Today's practice was a lot like yesterday's, with the same guys sitting out and the same guys participating. In the only change, Marvin Moody had his helmet on, although I did not see him get a rep while I was there for the last 30 minutes. Willie Fritz said Moody would be a game-time decision, but if he can't go for the second straight week, the Wave will be in good hands with starters Kevin Henry and Nick Anderson and super sub Dorian Williams, plus Jesus Machado rotating in at times
"Jesus Machado is playing for us in the kicking game, but he has a real good feel for the game, fitting things up properly," Willie Fritz said. He's going to be a very good player for us. I've had no issues or problems with any of those guys on the field, off the field, in the classroom, wherever. They are fun to be around."
The starting offensive line definitely will be Joey Claybrook at LT, Corey Dublin at LG, Sincere Haynesworth at C, Timothy Shafter at RG and Ben Knutson at RT. Caleb Thomas did not practice again today, so it is unlikely he will play Saturday. Veterans who miss a full week of preparation can be ready to go, like Amare Jones was against Temple, but it is tougher for a redshirt freshman. Freshman Trey Tuggle will come off the bench after starting the first seven games, but his demotion is not a commentary on his playing level. It's a tribute to how well Ben Knutson played at left tackle while Claybrook sat out. The guys Knutzon blocked rarely came anywhere near Michael Pratt.
"Ben is playing his best football right now," Fritz said. "He was one of our better offensive linemen for those three games, probably in the top two for almost every game. He's got the body obviously, but he's starting to do a better job of punching with his hands."
Fritz is happy to get Claybrook back. He has been high on him since he became a starter in the second half of his redshirt freshman season in 2018.
"It's going to be big for us," Fritz said. "He played a little bit last week and coming out of the game he felt OK on Sunday, felt much better on Monday and Tuesday it was good for him to have that time off."
With Ygenio Booker having surgery to repair a torn MCL today and likely missing the rest of the season--Fritz held out hope he could return for the finale against Memphis--Tulane is down to three scholarship running backs, but Fritz does not anticipate a change in philosophy because of the depth shortage.
"Not really," he said. "We're still able to run two back. We're still able to line them up wide. All of them do a good job of running routes and catching the ball, so we're very fortunate that we had a deep group there because we certainly needed it this year."
Ryan Wright was added to the Ray Guy Award watch list today. He has not always been consistent this year, but he leads the AAC by a wide margin with a 47.1-yard punting average and has a slight lead in net punting at 42.4. He had a perfect punt against Temple right before halftime, sending a 62-yarder that bounced out of bounds at the 1. I talked to him, Sincere Haynesworth and Jaylon Monroe yesterday, so here are there quotes along with the rest of Fritz from today.
RYAN WRIGHT
On how he feels about the way he is punting right now:
"I'm feeling a lot better with the way I'm kicking this year. I lost a lot of weight over the offseason and feel a lot more explosive and quick to the ball. First of all, none of this would be possible without Ethan Hudak, our long snapper, and the rest of our coverage team and my shield. The funny story about that 62-yarder. I thought that was going to the end zone. I didn't really know what was going on until I heard those cheers."
Hoping for safety after that punt:
"We've gotten safeties off of punts inside the 5 before. We won the game. Offense played great and defense played great, so a safety wouldn't have mattered too much at that point."
Why lose weight:
"I just felt really slow. Running was hard on me last year and my leg swing was not exactly where I wanted it to be speed wise. Now that I'm more explosive I'm able to swing my leg all the way through the ball. I definitely believe that losing the weight is one of the factors that has helped me this year, but I went to a bunch of punting coaches. I drove nine hours to Tennessee during the offseason for just countless hours of training.
What learned there:
'Just refined my technique, keeping my steps shorter. I have a lot faster off time this year because of the consistent catch and a consistent drop and consistent steps. Last year our off time was close to 2.5 and now we're averaging about 1.95ish."
Weight loss:
"I got down to 235 and then put some more back on in muscle. I was pushing 260 last year."
What changed:
"Less snacking. I went running almost every day. I got a personal trainer back home in California that helped me stay away from the fatty foods. Just lean meats, greens and the right carbs. There's bad carbs and good carbs. Having some red potatoes, cauliflower has some good carbs in there. But just eating right and working out a lot more helped me get to the weight my body looks compared to what it did last year."
Where needs to improve:
"There's always improvement I can make towards my punting technique. This is still only my third year as a full-time punter in my life, so I'm still making adjustments to be the most consistent punter that I possible can be."
SINCERE HAYNESWORTH
On importance of playing really well against Temple:
"It was huge, especially for us. We haven't won too many games yet. Beating Temple and playing as well as we did was a good benchmark point for where we go up."
On Claybrook returning:
"That's huge. It's always good to have a vet, especially at a tackle spot, left tackle especially. He's a guy who has played the position, knows the ropes and can get it done and has the mental part of it down easily."
On Knutson moving to starting right tackle:
"He stepped up big time. I'm really proud of how he played. We can play him anywhere on the line--guard and tackle on both sides. That was huge."
Overcoming injuries on offensive line:
"That's pretty impressive that we can just plug and play. It's always next man up in football and it says a lot about the competition they have brought in."
Ran well against Temple:
"The biggest thing is just knowing our assignments. We got a little lackadaisical on that, and we really got back to it in practice and have been harping on it, just knowing our assignments and being able to execute with confidence. Confidence leads to speed and speed leads to power, so we've gotten a lot better on that."
JAYLON MONROE
Challenge of facing ECU:
"As far as being a defensive back, that's the type of game we like to play, a passing game. I feel like the game is on us, so we've got to get the job done and slow down their offense, contest passes, break passes up and get turnovers. We should be in great shape from a defensive back standpoint. This is the type of game we like to play."
Confidence coming from Temple performance:
"We never lost confidence, but we definitely needed that win to get a good taste back in our mouth. We just have to keep that going. We were in this position as far as our record two years ago, and we went on a run. I feel like we're going to do the same thing this year."
A lot still in front of them:
"Oh yeah, most definitely. We just have to put our head down, keep working and be positive and go out there and execute the game plan and we should be in great shape. We still can accomplish some great things, so we have to keep going."
Difference against Temple:
"We were playing much faster and communicating as a whole on the defense. We trusted each other more. I said before the (UCF) game we had to trust the game plan and we did that much better."
FRITZ
On where Wright can improve:
"The big thing that Ryan has got to do is just consistency. He's got as strong a leg as anybody in the country. He really does, but the distance, the location and the hang time, we want all those things to match. He's really got a strong leg. It's just the consistency. He does a great job of getting the ball off quickly. If we just had the snapper and the shield, I think it's going to be tough for him to get back there and have a chance to block a punt. His catch to get-off is extremely quick. He's taken tremendous strides, and if he improves on his consistency, he can be one of the top punters in the country."
On coaches encouraging Wright to lose weight:
"We really talked to him a whole bunch about it for about a year and a half. I told him it's not going to happen until you want it to happen, and he decided that he wanted to have it happen, and over the pandemic break he lost probably 20 to 30 pounds. You can see the difference in his flexibility. I think that has also contributed to his improvement."
On coaching help for Wright:
'I know that he worked with Jamie Kohl, but I'm really fortunate that (special teams) coach (Chris) Couch can really watch video tape and relay to me what Ryan needs to work on because it's very position-specific as far as technique and fundamentals are concerned. Jamie is someone we really trust. He works with the Bears kickers and punters, and all the top kickers and punters and even some snappers go to his camps, and we value his opinion."
