 35 going south. Badie went up the middle for 27. A pitch to Badie lost 2 on the left side. Rounds went up the gut for 5. They then took a break and Bradwell came in. (That was the norm with switches. It was not situational.) Bradwell got 6 on a keeper left. On 4th and 1 Rounds went off the right side for 4. Rounds then went for 4 up the middle. Good pressure by Luke Jackson caused an incomplete pass. Bradwell dropped back again and under pressure tucked it and got 4.

They then started another drive at the 35 going from the south end to the north. Bradwell handed off to Thompson for 2 on the right side. Powell then came in He hit Encalade for 15 on the right side over Richard Allen. Wadleigh lost 2. Walk-On Jared Bertrand gained 2. Powell was then sacked by John Washington to end that drive.

Going from the north 35 Powell pitched to Badie for 12 on the right side. Hilliard then broke a 40 yard run to the 13. The line was Jacquet at LT, Taylor, Diaz, Brown and Leglue at RT. They switched out QB's and the lines on both sides again. Cuiellette came in and Badie got 5. Aruna then tackled Badie for no gain. On the next play Badie scored on an 8 yard run up the middle.

They started at the South 35 going north. Cuiellette was still in. The offense was offsides for a 5 yard penalty. Rounds went for 7 before Eric Thomas stopped him. He then threw a weak pass to Encalade on the left side. Encalade was a couple of yards over the line of scrimmage but ran back to the ball and was promptly tackled for no gain. That ended that drive.

Bradwell came in starting at the south 35 heading north. The O-Line was Jacquet, Taylor, Diaz,Brown, Johnson. The D-Line was Jackson, Edwards,Eldrick Washington and Kennedy. Marbley and Bowie were the LB's. Bradwell kept for no gain. He then pitched to Thompson for a loss of 2. Kennedy then sacked him. He then threw incomplete Chaz Augustini. He has somewhat of a wind up before his release . Thompson then got 5 up the middle. Rounds went for 3 where Edwards tackled him. That can't be pleasant to be pinned under him after the tackle.

The last drive was from the south 35 going north. The line left to right was Johnson,Brown, Diaz, KSM and Jacquet. The D-Line was Staudinger, John Washington, Eric Bell and Kennedy. Harris and Thomas were at LB. Powell overthrew and open Scott deep who was behind Leonard Davis. Marbley tackled Thompson after a 2 yard gain. Bertrand ran for 6 on a run where he lowered his shoulder into a LB and bounced off of him drawing loud applause for his effort. Bertrand followed w/a 2 yard run for the first down. Scott then ran a crossing route from right to left and Powell hit him for 9 w/Tristan Cooper in coverage. On 2nd and 1 the offense went offsides but the coaches had them keep the ball there. The scrimmage ended on a play action pass deep to Glenn over the middle that was overthrown.

It was strictly no huddle w/a good tempo. The lines switched a lot but the first unit on offense is left to right- Jacquet,Taylor,Diaz,KSM and Leglue. On D it's Aruna , Smart ,Wilson and Carroll. Marley and Thomas at LB. Nickerson is back out there after battling a foot injury earlier with Shenall at the other corner. Franklin is at safety. Allen worked at the nickel with Davis also at safety. Obvioulsy the O-Line and QB positions need a lot of work but there is time. Brantley will have a chance when he gets here in the summer especially now that the coaches can have some contact w/the players. Looking forward to it.

Sorry for the delay in getting this up, but I will have spring review content all week here and a Monday practice report up within the hour.

First, here's what coach Willie Fritz and players were saying after Saturday's spring game, which looked very much like most of the practices I covered with the same strengths and weaknesses.

FRITZ

"We did some good things out there. It was really the first time we had live tackling in a scrimmage-type situation. We had so many things to teach this spring—offense, defense, kicking game. We went 72 plays. We don’t have ourselves on the schedule, but it’s good to get out here and compete against each other. We’ll use this for evaluation. There are some guys that are close to a real ball game and really took advantage of it and some that maybe didn’t. We’ll grade it and go from there."

On the play of the QBs:

"We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a long way to go with a lot of positions. There are a ton of things we still need to teach. Each one of them does something a little bit better than the other. One of the things we need to do is take advantage of their strengths and try to hide their weaknesses."

On the running backs:

"We’ve got really good backs. Thompson, Hilliard, Badie and Rounds are Division I running backs. That’s good with the type of offense we need to have those kind of backs."

On Devin Powell:

"He threw a couple of good deep balls. I told some of the guys there’s not a homing device in the football that’s going to take it right to the receivers. You’ve got to go get those deep balls. Obviously he’s got more experience than the other two, particularly in the passing game."

On the value of spring practice:

"It’s just reps, reps, reps. The more we can put them in these kind of a situations with good speed and tempo where they have to make quick, smart decisions when to give and when to pull and when to pitch, it’s better for them."

On the defensive line:

"That’s another position that we’re very deep at. I’ve just been very impressed with those guys. We have six or seven or eight guys that are Division I players on the defensive line."

On the special teams:

"It’s disappointing because those guys have kicked pretty good. There were three teams when we went live with field goals and extra points, and it was a little windy and a little bit deeper than we normally do, but it was good for evaluation purposes. We just have to get better at it."

On spring practice overall:

"I was just very impressed with our guys embracing change, adapting to a new system. It’s different. When you have a new staff come it, it’s totally different than what the last staff did. They’ve got to change and make sure that they’re doing things the way we want them to, and for the most part those guys were really easy to coach.

"If I had to do it over again, I’d have an extra scrimmage a week ago, but we are so thin, it’s difficult to do that. I think we had 52 guys competing today when you subtract the kickers and the punters, so we just don’t have a whole lot of numbers."

On getting long snapper Geron Eatherly to come in the fall:

"I was looking through some lists. I had a friend of mine who had seen him live in a camp. It’s sometimes hard to recruit long snappers based on videotape if you haven’t worked with them, but I have some recruiting experience over in San Antonio. We needed a Division I long snapper. John Leglue’s done a really good job and so has Aaron Golub, but the more, the better."

On value of having long snapper who does nothing else:

"The great thing about it is when you have a guy just long snapping, during pre-practice while we’re meeting the kickers, punters and snappers are doing drills. If you can do that, it’s good to have a guy that just does that."

On importance of having long snapper who is accurate every time:

"You have to have it. It’s so important. A lot of programs are scared to devote a scholarship to it. I’ve always done that every place I’ve been. When I was Division II, I had long snappers on scholarship and junior college, 1-AA and obviously Division I. You don’t know how important it is until they make a mistake, and then all of a sudden it becomes important."

CHAZ AUGUSTINI

On his TD reception:

"I got lucky that play. We just put it in, the defense wasn’t ready for it and we’ve repped the plays for a few weeks now and I was able to come back in and Glen found me. It was a good play."

On the opportunity to get quality reps in the spring:

"It’s been awesome. We don’t have a lot of receivers this spring. We are playing like five, six guys and there have been a lot of injuries. It’s given me an opportunity to get out there. I got a lot of plays today. It was just a lot of fun out there."

On possibility of earning playing time in fall:

"We are really low at receiver, so I’m just trying to help the team out doing whatever I can. I’ve been able to play a ton this spring, and I’m going to keep working hard to help the team."

JOSH ROUNDS

On people not mentioning him when they talk about the running backs:

"That’s part of the game. Some people are going to get more notoriety than others, so that doesn’t really bother me. I just try to come out each year and play to the best of my ability because at the end of the day everything is going to take care of itself. Having a lot of running backs is tough, but whenever you get an opportunity, you try your best."

On getting one more season to show what he can do:

"The redshirt year really helped me out a lot. I’m glad that happened because it gave me an opportunity to get a fresh start. I’m expecting the best and just hoping for the best."

On Fritz having No. 1 rushing team the past two years:

"It gives me a lot of confidence as a running back to know this system was the No. 1 system for running in the country. I trust what they’re saying is going to work."

On what separates him from competition:

"I have a very quick first step and I make decisions fast. That’s what’s different."

ROBERT KENNEDY

On being credited with four sacks:

"It’s been a rough spring, but it’s starting to pay off and I’m improving. We had good coaching. Our coaches helped us with our fast get-offs and our leads steps. We were just playing fast and I was going after it 100 percent full throttle."

DARIUS BRADWELL

On what he needs to work on:

"Just fundamentals, making quick decisions. Over the summer we’ll work on those things and I think I’ll have it down pat."

On getting more comfortable in offense:

"It’s slowing down a little bit. I’m running the same system I kind of ran in high school, but I have a long way to go."

CUIELLETTE


On getting one more practice after spring game:

"I like it. It’s great for me and all of us. Now that we don’t have the spring game, we don’t feel like we can relax and shut it down. We’ll get back to it, learn from what we did today, fix it and get better."

On his TD pass to Augustini in the back of the end zone:

"Me, him and Trey Scott and other receivers would always get together in the winter and last summer and would throw. He always said he just wanted to get a touchdown or just a reception or something, and I gave him both of what he wanted right there. I was really happy that he got in the end zone. He works hard, he’s a great kid and he does all the right things, so I was just really happy for him. Honestly at first the ball came low and I looked and looked. Then I saw him come open and took it.

On his whole spring:

"A lot of learning, but I felt like me and everyone, things gradually went up and up every day. I saw a lot of improvement with everybody."

DEVIN POWELL

On Glenn showing alligator arms for what could have been scrimmage-ending TD pass:

"We had talked about it. He told me he slowed up a little bit. He knows next time he will adjust."

On his experience being an advantage:

"It helps me a lot. I know what’s going on. I know what the defense is running. I know everything. I also have great quarterback coaches teaching me. I understand the game. I’m definitely in the mix. I’ve got to be."

Great hire. It's another example of why Troy Dannen is the best thing to happen to Tulane athletics in ages. No way in the past would Tulane have ponied up the money to convince Stewart to leave a situation hie loved. Dunleavy absolutely, positively needed a guy like Stewart, and he got him.

That's a very good start, but there's still a lot of hard work needed to make Tulane a winner in basketball.

Getting another gem from freshman Ross Massey on the mound, Tulane struggled mightily at the plate again before Jeremy Montalbano crushed the first pitch in the ninth inning for a walk-off solo HR and a 1-0 victory. Obviously the Wave needs to come out of a hitting slump that has reached the epidemic stage, but it still has a chance to keep its perfect record intact in winning series this year.

ROSS MASSEY

Where did that ball hit you in the eighth inning?

"It hit right on the ball of the foot. I felt it when I was throwing some pitches after it, but once I got in the flow of the game again I didn’t feel it after that."

What was working for you?

"I felt like if I just threw strikes they were going to put the ball in play and we were going to make the plays with the defense we have. I don’t think there’s any big secret for pitching with our team. It’s throw first strikes and let them (the defense) work. As you saw today we made some incredible plays."

What was your reaction to Montalbano's home run?

"When he hit it I didn’t even have time to think because it was the first pitch of the inning. When he hit it, I was like another one for Jeremy Montalbano."

What was your reaction when Cincinnati almost hit a home run off you to start the top of the 9th (LF Grant Witherspoon made a jumping catch just in front of the wall)

"I thought it was a home run for sure. Grant Witherspoon makes an incredible play, and I have all the confidence in the world in him. When he jumped up, I knew he was going to catch it."

Did you just get in a good rhythm?

"Once you start getting some outs, you get in the flow and it just starts to go quick. I felt good on the mound. Jake was helping me out from from the back with some pitches. I felt good and I just got in a rhythm."

How good are Hunter Hope and Stephen Alemais defensively?

"They are as good as it gets. They are two of the best in their position in the country. Any time you have the infield like that, as a pitcher it makes it easy."

How big was this win?

"We definitely needed it. After losing three straight we definitely didn’t want to drop a fourth one. This will be a good win for the American Conference standings. We definitely needed it."

LEX KAPLAN (who has three hits in the last two games and is one of the few hitters not in a slump)

What’s wrong with the rest of the team's hitting?

"That’s baseball. You are going to have your ups and downs. We lined out I don’t know how many times today. That’s the game."

Were all the flyouts a sign of being close to getting out the slump or just the way their left was pitching?

"It was how he was pitching. We’re getting a little close. It’s really hard to tell. I’m not really sure."

How big was this win?

"That’s nice to tie the series and come out tomorrow with Alex. He’s a great pitcher. I love playing behind him, and I think we’re ready for it."

How clutch was Ross Massey?

"With all the starters, I trust that they’re going to go out and compete and throw strikes. I love playing defense behind them because I’m not sitting there being all bored all game and I can play the game."

MONTALBANO

Are you OK after the celebration?

"They got a little water on me. I think they ruined my batting gloves for tomorrow."

What were you looking for?

"I was looking for a good pitch to hit. He beat me with the same pitch my at-bat before, so I was looking for something in, thinking it might go there. It went on me and I just put a pretty good swing on it."

You hit a pitch foul over the Hack Shack earlier. Was it the same pitch?

"The one earlier was a changeup, and that one was a fastball. I just kind of jumped all over it."

Do you enjoy coming up in those moments? It's your second walk-off home run this year?

"I’m just relaxed, trying to have some fun. I’m getting a little older, so I try to not put as much pressure on myself."

How much did you need something like this with the way the team was slumping?

"It was pretty frustrating because our offense has been in a little funk recently. We all know we can hit the ball, so hopefully this kind of loosens everybody up so we can come out tomorrow a little loosened up and have fun.

What is holding the hitters back?

"It’s people trying a little too hard, trying to make things happen instead of just playing and letting it come to us."

What was tough about their pitcher?

"He was throwing a lot of strikes. He had some movement. He was a crafty lefty, and he is a good pitcher."

What adjustments have you made due to your elbow injury?

"A little bit. It’s starting to come back to me, but the first week it was kind of hard to get to the outside pitch. It was tightening up on me, but the last week it’s been loosening up and feeling better day by day."

Two things I know for sure:

1) Osetkowski did not leave Tulane because Conroy got fired. He would have left anyway.

2) There was no chance of him returning regardless of who was hired to replace Conroy. He was unhappy at Tulane and wanted a change of scenery. He felt the whole program was dysfunctional from the top on down.

One thing I don't know for sure: how Osetkowski will fare at Texas. The fans claiming he's an average player and won't be missed at all on other sites are just being fans. He would have entered next year as a second-team All-AAC performer on the coaches' list and had plenty of room for improvement to become a terrific post player. But his lack of athleticism is real, so it will be interesting to see how he fits in at Texas and against Big 12 competition. I expect him to do very well, but it's no certainty.

It turns out Tulane will have live tackling in its spring game tomorrow, which should make the day more interesting for fans. After practice today, Willie Fritz explained how the practice would work considering the Green Wave's limited number of offensive linemen (eight) in particular and 54 available bodies overall.

"It's going to be a controlled scrimmage," he said. "We're going to tackle. We are going to stay off the quarterback. We'll go 54 plays. We are limited with our offensive line. We have eight guys. The most reps anybody will have will be 36. Some guys will go 18. Others will play some, and we'll see how it goes. We'll do a kicking game at the beginning, and then go and use this as an evaluation process and see who can do everything as close to a simulated game. It's still not a game, but we will snap the ball, have officials out here and do down and distances, all those things."

Fritz added it would be the offense v. the defense rather than two separate teams.

"What I like about this also is the coaches will be out of bounds," Fritz said. "We will be using our sideline communication with headphones, trying to get us acclimated to those kinds of things as well. We'll see how the quarterbacks take charge without having an offensive coordinator in their ear."

As for today's practice, the quarterbacks finally started making downfield connections. Marshall Wadleigh beat a busted coverage to haul in a 40-yard touchdown pass from Darius Bradwell, who then connected with Devin Glenn on a deep fade that would have gone for a 70-yard score if the drill had been live. Those were the first two plays I've seen this spring where the quarterback threw deep to an open receiver who caught the ball. The only other long gain I witnessed before today involved Larry Dace out jumping a DB for a catch.

Glen Cuiellette had some nice throws, too. He hit Terren Encalade, who definitely is Tulane's most polished wideout, for a 20-yard gain on an out pattern with a perfect throw. He hit Trey Scott on a sideline, route, showing much better timing that earlier in the spring.

There were still some down moments. Bradwell fired a quick out that almost took the head off a special teams player standing on the sideline when it sailed behind Glenn and about five yards over his head. Cuiellette dropped a shotgun snap. But it was definitely the highest level passing I've seen in 13 spring practices.

"There was some good stuff," Fritz said. "I noticed coach (Doug Ruse) put in a couple of new things, which was good. Sometimes you start off and the offense is ahead and the defense catches up and the offense starts tweaking things a little bit. We hadn't gone for a few days. I'm glad we came out here."

Donnie Lewis got hurt during Friday's practice, and Fritz guessed it might be a pulled muscle, so he likely will be out of the spring game. Richard Allen replace him on the first unit, with Taris Shenall lining up as the nickel corner. Parry Nickerson manned the other corner and made a nice break to deflect a Devin Powell pass.

"It's good to have him out," Fritz said. "It's good for our evaluation but it's good for these guys to see what they can do and getting them adjusted to how we do things."

Fritz said Brian Webb would remain on the offensive line in the fall but lamented not getting to evaluate him more there. Right after they moved him from defensive tackle, he pulled a muscle and will not practice tomorrow or Monday.

Robert Kennedy got some reps with the first unit at defensive end today, relieving Ade Aruna. Quinlan Carroll continued to work with the first team in Daren Williams' absence due to a concussion.

Running back Lazedrick Thompson returned to practice today, so he has cleared concussion protocol.

Fritz said the Monday practice after the spring game would be beneficial. Tulane's second practice was rained out this week, creating the opening.

Said Fritz: "Tuesday we'll watch tape and then Thursday and Friday we'll lift weights and then we'll have a SAD (Student-athlete discretionary) period where they will not lift to allow them to focus on their studies."

Guerry he has now been out for a month. He is our starting Friday night pitcher. This is a big issue to our fans. Is he doing long toss? Is he throwing bullpens? Is he throwing off flat ground? Is he throwing off a mound? Please work your sources to get us the information on this topic. Thanks.

The team will practice tomorrow and Saturday. There's no word yet on whether they will make up the practice they missed on Sunday or Monday. We know CJ would have skipped it. We don't know what Fritz will do, but he values every practice as a learning, teaching and evaluating tool.

with the news circulating about the team and the fraternity is there any news to this? Are there any fallouts on campus? How will the school handle what can be a sensitive issue?

I had to do quadruple duty yesterday, writing a spring football story for The Advocate, picking up my son from school, writing a Tulane-ULL baseball preview for The Advocate and covering the Pelicans' final home game for AP, so I did not get a chance to post my practice report. Here it is.

One quick thanks to winwave for posting the links of my Advocate stories about Tulane on the GoTula.net site. I appreciate it. It shouldn't bother me, but it gets under my skin when people on both major Tulane free message boards complain about the total lack of media coverage on Tulane. That's certainly been true of Nola.com, although Andrew Lopez has been out to most of the spring practices this year, but I've written a spring practice story for The Advocate after all but one of the first 12 practices. I've written previews for every Tulane baseball midweek game and weekend series. Either I or Scott Kushner have covered almost every Tulane home baseball game, and I drove to Hammond to cover the SLU game (I'm not going to Lafayette tonight). There were three stories in The Advocate today about Tulane. Not sure what else we're supposed to do.

There were a lot of injured players who did not participate in Monday's practice, the 12th of the spring. Andrew Hicks watched from the sideline on crutches as he begins the long rehabilitation process after ACL surgery. Guard Jason Stewart was out along with defensive ends Peter Woullard and Daren Williams, running back Lazedrick Thompson, defensive tackle Eldrick Washington, walk-on defensive tackle Paul Staudinger and Brian Webb, who either has been moved from defensive tackle to offensive line or was wearing the wrong color jersey as he watched practice. Ed Daniels and WWL were at practice, so I did not get to ask many questions to Fritz and find out about all of the injuries, but we did learn that Thompson has a concussion. That's much better than it being another ankle sprain. Woullard was wearing a boot on his left leg.

I no longer can say I have not seen a deep ball completed for the entire spring. Third-string QB Devin Powell (who Fritz does not consider a candidate for the starting job) connected with Larry Dace on a 40-yard pass, with Dace elevating to catch it in front of I believe safety Leonard Davis, although there was a cornerback whose number I did not catch in the area, too. The play drew loud cheers from the offense (Fritz has the defense players on the press box sideline and the offensive players on the other sideline during team drills) on the sideline. I'm not sure they had seen a long completion before that one, either. When it comes to pure passing, Powell is clearly the best of the three quarterbacks, but when it comes to everything else, he's third.

Glen Cuiellette had a decent day. He completed a downfield pass to Devin Glenn and hit Dace on a short out. Darius Bradwell rarely threw, choosing to run up the middle a lot (and it is hard to judge the result since contact is not allowed).

Running back Dontrell Hilliard continues to impress. I guarantee you one of my over-under categories in the offseason is going to be whether he can gain 1,000 yards. Showing the value of the triple option and why the running game will be more successful this year even if the offensive line is bad, Hilliard raced up the middle for what would have been a long touchdown even if the drill had been live because both linebackers thought the QB still had the ball on an option play. By the time they realized Hilliard had it, he was streaking down the field. A couple off coaches congratulated him as he headed to the sideline after his run.

Cornerback Parry Nickerson practiced for the second straight time, something Willie Fritz really wants to see. He believes Nickerson can become a special player again like he was as a freshman before a significant sophomore slump, but he wants to see him in action this week to get a better handle on him. Nickerson did all of the individual drills and played with the second unit in 11 on 11 work, with Richard Allen and Donnie Lewis continuing to play on the first team.

The first-team offensive line was the same as usual, and Kenneth Santa Marina's move to guard appears to be permanent. I talked to him and Fritz about the switch and will have those quotes at the end of the report. With Stewart unable to practice, Chris Taylor did double duty on the second unit, moving to right guard from left guard. Todd Jacquet did double duty at right tackle on the second unit, with Devon Johnson playing left tackle. I would be more comfortable with Jacquet at right tackle than left tackle on the first unit, but Alex Atkins knows what he is doing and appears to think Jacquet is the best option at left tackle. We'll see what happens after the coaches evaluate the tape in the summer.

Quinlan Carroll continued to practice with the first-team defensive line in Daren Williams' absence. Williams is another player with a concussion.

With Eldrick Washignton out, John Washington got reps with the second unit at defensive tackle alongside ends Luke Jackson and Robert Kennedy. The one guy I have noticed during the spring is tackle Eric Bell, so I'll double check Wednesday to see if he's still out there. Tulane has seven scholarship tackles, so it's easy to get lost in the shuffle there.

Although Nico Marley and Eric Thomas are the clear starters at inside linebacker, I'm intrigued by the competition for the backup spots. Zachery Harris, Eric Bowie, Rae Juan Marbley and William Townsend have all had their moments this spring, so I caught up with linebackers coach Michael Mutz to get the lowdown.

On Marley and Thomas:

"Both those kids are very passionate about football. They enjoy coming to work every day and I enjoy working with them. They are really good kiddos. My job is to help them become the best players they can become, and they put the work in and the time in, so I'm very appreciative of that."

On Marley's unique style:

"He's such a unique talent because you don't want to take away from those outstanding instincts he has and still teaching him to play within the framework of the scheme and what he is asked to do. He's a good playmaker, and we need to have him be a great playmaker for him in the fall."

On Harris:

"Zach's a really natural player. He's a very smooth auditory learner. You can tell him something or show him something and he can pick it up, which is absolutely critical in football. Because he picks up things so, fast, he's got a very bright future. Right now he is playing the Will, but once we get to the fall camp we are going to cross train everybody so everyone can feel good about every spot in the corps."

On Bowie:

"Eric's been a pleasure to work with. He's got good speed. He's tough. He hangs on every word in the meetings. He's physical, and he's been very impressive in the special forces stuff when we've done that. It means he's unselfish and he cares. He always makes me smile, so I'm glad he's around. He's actually playing the Buck and the Will, so he's got to be pretty versatile."

On Marbley:

"Rae Juan's another kid that loves football and is always into the meetings mentally. He's real physical. When he hits you, you feel it. He's a smart kid as well. He can pick stuff up. If somebody made a mistake, he can coach them. He's got a very bright future. He's playing Mike backer."

On Townsend:

"Willie's another really smart kid. Obviously having that back end experience is a huge blessing. He's playing both Buck and Mike for us, and so there's a lot on his plate. He handles it great, and he knows where to go and when to go. He's another kid that I'm enjoying working with."

Overall feeling:

"We've gotten a lot better from practice 1 until now. Obviously it's a lot different schematically than in the past, so we've taken it slow. We're just trying to master those basic fundamentals, and we're a much better linebacker corps now than we were when we started. We've really got to keep our foot on the accelerator in the summer to take another step because you can grow quite a bit in the summer."

On how veterans like Marley and Thomas have adjusted to scheme change:

"I thought they were well coached last year, so it's easier. The terminology is a little different, but a lot of the techniques are similar, so you just try to marry it up. Hey, you guys played it like this last year, and we're going to play it like this. They've got so much experience, it clicks and they get it.'

Just returned from the game. Very nice evening here in Lafayette. Pitching continues to be a problem. Coach Pierce should have taken the starting pitcher out two innings earlier than he did. He was getting hit hard.Both teams had 8 hits but UL had base runners and we did not.

One strange play, with a Tulane runner on second, the batter hit a dying line drive to right field. Right fielder caught it and the runner was doubled up as he was headed home. There was no third base coach on the field to direct the runner. Weird.

Weak performance by inch hitters as well.

Still a lot of work to do with the pitching staff.

I caught up with junior offensive lineman Kenneth Santa Marina after practice on Monday to see how the transition was going from tackle to guard, where he has lined up with the first unit since Tulane returned from spring break.

They have you playing guard. How has the transition gone?

"I've never played guard before, but it's a good transition. It's kind of similar, but now I have more help on the inside. At tackle you're usually on an island by yourself. It's not bad. I'm doing great at it and continuing to get better at it."

When did they approach you about the move?

"It was kind of in the beginning to the middle of the spring. After a couple of practices, the coaches told me they were going to try me at guard and see how that goes. I guess everything's been going great because I'm still at it."

What's the hardest part?

"The hardest part is really the pass protection, really shortening my slide, and also kicking back. At tackle I kick back way further than I do at guard, so I have to shorten it a little bit and try to get the tackle mentality out of my head."

How much fun is it for you just to be out here knowing you'll have a chance to play, unlike last fall when you were suspended?

"It's the best thing of my whole entire life. I just have to get back at it. It's been two years since I've been out there, and now I'm back out here."

Did you know you would be back in good graces with the coaching transition, or were you worried?

"Throughout the whole way I kept my head on straight and continued to move forward. Even thought the stuff in the past affected me, I'm getting better at that so I'm able to stay here and get better with the new coaching staff."

What was it like practicing when you knew you couldn't play last year?

"It was terrible. It was really terrible being out there trying to get better and having in your mind I'm practicing but I can't do anything each week."

I know you didn't think it would be this long before you put yourself in position for major playing tine when you got here as a highly rated recruit. How eager are you to be a starter this year?

"I'm ready to get out there right now. I want to get out there the game tomorrow pretty much, but I have to have faith a little bit. Two years ago I was in the rotation as a blocking tight end, but now if I'm out there for a full game, it will be the best experience of my life."

Do you see a dramatic difference with the new coaching staff? The offensive line did not play well last year.

"Yes, coach Atkins is going to be great. Learning his technique and going over it in the locker room every day and going over it in meetings, you have to bring it from meetings to practice and practice to team and team to the game. That's what he tells us."

What is Atkins like?

"He's a great coach. I love him. I wish he were here a little earlier."

What are the biggest differences between him and what was going on before?

"The difference would be probably pretty much the technique. Some of it is similar, but coach Atkins wants to keep everything tight and vertical where the old coaching staff, everything was more of an NFL style. This is more of a college style."

What is your best asset?

"It's hard to tell because I really don't key into what I'm really strong at. I always key into the weakness and try to get that better and match everything else."

Did you consider leaving last year or after last year?

"No, never. I'm going to get my degree here."

Doug Stewart from Nevada.

http://www.rgj.com/story/sports/col...-doug-stewart-leaving-nevada-tulane/82899560/