Since we are a man down someone will have to step up.

We have three remaining LB's who played defensive snaps against USA in Small, Machado, and Grubbs. We had one who played special teams in Eugene.

Outside of those four we have one RS freshman, Taylor Love. I don't think we have heard much about him during his time at Tulane.

We have three true freshman...Joseph, Williams, and Agu. Joseph went thru spring ball so he may have a leg up on the other two but who knows.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I think Machado and Grubbs can handle things but we need quality depth in the rotation. Small played a handful of plays and looked really tiny out there. He got a block in the back penalty on the Douglas INT. Outside of that I don't remember much out of him. I don't recall Eugene getting many reps on defense last year so he is an unknown.

We may see Eugene and Small handle the back up rolls until one of the freshman can get up to speed and gain the coaches trust. Maybe Small will turn into the next Nico Marley. Regardless this is a position of concern at this point.

Are we going to have one? Last weeks results?

Big game Guerry. Are you going to do one of those for it?

That was a very good opener for Tulane. Yes, there was a really bad stretch for about 10 minutes spanning the end of the second quarter and the start of the third, and the tackling was shoddy at times, but those were typical first-game issues that can be corrected. Willie Fritz teams usually tackle well, so if you're going to do something poorly, it might as well be in an area he has proven he can fix.

The game played out pretty much as I expected. Michael Pratt was brilliant, throwing one gorgeous deep ball after another to the most talented group of receivers Tulane has had in the Fritz era. The defensive line was active, with Patrick Jenkins coming up huge. The running backs were so-so. Makhi Hughes ran the best in the second half, but he also missed the blitz pickup that led to Pratt getting crushed on a sack and fumbling right before halftime, and he ran the wrong way in the second half, forcing Pratt to improvise and run himself. That will continue to be position by committee against Ole Miss, but remember, South Alabama, which ranked third nationally in rushing defense a year ago, is much better against the run than the Rebels. The Jaguars were vulnerable in the secondary, and Tulane took full advantage with an excellent plan and good play-calling. The flea flicker was perfectly executed at the exact right time after South Alabama had pulled with 7.

Quite honestly I don't know a whole lot about Ole Miss, which hung 73 on Mercer, but I like Tulane's chances next Saturday. It will depend on whether the Wave can slow down the Ole Miss offense because Tulane is going to score in the 30s at least.

Here is what Willie Fritz and four players said after the game. They were clearly very confident all week going into the game, and it easy to see why after the fact. They knew they were the better team and would win as long as they went out and executed.

FRITZ

"We made a lot of mistakes tonight. I'm sure they are going to look at it and say they might quite a few mistakes as well, but you'd rather learn from a win than from a loss. We did a good job other than one time giving Michael Pratt a lot of good time in the pocket. That enabled him to throw the ball down the field. We've got good speed on the perimeter with 'Quan and Lawrence and Dontae and Chris Brazzell, so we've got good wideouts. The passing game for us was outstanding. We wore them down a little bit in the second half and started running the ball effectively, and the key was takeaways when we needed to on defense also. Decent job, it was good coming on and off the field, but that's one of the disadvantages the college game has with the pro game is we don't get preseason games and a chance to tackle for real and all those kinds of things. We did not tackle very good on defense, but we'll get that fixed."

On Pratt going 14 for 15 and improving as a passer:

"He's gotten better. I just think that having the same offensive coordinator two years in a row makes a big difference, but a lot of it has to come down to the offensive line giving him that time with Cam Wire and Prince Pines and Sincere Haynesworth and Josh Remetichn and Rashad Green. Those guys played the majority of the snaps, and we had a good pocket the majority of the night for him to step up and throw."

On containing South Alabama quarterback Carter Bradley (he went 23 of 30 for 190 yards but his longest completion was 20 yards and he rushed for minus-11 yards on 9 carries factoring in five sacks.):

"Coach (Shiel) for the first time called the game here. It was the first time I've been on the headphones with him, and he does an excellent job of making calls at the line based on the formation, alignment, splits rather than just a call sheet. It's a little bit of organized chaos. He did a good job of putting us in some good stuff."

On Pratt's health status after limping in fourth quarter:

"He's fine. He just wanted to see if anyone would notice."

On the flea flicker TD:

"Yeab, the trick play, we run a lot of that speed sweep with Lawrence, so it's a pretty good play. We run it a bunch, and then we had a bunch of guys touch the ball. A good job by Slade (Nagle) dialing it up at the right time. It was right after a first down. He didn't think they would be in a pressure-type situation. Clean pocket again. Wide open."

On Keys as an asset:

"He's really just a dynamic player. He's got great speed, great quickness, change of direction, hands, he can cover punts. He's a good kick returner. He's a good blocker out on the perimeter. He's just a really good overall player."

On looking good despite not having benefit of preseason game:

"I thought our timing was really good. What happens is when you have to block on the perimeter and sustain blocks, angles, leverage. We tackled poorly. Who's the outside fitter, who's the inside fitter. We screwed up on some of those. Until you tackle live bodies, you can do all those drills and throw all those rings all over the place, but tackling a 200-pound guy running at you is a little different thing. We're going to get better at that."

On importance of sequence of fumble and quick touchdown to start game:

"Yeah, it gives you a little bit of momentum, a little bit of rhythm, getting in there and getting a score. It's a good way to start the game off. It kind of nullifies them starting with the ball initially."

On the mental aspect of Pratt's game:

"He did a good job. We did a really nice job of running the clock at the end of the game. A lot of that's the quarterback. There's a routine he's got to go throw on each play. He should know field zone, he should know down and distance, he should see the play clock, he should see the game clock when both are running, and he did a really nice job of milking the clock. He did a really nice job on our field goals, milking the clock also and snapping the ball with one second on the play clock. Michael did a good job with those things."

On what he saw from the running game:

"Towards the end we kind of wore them out and did a good job of running straight at them. We had some good running plays. Shedro (Louis) came in there, he's a little guy, but he runs with low pad level and did a good job of making some yards. They ran behind their pads. We were much better in the second half, and a lot of that was the push from the offensive line."

On defense forcing four turnovers:

"It's huge. We're always looking for that elusive, perfect game, and part of that is tackling, leverage, all those other kind of things. I think in my career as a head coach when we've been plus-one or better in turnover margin, I've won over 90 percent of the games I coached at all different levels, so that's the No. 1 stat. If you can create more takeaways than your opponent, you have an excellent chance to win."

On Pratt tying school record for career touchdown passes:

"Well, one thing, Tulane's had some great quarterbacks, a bunch of really good quarterback over the years, so for him to be tied for the all-time leading touchdown passer, 100-whatever years of football here at Tulane is quite an accomplishment. Patrick Ramsey I believe was a first-round draft pick and a pretty good player."

On Pratt's running:

"He did a good job when called upon, and he even slid one time. I thought that was excellent. I also want to make note before I leave here, Barry Kern called us, a great alum at Tulane, and he gave me a fired-up speech about Mardi Gras and all that kind of stuff. I appreciate Mr. Kern for doing that."

During the game Willie had two separate conversations with the officials during TV time outs. He was very demonstrative and was clearly not happy. I can not ever remember him working ref’s like that during his tenor at Tulane.

Guerry, it would be interesting to find out what all that was about

It's back, and the rules are the same. I select eight games to pick vs. the point spread each week Tulane plays. As always, the Tulane game counts double, home teams are listed first, neutral sites are designated as such and the point spreads come from VegasInsider.com consensus.

Tulane (-7) South Alabama
LSU (-2.5) FSU (Orlando)
Houston (+1.5) UTSA
North Carolina (-2.5) South Carolina (Charlotte)
Washington (-14.5) Boise State
Duke (+12.5) Clemson
TCU (-20.5) Colorado
Michigan (-35.5) East Carolina

I didn't see much of practice today because I had so much to transcribe from yesterday and had some life events interfere yesterday afternoon. I did notice Corey Platt make an interception of Michael Pratt in 11-on-11. I expect Platt to have a huge year. He's really talented.

A couple of freshmen receivers I thought might get a chance to play this year continued to work with the scout team today--tight end Josh Goines and wideout Hunter Summers. They obviously are not in the rotation, so I asked Fritz about his entire freshman class, and he had this to say:

"I really like our freshman class. I really do. At the dog position, outside linebacker, we signed some real quality players there. A lot of years those guys (Matthew Fobbs-White, Jahrie Garner and AJ Thomas) would be playing for us right now. All three of those guys can play for us. I love the three linebackers (Dickson Agu, Jean Claude Joseph, Makai Williams) that we signed. They are all really good players. The secondary, all those guys have got a chance to be really good players for us. Running back wise, I feel good about (Trey Cornist). The quarterback, Darian Mensah, has good movement. Offensive line, we got some big dudes. All of them have got a chance. A couple of them need to lose some weight, and that's the toughest position for a freshman to come in and play a lot for you. I think they all have a chance. Tight end, we really like Josh Goines. The receiver (Hunter Summers) is solid. Usually when you sign 25 guys, by the time you're done with camp, there's five guys you think are going to have a tough time playing for you or it might be a stretch. I really think every one of these guys has a legitimate chance to either be a starter or a backup for us some day."

I also talked to Dan Roushar for a feature I'm working on about Sincere Haynesworth, addressing a few other topics as well. Roushar tells it like it is in interviews.

ROUSHAR

On what makes Haynesworth the player and leader he is:

"Well, he's a tremendous worker, so immediately as a leader he displays it with those traits of being a phenomenal worker, and the players respect that. Everybody does. He's a highly intelligent player. He directs everything. He's very passionate about the game. He cares deeply about the team having success. His own individual success is not nearly as important as the team's, so with that he is just a phenomenal leader because first off, how he does things, but secondly, the passion and high level of interest he has in us having success."

On overcoming concerns about his height (6-foot-1):

"For starters, he carries a good body weight, he's got really good length and he's got big hands and he's super smart, so that gives him an opportunity. I think he's really improved a lot from last spring to now, and I know that just the feedback I've gotten from the scouts that have been in here, they have all been really impressed with what he's done."

On how much he can help himself this year:

"The most important thing is he plays at a high level because that's really what they are going to evaluate. Then, when that opportunity comes for that further evaluation, the in-person stuff, they are obviously going to be evaluating his flexibility, his agility, his ability to change direction quickly and then they'll be able to feel the strength of his hands, the length of his arms, his ability to stay in balance, and those are the things that they'll have to make decisions, but the biggest thing is his body of work, what he does in the first game through the entire season and just showing his ability to play at a higher level."

On being able to do it all:

"It's the game. You can't just be really good in one area and really low at another. He's got the excellent balance between being a very good run blocker and a very good pass blocker, and that bodes well for his future."

On overall O-line:

"I guess we'll really find out what we look like in about 72-plus hours. Right now there's been moments where you see some really encouraging things. There's just too many inconsistencies right now and I'm anxious to see us play against a really good run front (South Alabama finished third nationally in rushing yards allowed a year ago), so it will tell us a lot about our ability and where we're at right now."

On Cam Wire needing to be more physical:

"I saw progress, and yet it's still not consistent enough for him to play where he wants to play. But he's working hard at it. He's aware of it. He's had the best camp at left tackle, so he's our left tackle."

On his missing some time with an injury during camp setting him back a bit:

"It did. Those days off, you don't get better not being out there, but to his credit he stayed in it mentally. He's been really sound with what we've been doing from that standpoint. He's making all the right decisions. He's aware of the calls we're making and what we're doing, so I feel really good about that."

On how close Remetich and Hurst are at right guard (Hurst got a few reps with the first unit Wednesday, although Remetich got the majority):

"Shadre's had a phenomenal camp. I feel really comfortable with him at either guard right now, and he's earned the opportunity to play, so the competition is significant. Rem's had a really good camp, too, and his experience has showed up, and Shadre just continues to push. I'm really encouraged with where he's going to be. I feel like Shadre can give us good depth at both right and left guard."

Tulane is on its normal game-week schedule, which meant no interviews or practice availability on Monday, and they moved today's workout to the Saints indoor facility.

While I wait for the Tuesday presser, here is my projected offensive depth chart.

QUARTERBACK

1) Michael Pratt
2) Kai Horton
3) Justin Ibieta

Comment: Pratt is a winner who gets the job done even on days when he does not do everything right. Horton struggled down the stretch in preseason camp, but Ibieta is still working his way back from labrum surgery so I believe Horton will hold on to the No. 2 spot.

RUNNING BACK

1) Shaadie Clayton-Johnson
2) Iverson Celestine
3) Arnold Barnes
4) Shedro Louis
5) Mahki Hughes

Comment: That listing means nothing other than the order I think they will play against South Alabama, although Louis, the best receiver in the group, could get in earlier than fourth. I watched every open practice in the preseason except for one and genuinely have no idea how this race will play out once the games start. I guess I like Clayton-Johnson and Louis the best, but all of these guys will get a chance to prove themselves and since there is zero tackling in the preseason except for the two scrimmages, I don't have the answers on what will happen.

WIDE RECEIVER

1) Lawrence Keys, Jha'Quan Jackson and Chris Brazzell
2) Dontae Fleming, Yulkeith Brown and Phat Watts
3) Bryce Bohanon, Jalen Rogers and Garrett Mmahat

Comment: The starters are iron clad at this point. Fleming dropped off a bit after a hot stretch in preseason camp but certainly will get an opportunity to contribute. This is easily the deepest receiver corps in the Fritz era, but I don't know if they will go past six in terms of significant playing time. Having said that, the feature on Mmahat I posted yesterday at NOLA.com was not a fluff piece. History says he will not have a significant role, but my eye test says he deserves a shot because he. made a lot of plays in practice this past week and is not slow. The issue for him will be all the little things that go into playing a position he never played until a few weeks ago.

TIGHT END

1) Alex Bauman
2) Reggie Brown
3) Chris Carter

Comment: I have a weakness for tight ends, but I stick to my belief Bauman can lead the team in catches this year. Pratt trusts him, and he gets open. If anyone here is active on the YOGWF board, you can let them know my failure to mention Blake Gunter was simply an oversight, not a reflection of his status on the depth chart. That was a topic of conversation there a few days ago because I listed Goines but not Gunter.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Starters: Cam Wire at LT, Prince Pines at LG, Sincere Haynesworth at C, Josh Remetich at RG, Rashad Green at RT
Backups: Trey Tuggle at either tackle spot, Shadre Hurt at either guard spot, Caleb Thomas at C.

Comment: if Wire, whom LSU observers say did not play physical enough there, lives up his ability level and body, Tulane will have one heck of a left side of the line because Pines and Haynewsworth are the real deal. Starting linemen pretty much play every down, but you need one quality backup at guard, tackle and center in case of injury and the Wave appears to have that. Hurst could push Remetich.

Nice video with Pratt

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It was a rough day for the Tulane receivers today--possibly the result of it being the first practice after classes began and it being really, really hot as the team worked out until 10:45 am--an hour later than during preseason camp, when practices started earlier. At one point, wide receivers coach Derrick Sherman gathered the group together and lit into them, clearly not accepting the drop-off. This stuff happens at some point every August at nearly every position, but it will be interesting to see if the players respond tomorrow.

The struggles for the receivers started in 1-on-1 drills, when Jarius Monroe outfought Chris Brazzell to knock away a pass and let everyone know about it afterward. Phat Watts dropped a deep ball a little later before freshman Hunter Summers beat fellow freshman Jai Eugene deep. Summers looks smooth when he runs, but freshman wideouts have not contributed regularly in the Willie Fritz era.

Easily the most productive receiver in a 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills was walk-on Garrett Mmahat, who is not expected to be in the playing rotation but has been surprisingly good after shifting over from quarterback during camp. In a segment with a high percentage of incomplete passes, MIchael Pratt found him open three times for decent gains. Lawrence Keys could not quite catch up to a pass from Pratt against Rayshawn Pleasant, and a throw to Dontae Fleming, who had a quiet scrimmage after a big week of practice, did not connect with Eugene defending. Hampton then broke up a pass for Yulkeith Brown.and Lance Robinson stepped in front of a Kai Horton pass for Fleming and returned it all the way to the end zone. Fleming looked like he would make a long catch a little later, but Pleasant tipped it just before it arrived. The 7-on-7 segment ended with Justin Ibieta throwing low for Luke Besh. After an outstanding start to camp, Horton has slowed down considerably, but since Ibieta is not 100 percent physically, Horton probably will hold on to the No. 2 spot. Pratt looked very good for most of camp, and the issues today were not related to him.

DJ Douglas practiced with the first unit at free safety today and it looks like he will be the starter there against South Alabama. The starting linbackers were Tyler Grubbs and Corey Platt, but I still think Jesus Machado will end up being the second starter there rather than Grubbs, with Jared Small getting playing time as well. Grubbs has changed his jersey number to 13 from 52 because he wants to be eligible for a role as short-yardage back, which he could not do if he kept No. 52 since that also is Sincere Haynewworth's number and having two guys playing at the same time with the same number is an automatic penalty. I am not sure they will use Grubbs in that role, but he wants to make it possible. I'm pretty confident the other starters on defense will be Devean Deal, Patrick Jenkins, Eric Hicks and Keith Cooper, and Kam Pedescleaux definitely will be the starting nickelback unless he gets hurt, with Robinson and Monroe starting at cornerback.

The defensive tackle depth is back to full strength. Kam Hamilton, who has been out for a couple of weeks, and Noah Taliancich practiced today.

The scout-team offensive line had Noah Gardner, Lajuan Owens, Ethan Marcus and Darion Reed on it.

All of the advertising signs and the bowl appearance signs have been taken down in the stadium. Not sure if this is temporary or not.

Tulane conducted its last practice before game week arrives with a Friday morning workout at Yulman Stadium, and it was another scorcher (thought not as stifling as the previous three days). Defensive ends Keith Cooper (in uniform but without a helmet) and Angelo Anderson (sick) were not there, giving some guys who normally do not get reps with the top two units a chance to move up. Redshirt freshman Gerrod Henderson got some time with the 1s, and Michael Lunz worked with the 2s while Noah Taliancich shifted from tackle to end as well and had some first-team reps. Cooper and Anderson should be back Monday or Tuesday, but the Wave has a wealth of options up front with easily the best depth in the Willie Fritz era.

Kai Horton continued to struggle after a strong start to preseason camp. In a situations last-second drill, after spiking the ball with 6 seconds left on the clock, he threw a pass that went right through the hands of cornerback A.J. Hampton with 2 seconds left and then got picked off a deflection by linebacker Jesus Machado. Fritz praised Machado for his alertness as the defense went to the sideline.

I left him off my defensive depth chart and analysis story for The Advocate, but Parker Petersen earned a few reps with the first unit at tackle again and cannot be discounted. He might get some downs as players roll in and out during the hot September games. Later, Maxie Baudoin joined him on the second unit.

This is how I view the defensive depth chart entering game week:

JOKER

1)Devean Deal
1A) Darius Hodges
3)Matthew Fobbs-White

Comment: Deal likely will start against South Alabama, but he and Hodges will get equal time until one shows he is better than the other.

DEFENSIVE END

1) Keith Cooper
2) Angelo Anderson
3) Michael Lunz or Gerrod Hendeson or Noah Taliancich

Comment: Cooper is the frontrunner. Anderson needs to prove he can make more plays than he has in the past.

NOSE TACKLE

1) Eric Hicks
1A) Adonis Friloux
3) Maxie Baudoin

Comment: Hicks is super reliable. Friloux is a beast. Both will play a lot but if Friloux is 100 percent as Fritz insists, it will be tough to keep him out of the starting lineup as the season progresses.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

1) Patrick Jenkins
2) Kam Hamilton
3) Noah Taliancich

Comment: Jenkings is poised to have a huge year. Hamilton and Taliancich are productive when they play, too. Taliancich, if he can stay healthy, is better than a third-string guy and could play multiple spots.

LINEBACKER

1) Corey Platt and either Jesus Machado or Tyler Grubbs.
2) Machado or Grubbs and Jared Small

Comment: The top three will play equally, but Platt is the best cover guy of the trio while Machado and Grubbs are may be better overall than Platt right now. Small has come on in the last two weeks. Good group.

CORNERBACK

1) Darius Monroe and Lance Robinson
2) A.J. Hampton and Kiland Harrison

Comment: Because he has been shaky in coverage on quick-hitting throws in the past, I've probably been too harsh on Robinson, who is excellent against the run. He will start, but Hampton will play a lot.

NICKELBACK

1) Kam Pedescleaux
2) Shi' Keem Laister

Comment: I really like Pedescleaux. Apparently Andre Sam has been impressive in LSU's camp, but to my eyes, Pedescleaux is an upgrade on how Sam looked in the spring.

STRONG SAFETY

1) Bailey Despanie
2) Tahir Annoor

Comment: I have no idea whether Despanie or Annoor are ready to be starters. We will find out in the first few weeks. Annoor, who also can play nickel (as can Despanie), looks to be a good blitzer, for what that's worth.

FREE SAFETY

1) DJ Douglas
2) Darius Swamson

Comment: The exact same thought here as at strong safety. I just don't know, although Douglas had a strong last two weeks.

FRITZ

"As the head coach or any of the coaches, you are always concerned about have I gotten everything in situationally. We consider ourselves situational masters, and there are so many different situations and scenarios in games that it's hard to get them all in, but we think we are in pretty good shape with all of them. Good job with depth. We have a lot of new coaches on staff, so they are also feeling out the depth chart as well."

On transition from camp to getting ready for South Alabama:

"We're taking this weekend off, so the guys will get Saturday and Sunday totally off and get treatment if they need to come in and get treatment, and then we'll start in our game-week practice. Monday we have a light practice and then Tuesday and Wednesday we get after it and then cut back a little bit on Thursday, then we cut back a bunch on Friday. I'm not a fast Friday guy like some people who like to take Thursday off, go fast on Friday and then play a game on Saturday. All the guys I've had that have done that and gone on and played pro ball have not liked it a bit. They don't feel like they are prepared to play the game. We're going to conserve our energy on Friday and use it all out there on Saturday when we play the game."

On linebackers:

"Corey and Jesus have played a lot of football for us. They both played over 300 snaps last year as linebackers. We were fortunate we were able to get them in a bunch of games. Tyler Grubbs was an All-Conference player at Louisiana Tech and played a bunch, and Jared Small was getting ready to start at linebacker at LSU when he tore his ACL. Those are four guys that maybe on paper it doesn't look like they have a ton experience other than Tyler, who's new to our system, but in reality they have a lot of experience."

On how they mesh:

"I think good. When we get into a game we're going to rotate guys, so you've got to be able to master your position. The one position where probably the left hands needs to know what the right hand is doing and having reps doing it is probably offensive line, but I don't feel that way about linebacker."

On Kentrell Webb's status:

"It's undetermined right now. We're hoping that we get him back here in a while."

On Garrett Mmahat moving to receiver from quarterback and looking good:

"One day our personnel guy, who shares my last name (Wes Fritz), said why don't we play him at receiver. I started thinking about it and we put him out there at receiver and he really has taken to it. I don't even know how much receiver he's played (Mmahat, a four-year starting QB at Brother Martin, had said none a few minutes earlier when I talked to him). He's really smart. He's doing a good job running routes. He's got good speed. He's kind of showing up every day in practice, so he's going to get his reps increased as we go along. He's certainly taken advantage of the opportunity."

MMAHAT

On how the move to WR happened:

"They came to me early on in camp and asked if I'd be interested and it would be a way for me to get on the field, so my viewpoint on that was I'll do anything to get on the field, so I was very blessed that they gave me this opportunity to be on the field and I'm just trying to make the most of it so far."

On wide receiver experience:

'I have no wide receiver experience other than playing backyard football with my friends."

On hardest part:

"The hardest part is just getting used to blocking and running routes. What helps me from quarterback is knowing the spacing on the field and trying to get open. That's what's kind of been the most natural feeling so far. It kind of feels like playing backyard football with my friends, but I still have a lot to work on. I just want to earn these guys' trust and do whatever I can do to help."

On Derrick Sherman singling him out as the only productive receiver during Tuesday's practice:

"It's a great feeling. Coach Sherman's helped me so much and all the guys in the wide receiver room. They took me in and helped me so much. They are really the guys that deserve all the credit for my success fo far. I'm just blessed for them to be able to accept me."

On getting real reps in practice instead of being consigned to scout team:

"It's a great feeling. Last year I would go down on the scout team and do whatever the team needs me to do. This year I've got a different role and am going to try to do it to the best of my ability."

On if he had offers coming out of Brother Martin:

"No sir."

On the immediate transition to receiver:

"We kind of sprinkled it in a couple of practices and I guess they liked what they saw and they told me a couple of practices later I was fully moving."

On his dad, Kevin, who pitched for Tulane and made the Major Leagues with the Yankees:

"He's my role model. He's my hero, so it definitely feels good making him proud."

I had to take a break from reports while working on the Advocate's piece on Tulane, Georgia Tech and Sewanee leaving the SEC, but I'm back today. Cameron Wire did not practice yesterday or today but did not appear seriously hurt as he walked around the field today observing the single hottest workout in a month full of record-breaking heat. The humidity was off the charts this morning with very little wind. Yesterday, when it was 91 degrees by the end of practice at 10:43, Trey Tuggle was the first-team left tackle. Today it was Matt Lombardi. One backup who likely will not be an option for a while is Sully Burns, who looks to have a more serious injury and has been out for more than a week now. The absence of Wire and Burns has left Tulane with 13 linemen--two short of the number you want to have in practice with two units going against the scout-team defense plus a scout-team offensive line. As issues go, though, that's pretty minor. The second-team offensive linemen were Caleb Thomas, Tuggle, Shadre Hurst and Noah Gardner. The other three freshman and Ethan Marcus were on the scout team.

Freshman Matthew Fobbs-White got some reps with the first unit at defensive end today, but I think that was due to the heat forcing them to rest players. I did not see Angelo Anderson, who was fine at the end of yesterday's practice and whom Willie Fritz mentioned as a potential starter. Safety DJ Douglas, who I wrote a feature on earlier this week, was out there but only taking mental reps behind the defense even though he looked healthy. They have a monitor that tells them when to rest players based on their workload during the week, and he probably reached the limit.

Noah Taliancich got some time at end today after practicing almost exclusively at tackle for a long time, although he moved back to tackle later in the workout. Tulane can go nine deep up front with Devean Deal and Darius Hodges at rush end, Eric Hicks and Adonis Friloux at nose tackle, Patrick Jenkins at the other tackle spot, Taliancich and Kam Hamilton at one of the interior spots and Keith Cooper and Angelo Anderson at end. Fobbs-White and Michael Lunz are pushing for time as well outside, as is Gerrod Henderson inside.

One player who is not in the running is Elijah Champaigne, who lined up with the scout-team defense today. He and wide receiver Hunter Summers are the biggest surprises on the scout teams. Summers has looked good at times as a freshman, but as I pointed out in the last report, freshman receivers have not done much in the Fritz era. None of the other guys on the scout team are names I would have expected to see anywhere else.

They did an onside-kick recovery drill today and got some good work in because Casey Glover is terrific on onside kicks getting the ball to hop up right before it reaches the return team. Lawrence Keys made a nice, clean recovery of a particularly nasty hop in front of him. Chris Brazzell and Yulkeith Brown also fell on the ball cleanly in that drill.

Jha'Quan Jackson returned punts and showed his reliability by racing up to catch a low, short one from Bryce Busch after Busch dropped a low snap and rushed the kick. If Jackson had let it bounce, it might have gone another 20 yards, but that's the type of kick that gets muffed a lot by shaky returners, and he caught it with confidence.

Practice ended at 10:25, 18 minutes earlier than yesterday, and they had cool tubs set up right outside the locker room for players to ice down from the heat. Sincere Haynesworth, the self-described biggest sweater on the team, was ocuppying one of them when I left.

Ryan Griffin , who will be inducted into the Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame, was at practice today. I covered his last three years and talked to him after practice. I will transcribe his interview along with the last two days of Willie Fritz later today and post every word here.

WILLIE FRITZ

"We're very excited about the upcoming season. We've had some good workouts. We really appreciate the people at the Superdome. We've gone down there and practiced three times. We're trying to not go in the heat too much, but we've got to go out in the heat some. Tomorrow evening we're going to practice at night here at the stadium, not really to beat the heat but the first game is going to be at night and probably a couple of others are going to be at night. It's a little different catching punts and kicks and catching passes under the lights as opposed to doing it during the day.

"Michael Pratt is having an outstanding camp for us. This is the first time he's had the same offensive coordinator since he started playing football as a freshman in high school. That should be an advantage for us. I'm really excited about our offensive line. We have five guys that are possible All-Conference type guys in our league. They are doing an excellent job. Best offensive line I've had since I've been here. We are going to have to do it running back by committee right now. We'll see who ends up being the guys and who is going to be the bell cow and get a bunch of carries. I'm excited about our wide receivers, led by 'Quan Jackson and Lawrence Keys. Those guys are doing an excellent job.

"Defensively we're meshing two different systems--what we ran last year and I'm comfortable with and then also what coach Wood has brought in from Troy. He had an excellent defense there last year. We've done a good job of melding the two different styles of defense and I really feel good about our defensive line. We have nine guys (actually eight) who have started at least one game for us. We lost two great linebackers. We had a team outing yesterday to watch the Saints play and got to watch Nick Anderson play a bunch for the Saints. Dorian Williams had seven tackles for the Bills. We're going to have some new guys playing linebacker full time for us, and then in the secondary we lost some good players. This is one of the few times I get to watch our (NFL) guys play. I got to watch Macon Clark, Larry Brooks. We are going to have three new guys (in the secondary), but we're really good at the corner position with Lance Robinson and Jarius Monroe and A.J. Hampton, who was an All-Big Ten selection at Northwestern. I feel good about our kicking situation. Val Ambrosio had a great season for us last year. He went 11 of 12 on field goals. He's just Steady Eddie, and Casey Glover is a great kickoff guy and a really good punter. We added an Australian punter as well and feel good about him, and great snappers in Ethan Hudak and Pierson Parent, who came in from Dutchtown. Just a little bit of an update on some of the positions."

On running back rotation:

"It will probably take us about two or three games to really see. We're going to play probably four backs here early. We'll see who does a good job. It's just so hard to evaluate those guys without going live a whole bunch, and more so in the pass protection than it is with running the ball. We did 79 plays live other than the quarterback on Saturday and we've got tremendous competition there."

On if it is hard to trust a freshman at running back:

"Best man wins. It really is. For me to trust him, it's what do they do with ball security. I tell all these guys I have to trust you the way you carry the ball in practice. If you've got poor ball security, we're not going to play you. And that won't be your (position) coach. That will be me pulling you out of the game, so those guys understand that and do a good job of it in practice."

On when he will install for South Alabama:

"We've worked a little bit, but beginning next Monday that's all we'll do. When we're doing our unit periods against the scout team, it will be all South Alabama's. I usually try to get about 10 practices in of the first opponent, and then you get into your regular weekly routine."

On being ranked in AP poll:

"It's good. Some people say it doesn't mean anything. It means something for our program. It's good. Someone told me this is the first time Tulane has been ranked in the preseason. It's a great deal for us, but the big deal is to be ranked at the end of the season."

On pitfalls of being perceived as the team to beat:

"For me, I don't change anything. I'm very consistent every single day. Our kids notice that. When you've got a target on your back, I hope we go out and play hard regardless of whether the team is undefeated or they've got one game. You always try to play the very best you can week in and week out. I don't think it means as much as some people think."

On if offensive approach will change without Spears:

'I'm glad you brought up Tyjae. I think he had seven carries for 32 yards and a catch (in Tennessee's preseason opener). Boy, he looked good. That's the first two or three games determining what a guy can do. I talked to a couple of the backs today and I said we have all these different play calls and there's parentheses after the play call and that tells who we want to have in the game. If you can't pass protect and we have you out there and you get whipped by somebody blitzing, shame on us. We shouldn't have you out there. If you want to play all the time like Tyjae did, it's because he could pass protect, inside run, run on the perimeter, catch the ball. He was assignment sound, so you didn't have to worry about all that with him. I've had some other guys who didn't want to block anybody. If that's the case, you better not have them in there on a play where they're blocking. Or maybe they are a gifted ball carrier, so you want to have them run the ball. That's what they have to prove to us during practice and the first couple of games--what they can do, and we've got to see what they can't do."

On building off last year while starting from scratch this year:

"Well, it's a totally different team. I've got a bunch of different coaches. On our side of the building I've got 20 and replaced 12. They got some opportunities they felt were better and good for them, but really I think I did a great job of replacing them with some quality people. We really think we have a great, great, great coaching staff, so we're excited about that. This is the 2023 team. I made a comment the other night this is going to be a different team picture. When we got done with the Cotton Bowl, I told them this is the last time all of us we'll be together, and that was true. We had a big parade and a couple of guys couldn't make it because they were in pro camps. This is its own team. This is a different team, no doubt about it."

The people who think an indoor practice facility is the next big step for the Tulane football program will point to today as a perfect example of why the planned facility on a turf field near the Reily Center needs to be constructed pronto. An unexpected thunderstorm halted practice about 45 minutes into a planned two-hour workout, and with lightning remaining in the area an hour later, coach Willie Fritz called off the rest of the workout on the first day of the fall semester.

When I got there, players already were standing under the concourses of Yulman Stadium after the first outburst, with some of the positions doing light work on the concrete. About 10 minutes later it began pouring again, and there was no way to push the time back with classes beginning.

The good news is it is not game week yet. If Tulane is going to lose practice time, the Monday two weeks before the opener and two days after the final scrimmage is probably about the least damaging it could be.

Willie Fritz talked to me after he called off the practice.

FRITZ

On aborted practice:

"We got in about 45 minutes. We would have stayed on the field, but there were lightning strikes. Every time there's lightning, it's a half hour (delay). If there's one in 10 minutes (after the previous one), it's a half-hour. We talked about (moving the workout to either the Superdome or the Saints indoor practice facility), but the last I heard was there was no sign of lightning. We thought there might be a little rain."

On South Alabama:

"Good team. Very well coached and they have a ton of kids coming back. We have to do a super job of preparation obviously, and it's a real quality opponent. They are picked to have a great opportunity to win the Sun Belt, which is a tough old league. They are a good team. They had a great season. I've been very impressed with them on tape."

On beginning to prepare for South Alabama this week:

"A lot. We are going to start doing a lot. We've done a little bit before, but a lot of it has been taking care of ourselves, but we're going to start doing a lot more with just focusing on South Alabama. We traded scout teams today."

On any new impressions of scrimmage after watching video:

"I thought Makhi Hughes was healthy and had a good scrimmage. We did a nice job with pass protection, but it's always hard to tell when your quarterback's not live. But I thought we tackled fairly well, so yeah, it was a good job."

On Shaadie Clayton-Johnson status:

"He was going to be practicing today."

Neither Willie Fritz nor I put a whole lot of stock in overanalyzing the significance of a scrimmage because the quarterbacks are not live, distorting what happens, but the first-team offense was much crisper than last Saturday in the second and final scrimmage of preseason camp. The first series did not go well, with an initial first down ending in a "sack," a tackle in the backfield when Patrick Jenkins clotheslined Iverson Celestine and a forced scramble when MIchael Pratt could not find anyone open, but the other three series produced two touchdowns and a missed field goal.

After a three-and-out for the No. 2 offense against the No. 2 defense, Pratt directed an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that began when he converted a fourth-and-1 on a scramble (which is sort of unfair since the QBs can't be touch). Pratt then threw out of bounds deep for Lawrence Keys before dangerous Liberty transfer Shedro Louis gained 8 yards on a screen, Celestine made a nice cut to pick up 9 yards and Pratt overcame a "sack" by Darius Hodges when he came in untouched on a stunt, handing off to Louis for 12 yards and handing off to Arnold Barnes for 7 yards before Keys brought in a pass with one hand for a 23-yard touchdown after beating Jarius Monroe straight down the field.

The starters were on the sideline for a while after that before a run-heavy drive that featured a 2-yard gain by Celestine on a spin move, a 9-yard Pratt scramble and a 5-yard run by Mahki Hughes on the first three plays. The series bogged down from there when either Shadre Hurst or Rashad Green got called for grabbing a fistful of jersey and not letting go on a pass block, with a third-and-12 pass to Louis on the sideline coming up 5 yards short of the first down. Lucas Dunker, the backup field goal kicker, then doinked a 47-yard field goal attempt off the right upright. Dumker has a stronger leg than Valentino Ambrosio but is not as accurate, although he certainly would have a chance if he were called on in a pinch.

Much later, the first-team offense returned for a two-minute segment that did not have tackling unlike the rest of the scrimmage, and the group took full advangage. With the possession starting at the defense's 43, Pratt hit Chris Brazzell for 17 yards, threw a bullet to tight end Alex Bauman for 21 yards and found Brazzell open again for a 7-yard touchdown on consecutive plays. They tried misdirection on a 2-point conversion but the defense snuffed it out and stopped it easily.

Shaadie Clayton-Johnson, who got dinged up in practice yesterday, was held out of the scrimmage along with wide receiver Jha'Quan Jackson, who appeared to have a hand or wrist injury that Fritz said was insignificant and would not keep him out of Monday's workout. That duo joined Josh Remetich on the sideline, and I did not spot backup tackle Sully Burns or freshman Noah Gardner. Defensively, Kentrell Webb still has not made an appearance in camp. Defensive tackles Kam Hamilton and Noah Taliancich continued to be out. Backup punter Will Karroll also did not participate, watching from the sideline without a helmet.

The morning started with eight live field goal attempts. Ambrosio went 3 of 4, hitting from the middle of the field (likely 34 yards, but I missed the snap), fro 41 yards out on the left hash and from 47 yards out on the right hash despite a high snap before hooking a 50-yarder from the middle he tried to kick too hard. It did not miss by a tone, but it had that classic low, hook action. Dunker followed and was wide right on a 34-yarder from the middle before making the next three from 41 yards on the left hask, 47 yards on the right hash and 50 yards in the middle. The last one bounced off the inside of the right upright and went through, unlike his later one.

There were no apparent injuries during the scrimmage, which is always key. The only guy who got hurt was a refereee who got hit in the legs by backup cornerback Rayshawn Pleasant when he gambled for an interception on an out pass and missed. The referee was down for a minute but continued from there, giving them the full complement of eight officials.

As often happens, my lead guy from the NOLA.com preview, Dontae Fleming, had only one 12-yard catch and was targeted only one other time. If I had to pick the best running back through the two scrimmages, it would be Louis, but after arriving in the summer, he still is a little behind on the playbook compared to the others. I still have no certainty in how the running back depth chart will look by the end of September, with Clayton-Johnson missing an opportunity to solidify his position at the top today. Since Trey Cornist is only playing at the end with an assortment of walk-ons, I would assume he is not in the picture, but he runs hard. Celestine, Barnes, Hughes and Louis have had good moments in camp, but no one has stood out other than Louis, who clearly is the best receiver of the bunch and is shifty as a runner. My guess is they go by experience in the opener, with Clayton-Johnson starting if healthy, Celestine going in second, Barnes third, Louis fourth and Hughes fifth, but I would not bet any money on it. Louis in particular is a wild card.

The first-team defense had the same starting front as almost every other day--Keith Cooper, Eric Hicks, Jenkins and Devean Deal. Corey Platt and Jesus Machado were the linebackers. Kam Pedescleaux, who looks like a really good player, is the top nickelback. Lance Robinson returned as a starting cornerback opposite Monroe after missing Wednesday's workout. DJ Douglas, the returning safety with the most tackles, is having a good camp and is back on top of the depth chart at free safety after spending time there in the spring. Bailey Despanie was the strong safety.

The second-team offensive line was Michael Lombardi, Caleb Thomas, Ethan Marcus, Landry Cannon and Trey Tuggle from left to right. The only other available linemen, freshmen Darion Reed and Lajuan Owens went in at left tackle and left guard later in the scrimmage, with Lombardi shifting to right tackle.

The second-team defense had Angelo Anderson and Hodges on the outside up front with a mishmash of tackles. I saw Adonis Friloux and Elijah Champaigne together, with Parker Peterson getting significant time and Gerrod Henderson getting some reps, too. Jah'Rie Garner got some action at end early, with Matthew Fobbs-White and Michael Lunz rotating in on the outside and AJ Thomas getting some action late.

The second-team linebackers were Tyler Grubbs and Jared Small, who have become the clear No. 2 guys and figure to play a lot. Tahir Annoor was the second-team nickelback, with A.J. Hampton and Kiland Harrison manning the corner as they have all preseason camp. The second-string safeties were Darius Swanson, who has been on the first unit for most of camp, and Kevin Adams (I did not see Shi'Keem Laister). Pleasant and Jai Eugene rotated in later with the second unit at cornerback, with Joshua Moore coming in very late at safety.

Kai Horton, who had a strong start to camp, endured a rough day. HIs first pass was knocked away from Yulkeith Brown in double coverage, and he overthrew Louis on a screen on third down. HIs only other series also was a 3-and-out after Justin Ibieta went in for the second series that featured the No. 2 offense.

The overall talent level at quarterback is much higher than it has ever been. Darian Mensah is fast and has a live arm. Carson Haggard, who looked terrific all the way back in the spring of 2022 when he first arrived before struggling, was very sharp today, too. He had the single best pass of the day--a 28-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Mmahat that threaded the needle, but it did not count because Fritz had blown his whistle anticipating a sack a fraction before he released the ball. To use a phrase that Fritz used a lot earlier in his tenure, all five guys look like bona fide Division I quarterbacks. I never was able to say that in the past.

They stopped the scrimmage for a while to hold a live punting drill. Casey Glover hit his first one 43 yards, then hit a a poor one that ended up going for 47 yards with an 11-yard roll. Third-string punter Brice Busch, moving up to second with Karroll out, hit a 40-yarder and a low 49-yarder. Fourth-string punter William Hudlow, who I had never heard of, hit a 41-yarder before kicking one off the side of his foot and far out of bounds on the fly after fielding a low snap. The referee credited it for 27 yards. With Jackson out, Keys served as the primary punt returner.

I will post a play-by-play in the next thread, with quotes to follow.

Tulane practiced at the Superdome today, so it was not open. Tomorrow's practice will star at 7:30 a.m. at Yulman Stadium, with a full scrimmage after the preliminaries.

Yesterday I talked to Carter Sheridan, the new running backs coach.

SHERIDAN

On getting the job not long before the preseason drills started:

"Man, I'll tell you what, when I was blessed and got the news that I was going to get hired here and I first came on board, it was like drinking water out of a firehose because you've got so much coming at you and typically the coaching hiring cycles are conducted in December-January range. I came in August-July, and it's tough. I accepted the challenge, and I thank coach Fritz for having the faith in me and believing in me to have the task of guiding and coaching a very talented group of backs, but I must say when I got the call it was a no-brainer because me being born here, I was born five minutes from where we are sitting right now. My mother attended school here. My wife works for the Saints and she's now here. My two kids go to school uptown, and when I got the call, I just felt blessed. It was an overwhelming burst of joy for me to have this experience, and I'm going to give coach Fritz everything I have. The first thing I told him was I'm here to serve the coaching staff and players. That's my sole purpose, and that's what I'm going to do."

On Roushar and McMahon recommending him to Fritz:

"We go back. It's a Saints reunion. It's an LSU reunion. I have great relationships with those guys on the staff. I was with coach Dan (Roushar) and coach (Greg) McMahon and we won a Super Bowl together, and me and coach Roushar won a lot of games together. He's always followed me and I've always followed him and kept track of his success. The same with coach McMahon. We were together with the Saints and LSU, so just that bond is bigger than football with us. There's a quote that Joe Vitter, our linebackers coach with the Saints used to say, we are going to win a lot of big games and we'll walk together forever. That's something I really held dearly. At the time you think that's just lip service, but it's the truth. I've known coach McMahon since 2006. That's a long time. We've always had that relationship. Great guy, I'll do anything for him. Also there's the LSU connection working with Tyler Spotts-Orgeron. I learned a lot from him. Very knowledgable, great tight ends coach, so we had that relationship. We always talked ball. We hit it off right away at LSU just with bouncing ideas off of each other and just hearing how cerebral he is with the game. And then (quality control assistant for offense) Collin D'Angelo, I met him when he was working at the personnel department at LSU, and he taught me a lot about recruiting on that level. There's some lessons to this day that I take with me and I employ in my recruiting game. A lot of guys, a lot of good relationships, and that's what this game is all about. It's not always what you know, it's who you know. Who you know gets you there. What you know keeps you there. I'm just blessed to be back home around my family, around my kids, and Tulane is going to get everything I got."

On if he ever thought he would be back after coaching the wide receivers in 2015, the last year of the Curtis Johnson era:

"You never know in this business, man. I'm an anomaly. So rarely in this profession are you able to coach in the same state your entire coaching career. I coached Little League here. I coached high school here. I coached college and professionally in the same state, and that's rare. I'm fortunate and I built a lot of great relationships to allow me the opportunity to be able to do that. I don't have the words. I'm just blessed."

On crowded running back room:

"We're letting it play out. I've told them since day 1. It's a competition. The depth chart is etched in sand, not stone, so they are going to earn their keep. They are going to figure it out. They are going to work. Every day is a competition. It's a wide open competition, and the best man will play. All of them have a unique skill set, but we want a complete back. We don't want to have to take a guy out of the game because his pass protection isn't up to par or his ability to run a wide zone scheme isn't up to par. We want to build the complete back, and that's what I'm preaching to them--be diverse, be a Swiss Army Knife back there. Be an AND guy, not a BUT guy. I keep emphasizing that, and they've accepted the challenge. It's a great room and a great attitude. They try to work on the details. They study, but we're not there yet. We have a lot of holes in our game we've got to fill, but the willingness to work is there, and if they have that, I can work with that."

On first scrimmage impressions:

"I thought it went well. I thought they did a lot of good things to be honest. Shaadie did some good things. He ran the counter much better. He hit it up in there better, showed his physicality. He protected well, he knew his assignment and executed his assignment. Iverson hit the hole hard. He did a great job, played it downhill, he was good with our tight zone schemes, and I was pleased what I saw from him. All of them got six to eight touches, which is good because that's what you want because you are in an evaluation period and you want to be able to see what they can do without a script. Just call it and run it. What are you going to do? The more action you can get like that and just have them playing football, the better, and not knowing what's coming up, what play's next, that's critical. Makhi (Hughes) was hurt, so he did not play at all, and we expect to see him this Saturday. He's going to get some time. He's progressing well. And then Shedro (Louis) did an outstanding job. He had a couple explosive plays. He had a little screen play that went well. He had a wide zone that went well, and I thought Duda (Barnes) did a great job. He's young. He's 17. He's a little immature, but he works. I was immature at 17. That's expected. He caught a screen that he could have scored on, but he slipped. I told him get new cleats. He saiid his were comfortable. But they don't grip. You are going to fall. He had an explosive play, which is good to see, and he ran behind his pads much better. Sometimes he plays with the high pads, but he did a much better job running behind his pads. I like his ball skills. Powerful, downhill runner. The sky's the limit for that guy. Overall I'm pleased with the entire room. They all have a unque skill set. They all have good characteristics and good traits. I can't wait to see what happens, but they are still battling."

For the first time since Saturday, I watched Tulane practice today. It started at 7:30, but I was there pretty early. I skipped Sunday's because that day works worse for me than any other one and I knew it would be a light workout coming off a scrimmage. Monday's was at the Superdome. Tuesday night's was moved to the Dome because of lightning. The team was off yesterday.

I'm not sure any player has made a bigger move in preseason camp than wideout Dontae Fleming. He had an outstanding practice today--his best since arriving in the spring--after flashing in earlier ones as well. He clearly is one of the Wave's top four wideouts now along with first-teamers Jha'Quan Jackson, Lawrence Keys and Chris Brazzell. Then there is a gap to the Yulkeith Brown, Phat Watts, Jalen Rogers and Bryce Bohanon in the next tier. I have no idea how the running back battle is going to pan out, but I'm pretty confident in knowing the receiver rotation, although things could change in the next two weeks.

The funny thing is the first play I saw from Fleming today was a dropped pass over the middle. Willie Fritz already had blown his whistle signifying a sack before Michael Pratt launched one over the middle to Fleming, but I don't think the whistle distracted him. He just failed to make the play, but he made a whole bunch after that and looked smooth doing it. He dominated a red zone drill, beating A.J. Hampton easily to the corner of the end zone for a TD catch from Pratt. Later, he got open on the sideline in a two-minute drill for a big gain on a throw from Justin Ibieta. He looked like the Wave's most polished receiver.

"He (Fleming) had a great day today," Fritz said. "He really knows what we're doing now and has a really good grasp of it. He practices hard, has a great attention to detail. I'm really excited about him. About the last three or four practices he's taken off."

Josh Remetich did not practice today and showed up near the end with a sleeve on his left leg, ostensibly the result of an injury Tuesday night since he was fine at Monday's Media Day. Fritz said Remetich should be back full go Monday.

Another player who was not at practice was cornerback Lance Robinson. Fritz usually does not like to talk about injuries, so I did not ask about him. We will see if he is back for Saturday's scrimmage. Kam Hamilton was unavailable after getting hurt last week, but Noah Taliancich looks close to being able to return to full reps after missing time with a shoulder issue. Meanwhile, I have still have not seen Kentrell Webb since the start of camp.

The first-team offensive line in a situational 11-on-11 drill (they called timeout after each play to have the coaches discuss what happened on both sides of the ball) had Cam Wire, who has changed from 61 to 66, Prince Pines, Sincere Haynesworth, Shadre Hurt and Rashad Green. The wideouts were Brazzell, Jackson and Keys, the tight end was Alex Bauman and the running back was Iverson Celestine.

The second-team offensive line had Michael Lombardi, Caleb Thomas, Ethan Marcus, Landry Cannon and Trey Tuggle.

The first-team defensive line was Keith Cooper, Eric Hicks, Patrick Jenkins and Devean Deal, the same group as for most of camp. It is to the point where I would be surprised if they are not the four starters against South Alabama, with Darius Hodbes coming off the bench. The first-team linebackers were Corey Platt and Jesus Machado, both of whom I expect to start, with nickelback Cam Pedescleaux, cornerbacks Jarius Monroe (still wearing a cast on his left hand after getting hurt in the very first Superdome practice) and Hampton and safeties Darius Swanson and DJ Douglas. Douglas moved up from second team, with Bailey Despanie moving down from first team. Hampton dropped an easy interception after stepping in front of a Pratt pass that floated a little too much.

The second-team defense in that drill had Michael Lunz, Parker Peterson, Adonis Friloux and Angelo Anderson with Jared Small and Tyler Grubbs at linebacker, Shi'Keem Laister at nickleback, Rayshawn Pleasant and Kiland Harrison at cornerback and Tahir Annoor and Kevin Adams at safety. A little later, Despanie and Swanson got reps.

A little later, the defense got some work against scout-team quarterback Alex Wigginton (they have not split into full scout teams yet). The first-team line had the usual suspects, with Lunz rotating in first in place of Deal, and the same players everywhere else except that Despanie was out there in place of Douglas, with Anoor getting some reps at safety, too.

The second-team line had Hodges, Peterson, Friloux and Anderson. Annoor was the nickel.

The defense really busted a coverage in the red zone drill, allowing tight end Keith Carter to score uncovered. That has not been the norm in camp. Keys caught a touchdown pass from Pratt on a nice hesitation route. Rogers made a. nice catch on a pass from Horton that was slightly behind him, beating Harrison.

They did a special teams drill, and Casey Glover has beautiful touch on onside kicks. Fritz praised him for one of his efforts.

Tulane will practice at the Dome tomorrow morning, have the second scrimmage Saturday morning at Yulman Stadium and take Sunday off before school starts Monday and they began preparing for South Alabama.

Hey Guerry-

Are you able to get a list of visitors for this weekend? I was under the impression it’s a big weekend for OV’s based on who I’ve seen confirmed, but was wondering just how many recruits will be here.

Thanks!

Besides Barnes have any of the freshman made an impression during camp?

After going through individual work and a seven-on-seven session this morning, Tulane conducted a full, 74-play scrimmage at Yulman Stadium with plenty of special teams work as well, starting with field goals and including punts, kickoffs and kickoffs returns. in the ninth practice of the preseason. Players who did not participate included Darius Hodges (did not see him), Noah Taliancich, Kentrell Webb, Mahki Hughes and Kam Hamilton, the latter two of whom were in shorts while watching from the sideline. Cam Wire suffered a leg injury early but went back in briefly before being held out.

The first-team offense had Michael Pratt, Shaadie Clayton-Johnson, Chris Brazzell, Lawrence Keys, Alex Bauman, Reggie Brown in a two-tight end set (Jha'Quan Jackson replaced him on the second snap), Wire, Prince Pines, Sincere Haynesworth, Josh Remetich and Rashad Green.

The first-team defense had Devean Deal, Patrick Jenkins, Eric Hicks and Keith Cooper up front, Tyler Grubbs and Corey Platt at linebacker, Kam Pedescleaux at nickelback, Lance Robinson and Jarius Monroe at cornerback, Bailey Despanie at strong safety and Darius Swanson at free safety. Michae Lunz also got some time with the first group at end.

The second-team offense had Kai Horton, Iverson Celestine, Brown, Dontae Fleming, Yulkeith Brown and Jalen Rogers (with Hunter Summers actually getting the rep instead of Fleming on the first play, and Brye Bohanon getting plenty of time, too), Sully Burns Shadre Hurst, Caleb Thomas, Landry Cannon and Trey Tuggle. Matt Lombardi later rotated in as the second-team left tackle. Jalen Rogers also got some reps at wideut

The second-team defense rotated up front a lot but had Matthew Fobbs-White, Elijah Champaigne, Adonis Friloux and Angelo Anderson as one group (I later saw a unit of Jah'Rie Garner, Maxie Baudoin, Parker Peterson and Fobbs-White) with Jesus Machado and Jared Small at linebacker, Shi'Keem Laister at nickeback, Kiland Harrison and A.J. Hampton a cornerback and D.J. Douglas and Tahir Annoor at safety (although walk-on Gabe Liu actually got the first rep instead of Annoor).

The third running back to go in was Arnold Barnes, followed by Shedro Louis and Trey Cornist, and that spot remains wide open in my view. No one stepped up to take it today, although Louis had some nice run against the No. 2 defense. Hughes, who missed almost all of practice last year with an injury after impressing in camp, could not afford to miss today, but he did. I cannot predict with any confidence how the order will shake out this year. Although I expect Clayton-Johnson to get the first crack in the opener against South Alabama, performance in that game will determine the pecking order. I just don't see how you can really judge running backs outside of the two scrimmages that have tackling to the ground, and no one separated himself today in my eyes. The defense got consistent penetration after the first couple of series, making it tougher to judge them.

The day began with eight live field goals attempts. Valentino Ambrosio went 3 for 4, hitting from 35 yards out in the center of the field, hitting from 40 yards out from the left hash, missing wide right from 44 yards out from the right hash and connecting on a 48-yarder from the middle. His holder was Casey Glover and the long snapper, of course, was Ethan Hudak. Lucas Dunker then went 2 of 4, hitting from 34 yards from the middle and 40 yards from the left hash before hooking a 44-yarder well left from the right hash and having a 48-yarder glance high off the left upright and land on the cross bar before bouncing the wrong way. He has a strong leg and could fill in in a pinch but does not have the accuracy.

Next, they had

(Unbelievable, I just posted an entire rundown of everything that happened in the practice from seven-on-seven to all 74 plays and it disappeared when I just posted, leaving only what I had written until Next, they had. I will re-post it tomorrow or later tonight, but I just lost two-and-a-half hours of my life. There's some BS Rivals glitch going on that never has happened since I took over the site. The same thing occurred a few days ago when I transcribed the quotes from the Tuesday Superdome practice, but that took me only about 20 minutes to redo. I forgot about it today and did not save to Word before I tried to post.

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Football is in the air and the basketball team has gotten some valuable basketball and life experience recently in China, so who cares about baseball at this point? Still, the summer has come and gone, and I’ve noted a few things.

Much to my chagrin, it appears that Coach Uhlman and his entire staff will be returning to the Tulane dugout in 2024. I never thought an assistant from a failed program should have been hired in the first place and, following what is surely the worst season in over 60 years and probably longer, I thought his departure should have been obvious. But, it is what it is.

We’ve lost three of our top five hitters and our top two pitchers and leave holes almost everywhere. To be fair, it appears that we’ve signed a number of freshmen prospects but only two were rated 9.0 by Perfect Game and none higher. That’s about as poorly, at least according to that site, as we’ve done in many years. We have signed several college and JC transfers, some of whom look to contribute immediately, but most have at best fair records to recommend them. We’ll see.

Likewise, summer ball was not encouraging. While I may have missed some, we had eleven position players play this summer including three transfers. Of course, Schultz only played in one game and went 0 for 3. Others played a bit more. Players who I thought could use the summer but didn’t play were Laprairie, Morrow, and, most discouraging, Linn. We clearly need him to return to his 2022 form and not playing this summer, after his 2023 season, is unfortunate. I hope he is not hurt.

Anyway, as group our guys hit .222 with newcomers Nathan Rose (9 for 22, .409) and Connor Rasmussen, (26 for 102, .255) our leading bats. Another transfer, Colin Tuft, hit .215 (14 for 65). Of returning players, Kellum hit .237 (18 for 76); Agabidis hit .233 (14 for 60); Romono hit .217 (17 for 83); Lombardi also hit .217 (5 for 23); Mitchem hit .186 (8 for 43); Ebling hit .106 (3 for 28); and Banks hit only .168 (12 for 71). Since we’re counting on Banks to be the team leader, his summer was particularly disappointing.

On the mound, seven pitchers threw a total of 85.2 innings for an ERA of 4.73, while walking 59 and striking out 93. The most successful was Colin Reilly who threw 16.2 innings to a 2.16 ERA. He did walk 11 which is cause for some concern. Logan Hurd, a transfer, only threw 7.1 innings over 5 appearances but only allowed 2 runs (2.45 ERA). Jonah Wachter had a productive summer. In 26.2 innings he walked only 4, with an ERA of 3.76. Lombardi threw 18.2 innings to an ERA of 4.82. Will Prigge only threw 1.1 innings while allowing 2 earned runs (13.5 ERA). Colin Tuft, a two-way player, appeared in one game but got no one out while allowing one hit and walking three. I doubt we’ll see him on the mound for the Wave. And, finally, Taylor Montiel had a rough summer, throwing 16.2 innings and allowing 22 hits (.310 BA) and walking an horrendous 22 more. That his ERA was only 7.63 is surprising.

Anyway, that’s the summer of Tulane baseball as I saw it. Again, some of the freshmen, transfers, or even returning players may have also played, but, if so, I couldn’t find them.

By the time the baseball season starts up in February, let’s hope we have many fond memories and a “lot of scalps on the wall” from our football and basketball seasons.

Roll Wave!!!

The Superdome practice today was not open to reporters, but I still have a little news. The poster who said he thought Australian punter Will Karroll was on scholarship is absolutely correct. Willie Fritz confirmed it when I asked him about Karroll today.

Karroll, a 6-4, 200-pound freshman from Sydney, arrived because of a connection with Mike Krysl, Tulane's special teams analyst. Special teams coach Greg McMahon also has connections in Australia.

"I've had some really good Aussie punters," Fritz said. "Not here, but I had two good ones at Sam Houston and one of them might still be playing in the NFL, Lachlan Edwards (he's not, but he punted for the JEts from 2016-19 and the Panthers in 2021). We got on this guy, and it's difficult because you don't get to see the guy in person, but the film looked good and coach Krysl's relationship with the guy in charge of that academy was really solid. He's come over and punted really well."

Look for Karroll to be Tulane's punter for the next three years after Casey Glover finishes his eligibility this season.

"We're probably one of the few teams that devotes a scholarship to long snapper, punter, kicker," Fritz said. "This year we'll have four guys that will be on scholarship. We're got a talented KPS group."

Saturday's scrimmage is supposed to start at 9, but Fritz said he might move it up earlier because of the weather. It will not be open to the public.

"We're going to scrimmage, but the quarterback's not live, so it's not a real scrimmage," Fritz said. "I always tell these guys, they ask why don't we have a scoreboard. Because it's not a real game. You can't touch the quarterback, and that influences the game so much. One of the things we've done is we have a snap count of all these guys how many reps they've played. Sincere is over 3,000 snaps in his college career, so I don't know much I need to see him on Saturday. He's got a ton of experience. That's like starting and playing 40 games. Some guys will play a little bit because I do think they need to get the game experience, especially probably the defensive guys, but there's a bunch of guys who are going to play a lot because we want to see if they are going to be a travel guy. I've seen Sincere make plays in games. Some of the other guys I haven't see them do it yet."

Fritz had these thoughts on today's indoor workout:

"It went good," he said. "You always are going to have great weather. Yesterday was a humid, muggy day, so we came inside and had a great practice today. We're backing off tomorrow (a mandated day off from practice, but they will have meetings). It's going to be a two-hour day. We've have the scrimmage on Saturday, so we've strategically placed these two-hour days and when we go out to the Superdome. You've heard me say it a hundred times, we're lucky they let us go out there because we're guaranteed a good practice."

I talked to Shiel Wood, who coaches the linebackers specifically as well as being the defensive coordinator, today when they got back from the Dome.

WOOD

On Corey Platt:

"Really impressed. He's a really good young man. He's smart, he works really hard, he's a joy to coach. He's just that kind of guy. He's focused in the meetings. He retains information and he has a really good skill set. He's really athletic and fast. He's played a lot of snaps here. He's maybe been a little underweight as compared to his peers, but he's put on a good bit of weight and strength. That's something we've talked about, and that's something that's really going to be an asset to him and help him sustain his ability to play at a high level through the grind of the season. He's really matured because he's focused on that. He's put on weight, and he understands it's going to help him be a better player. He's instinctive. He sees the box really well. He can see multiple things at the same time. I don't know that he's missed a guard pull. Linebackers always miss a pull on occasion, but I don't know that he's missed one since I've been here. He just sees stuff. The combination of his intellect, his processing ability and just his athleticism, he's got a chance to be a really good player for us this year."

On playing last year helping him:

"Him and Jesus Machado both played a bit. It was great that they were able to rep four guys even though they had Nick and Dorian. The fact that those guys got meaningful snaps in games and a pretty significant amount of reps, there's no substitute for that at any position. The more you have a chance to make real tackles in a game, be in drives, pressure situations, all those things combine to help build your experience and just make you a better player, so that's been really good."

On Machado:

"He's just a solid, consistent, every-day performer. We have a bunch of really good guys on our team, and he's no exception. He shows up to work every day, goes about his business, he's workmanlike in his approach and his attitude, he's tough, he's strong, he plays with powerful body position, he can get off blocks, he sees the box really well as well. He's a guy that has maybe a little bit more knock back to him. He's a consistent guy who's already played a lot of reps here and been productive and will continue to be so."

On Tyler Grubbs:

"He fits in really well. We've got a core nucleus of guys at linebacker that have played a lot of football at this level. There's no substitute for having guys that have made plays at this level in significant action. To have those three guys on our team, there's no substitute. We've got a lot of guys that are younger that are building and growing and I'm excited about that as well, but it's really nice to have three guys you know have played and have already shown they are capable of being really good."

On Mandel Eugene:

"He's continuing to develop, and having those three guys around him to see some things that are going from a technique standpoint and learning the defense, that has been beneficial for him. I've been pleased with his progress. The other guy that's done a really nice job is Jared Small. He just got here this summer and maybe was kind of behind some of the other guys just because of transition and learning and getting up to speed, but he is starting to really accelerate his pace of growth. I'm seeing some really good things from him as well."

On his own comfort factor now after arriving just before spring drills started:

"I did hit the ground running. I feel a lot better sitting here today than I did in late February-early March in terms of where we are as an organization defensively. We got transitioned in early June, moved into our house on the 2nd. The wife and children are here. When we had some time off, we went out of town for a little bit but then we came back and enjoyed staycationing in New Orleans, eating out, experiencing the culture, going to the parks. As long as we were able to survive the heat, we had a really good time. We're loving the city and the Tulane community and really having a blast being here."

On changes he has made:

"I'm really pleased. We are continuing to grow. We also had some more staff transition after I got here, so we're just continuing to work. I like our staff. I like our kids. I think everybody's buying in, and we're on the right path. You always want more. We certainly have a lot of room we need to continue to grown and develop in, but I like the attitude that our guys have and our coaches are doing a great job helping them continue to build. We just have to keep getting work and showing them a lot of different looks. Sometimes it's kind of paralysis by analysis and you overload them a little bit, but if you keep pushing eventually they'll get caught up to speed with all the different adjustments they have to make. I'm pleased with where we are."

On significance of first scrimmage:

"It's not just another practice. It's a chance for us to see guys take people to the ground, get off blocks and make plays. When you're practicing, you can see guys get into position, whether it's a thud in the box or we're tagging off on the perimeter, you can see if a guy overruns the ball, he's not making that play, but the opportunity to now see guys in position and you know for sure they are finishing on a play, that's exciting as a coach to be able to evaluate that in a different way than you do in practice. Just the competition, I'm no different than all the rest of the coaches. Sometimes you're out there helping them a little bit. Now this is like a game. They're out there and we're on the sideline or up in the box. That's a big deal, too. I was on an inside drill today standing right behind the linebackers, and if one of them was a little misaligned, I might have said, hey, come back over here a little bit. I'm not going to be able to do that in the scrimmage, so that will be a big barometer as well."

On having deep D-line:

"It's huge. Coach Chatman is doing a great job with those guys just continuing to develop their technique and we have a lot of guys that have played a lot of snaps at a really high level, and we've got the makings of unit to where we can roll guys and not really have a dropoff. Just like all our groups, the more reps they get over time, they are just going to continue to get better and better to where they are playing their best football deep into the season. Up front you need that for them to be able to play hard consistently. There's going to be bumps and bruises along the way, and to know you've got some depth and some quality guys that can come in, that's a big deal."

With it being my son's first day of high school, I was delayed getting this up and wrote my Advocate feature first, but never fear, the report always ends up here.

It was another day in shorts and shoulder pads for the Green Wave, which returned outdoors after Tuesday morning's workout at the Superdome. The practice was a little sloppy, maybe as the result of being back in the heat but maybe because the execution always varies from day to day.

Right after I got there, Michael Pratt rolled out to his right and connected with Jha'Quan Jackson for a long touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Pratt is poised to have his best passing year as he breaks the school records for TD tosses and yards, and Lawrence Keys and Jackson figure to be the primary beneficiaries. I like some of the other receivers, too, but am not what the pecking order will be. No one has really stood out in the first six practices, although each has had their moments. Chris Brazzell is the third starter in practice. Dontae Fleming, who dropped a quick out in seven-on-seven, was on the second team today with Yulkeith Brown and Bryce Bohanon while Jalen Rogers, Phat Watts and Hunter Summers were on the third team. Watts got open to convert a third-and-12 situation on a pass from Kai Horton. Summers got free with a sweet stop and go move but then dropped the deep ball that hit him in the hands. Horton nearly hit Bohanon with a deep ball but overthrew him. I expect the top six wideouts to be the way they lined up today, but no one outside of the top two is a proven game performer, so I wouldn't put any money on it. Phat Watts comes the closest, and he does not appear slowed down by the torn ACL he sustained last September.

Lucas Dunker alternated with Casey Glover in a kickoff drill. Both of Dunker's kickoffs last year went for touchbacks, but the coaches stuck with Glover, who sent 45 of his 88 for touchbacks and helped win the Cotton Bowl with his perfect kick that lured USC's returner into muffing it out of bounds at the 1-yard line after trying to field it just inside the sideline.

Jarius Monroe wore a cast on his left hand after getting dinged up in a special teams drill yesterday. He practiced all the way today. The biggest thing the injury deprived him of was an interview with reporters yesterday at the Dome. He was the defensive player requested and loves to talk, but they substituted Darius Hodges for him.

There were no significant changes on the depth chart. The second-team offensive line had Sully Burns, Shadre Hurst, Caleb Thomas, Landry Cannon and Trey Tuggle from left to right. Matt Lombardi is sidelined with an injury at the moment.

The second-team D had Michael Lunz and Angelo Anderson outside and Adonis Friloux and Parker Peterson inside. I had Peterson listed as an end, but he has moved to tackle. Later, freshman Matthew Fobbs-White got some reps with the second unit at nose guard.

The second-team safeties were DJ Douglas, who spent most of the spring on the first unit before falling to No 2 at the end, and Wofford transfer Tahir Annoor.

Tight end Josh Goines made a nice catch of a perfectly thrown floating deep ball from Carson Haggard in 11-on-11 work, showing good speed, but a few plays later, he had the ball stripped after a short reception, drawing Willie Fritz's ire. That's the life of a freshman.

It was not a crisp practice. Near the end, Horton threw well behind an open Summers, which was sort of indicative of the day. Horton had made a nice throw to Fleming earlier, so it was not all bad, just up and down.

Tulane returns to the Superdome tomorrow for a workout that will not be open to reporters, although Fritz and selected players will be available for interviews when they return to the Wilson Center.

Today I talked to Eric Hicks, who started all but one game at nose guard a year ago because of Friloux's injury, and Corey Platt, who I believe will start along with Jesus Machado ahead of Tyler Grubbs at linebacker. Platt still needs to get a little bigger, but he has Dorian Williams-like speed.

FRITZ

On depth up front defensively plus Eric Hicks' development:

"I was looking at the other day and I think we have nine guys who've started one game on the defensive front. I could be wrong, but I think that's correct (the actual number is eight: Patrick Jenkins started all 14 last year, Eric Hicks started 13, Darius Hodges started 12, Angelo Anderson started eight, Keith Cooper and Devean Deal started two and Noah Taliancich started one, plus Friloux started eight times in 2021). Eric kind of got thrust in there to be a full-time starter (because of Friloux's ACL tear in the week before the opener). He played the majority of the snaps last year. Big, strong guy. Excellent job staying at the point of attack, really dependable, rarely makes a mistake. Being assignment sound is something that coaches overlook sometimes. It's so important. If a guy's a great athlete but screws up every fourth play, he really doesn't mean anything to you, but Eric was very dependable for us last year."

More on depth up front on both sides of the ball:

"This is by far the best depth we've had. Knock on wood we don't want to go that far into it offensive line-wise, but we're probably going to roll seven, eight, nine guys to play, and we've never had that luxury before. The defensive line, we're going to roll two groups for sure. Angelo Anderson has started a bunch of games. Keith Cooper's started a bunch of games. Devean Deal's started a bunch of games. Darius Hodges has started a bunch of games. Eric, Adonis, Patrick Jenkins. Kam Hamilton's played a bunch, so we got a lot of guys who have played for us. I think it will help us out, particularly early in the season."

On Friloux status:

"He's full. He's good to go."

On Corey Platt:

"He's gotten much better. I think he played 300 snaps at linebacker last year and then a bunch for us in the kicking game, so he got a chance to play a lot for us. That would be like playing five full games or four-and-a-half games, so he played a lot for us. He has tremendous speed. I think he ran a1 10.8 100 meters in high school. He was up to 217 pounds the other day. We think he's got a chance to be an excellent linebacker. He's a good player. He just needs a little bit more experience, a little bit more mass and he can be that kind of player (Dorlan Williams-like) in a couple of years."

The biggest play in Tulane's first indoor practice was one we likely we see quite often this year--a long touchdown pass from Michael Pratt to Lawrence Keys in an 11-on-11 session. This one was not as picture perfect as the long hookup between the two on Saturday, but it was good enough, with Keys blazing down the sideline and waiting slightly before Pratt's throw arrived. I did not catch the number of the cornerback defending on the play, but whoever it was, he was not the first guy victimized by that combo and he won't be the last.

Tulane was ini shorts and shoulder pads again today. Cornerback Jarius Monroe got slightly dinged up during a special teams drills but was his talkative self from the sideline for the rest of the working, shouting encouragement to freshman Jai Eugene when he made a good play. I would not expect Monroe to miss any time. The only thing he missed was his scheduled interview, with Darius Hodges subbing for him as the defensive player before the team boarded the buses back to campus (one offensive player, Lawrence Keys, and one defensive player were the most they could make available with the time crunch).

With Monroe sidelined, AJ Hampton practiced with the first unit along with Lance Robinson, and Eugene moved up to second-team cornerback along with Kiland Harrison. Hampton started 19 games at Northwestern before becoming a graduate transfer to Tulane, so he has plenty of experience. Eugene has been impressive in camp. He is not likely to play a big role this year, but his future appears bright.

Pratt had a good day overall. He hit Keys on a short pass before throwing underneath to Alex Bauman on back-to-back plays, had the deep TD to Keys and hit Iverson Celestine on a checkdown, taking what was available. He only had one mistake, throwing too late and a little short after Chris Brazzell got open deep on a flag pattern. The delay gave Eugene time to catch up Brazzell and break up the pass, although he probably would have drawn a flag for interference in a game because he never turned around and appeared to make contact with Brazzell while face guarding him.

Justin Ibieta threw a pass to walk-on running back Tate Jernigan on a wheel route that turned into a touchdown near the end. Jernigan is listed at 5-6 and may not even be that tall.

Shaadie Clayton-Johnson, one of the six running backs vying for the top two spots now that Tyjae Spears is gone, fumbled a ball without being touched on a sweep but caught it on the bounce to avert a turnover and kept running. All six running backs have had good moments in camp, but I'd say Arnold Barnes has been the most explosive heading into Saturday's scrimmage, which will began the separation process between the backs. I do not have a good handle on how the competition will shake out yet, but I'm not discounting any of them.

They did a kickoff return drill and Jha'Quan Jackson, Keys and Shedro Louis were the deep men. Louis is very fast. I would not be surprised if he and Keys return one for touchdowns. Jackson could, too, but he likely will concentrate on punt returns.

There was not a lot of room for the running backs to run in the 11-on-11 work, but again, I don't read much into non-tackling drills. Keys was totally bottled up on an end around, and Clayton-Johnson ran into a mass of defenders on another play.

Kam Pedescleaux was back at nickel today, with Bailey Despanie at safety, as has been the case for most of camp but not yesterday, when they switched spots.