There is a tight turnaround as there always is for that first Thursday game that is becoming a tradition, but I will post the pick 'em games later today.

The rules are the same as always. The Tulane game counts double, home teams are listed first (with neutral sites designated) and the spreads come from VegasInsider.com consensus. You get to drop your lowest weekly score so that there is no big penalty for forgetting to make your picks one week.

Good luck, everyone!

Les Johns, who covers Wake Forest, will send his answers to my questions tonight and I will post it either then or in the morning on the front page.

I did not see anything today because a thunderstorm hit right after practice started, forcing Tulane to go indoors at the Hertz Center (basketball practice facility) for the rest of the workout.

Fritz said Darius Bradwelll and Terren Encalade will play against Wake Forest. Understandably, he is guarded with injury information, particularly in a game week. I can vouch for Encalade for sure. We'll see about Bradwell.

Here's Fritz on health. I will have the rest of his Q&A later today.

"We lost a few guys early in camp but it looks like we're going to get most everybody back. Unfortunately that's part of sports. You get some guys banged up now and then, and the few guys we have lost for the season (only Freddy Canteen among sure contributors), that's disappointing, especially for the young man. We're in a lot better health than we were a week ago at this time."

He also was asked if Encalade would be full go and how much he would be able to play.

"It's going to kind of being up to him. We'd like for him to play every snap if he can offensively. He's very competitive. He'll be ready to go Thursday night."

There weren't many surprises on Tulane's two-deep depth chart that was released today, the first once since prior to the SMU game at the end of 2017.

Running back might qualify as a bit of a surprise, though. Stephon Huderson, the only one of the returning guys who practiced every day in the preseason, is listed as co-No. 1 with Darius Bradwell, who dressed today but did not get any reps, while Corey Dauphine is not on there. Both Bradwell and Dauphine missed a fair amount of time in camp with injuries, and Willie Fritz said the other day that Huderson reminded him of Dontrell HIlliard because he does everything well.

The first- and second-team offensive linemen are the same I've listed all along, although Devon Johnson and Cameron Jackel have switched sides at second-team guard. I have a feeling that might be an error because Johnson has been on the right side and Jackel on the left side all camp, but I'll check tomorrow.

The starting wide receivers, as expected, are Mooney, Clewis and Encalade. Clewis missed some time in camp, but no one stepped up to take his job away from him, and he wore a full contact jersey today for the first time in a while. Someone will have to outperform him in games to beat him out. The backup WRs, as expected, are Toles behind Mooney, Newman behind Clewis and Robertson behind Encalade.

Dane Ledford is the backup QB.

Kendall Ardoin is the starting TE, and Charles Jones will be unavailable with his ankle injury. Will Wallace is the backup, although he has not looked good as a receiver since I wrote a lead note about him in The Advocate a couple weeks ago. He had a bad drop today.

On defense, they list De'Andre Williams and Jeffery Johnson as co-No. 1 at NT. I had players and coaches tell me Williams would start last week, but defensive coordinator Jack Curtis said Johnson would start a few days later. They'll both play a lot.

They have Marvin Moody as the starting LB next to Zach Harris, with Graham and Vault on the second team. I'd say Graham got more reps with the first unit than Moody in camp, but it was close.

Donnie Lewis, who returned to practice today in a full-contact jersey, is starting at CB, while Jaylon Monroe and Thakarius Keyes are listed as co-No. 1 on the other side. Keyes has gotten more reps with the first unit lately, but both of them have looked good.

The safeties are the same as always--P.J. Hall and Teamer starting and Shenall and Kuerschen backing them up. Shenall made a nice play in the end zone today to knock down a pass.

At nickel, Tirise Barge, who emerged as a starter in the spring, is nowhere to be found on the depth chart. I found him playing backup safety in practice today rather than nickel, but they had three safeties on the field at the time and probably were working on special situations.

Will Harper is starting at nickelback and Larry Bryant is second. Harper was third team for the first half of camp but has gotten the majority of the reps with the first unit the last week or so. He is the biggest riser on the team along with Huderson in terms of the depth chart if this holds up. He played almost exclusively on special teams as a sophomore a year ago.

Zach Block is listed at the top punter. I expected Ryan Wright to get the nod but barely have seen any punting in camp, so I have no idea how either one of them has looked for the most part. Sterling Stockwell is the backup to Glover at PK and to Block as kickoff specialist.

They divided up into scout teams today. On offense, the most notable scout-team guys was Tyrick James. On defense, freshman linebacker La'Dedric Jackson was on the scout team after receiving some second-team reps at times during camp.

Two NFL scouts were at practice today. One represented the Bears. I'm not sure about the other, although his shirt was the color of the Dolphins.

Has been tweeted out...


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Guerry- Do you expect to get a list of the recruits visiting for the Wake Forest game? I'd think a good number of kids might show up.

Roll Wave!!!

Does Tulane have any interest in either of LSU's recent cast-offs? And if so, is the interest mutual?

Of the two, Narcisse would be preferable given his remaining eligibility (3 years after transfer year). Either one would seem to be an upgrade in talent over the QBs not named Banks.

Justin McMillan's first set of reps in Tulane's Sunday practice at the Superdome featured an incomplete pass on every down, but it was obvious from first glance that his addition will make the the Green Wave more complete this year.

McMillan has a terrific arm and three years of college practice experience, qualities Tulane's other scholarship backups at the position lack. He also has a good head on his shoulders, which should allow him to digest another new system quicker than the normal quarterback.

One of McMillan's incompletions was a laser that eluded cornerback Thakarius Keyes in the end zone but bounced off of Darnell Mooney's hands as he tried to reach behind to make a tough grab he probably would catch more than not. McMillan overthrew everyone on his first attempt. could not connect with a well-covered Jacob Robertson on his third try and threw behind a receiver on the final attempt.

No matter. It was only his second day with the team, and his arm alone gives him a huge upside as he becomes more comfortable.

In other news, Darius Bradwell did not practice today and does not look great. We will find out about his status for the game at Willie Fritz' press conference tomorrow morning, but the way Bradwell carried himself today, I'm not sure he will be available on Thursday.

Cornerback Donnie Lewis also did not practice today and was not wearing his helmet. I was there for the last hour. Tight end Charles Jones remains out with an ankle injury. I also did not see Robert Kennedy taking any reps, so De'Andre Williams took over his spot in between nose tackle Jeffery Johnson and outside linebacker Patrick Johnson.

Terren Encalade was still in red today, but he had his best practice in weeks. He looked really sharp in his route running and explosive.

Chris Joyce practiced at cornerback today after getting a week at wide receiver.

Tulane practiced at the dome the last two days after saying it would practice at the Saints facility both days because Superdome officials called and asked the Wave to break in the new turf. Willie Fritz said he was happy to oblige them, but this likely will not happen again this year.

Here are quotes from Fritz and McMillan after practice today:

FRITZ

Where do you see Justin McMillan fitting in this year?

"We're excited about him. It's always great to add an experienced quarterback to the mix. He hasn't played a whole lot of games but he's been through the Division I process and he's really chomping at the bit. Obviously we're playing a game Thursday. It's difficult to get him ready this quickly. He's been putting in a bunch of time, I know that. I'm looking forward to having him digest a large percentage of the playbook and see what he can do, but he's impressed me with some of the things he's been doing out there. It's great to have another experienced quarterback."

So will he get in some games at some point this year?

"Oh, I would think so. We'll have to see how it all plays out. The one thing he and I talked about is we're going to give him an opportunity, but it's going to be how quickly he can learn and where everybody's at and those kinds of things. He's really putting in the time and effort to do it."

How quickly do you feel like he can be at the point where he's ready?

"I don't know. I'm hoping a couple of weeks that he will pick up quite a bit of the playbook. We're trying to put it in in sections right now for him where this part of it he can know, a limited run and pass game but a little bit of everything right now. The coaches have said he's picked up things quickly. He's obviously a smart kid because he graduated (from LSU) in three years."

Knowing you have a guy who has been in Division I, how much more of a comfort factor is that to know you have a guy like that in the wings getting ready?

"I did not know much about Justin prior to all this. I didn't really get a chance to look at him until after he was already coming. I was real busy in preseason camp. The system in college is a lot different than the system in high school and the attention to detail at the Division I level is a lot different than in high school just because you have so many coaches and nobody is going both ways. You're spending more time at it. He really comes from a great high school program. They won two state championships. I'm guessing he played 15 or 16 games to win a state championship in Texas, so he has a lot of experience."

How do you learn about a quarterback when you haven't seen him play?

"The one thing I did look at is on Youtube I watched him play in the spring game. I went over there for a practice in the spring. I wasn't really looking at the quarterbacks, but I kind of remember them working out. It was the day before the spring game so they weren't doing too much, but you can tell a little bit just by looking at the guys. That's it. What he did in the past isn't going to matter. What he does here at Tulane is what's going to count."

When you are able to get a player from a school like that, what does it say? Do you think it helps the ongoing perception?

"I think it does. The big part of it is when you get guys in like this from these kinds of programs, the quarterback is a unique position. You only play with one of them. You get an offensive line transfer and maybe he's the right tackle and you've got a great right tackle, you move him to left tackle or right guard or something, and the same thing with corner, you move him to safety, but quarterback is a lot different. Guys have a certain amount of time left. That's why you see a lot more quarterbacks transfer than you do other positions because there's only one of them."

It's game week. Are you glad to finally see your team on the field against somebody else?

"Yeah, we really are. They've got a great team obviously. They beat Texas A&M in a bowl game at the end of the year and have 10 of 11 starters back on offense (Phil Steele lists it as eight) and six starters back on defense. What's been interesting is the punt team has all 11 guys back and the kickoff team has 10 guys back. There's a lot of carryover for us because that guy's probably going to be in the same spot, and often times that's not the case at least with the kicking game. It's going to be a great test for us, a great challenge for us. It's exciting."

How did you end up at the Superdome the last two days?

"You know, the Superdome actually got a hold of us and asked us if we could come around and run around on the turf. I guess this is new turf out here. We fooled a couple of our players and told them they should have mowed it a little bit. A couple of the guys went for it unfortunately. It's a great surface. We're always lucky. The Saints I'm sure had something to do with it as well, but the Superdome people invited us to come out. I thought it would be something neat to do."

Will you be out here again?

"I don't think so. We're going to try to stay outside and be at our place the next three days."

The Quarterback Shuffle

For at least 40 years, quarterbacks have transferred from one Division 1 school to another looking for more playing time, a different coach, a different system, what-have-you. Over time, Tulane has seen its share of this movement. Many of us remember Bubby Brister transferring to ULM (it was then called Northeastern Louisiana) back during the Wally English error (spelling intentional). A couple years later Ken Karcher transferred to Tulane from Notre Dame. On the more national level, Troy Aikman left Oklahoma to attend UCLA in the mid-80’s and, more recently, Baker Mayfield transferred from Texas Tech to Oklahoma. Many other such transfers proved less successful.

Over the past year or so, Tulane has witnessed more turbulence at the position than I’ve ever seen. Last fall, Tulane had five QB’s on scholarship, and a sixth, Darius Bradwell, had moved to running back late the previous year. Glen Cuillette was the returning starter, though he quickly moved down the depth chart, eventually being relegated to holder on field goals and extra points. The new starter, Jonathan Banks, was with his fourth team in four years with two junior college seasons sandwiched around an injury-plagued year at Kansas State. Johnathon Brantley, an elusive runner who was a less-than-capable passer, inherited the back-up roll. The very athletic Khalil McLain looked to many as the future QB at Tulane and another athletic QB, Dane Ledford was eventually moved to WR.

As the year progressed, neither Brantley nor McLain appeared to be the “answer” to future QB needs and Coach Fritz scoured the junior college ranks for a backup to Banks for 2018, who could then inherit the starting roll. Our coach focused for the longest time on a Louisiana native, who had spurned his offers the year before to sign with LSU, where, due to lack of a future, he enrolled at East Mississippi Community College and led his team to the JC national championship. As this, eventually futile, recruiting effort was being played out, Cuillette, Brantley, and McLain all decided to transfer, the first two to Texas Southern and Eastern Illinois respectively, and the latter to Hutchison Junior College.

In December, Coach Fritz signed a very athletic QB, Christian Daniels, who would be an early enrollee (important under the circumstances) who had not played top-flight competition in high school and would need time to develop. Still, we were very short at the position, so he moved Ledford back to QB and offered preferred walk-on slots to a couple more QB’s who had been solid high school players and would at least provide arms to “work out” our receivers.

It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that the “big” changes occurred. First, we signed Keon Howard from Southern Miss who has all the physical tools (size, speed, arm strength) to excel in the Fritz offense. He even has two years of solid experience at the Division 1 level including a number of starts. But, he would have to “redshirt” this season. The final (I think) piece to the puzzle was the signing of Justin McMillan, a graduate transfer from LSU who is eligible immediately and has two years of eligibility remaining. With luck he’ll fill the backup roll and compete with Howard and anyone else for the starting position in 2019.

Looking to the future should everyone return in 2019, we’d have a redshirt senior (McMIllan), a redshirt junior (Howard), a redshirt sophomore (Ledford), and a likely redshirt freshman (Daniels) to go with what I anticipate to be a true freshman yet to be signed. Will Ledford and/or Daniels continue at QB or, for that matter, stay with Tulane? We probably won’t know until many months down the line. But, I think we can continue to expect a lot of turbulence at this position in the future.

Roll Wave!

Exactly a week from the season opener against Wake Forest, Tulane practiced at the Saints indoor facility again this morning. A few media members showed up expecting to see Justin McMillan, but he was not there and Willie Fritz had nothing to add after practice. When it's a done deal, if it's a done deal, Tulane will confirm it. That has not happened yet.

I'll say this. Southern Miss transfer Keon Howard can throw. He's been getting plenty of reps when the offense acts as a scout team for the defense, and his accuracy and velocity beat Dane Ledford's and Christian Daniels. Today, Howard zinged a ball over the middle to Darnell Mooney and also hit Jaetavian Toles on a crossing route with good pop.

Practice started later than the listed time, so I actually so more than I was expecting. When I got there, they were doing one-on-one drills with the the wide receivers and defensive backs. Jonathan Banks hit Toles on the sideline in front of third-string cornerback Dorian Camel. Mooney, who gets my vote as the most productive player of preseason drills, nearly juked Thakarius Keyes out of his shoes by faking an outside move and cutting inside to get open. Freshman Larry Brooks, who is listed as a safety on the roster, is playing cornerback.

They went to 8-on-8 drills next, and Banks promptly threw a touchdown pass to Jacob Robertson in the back of the end zone, bating Jaylon Monroe. Monroe dove to try to deflect the ball and landed hard, losing his breath. He had to come out for a few plays before he recovered.

Banks almost followed with another TD toss, but he overthrew running back Amare Jones in the back of the end zone after Jones got open. A little later, second-team safety Chase Kuerschen made a really nice play, slapping the ball away from Toles just before it arrived. Banks then hit Mooney on a slant. With Terren Encalade sitting out another practice while wearing a no-contact jersey, Mooney is the class of the receiving corps. He gets open consistently. Monroe returned and deflected a pass intended for walk-on receiver Miles Lapeyre.

When they went to 11-on-11. the starting defensive line was Cam Sample, Jeffery Johnson, Robert Kennedy and Patrick Johnson for the second consecutive day. P.J. Hall was back at strong safety after getting some reps at cornerback yesterday. Toles had the only drop of the day on an out route, getting some razzing from teammates. Amare Jones caught a pass in the flat and looked dangerous as he turned the corner. Devin Glenn, who earlier had to do push-ups for missing an assignment, made a nice catch on an slant.

At the end of practice, they did more situational work. On a last-play scenario, Banks held the ball a little too long and had it slapped from his hands by Carlos Hatcher, who has flashed potential as a pass rusher in camp and should get some playing time against Wake Forest.

For the second time in a week. they worked on kickoff returns that were sent not to the deep man but to the upbacks. The way they simulate it is to have Zach Block run up as if it were going to kick the ball but have a walk-on QB throw it to the guy they wanted to guarantee it would get to the right spot. They also worked on recovering onside kicks again. I've seen a lot of special teams work in the last week.

The players will lift weights in the early afternoon and then get the rest of the day off and all of Friday off before returning Saturday. Fritz does not plan to conduct heavy practicing over the weekend because he believes it is time to start tapering off after a tough camp, making sure the legs are fresh next Thursday.

Rod Teamer addressed the team in the middle of the field at the end of practice.

FRITZ

What did Teamer talk about?

"I have a senior word of the day. We usually do it at the team meetings. We have a large senior class. He said his grandpa used to tell me people who keeping doing the same thing over and over and get the result that's not favorable to them, that's insanity. You have to change what you're doing."

When quarterbacks transfer, do they get more focus because they're quarterbacks?

"Quarterbacks get too much blame when things go wrong and probably too much credit when things go right. It's kind of like a head coach. It's a tough position. Everybody's looking at you and seeing what's going on, but if the other 10 guys aren't doing what they're supposed to, it doesn't matter who you are."

Do you pay attention to the depth chart of other schools in case a situation develops where you can pick up a guy?

"I tell you what, I'm not big into it at all. Nine times out of 10, I'm the last one to know when that's going on. I've coached at a lot of different levels. I know we've taken some guys, but I'd rather have everybody stay where they are at. I understand situations change and guys clocks are running and all those things, but sometimes we put too much emphasis on playing in the NFL instead of the experience."

How has Jeffery Johnson developed in camp?

"He's done a great job. He's really a hard working young man. He's got a great attitude and he's got the mass that you're looking for. He's probably 320, 325, but he moves well."

What do you want them to do on their time off?

"We are going to go ahead and get a good lift in this afternoon and then they are going to have all day Friday off. We're going to back quite a bit next week. I told these guys I can't watch you 24-7. I can't have curfew every single day. You've got to act like a mature young man, but that's also part of going to college. I like having fun now and I'm a little older than these guys. I want them to enjoy themselves, but they've got to be smart."

What are your impressions of Wake Forest?

"They have a good club. They have a big, gigantic offensive line. Of the five starters on the offensive line, four of them are redshirt seniors and the other guy is a redshirt junior, so they have started a ton of games together. They have 10 of 11 starters back on offense and I think 6 of 11 on defense, so they are a very experienced team. We're looking at them in special teams and all but two of the guys are back on the punt team, all 11 are back on the kickoff team and 10 of 11 are back on kickoff return, so they are very experienced. They've won a bunch of games. They are a Power Five team that beat Texas A&M in a bowl game, so they are good."

JEFFERY JOHNSON

Coach Curtis yesterday said you are going to start against Wake Forest. How far have you come in camp?

"I think I've come a long way actually. Recapping through the spring, it was kind of tough for me to adjust. Going into the fall I kind of got better at things and things started improving for me."

Where have you improved the most?

"Feeling more confident playing blocks and running plays and stuff like that and playing the calls they give me."

Was the speed of the college game a shock to the system?

"Oh man, it was really a shock to me. I knew college ball was fast, but it's just different coming straight from high school and playing college ball to play at that speed."

Will you have to guard against getting too excited next Thursday?

"Oh yeah. It's kind of like an adrenaline rush right now. There is some nervousness behind it, too, but I'm more excited than I am nervous."

Coach Fritz says Wake Forest has four fifth-year seniors and a fourth-year junior on the offensive line, so they have the big experience edge on you. Does that concern you?

"They have a lot of experience and can be big guys, but it really doesn't matter as long as you play your key and do what you're supposed to do. That's all that matters."

You did a 600-pound squat this summer. How did you get there?

"I was a power lifter in high school for four years. That's just my thing. I love lifting weights, and so squat's one of my favorite lifts. At the end of summer workouts, I finished with a 600-pound squat. That's the most I ever did with naturals. The most I ever did with wraps was like 650, so it wasn't really a shock to me, but it was impressive to a lot of people."

Tulane struggled to stop the run last year. How confident are you in that area?

"I feel pretty confident about it. Just by going through fall camp, we've kind of made jokes about how I'm not easy to block and they can't move me, so I feel pretty confident stopping the run and plugging up the gap."

Who has been your biggest mentor on the line?

"I would say probably De'Andre Williams. He's stepped up and took the role of being a leader. He's come a long way, too and I've followed him."

Have you played any defensive tackle along with nose?

"Nose is the only position I've played."

This from the Winston-Salem newspaper yesterday.

https://www.journalnow.com/sports/w...cle_2e6536a2-a5b8-11e8-a05d-c7a608c4cdbd.html

With a few extra reporters present because they were on the Justin McMillan watch, Tulane practiced this afternoon at the Saints indoor facility. The reason had nothing to do with getting out of the heat. It was move-in day for Tulane's new students, and even all university employees were banned from parking on campus to accommodate them. It would have been logistically difficult to have a practice on campus.

I made it for the last 30 minutes of practice. Jeffery Johnson worked with the first-team defense, something he has not done much recently unless someone was out with an injury, along with Cameron Sample at end, Robert Kennedy at defensive tackle and Patrick Johnson at OLB. That's the starting line most would have predicted before De'Andre Williams' emergence. I'll have to check on Williams' status tomorrow because there were too many distractions today, but defensive coordinator Jack Curtis said after the practice that Johnson was slated to start against Wake Forest. That does not gibe with what I've seen and been told the past few weeks, but Johnson's potential has been evident from the start.

The other first-teamers in the small segment I saw were Marvin Moody and Lawerence Graham at inside linebacker, Will Harper at nickel, Jaylon Monroe and Thakarius Keyes at cornerback and Donnie Lewis and Rod Teamer at safety. Sure starter Zach Harris rotated in, too, but P.J. Hall practiced as a second-team cornerback along with Willie Langham. Hall at cornerback is different from what they've shown since spring practice, but he's versatile and Fritz has stressed getting guys reps at multiple positions repeatedly so that injuries don't sink this team.

Keon Howard, who could have more competition for the starting job next year than he expected, got extensive work as the offense continued to prepare the defense for Wake Forest. He threw a long touchdown pass to Jaetavian Toles against a totally busted coverage, but the defense rebounded with a pair of interceptions. Willie Langham, who makes a noticeable play just about every day, jumped a route for the first one, and Harris snagged a deflection for the second. The defense was active and enthusiastic today.

They also did a fair amount of special situations drills, including Hail Mary attempts and squib kicks. Jonathan Banks is very good at throwing Hail Mary passes. It's a skill some QBs don't have, but he gives his guys a chance to make a play every time, and that's all you can ask.

I hope to have a more full report tomorrow, but they are practicing at the Saints facility early in the morning and I have to drop my kid off at school at 8 before racing out to Metairie. We shall see. I'm interested to see what the defense is doing.

Here are the quotes from today other than the two from Fritz I already posted in another thread.

FRITZ

How confident are you in what you've done this far as far as getting ready for the opener?

"We feel good about it. We did some situations here at the end of practice. There are an infinite amount of situations that can occur in a game. I've been coaching a long time, and every season I'll see something I've never seen before. You try to prepare your guys for every type of situation that can come up in a game. That way when you're on the sideline and you're trying to explain, at least you've gone over it physically or talked about how we handle that type of situation."

Are you worried at all about maybe overcoaching this game because you've had so long to think about it? (This definitely was not my question. I've been around Fritz long enough to know the answer there).

"No. One of the things we're doing is we're taking Friday off. We're going in the morning (Thursday) and are going to lift in the afternoon and are taking Friday off. We're really cutting back next week. We really didn't start our preparation for Wake Forest until Monday. The other part is just us getting better."

How important is it to get a fast start? Last year you kind of struggled early on in the first half. (I'm not sure what this question was about. Tulane outscored opponents by 21 in the first half and was outscored by 41 in the second half).

"It's big to get a quick start. There's an ungodly statistic about first score and leading after the first quarter and leading after the half (I question the significance of this, too, because better teams usually score first and lead after the first quarter and the half. I'd love to see an analysis of how often an underdog wins when it scores first and leads at the half as compared to when a heavy favorite does the same thing). You certainly make it better for yourself when you do that. It makes it a little tougher on you if you don't. Every football coach wants to start fast and finish faster."

What do you like best about Darnell Mooney once the game starts?

"He's kind of a Cool Hand Luke guy there in the game. Nothing gets him rattled. He's just a really smart player. He's thinking one step ahead and knows exactly what you're talking about. You don't have to give him a dissertation. You can give him a couple of key buzzwords and he's able to handle it and digest it. He's just a really smart player. FBI is what people call it--football intelligence."

Is stopping the run a big concern especially because you're facing a team that is going to run the ball a lot?

"They are going to run it at us. They are a big RPO team, so if we take away the run, they are going to throw the ball. There are going to be times where we're going to pack the box and there are going to be times where we're not going to have everybody loaded up. It all comes down to execution and staying on the line of scrimmage at the point of attack with the defensive linemen and linebackers and then really rallying to the ball with leverage with the secondary. Definitely run defense is important every game that you play."

Why do you think you're improved in that area?

"We've got a lot more veterans playing for us. We're a good tackling team. The big thing for us is trying to stay away from the big play, whether it be run or pass. We need to make them go down the field eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 plays. The percentage (of teams scoring) is not good when they have to do that."

JACK CURTIS

How comfortable is everyone with the 3-4 now?

"We decided to make that move to the 3-4 last year because of our personnel. There are some adjustments that are a little different. Not only the players had trials, but we did, too, as coaches. We cleaned up a lot in the offseason, and I think we'll be much improved."

How about on the nose? If you are going to play that defense, you have to be pretty good there.

"We do, and we're going to be starting a true freshman there, Jeffery Johnson. He's a big kid--6-3, 320. He's going to be a really good player. It will be interesting to watch him play for the first time in a college game. He's a starter. He's 18 years old. We have to expect a lot out of those young guys."

That's a lot of responsibility.

"It is, and especially in the first game. There are emotions in the first game, so hopefully we can get him calmed down. We've had two or three scrimmages with him, but there's nothing that can take place of that first game. We've got to get him settled down early. He's going to have to play quite a bit, and we're going to have to get some of the other young guys in. The guys we're going to replace him with are going to be young at the position."

How much do the RPOs Wake Forest runs scare you?

"It's very tough. They were able to score a lot of points on a lot of good teams. I think they put 59 on Texas A&M and 40-something on Notre Dame. They know what they're doing. The senior quarterback last year did a fantastic job. I'm hoping the lack of experience with the quarterback they are going to play (against Tulane) can't do what they did last year. but the offense does test you. You are defending the run and pass on every play. They want to create space and get those receivers open. You've got to be very disciplined when you're in zone coverage not to come up too quick. It does create quite a challenge."

If all of these guys come along, do you feel like the future is bright?

"I do. We've got a real good young group. It's all tied in together, but we've got some good play happening in the back end. The corners are playing extremely well. We've got great play with Rod (Teamer). It all kind of ties together so if you're able to play some more run-stopping defense because you can man up on the back end, it makes your front stronger. You are able to take a few more chances with maybe some pressures and create some more negative plays. It's all tied in. Some of the strengths we have in the defense right now is in the secondary, and that hasn't been the case until this year. We've finally got some numbers that are going to help us do some more packages and play some more people in those situations."

Obviously he cannot say anything about Justin McMillan until or if he enrolls, but Fritz was asked after practice today about a potential QB transfer and then answered a follow-up on transfers in general.

Can you say anything about a potential arrival?

"The guy's got to be fully admitted to school and he has to be here for me to comment on him."

How about the benefits of having any transfer. Sometimes it can really help you, right?

"Yeah, it really can. A lot of these guys have experience. Noah Fisher for example started a couple of years at South Alabama and went through Division I games and practices. They bring a level of experience that you don't get very often. Sometimes high school guys come in and they are able to compete at a high level quickly, but most of the time the transfer guys have been there and done that before and understand Division I football."

Tulane practiced for about two hours on Tuesday morning at Yulman Stadium, continuing to prepare for its Aug. 30 opener against Wake Forest. Willie Fritz continued his policy of not dividing into two scout teams--having the first-and second-team offense simulate Wake Forest for the first-and second-team defense and then having the first-and second-team defense simulate Wake Forest for the first- and second-team offense. He explained why after the workout.

"We started doing that toward the end of last year because we just started getting banged up and didn't have enough guys to be scouts," Fritz said. "Plus right now at this point of the year, our pool of who's going to play is a lot larger right now, so we wanted everybody to get a few reps. There's a lot of things we can call in our defense that's similar to what Wake Forest does that our kids know already. There are a lot of similarities offensively, too."

The nickel position is a perfect example of the large pool of players. Today. Will Harper began with the first-team unit. Tirise Barge was on the second-team group. and when the first-team defense had its second set of reps, Larry Bryant was at the position. That is three guys competing for playing time even though none of them may start if the coaches decide to use a third cornerback at nickel.

Cam Sample practiced today, giving Tulane all of its starters back up front on defense. Robert Kennedy continued to work at end, the role he had for much of spring practice. as the coaches continue to live up to their word about having a more versatile, multiple defense this season. P.J. Hall did not practice, with Donnie Lewis taking over his spot at strong safety and Jaylon Monroe and Thakarius Keyes working at cornerback. I have a feeling those three guys will start against Wake Forest, too, but we'll have to wait and see. There have been so many different looks in practice, and I have not studied Wake Forest much to see what the Demon Deacons use as their bread and butter on offense.

TUESDAY FOCUS: WIDE RECEIVERS

Terren Encalade missed his second consecutive day, attending practice but not participating or wearing pads. It is unclear what the issue is--he has no wrappings and appears to be walking fine. Fritz does not like to talk about injuries, particularly this close to the season, but he indicated Encalade would be back soon. Darnell Mooney said Encalade was a warrior and definitely would be back. without revealing what was wrong with him.

With Encalade out today, the third, fourth, fifth and sixth receivers got plenty of reps in a battle for playing time at a spot where all of them should play varying amounts. Other than Mooney as an obvious starter and Encalade, too, if he is back, nothing is settled in the competition among Jabril Clewis, Brian Newman, Jaetavian Toles and Jacob Robertson.

Newman helped himself with a spectacular stretch, atoning for his two bad drops yesterday. An observer told me had a tremendous catch before I arrived, and he backed that up with two amazing back-to-back plays. On the first one, he dove over the middle to snap a Jonathan Banks throw just before it hit the ground, showing tremendous hands. On the next snap, he ran an out pattern and dove to catch the ball while keeping his feet inbounds. They were two of the best catches I've seen in camp. After the first one, Fritz went over and slapped Newman's hand.

"It was tough yesterday, it sure was, and I had to bounce back," Newman said. "With my rough day yesterday, I knew I was going to bounce back. It was just one of those days everybody has, but in my head I think that's unacceptable. To come back right away out of the gate and make some big plays was big for me."

Newman may start against Wake Forest, although Clewis ran with the first team today.

"I think I'm definitely in the running for that," Newman said. "We still have three days left of camp itself (actually two practices and a day off Friday) and getting ready for game week, so every single day is an opportunity to show what you can do and build that confidence. I have to control what I can do and be a consistent playmaker. I'm pretty confident in my understanding of the offense. I always can improve that, but definitely holding my own and being productive in every situation that I can will help."

Newman got a scholarship right before the start of his senior year, but he does not plan on that being the end of the story.

"Absolutely not," he said. "Getting that was a goal and a huge help for my family definitely, but I've always said that complacency is one of the most poisonous things in life and something somebody pursuing excellence can never have. I reached that goal, rejoiced in that moment and then moved on."

From what I have seen, and that definitely does not encompass everything that has gone on at practice, Newman is the most reliable target outside of the big two. He obviously had a rough day yesterday, and his size (5-10, 180) might be a detriment in blocking, but he makes plays.

Today, Clewis had a chance to make a tough catch on a pass thrown behind him by Dane Ledford, but he could not hold on. Ledford then overthrew Clewis badly, enduring one of the rough stretches Ledford has at times, and threw out of bounds looking for Jacob Robertson on a fade. Clewis later caught a deep ball down the hash from Jonathan Banks and made another nice catch near the end of practice. He clearly has the size the coaches like. It's just a matter of making more plays in the passing game than he did a year ago.

Devin Glenn, who is always more productive at running back than receiver in practice, dropped the only pass I saw thrown in his direction.

Freshman Jorrien Vallien, who was sidelined by a concussion in a scrimmage, returned today and had a nice start to practice, but midway through he was escorted off the field by a trainer and did not return.

Essentially, the competition is down to six receivers. I'd rate Robertson sixth out of the bunch, but I don't see all of any practice and Fritz always mentions him as a guy he likes. Today, he had a chance to make a huge play on a long pass in the end zone from Banks, but it went off his fingertips after he did not quite catch up to it.

The bottom line is Tulane has a good receiving corps with a healthy Encalade because that would give Wave two big-time receivers for the first time in a while. It gets dicey if he is not healthy because it still is unclear what No. 3 through 6 will provide. Toles, who usually has a good moment in each practice, did not catch any passes while I was watching today.

I expect the depth chart for the opener to read Encalade, Mooney and Clewis No. 1 and Robertson, Newman and Toles No. 2. The performance of receivers 3 through 6 in that game will determine the depth chart going forward.

NOTES

--Marvin Moody wore a red helmet as a member of the scout team for the defense when the offense and defense were split up early in practice. Then he did not receive any reps in the part of 11-on-11 I saw. I assume he has a slight injury. The starting LBs were Lawrence Graham and Zach Harris. The 2s were Quentin Brown and KJ Vault.

--Keon Howard took his first reps at quarterback today in the 11-on-11 portion when the offense was serving as the scout team. He looked rusty, throwing behind a few receivers, but he has a year to get ready to compete for the starting job while redshirting this season.

--Running backs Corey Dauphine and Darius Bradwell returned to practice today. Of the two, Bradwell appears more banged up, walking slowly when he is on the sideline.

--Ledford took more reps than Daniels. They weren't always good reps--he missed on four consecutive passes at the start of an 8-on-8 drills--but he appears to have the clear edge for the No. 2 spot although Fritz says no determination will be made until after the weekend.

--Tulane will practice at the Saints facility the next two gays, going in the afternoon tomorrow and in the morning on Thursday.

Tulane exited Yulman Stadium on the opposite side of the field than normal today because they were headed to the new 18-wheeler equipment truck parked next to the practice field. The entire team stood in front of it for a series of group pictures, with beaming athletic director Troy Dannen watching.

In the past, Tulane had to pack all of its equipment in the belly of the plane on road trips and then rent a U-Haul when it arrived to take the equipment to the team hotel. Now the Green Wave has joined the modern era, keeping up with the Who's Who in college football.

The process began last fall when Dannen asked associate athletic director for business and operations Chris Maitre to "find an equipment semi like every other program has." Maitre spent about six months working on the project before settling on a brand new 18-wheeler from a Tampa company.

The truck had the Angry Wave insignia on the side of the cab. The trailer is painted green with capital white letters Green Wave and a picture of Yulman Stadium in the middle of the two words.

"We worked on the design late last spring," Yulman said. "It's a brand new semi and a brand new trailer."

Dannen said having the 18-wheeler would make getting in and out quicker because they won't have load and unload the team plane. A few seats on the plane will be freed up because more of the equipment staff will be able to travel in the truck. The time saved will make a difference.

"It might have meant an extra hour," Dannen said. "But when you're playing a game at 7 and get to the airport at midnight, it's an extra hour you'd like to keep."

Willie Fritz has never been at a program that had its own truck to haul equipment.

"It's awesome, isn't it?" he said. "This is kind of the deal a little bit with Division I football. It's kind of neat when we see all these other teams come in here with these big old 18-wheelers, and now we've got one. It's great advertising for Tulane and our athletic department. I think they are going to put our web site on the back of it. That cab is going to be on the road all the time year-round, so people will see that, too. It's great advertising for Tulane University football program in particular. It's first class."

Tulane no longer will have to unload and load the equipment between games. Some of the stuff will stay in the trailer all the time, helping with time management and wear and tear.

"I've driven the equipment truck a lot (when he coached at Blinn College in the 1990s), but it didn't look like that," Fritz said.

Tulane began preparing for Wake Forest today, so the tenor of practice changed. The Wave is getting healthier, too. Noah Fisher practiced from the beginning to the end at left offensive tackle. Corey Dauphine practiced. Charles Jones and Cam Sample were in uniform. I hear Sample did some work before I got there, although he remained on the sideline for the final hour. Jorrien Vallien was back, too.

The one position that was light today was defensive tackle, where 5-foot-9, 280-pound Country Day product Avery Jenkins got reps with the second team. He's a redshirt freshman who will not play, but I did not spot Alfred Thomas or Jamiran James, while Robert Kennedy moved to defensive end (a position he played in the spring) on a first-team line that included De'Andre Williams and Jeffery Johnson inside and Patrick Johnson at OLB.

Others who did not practice in the last hour were Terren Encalade, who was not in pads, and Darius Bradwell, who was in full uniform. I've heard nothing to indicate either one of them is significantly hurt.

The coaches still have not set up traditional scout teams yet, with the defense practice against itself to simulate some of Wake Forest's stuff before the 11-on-11 at the end had first-team guys going against second-teams guys in prep work for Wake Forest.

I've covered six head coaches extensively--Steve Spurrier, Ron Zook, Urban Meyer, Bob Toledo, Curtis Johnson and Fritz--and Fritz goes to the traditional scout-team stuff (offensive players who will not play in games simulating Wake's offense against the defense and defensive players who will not play in games providing the offense a simulation of Wake's defense) later than any of them. All coaches are different, and that's one unique feature about him.

Fritz certainly prepares for a lot of different situations, though. Today he had different up backs on the kickoff return team field balls in case of a pooch kick and had everyone know their blocking assignments on returns if the ball went to difference places. That's attention to detail.

Wide receiver Brian Newman had a tough day, dropping two passes in a row he should have caught. He then made a sweet diving catch out of bounds, but Tulane will be counting on him to play a role this year. He gets open quite a bit and has to take advantage of those opportunities.

When I got there, I watched three consecutive incomplete passes from Jonathan Banks, with a throw glancing off Newman's hands (not counting that one as a drop), a throw slightly behind running back Cameron Carroll that he could not hold on to, an overthrow out of bounds for Kendall Ardoin deep.

Dane Ledford went in and threw a jump ball to the sideline that Newman pulled down with Donnie Lewis in coverage. That right there has been Lewis' bugaboo since he started playing--failing to make a play on the ball in the air.

SECONDARY ANALYSIS

With the practice emphasis changing, I will focus on one area each day this week and give some analysis. Today it is the secondary, which I believe can make or break the season for the Wave. I've really liked what I've seen since the beginning of camp, but there is no way to know for sure what we will see when the season starts.

Unlike last year, when Parry Nickerson was a surefire star before the season began, all eight guys who will get time at cornerback and safety have question marks to go along with their strengths. On the back end, Rod Teamer is playing a new spot (free safety) after an injury-affected junior season when he struggled in coverage because he was not 100-percent healthy. P.J. Hall has been outstanding in practice at strong safety. but he did not set the world on fire in his limited action his first two years.

The backups have plenty of experience, but Taris Shenall, though versatile, has been average in game action through his junior year. Chase Kuerschen was boom or bust as a true freshman, showing excellent instincts to make 60 tackles but also getting beaten often enough that the coaches tried to move him to linebacker this spring before deciding he was better at safety.

At cornerback, Thakarius Keyes has looked good almost every day, but he is an unproven junior. Lewis, who has a ton of ability, has given up some plays in preseason camp and still has to prove he can be a consistent big-time cover guy. Second-teamer Jaylon Monroe has looked good--I would have bet on him starting after the first week of camp--but has very little experience. And the other second-teamer, Willie Langham, continues to make plays each day, but he has never played in a college game.

Those eight guys could be terrific--in a case of too much verbal confidence, both Teamer and Keyes predicted Tulane could have the best secondary in American today--or they could struggle in new roles. I believe they will be good, but that assumes they will carry their performance on the practice field to games and that Lewis will live up to his potential.

Then there is the nickel spot. With the depth at defensive back, one of these guys could end up starting there because it's impossible to predict how Larry Bryant, Tirise Barge or Will Harper will perform. If the coaches want a fifth cover guy on the field, it only makes sense to use one of the corners or safeties because they are the best cover guys on the team. If they want a bigger guy who can rush the quarterback, Bryant makes sense, and Barge, though smaller, was a good blitzer in the spring. As I've said several times, I have no idea what the coaches will do at nickel. They have a lot of different options.

NOTES

--I did not see Jason Swann practicing with the offensive line, so he's either hurt or not around. I will have an answer by tomorrow.

--That third receiver spot remains a question mark. Jaetavian Toles had a nice gain on an inside route today and has looked pretty good, though not great, for most of camp. Newman seems to get open the most of these guys, but his hands were a concern today. Chris Joyce had a catch but has only been at the position for four practices. I have not seen much out of Jacob Robertson in camp even when he practiced, but Fritz said he was not totally healthy on Saturday. Clewis is back but not totally healthy either, wearing a red jersey.

--Tulane will practice again tomorrow at Yulman Stadum, spend the next two days at the Saints facility, get Friday off and then have a pair of afternoon practicing on the weekend that I assume will be the equivalent of the first two game-week practices for a Saturday game.

--Backup defensive back Sean Harper and backup wide receiver D.J. Owens still are not practicing with injuries.

The starters did not get a ton of reps at Tulane's third scrimmage of preseason camp on Saturday morning as the coaches got their last chance to evaluate the depth chart before changing gears on Monday and beginning to prepare for the Aug. 30 opener against Wake Forest.

While Jonathan Banks watched from the sideline, the scrimmage began with Dane Ledford directing the second-team offense. He capped an early drive with a perfect 30-yard touchdown toss to freshman running back/receiver Ygenio Booker, one of the best throws he has made in camp. Ledford still has a long way to go and not much time to get there, but he is showing flashes of competent play.

Christian Daniels went in next. He ran for a score at the end of his first possession. Then, with the ball starting at the offenses 25, he was "sacked" by Jamiran James (they moved the ball back to the line of scrimmage for the next snap), completed a 12-yard pass to Devin Glenn on a quick in, handed off to Jared Bertrand for a 1-yard loss, overshot Glenn deep down the sideline and threw an out pass that bounced off Brian Newman's hands while Larry Bryant provided tight coverage.

On his second series, Daniels completed a 5-yard pass to Miles Lapeyre, who lost his shoe trying to make a move after the catch. James Poche gained one yard and was tackled by Alfred Thomas. Daniels then scrambled out of the pocket when he felt pressure.

The next series started at the defense's 35. Daniels completed an 8-yard pass to Tyrick James, who has been targeted a lot this week, threw incomplete over the head of Chris Joyce, who moved from cornerback to receiver because of the numbers issue there earlier this week and is wearing Freddy Canteen's jersey No. 8. After a run for no gain on third-and-2, Merek Glover tried a field goal from 45 yards out and missed it wide left. That's the first field goal attempt I've seen in camp (they probably do special teams work at the beginning of practice), and it was discouraging. He simply has to be reliable from a longer range this year.

Jonathan Banks went in for the first time after that with the No. 1 offense, although Terren Encalade and Darius Bradwell were held out, and, starting at the defense's 31, he completed a short pass to Jaetavian Toles on a comeback route, handed off to Stephon Huderson for a 4-yard gain and handed off again to Huderson, who was whistled down right after picking up the first down but probably would have scored if it had been a totally live scrimmage. He has nice instincts and feel on his cuts. Banks then completed a short pass to Jabril Clewis, who is wearing a red jersey to make sure no one hits him after returning from injury this week. Jaylon Monroe then interfered with Glenn on an in route, reading the play well but making contact before the ball arrived. Glenn moved early for a false start on the next play, although there was some discussion as to whether the defense had moved first, inducing him.

Ledford came back in at that point and promptly threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Huderson, who was uncovered in the end zone due to a busted coverage. It was not clear who was at fault there.

Ledford tailed off a bit from there in red zone work, throwing incomplete on a fade to Toles with Willie Langham providing good coverage, Cameron Carroll probably would ahve socred from the 13 on the next play in a fully live scrimmage, but he was given only a 1-yard run before the whistle blew. Another running play netted 4 yards before a fade pass to Glenn sailed about five yards out of bounds. No bueno.

Banks went back in briefly, but by this point everyone was dragging on an extremely humid day even by August New Orleans standards. He scrambled and threw to Glenn, who could not hold on to the ball at the 1, and his next attempt was a pass to Kendall Ardoin in the corner of the end zone where Ardoin probably was supposed to stop and shield the defender. Instead, he kept running, giving Donnie Lewis an easy interception.

Ledford went back in and was "sacked" by Thakarius Keyes on a blitz. He completed a short pass to Clewis and then had his arm hit on a throw, causing the ball to go up like a punt, but no one could get to it. Amare Jones showed exactly why Fritz says he has nice wiggle on the next play, making two sharp cuts for a good gain, before Stephen Lewerenz was called for a false start and had to do push-ups.

The last portion of the scrimmage was a situational 2-minute drill, with Fritz dictating the time left and the down and distance. Huderson gained 8 yards, Banks could not connect with Ardoin, who has not accomplished much as a receiver in camp while I've been watching. Chase Kuerschen then made a nice interception off a deflected pass. There's no question he gave up some big plays as a true freshman, but Kuerschen made plenty of plays, too. Hopefully they can find a role for him that magnifies his strengths and camouflages his weaknesses because he is good enough to help this team.

At the very end, Fritz wanted the offense to practice going from its own 30 to the end zone in two plays in a desperate end-of-game or half situation. The idea was for the defense to let the receivers make a pair of catches while still playing token defense. On the first one, my notebook guy for the Advocate from earlier this week, tight end Will Wallace, dropped a soft toss about 20 yards down the field. They counted it as a catch to allow Banks to throw a Hail Mary, and he did it well, throwing it with the right high arc and allowing Newman to catch it about five yards deep in the end zone.

They then ran the same two plays with the idea of the defense stopping it. On the pass to the end zone, Thakarius Keyes slapped the ball to the ground emphatically with two hands at the goal line.

Keep in mind, while I described much of the scrimmage as if it were game-like, they are heavily situational, with some plays being brought back to the line of scrimmage and penalties not being marked off because Fritz wants to work on a certain down and distance. Some tackling was allowed today, but usually the whistle blew before the tackle.

DEPTH CHART STUFF

On Monday, they will begin scout-team work, so the depth chart probably will not change much from there until the start of the season, when performance in games will dictate the depth chart.

I'm pretty confident the starting defensive line against Wake Forest will be Cam Sample (if he his healthy), De'Andre Williams, Robert Kennedy (who played today) and Patrick Johnson at the hybrid OLB spot. Davon Wright was in for Sample today, but Williams is clearly ahead of Jeffery Johnson at nose guard at this point.

The defense will be more multiple than it was last year, when it was pretty vanilla. They have different packages with different alignments depending on the down and distance, allowing Carlos Hatcher and Peter Woullard to play a role they otherwise might not.

The most likely linebacker starting combo is Zach Harris and Lawrence Graham. Graham has gotten more reps with the first unit at MLB than Marvin Moody, who will play a lot.

The corners are Lewis and Keyes when they go with a two-corner look, but Jaylon Monroe is right there. The safeties will be P.J. Hall and Rod Teamer, with Hall capable of playing plenty of spots other than his normal strong safety.

Nickelback is still the mystery spot. Tirise Barge participated on special teams but I did not see him on defense, although I might have missed him. Bryant played well when he was in there, but he also got time at his old rush end spot. They have so many options at this spot with the quality and versatility of the DBs, so it will depend on the opponent and what they are trying to do. Willie Langham has looked good at cornerback this week while working with the second team, giving them another body they can use, and Taris Shenall is a quality backup safety along with Kuerschen.

On offense, they still are looking for that third receiver. I like Toles, but he has not done enough to lock down that spot. They need Charles Jones to come back sooner rather than later because the drop-off is pretty significant, at least in the passing game.

Depth at receiver is a concern. They are throwing to Lapeyre, a walk-on who played quarterback at Newman, every day, which says something. Glenn prefers playing running back, but he had to move to wideout. Maybe the Joyce experiment will work out. They certainly don't need another cornerback this year.

With the running backs, it will be fascinating to watch what happens. Huderson, Jones and Carroll all looked good today, and they are third, fourth and fifth on the depth chart. Bradwell is the most proven of the group, but he has not been a starter yet, so he and Corey Dauphine have something to prove, too.

The line is set, assuming Noah Fisher can get healthy. The first- and second-team depth chart up front has not changed since day 1.

SPECIAL TEAMS

I still have not learned much about the kick returners--I know I was asked to find out this week--so that's a project for early next week.

They practiced kickoff coverage again today. From left to right, the coverage guys were Keyes, Barge, Graham, Moody, Hatcher, Vault, Bryant, Langham, Glenn and Teamer, with Zach Block kicking off. He sent one deep into the end zone.

They also practiced onside kick defense, comfortably recovering five of the six with no bobbles. The exception was a high bouncer that went out of bounds over the head of Toles. If it had stayed in bounds, it would have been a problem, and Fritz instructed Toles to bat it out of bounds the next time, which is legal.

Life has intruded today, but I will post a full practice report either tonight or early in the morning. Sorry for the delay. Noah Fisher returned today but had to leave about two-third of the way through, limping slightly. It may have been planned to ease him back him. He stayed on the field and took mental reps the rest of the way.

I'm hearing none of the injuries other than the wide receivers you already know about and Charles Jones are significant. Fritz said Clewis was back today in the workout at the Saints facility. I did not notice him, but I think he has switched to Canteen's jersey No. 8.

With the college and high school football seasons only a week or so away, the early signing period is roughly 4 months from now. Tulane has nine recognized commitments toward a likely 25 signees. So where do we stand? To this point, none looks like a “sure fire” freshman contributor to my eye. And, so far, none of them has been highly recruited, though that could change once their senior year starts to take shape. Regardless, we clearly have needs at a number of positions.

Quarterback: As every Tulane fan knows, we are woefully thin at this position and Banks is in his final year of eligibility. I’ve thought for a while that we would sign three QB’s for 2019 and, counting Keon Howard, I still think so. From my perspective, I’d hope to sign a true freshman with tremendous potential and a graduate transfer with the immediate skill set we need. The latter would probably not be known until after the season at the earliest so a JC kid could also be a possibility for December signing. To date I have us offering 17 high school QB’s with only two, Lance Legendre and Travis Mumphrey, from Louisiana. They have committed to Kansas and UNLV respectively. I’d really like to see us turn Legendre though there are several out of state options I’d also be happy with.

Offensive Line: We’re losing five guys after this season who are currently listed in our two deep (Fisher, Briggs, LeGlue, Knighton, and Devon Johnson). The little used Brian Webb will also be completing his fourth year at Tulane and his return may be doubtful. Therefore it should be no surprise that we have already gotten five commitments to the OLine and I would expect one more—again, most likely a late announced Graduate Transfer. Coach Fritz has gotten one each of the past two years along with a JC, so I doubt that “pipeline” will be closed down. If we go for another high school kid, we’ve offered at least 22 for the line including five from in state. Of those who have shown an interest Tulane, the best is probably Dylan Rathcke from University High. I think he’d be a good “get.”

Tight End: With Jones and Ardoin graduating this year, we’ll be down to only two scholarship tight ends and probably need at least two, and probably, three more. We’ve got a single commitment thusfar and have, to the best of my knowledge, offered another dozen or so with none from Louisiana and most of whom have already committed. They’re out there, but may be hard to find. One I like is Konner Fox from San Antonio who has a number of solid offers but is uncommitted.

Wide Receiver: A position that was very deep has suddenly become short. Encalade, Clewis, and Newman are all seniors and Canteen may or may not be back next year. We probably need at least three wide receivers for 2019 with one possibly coming from the JUCO/graduate student ranks. So far we’ve got one commitment and have (or had) offers out to at least 50 others including several from Louisiana. It’s hard to pick out a favorite since the "top tier" within the state appear to be going elsewhere. Some who might look good at Tulane are Kash Foley (Riverside), Jacob Bernard (Lakeshore) or Kyle Maxwell (Amite).

Running Back: We seem to be pretty well set at running back with only Glenn departing and his value has yet to be determined. We’ve got one commitment so far and barring attrition or position changes, I’d expect only one more for 2019. To date we’ve offered 40+ high school kids and many look pretty good. Tyrese Jackson (New Iberia) could be the best available to us at this point but quite a few backs could move to the fore as the season progresses.

Defensive Line: Our only two seniors, Robert Kennedy and Peter Woullard, will be departing after this season with everyone else on the line either a freshman or sophomore. Though I doubt we’d sign more than 3 or 4, we have offers out to around 60 DE’s/DT’s. I would hope we’d hold out for kids with the same kind of potential we signed this past year. Who that might be, I’m not willing to guess at this time.

Linebackers: Of our seven current linebackers, only one, Harris, is a senior, so we don’t need a lot of help here. Still, we’ve offered about 40 kids with most having multiple P5 offers. I’ll guess we sign two this year but the requirement is so small and the prospects so many that I don’t have a clue who we might get. Best guess they will be from out of state because the best “in state” kids are pretty much spoken for or have shown no interest in the Wave.

Defensive Backs: Some of our most experience players, Teamer, Donnie Lewis, and Taris Shennall will complete their eligibility this year, so we’ll need to sign at least three DB’s to get ready for the future. We’ve offered upwards of 80 (who knows how many are still operable?) but at least 20 of those have made verbal commitments. One uncommitted back who I really like is Tyrone Lewis (Hammond) who has visited the Wave on several occasions. He has a number of P5 offers and would, in my opinion, be quite the catch.

Special Teams: Block, Glover, and Eatherly are our incumbents at punter/kickoffs, Field goals, and snapper positions respectively with Block being the only senior. If Ryan Wright proves to be satisfactory as a punter and Glover/Eatherly do the job, we may not sign any specialists this year. I hope that’s the case. Glover and Eatherly will both be seniors in 2019 and we’ll have to replace them in 2020 regardless, so Coach Fritz might be willing to sign a particularly spectacular player a year early. That seldom happens at these positions, however.

Obviously, both our needs and opportunities will change over the next four months prior to the early signing period, but I’ve always liked to follow recruiting from the beginning to the (all too often: “bitter” end.

Roll Wave!!!

First, let's just get it out of the way that I applied for membership in the moron of the month club by taking Willie Fritz literally after practice yesterday when he joked that he had ordered the fighter jet flyby. Of course he didn't, but I lacked a sense of humor detector at the time because I was ready to write a feature on Charles Jones and did not even notice that he was out injured. I was thinking what the heck am I going to write about after Fritz said he would be out about three weeks, so common sense went out the window.

OK, on to today's practice, which was conducted other much less brutal heat than yesterday's and ended early, around 9:45, after being listed as ending at 10:15. I saw about the last 30 minutes as a result instead of the hour I planned.

With three more practices left before beginning significant prep work for Wake Forest, Tulane still has time to tinker with its depth chart. Today, KJ Vault and Lawrence Graham practiced together at linebacker while Marvin Moody and La'Dedric Jackson practiced together. Both duos got work with the first and second teams, while Zach Harris did not get any reps that I saw. He was in uniform, but as a fifth-year senior, he can sit out some drills to give the young guys more time.

They ran a drill today where each quarterback had six plays against the defense in a hurry-up mode. Jonathan Banks began by hitting Darnell Mooney on the sideline for about 20 yards. Mooney bobbled the ball but brought it in while keeping a foot inbounds. Corey Dublin messed up a snap, something I've rarely seen in camp, and Jacob Robertson dropped an easy pass on a quick out. Banks then hit Jaetavian Toles on the sideline. Of the healthy receivers, I'd say Toles has been the most impressive other than Encalade and Mooney.

Dane Ledford was next, and he did not have a good day. He overthrow walk-on Ryan Thompson deep on his first play, missed another pass on the sideline and then finally threw a pretty one, which Miles Lapeyre dropped. Obviously Ledford was not working with the same caliber of receiver as Banks, but too many of his passes still come off funny. He threw one deep pass later in the practice that was wobbling the second it left his hand.

When Christian Daniels went in, he threw a pass that running back Andrew Zuckerman dropped. The three drops were the most I've seen in a cluster this preseason, but two of the drops were from walk-ons.

When Banks went in for a second stint, he made the play of the day, leading Toles perfectly on a crossing route while getting the ball in between a linebacker and a safety with little space. Those are the throws he needs to make to take the offense to another level, and he has proven he is capable of doing it.

The depth at cornerback continues to allow the coaches to experiment with different combinations. P.J. Hall got some reps at cornerback with the first-team defense today, with Donnie Lewis playing safety. Thakarius Keyes, who sat out the end of Wednesday's workout, was back on the field.

Offensive tackle Noah Fisher was in uniform for the first time in a while with a little brace on his left knee. He did not take any reps, but he stood next to offensive line coach Alex Atkins to get mental reps while Joey Claybrook continued to work with the first team. Look for Fisher to return imminently.

Cam Sample was not in uniform today, and neither was Jabril Clewis. Running back Corey Dauphine sat out, too, after returning from a minor injury yesterday and looking sharp.

Kendall Ardoin, as expected, is working with the first team at tight end.

The third-team offensive line is Michael Remondet at left tackle, Ben Bratcher at left guard, Stephen Lewerenz at center, Timothy Shafter at right guard and Nik Hogan at right tackle. Other than Fisher, the only lineman not practicing is Brian Webb, a redshirt junior on scholarship who never has been a factor. I doubt he will be back last year, leaving Tulane with only three scholarship guys from Orleans Parish for 2019--Dublin, Jamiran James and Juan Monjarres--plus whoever signs in the next class. A handful of New Orleans guys are senior this year--Rod Teamer, Devin Glenn, Harris, Peter Woullard and Charles Jones. Then there is Cameron Jackel, a redshirt freshman from nearby Marrero.

Practice had just ended when lightning in the area forced the team to leave the field, meaning a rare day when Banks did not stay to work extra time.

FRITZ

How did you feel about practice today?

"It was good. We had a little more pep in our step. We started off good and were getting a lot of good drill work done--special teams situations, offensively we worked a little four-minute drill, we worked some option period today defensively. You don't see that every week, but it's good to put your base rules in for playing option and also the four-minute offense as well. We did a few special teams drills. You just don't have time to do them once you get into the season. It's a lot more schemes. It's the second time we've done some of those drills, so I think we're going to get some good feedback on it from watching the tape."

John Leglue will have started at tackle, center and guard for you after the opener. You want guys to be versatile, but what allows him to be that versatile?

"Number one, he's real smart, and number two, he can snap a football, and that's the first key with playing center. He's a smart kid. He's going to graduate with his MBA in four months. He understands what we're doing. He stayed relatively healthy. He's been banged up like everybody, but he's done a good job of staying healthy. I'd say the biggest deal is he's a smart kid student-wise, but he's also a smart football player. Sometimes those don't always go hand in hand, but it sure does with him."

What do you like about him at guard?

"He's got some mass. He doesn't look like it, but he's 310 pounds, 6-foot-5, 6-6, a big guy. With us and what we're doing, we need some mass inside of getting some movement. We're running that inside zone play."

Noah Fisher was taking mental reps today. Is he about to return to practice?

"Yeah, he's close. He's' real close."

Do you know when Cam Sample will return?

"Hopefully here in the next day or two."


LEGLUE

(who was proud to announce that his little brother just had a baby girl, Leah Jane, and sai he wanted to give a shout-out to him).

Alexandria was not an area that Tulane recruited much under Curtis Johnson. How did you end up here?

"When I was in the recruiting process, my parents wanted to focus on education, so I went to a few camps going into my senior year. I went to Tulane, UL-Lafayette, Monroe and all the Division 1-AA schools. I never made it out to LSU and the bigger programs. and all the camps I went to I ended up getting scholarships to. I committed to Lafayette and then de-committed about four or five days before signing day. My parents just wanted me to really consider the next 40 to 50 years, and ever since I came here, I was able to get my undergrad in three years and I'm getting my master's is business right now. I only have two classes in the fall, so I'm really excited about my future on and off the field. Tulane just puts their recruits and all their student-athletes on a whole another level when it comes to job success."

You will end up having started extensively at guard, center and tackle in your career. How versatile do you have to be to play all three spots?

"It's just the way coach Atkins and coach Mack Helms (graduate assistant on offense) teaches everything. Versatility's huge. He says even at the next level everybody plays every position, so if you really want to strive to go to the NFL you have to learn how to play all three positions. You have to do whatever is best for the team. Whatever they want me to do, I'm willing to do."

What do you want to do better this year than last year?

"I want to continue to be more consistent and just keep dropping my feet on pass contact and do everything I can to become all-conference and help lead this team to a bowl game."

There aren't many guys left who were around here before Yulman Stadium debuted. You're one of the nine (along with Donnie Lewis, Terren Encalade, Zach Harris, Peter Woullard, Devon Johnson, Charles Jones, Kendall Ardoin and Robert Kennedy). Do you have a special bond?

"Oh for sure. We've been through so much in five years and built a brotherhood. It's just like we're best friends every time we see each other on campus and around the city. We're always excited to hang around one another, and we're ready to get this program going in the right direction."

How has Tulane's position changed within the spectrum of Louisiana football since you arrived?

"You can tell from all the recruits that come to the summer camps and all that aspect. It's coach Fritz and the culture that they bring here, everybody respects it. Everywhere coach Fritz has been, he's changed the program and for the past two years you can tell there's a huge increase of awareness in the city and people backing us. We're going to have a great year this year."

What would say to people who say this is a one-school state (not my question)? Is there room for Tulane to grow here?

"Oh, no doubt. Especially nobody in the state can compete with our academics. A lot of the recruits need to understand that football is going to end one day and having that Tulane degree, you'll get a job over other people in the state. I had a class in Paris, and everybody in France knew what Tulane was. If I would have said I went to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, they would have been, what is that? It's a world renowned program, and on and off the field it's going to be really big time for Tulane."

Willie Fritz shies away from contact as much as possible in preseason drills to avoid injuries, but Tulane has been bitten by the injury bug anyway this year. Tight end Charles Jones is the latest to go down, suffering what Fritz termed a "serious ankle injury" in practice this week (I'm not sure what day; I missed yesterday's workout at the Saints indoor facility).

Jones is expected back for the season opener against Wake Forest, but it is no sure thing. Tulane is deep at tight end, with fellow fifth-year senior Kendal Ardoin, redshirt freshman Will Wallace and true freshman Tyrick James available, but none of them is as dynamic as Jones.

Jones joined defensive end Cam Sample and offensive tackle Noah Fisher on the sideline, although neither of those injuries is considered serious. Tulane also has numerous other players unavailable, but the only ones with definite long-term implications are the season-ending injuries to wide receivers Freddy Canteen and Kevin LeDee.

Cornerback Thakarius Keyes left practice with what appeared to be a leg problem today and was sitting on the training table during 11-on-11 drills. Backup safety Sean Harper was not dressed, too, along with wide receiver D.J. Owens. One guy I wondered about after yesterday's practice was back--Alfred Thomas lined up as the second-team defensive end.

The offense performed better in the passing game today than in recent practices. On the first play of 11-on-11 work, Jonathan Banks hooked up with Darnell Mooney deep down the sideline. It was a nice throw and more good work from Mooney, who has been Tulane's most consistent player in camp. On the next snap, Banks threw over the wrong shoulder of Jacob Robertson to the far sideline, but Robertson made the adjustment and hauled it in, barely getting a foot inbounds for a terrific reception.

The rest of the 11-on-11 was less spectacular, with the offense making some plays and the defense making some plays. Running back Amare Jones had a pass bounce off his hands along the sideline. Dane Ledford completed a nice one over the middle to Wallace. Daniels threw to Mooney over the middle and hit Brian Newman on a slant. Safety P.J. Hall made an outstanding play on a pass over the middle, jumping the route to slap a pass away. The session ended with a nice run by freshman Cam Carroll.

Earlier, in a 7-on-7 red zone drill, Banks was off target on a throw to Newman in the corner of the end zone before hitting walk-on Miles Lapeyre while he was kneeling down in the corner just past the goal line. Banks then threw incomplete to Lapeyre.

Ledford got the next crack at it and overthrew Jaetavian Toles in the end zone before hitting Mooney over the middle and completing a sideline pass to Bradwell short of the goal. He then threw three incomplete passes in a row, missing Terren Encalade on a slant, having cornerback Willie Langham knock a ball away from Newman in the end zone and having freshman Ygenio Booker stop on a route over the middle as the ball sailed past him.

Daniels got his chance and hit James on the inside and Stephon Huderson on the outside before getting picked by Langham, who stepped in front of a late pass in the flat and would have returned it all the way for a touchdown if the drill had been live. Daniels bounced back to complete a short pass to Newman.

Banks had one more opportunity but chose to run on two of the three plays when no one was open, hitting Mooney on the sideline the one time he threw.

It was a strong practice for Langham in general. He got some reps with the first-team defense after Keyes went out and is ahead of Chris Joyce in the battle for No. 4 cornerback. Thats significant because Tulane might have three corners on the field in its base defense, so he would be the first one to rotate in off the bench in that circumstance.

Late in the practice, four fighter jets flew over the field. It was pretty cool and a planned event by Fritz, who was disappointed they arrived five minutes later than scheduled at 9:27 instead of 9:22.

Earlier in the workout, Robertson, Amare Jones, Newman and Toles practiced catching balls fired high into the air by a Juggs machine. They are working on their hands in case they are used to return kicks and punts.

Freshman La'Dedrick Jackson got some run with the first-team defense in 11-on-11 work along with Lawrence Graham. Although Jackson has looked pretty good, that came out of nowhere. I'll check tomorrow to see what is going on there. I was concentrating on other things today and did not notice where Marvin Moody was. Zach Harris did not practice, likely because he is still taking classes to finish up a master's degree in December.

Apparently Moses Wood is missing a class that would preclude him from being able to enroll at Tulane, and they're scrambling to get this resolved in time so that he'll be eligible this fall. On another, more positive note Kevin Zhang is completely eligible.

But these two issues are related on a deeper level. There are people in the athletic department who research every potential recruit's academic transcript and every other factor that could determine if they are academically eligible or would identify any issues that could prevent them from becoming academically eligible. Obviously this is important information to know because no coach wants to waste precious time and resources recruiting a lost cause.

The person Tulane had working to do this task was incompetent (maybe he's part of a group, I don't know, but there was one particular incompetent employee) who missed this issue with Moses Wood that should have been identified much much sooner, and who also misidentified issues with Zhang. Dannen understandably was furious with the guy and fired him, which is obviously a good thing for us going forward.

The question that comes to mind is did we lose Damien Tate because of this clown? Maybe some of you with closer contacts with the football program can find an answer. I doubt very much that Fritz would expend much energy recruiting someone who he wasn't sure would be eligible, because not only did we lose Tate but we presumably lost someone else who we turned down because we had no more scholarships left to offer.

Anyway, thought it was worth passing on.

Due to a miscommunication with the Tulane SID staff, I was not let in the gate at the Saints practice facility until Tulane's practice was over. I was there in time to interview Willie Fritz and found out Robert Kennedy returned today while Noah Fisher did not, so never mind my prediction from yesterday. Fisher will be back soon, though. Fritz said he expected Cam Sample back tomorrow.

Here's what I believe to be the depth chart at this time, although nothing is close to official yet:

OFFENSE

QB

1) Jonathan Banks
2) Dane Ledford or Christian Daniels

Comment: When Fritz says the backup battle is too close to call, he's not hiding anything. Neither one of them appears ready, but one of them will move ahead in the next week before they give only two QBs the reps in preparation for Wake Forest.

RB

1) Darius Bradwell OR Corey Dauphine
3) Stephon Huderson
4) Jet Glenn, Cameron Carroll or Amare Jones

Comment: It's hard to get time for more than three running backs. As good as these guys have looked in non-contact drills, I'm not sure how many carries there are to go around after the top two. Glenn probably will get a look in the opener. After that, the pecking order will be based on performance.

WR

Starters: Terren Encalade, Darnell Mooney and Jabril Clewis
Backups: Jaetavian Toles, Brian Newman and Jacob Robertson

Comment: Clewis is not assured of starting. Other than that, these are the top six guys.

TE

1) Charles Jones
2) Will Wallace
3) Kendall Ardoin
4) Tyrick James

Comment: I don't know that Wallace is ahead of Ardoin, but he's made more plays in camp when I was watching. Blocking, of course, is a huge factor, too, and that's hard to judge in non-contact work.

LT

1) Noah Fisher
2) Joey Claybrook

LG

1) Dominique Briggs
2) Cameron Jackel

C

1) Corey Dublin
2) Hunter Knighton

RG

1) John Leglue
2) Devon Johnson

RT

1) Keyhshawn McLeod
2) Tyler Johnson

Comment: Barring injury, this has been the two deep all camp.

DEFENSE

DE

1)Cameron Sample
1)Davon Wright

NT

1) De'Andre Williams
2) Jeffery Johnson

DT

1) Robert Kennedy
2) EDIT: Alfred Thomas

OLB

1) Patrick Johnson
2) Carlos Hatcher

Comment: Other than James, all of these guys appear ready to play. The freshmen will have some significant growing pains, though.

WLB

1) Zach Harris
2) KJ Vault

MLB

1) Lawrence Graham or Marvin Moody

Comment: Harris, Graham and Moody will rotate a lot, with all three capable of playing both spots. I cannot make a call on Graham or Moody yet. Both of them look good. Vault is a ways behind them, with Quentin Brown trying to get in the top four.

NB

Comment: No idea. I could do a depth chart, but I'm not sure what they will end up doing here. If they go with one of the guys who entered camp at the position, I'd still pick Tirise Barge over Larry Bryant and Will Harper even though he's gotten few reps with the first unit in camp. If they decide they want three cornerbacks on the field, it would be either Donnie Lewis or Jaylon Monroe. This is the most wide open spot on the roster, and the decision hinges in part on what they want to do with this position.

CB

Starters: Donnie Lewis and Jaylon Monroe OR Thakarius Keyes
Backups: Willie Langham and Chris Joyce

Comment: The race here is too close to call. Lewis will start somewhere. Monroe and Keyes have taken turns looking outstanding in practice.

Strong safety

1) P.J. Hall
2) Taris Shenall

Free safety

1) Rod Teamer
2) Chase Kuerschen

Comment: Those are the top four. The pecking order between the starters and backups is clear, too.

Punter

1) Ryan Wright
2) Zach Block

Comment: This is just a hunch, but Wright has to become more consistent. I have not seen much punting, but when I have, the range between his good ones and bad ones is huge. The good ones are better than Block's have been in the past. The bad ones might be worse.

Kicker

Merek Glover

Comment: Glover is their guy. I have no idea who the backup is because I have not seen any field goal attempts.

Tulane received some bad injury news as it ended the second week of preseason camp.

Freddy Canteen, the talented graduate transfer wide receiver whose chronically bad shoulder ended separate seasone at Michigan and Notre Dame, is done for the year and probably his career with yet another shoulder injury. Coach Willie Fritz said Canteen dove for a ball in practice late last week and landed on his shoulder.

"We've lost him for the year," Fritz said. "It's unfortunate. He was having a good camp, and he won't be playing this season. We'll see what he can do. He may end up helping us coaching a little bit. We were hoping it (re-injuring the shoulder) wouldn't happen here, but unfortunately it did. He's a good, young man. I feel sorry for him. He was diving for a ball. It was nothing you don't do a hundred times a week with different guys on the team. That's the only bad thing about this game."

At Michigan, Canteen missed six games in 2015 and all of 2016 due to a shoulder injury. Looking for a fresh start at Notre Dame as a grad transfer last season, he went down with a torn labrum after three games.

Reboot No. 2 at Tulane got off to a fast start. He practiced with the first team for much of his short time in camp, making a series of nice catches on opening day.

“I definitely feel good,” he said then. “This system is great for me. I’m just thanking God I will be able to showcase what I can do."

Now he can't. Although he mentioned the possibility of getting a medical hardship for his lost season at Notre Dame and a sixth year of eligibility in 2018 when he arrived, the chronic nature of his shoulder injuries makes that outcome unlikely.

"I'm not sure," Fritz said. "That's going to be up to him. I talked to him the other day and laid everything out to him and his mother. She happened to be in town for business. We want to help him with whatever decision he makes. It's just tough when a guy sets goals and something like this happens. Unfortunately it's life. It's adversity. You've got to see how you respond to adversity. It may start another phase in his life. He's got to figure out what that's going to be."

Canteen is not the only Tulane receiver done for the year. Redshirt freshman Kevin LeDee suffered a serious left knee injury last week, will have surgery in the next few days and will spend the season recuperating. LeDee has flashed some potential in practice and was competing for playing time after redshirting in 2017.

"We had more depth at receiver entering the year, but now we're a little bit back," Fritz said. "We have a few more guys, but everybody is a little older and smarter. We've got some of these young guys that we think can step up and play for us this year, too."

Six scholarship wide receivers did not practice Monday, including 2017 starter Jabril Clewis, junior D.J. Owens and true freshmen Sorrell Brown and Jorrien Vallien None of their injuries appear serious, and Fritz said Clewis would be back "in a couple of days hopefully."

When the receivers went through an individual drill, the remaining scholarship guys were Terren Encalade, Darnell Mooney, Jaetavian Toles, Brian Newman, Jacob Robertson. True freshman running back Ygenio Booker was part of that group, too, so they may be moving him to wideout because of the incredible depth at his normal position.

With Canteen gone, the onus is on Clewis to improve. He made a few nice plays last season but not enough for a physical 6-foot-2, 210-pound guy who started seven times, catching 16 passes for 174 yards and zero touchdowns with a long gain of 25 yards.

"He's a bigger guy," Fritz said. "He'd kind of been out for a year in there, played a year of juco (at Grossmont College in California), and this is no slam on junior college--I'm an old juco coach--but there's a big difference between Division I football and junior college football. You have to pick it up. That first year is almost like a high school guy coming in because is about five times the size of the playbook (in junior college), but not just the playbook but what the other team does and the adjustments and in-game changes that you make."

From spring until now, Newman, who was awarded a scholarship just before the start of preseason camp, has made as many plays as anyone not named Encalade or Mooney at the position. He will have a role this year, but how large is still to be determined.

"He's going to play for us, but right now I don't know how much," Fritz said. "He can play anywhere from five to 50 snaps. We'll see. There's a bunch of those guys jockeying for position."

Robertson, a touted recruit, caught six passes in the last three games a year ago as a redshirt freshman, but he finished with only 81 yards on 11 receptions. He could be the third guy, too. Toles, a true sophomore, played in eight games last season and caught one pass, but the coaches like his ability.

"Jacob's got to get healthy," Fritz said. "He could play a lot out there but he's had a little trouble staying healthy. Jaetavian played quite a bit last year as a true freshman. We think he is one of the more explosive guys on our team."

In other injury news that could be huge or insignificant, sophomore defensive end Cameron Sample went down with a knee issue early in practice before I arrived. He was watching practice with a bandage on his left knee when I got there. That's usually a good sign when a player can stay on the sideline rather than going to the training room, but the severity of knee injuries can be tricky to tell at first glance. There will be an update on him after tomorrow's practice.

I will have the rest of the report in a little while.

Interesting to see how thoughts have changed from the end of last year season to the beginning of this year. The area of most concerned was supposed to be losing Hilliard and Badie at rb , the youth of the defensive line and the playmaking and cover skills of parry. However listening to coaches those positions are surprising becoming a strength. A lot has been said about Recruiting over the years, this is the year you truly judge a coach on personnel. Is this team better than when Fritz got here . I would say yes across the board.