I did not see the first game but was happy my feature player looked so good in getting the save. That was supposed to a story that ran only here, but when the rain hit last night, and taking into consideration the legitimate criticism of The Advocate for its paucity of Tulane baseball coverage compared to LSU, I convinced the editors to run my Andrews story, which they then put on the front page of the sports section.

The second game was not pretty. Montalbano almost ended it with a three-run home run just as he did to beat Illinois on opening day last year, but Tulane did not have many quality at-bats and committed four errors.

Here's every word from Jewett:

You were a couple feet away from coming away with a sweep if Montalbano's blast had been fair, but what are your takeaways from the split?

"If you look at the runs given up, I would say that France and Merrill, the starting pitching was quality. They gave us a chance to win. That second game I thought maybe we had a chance maybe to create some separation and jump out to a 2-0 lead early. We just kind of went stale after that and just really didn't have a chance to do too much. When that happens, we've just got to find some ways to create some offense, but if it's not there, then we're just kind of hamstrung."

In the second you were up 1-0 and had runners on second and third with no outs and tried the squeeze play with Hunter Hope that did not work, which was followed by the line drive that turned into a double play. How significant was that?

"It was a little bit unfortunate. Two things with that. I didn't think Hope was seeing the ball that well, and I talk to you guys all the time about how we're going to try to be a little bit more efficient putting the ball in play and things like that. He laid down a nice bunt. We had a safety on there, and the pitcher really just got off the mound like a cat. He attacked it hard and made a nice play. But we were still in good shape. Now it's first and third, one out, and then we hit the ball right on the barrel and it's right at the guy. That's the one place on the infield it's acceptable to get doubled up on a line drive, when it's something behind you. That particular inning, baseball was a little bit cruel.

"I told the kids after the first game, it's all about just getting back to the middle. Yeah, we won the first one, but can you just get back to even and come out and play a good game of baseball. We knew it was going to be a long day. I'll be honest with you. I thought Air Force out-spirited us a little bit in that second game. Does that have anything to do with the outcome of the game? I'm not sure, but they were engaged in it pretty good. We just have to rebound. Now the get back to the middle is just on the other spectrum. It's a little bit down below the middle and now we've just got to get back.

"I think you can see, too, the way Air Force celebrated right there after the win, they know there's some experience on this team and they've had some successes in the past and they feel like they came in here with a big win, but I tell the kids that's what it's going to be like. Every day there are going to be people coming after you. We have to answer the bell, and if you win every series for the entire year, you are going to be hosting a regional. It's all just about tomorrow. That's what it is, and I told our kids get a good night sleep and it's OK to be upset and disappointed, but I want them to go back and I'm going to do the same thing and I've asked the staff, too, just to reflect on what we did or didn't do and get back to the middle tomorrow, and if we win this series, it's a good opening weekend."

You didn't play a clean game in the second game. Did that come back to bite you?

"Absolutely. A four-piece of errors is never going to be any good. That didn't help. And we had another play where we had a no doubles in the outfield that didn't end up hurting us, but we tried to throw the ball to the plate with two outs and a ground ball up, and the next thing you know it was second and third and we got out of the inning, but there was certainly some inefficient defense, and we're going to have to clean it up. Even with that being said, our starting pitching did a pretty good job. I thought (Ted) Andrews getting out there for the first time, we've talked about him and he was solid. And then (Chase) Solesky (who pitched in the second game) was good, too. A freshman, get out there and get his feet wet. And Sammy (Bjorngjeld, the losing pitcher) was good, too. When I took him out of the game, it was just because the split said to, but what I tried to tell him was that if you're thinking the game and you have an open base there, that pitch has got to be more of a pressure type situation. If he swings and chases and we create an out, that's one thing. If we walk him, that's an acceptable thing, too. We left something up over the plate. We either should have punched him out or walked him so to speak. Now I know life's not like that all the time, but I thought we made a mistake in an opportunity right there to see if we could get the hitter to get himself out and then still have a double play in order with the game tied. The ball was actually hit right at the left fielder, and he just actually lost it in the lights.

"I told the kids, too, there's a little something to be said when you can put two guys on there in the last inning. It wasn't just a give-up or anything like that. We had the middle of the order up there at the end."

How happy were you with the way Corey Merrill pitched?

"Good. He battled well. We told the guys before the game they (Air Force) were going to come out ambushing. It's going to be first-pitch aggressive and they are going to swing. If you look at my stat sheet, there are a lot of one Ps (pitches) on my book, first pitch they are trying to get it. We have to clean a couple of things up, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the kids respond tomorrow."

You had a lot of concerns at catcher entering the year with Montalbano coming off Tommy John surgery, but he threw out two base stealers and picked another guy off second base. How pleased were you?

"Really pleased. He handled the pitching staff well, and any time a pitching staff pitches well, there has to be some credit to the pitching coach and to the catcher and that relationship that way. He did a good job, kept all the balls in front of him and threw some runners out. He tells me that he feels pretty good. It was a little bit scary last night with the rainout knowing we had to play a doubleheader today with his situation, but he was full bore wanting to be in there, so I was proud of his attack."

Will Ross Massey go tomorrow?

"Yes. I feel good about that of course. Another guy with experience. If we can generate some offense for him tomorrow, we'll be fine."

I could have gotten in on that batting order discussion in the other thread because Tulane had an order listed on the scoreboard when we did interviews Tuesday, but I was in such a hurry to get to the hospital for a doctor's appointment that I forgot to write it down and did not remember it when I finally had time to think about it. All I had time to do was make that quick post on some of the info Jewett revealed when I inadvertently put the wrong position for Sal Gozzo.

But here's some more info from Tuesday now that I finally have some time after a severe health scare in the last two weeks that has turned out totally fine (Two CT scans, six bloodwork analyses, an X-ray and appointments with three specialists at Ochsner revealed nothing significant, though I still have a colonoscopy coming in April to make sure I am out of the woods):

JEWETT

On the rotation:

"We're going Merrill, France, Massey. Right, right, left. Certainly the way they've been pitching leading up this point. We talk about all the time how everything is on rent here, including the chair I'm sitting in. Production is important, so that's just kind of how it's laid itself out. Massey's fine. He's fine. Just a little bit of blurb right now, which is fine, a bump in the road, no big deal, but we just want to make sure that we kind of know what that bullpen option looks like later on in the weekend instead of trying to force feed it maybe early. Those guys have earned those spots, and it doesn't have to stay that way for the rest of the year. It's what we're doing this weekend."

On Ted Andrews:

"It's a great story, isn't it. We're talking about a graduate transfer from Furman that's had a Tommy John, a hardship year. He actually has two years of eligibility left for us, but the strides that he's made from day 1 to now have been as good as anybody on our team offensively and defensively. I'm confident in him and he's confident in himself right now and as we referred to a lot, a closer isn't just the guy that throws the hardest. It's the guy that can do it more often than once a week. He can handle it two, three times a weekend and he can do it three, four times a week. He's got resilience that way, he can control the running game, field his position, just those types of things when a game matters like that. I have a lot of confidence in him going into the weekend. He's earned this spot and hopefully he'll stay with that role all year long."

On what he wants to see this weekend:

"Just good, clean elementary defense, competitive at the plate. I have to tell them all the time we want to be chameleon-like. If we're swinging and everything's going, then we can just sit back and put our hands in our back pockets and let the boys go, but we're not going to just sit out there and watch the pitcher throw out of the windup all day. We're going to force some offense and find ways to create first. You might see some guys in this lineup up and down 1 to 9 that maybe you've not seen bunt that might bunt, that might slash and run, that might hit and run, that might do some things like that. We'll be aggressive, let the game talk to us and I'm just looking for the kids to take the training and put it into an environment against somebody else and play how they're capable of playing."

On Army and Air Force:

"Army, it's a little bit different because they've got a brand new coaching staff, so the stats that we see from last year, maybe some of the scouting report notes about how they've played in the past, you can pretty much throw it in the garbage can. Scouting reports are a weather report. It's nothing more than that. It might rain. It might not. He's got great fastball command, but he might not. The breaking ball is this and all of a sudden it's something else. They're just weather reports. The one thing you can say about Air Force is obviously a consistent staff and they've got some older, returning players and their numbers offensively are scary. They'll certainly be a good challenge, but France in that role, too, is a pretty good competitor. I feel good about that matchup."

On positions that were up in the air:

"Sal Gozzo is going to start Friday night. Jeremy will be the starter behind the plate. (Jarret) DeHart in left, (Lex) Kaplan in center, (Grant) Witherspoon in right."

On pressure of having to get something done this year:

"Every day. I feel that every day, and that's me putting expectations on them or on myself or this staff, but when you play a sport and there's an outcome of a win or a loss, the expectation is to win. I like the experience of this team. I like the heartbeat and the success you've referenced. We need to lean on that. We need to let those experiences shine through this year, and offensively it's a good year to have some experience because as experienced as we are offensively, we might be as inexperienced as we get out of the rotation in terms of the bullpen and the closers and stuff like that. We'll have to have a complete team effort to get the Ws we want."

On relying on power in lineup:

"Absolutely. Kids have to understand, we tell the hitters all the time you have to know who you are, and we've tried to train them to understand their game and what their strengths are and things like that. We certainly have the ability to hit the three-run homer, but good pitching can take those options and decrease them. Although we like the home run--everybody does--we have to be multiple. We have to to be able to win games more than just if we hit home runs, we win, if we don't, we lose. We're spending a lot of time on our bunting, slashing, hitting and running. I'm just letting the kids know that nobody's off limits in terms of all those things because if it's best for the team at this moment, then that's what we're going to do."

On being OK with swinging and missing if necessary:

"Yes I am. I think sometimes there has to be a little bit of give and take. That doesn't mean I want it to be part of our DNA either, though. There's a good strikeout and then there's not good strikeouts, and I mean that by like if a kid stays over the plate really good and his vision's down and the ball jus happens to disappear late but he's over it and things like that, that's just life and it's baseball. We do want to cut down the strikeouts. It's been a huge focus of ours from an offensive standpoint to just be a little bit more competitive, put some more balls in play, challenge the defense to make plays, exchange the ball and play an accurate game of catch and just all those types of things. We are going to play some baseball, and there will be a whole bunch of different parts to this thing, and I think you guys will enjoy what you see."

On his own excitement:

"I admitted it to the kids the other night, I said anybody nervous for the first game coming up? Of course 18 to 22-year old kids are like, no, man, I'm not nervous. I said, well I am. And I told them not scared, but nervous. Like we referenced earlier, any time there's an outcome, somebody's 's going to win or somebody's going to lose, so that makes you nervous, but you're also excited about playing, especially the first game being a new coach and all those types of things. Basically I just want the kids to get their butterflies into formation so that we can come out here, step out, take a deep breath, be in control of our emotions and say we've trained well. We have, and we're ready for this moment. Right now just like in a classroom setting, we've studied for a while and now we have to take a test. Hopefully we'll score well."

I'm not sure what ASN is, but the studio commentator was really good, correctly saying when Tulane was up 15 at halftime that it would be the biggest upset of the year in college basketball if it held up and that Tulane had beaten nobody good. Contrast him with the game analyst who kept saying Tulane had gotten a lot better as the year went along and would be extremely dangerous in the AAC tournament. Maybe that latter part will turn out to be true, but all of history indicates otherwise. Heck, Tulane had not won two games in a row in any conference tournament before last year since 1983.

I hope people aren't saying the game showed how much Tulane has underachieved this year. Obviously any team that has only four wins after 25 has underachieved regardless of its talent level, but last night was the outlier, not the other 24. Tulane is not capable of shooting as well as it did in the first half on anything but a rare basis, and good shooting always makes a team look good. One of the only things I've been impressed with this year is Tulane's attitude. The players have remained upbeat despite the dreadful season with the exception of the Houston game, when they let their heads hang in another outlier performance. But the reality is this is a bad team, not one that could have even been middle of the pack.

Tulane lost the game with some soft play from the 14:10 mark to the 8:30 mark of the second half but otherwise played extremely well. Up 54-43, Melvin Frazier traveled and then took a bad 3-pointer, leading to four points that cut the deficit to 54-47. Then cold-shooting Colin Slater took a horrible 3 after coming in for an injured Ray Ona Embo, leading to a transition 3 by SMU's Semi Ojeleye that pulled the Mustangs within 56-52. That got Ojeleye, the best player in the AAC, going after a brutal shooting performance, and he quickly sank another 3 to make it a 1-point game just before the midpoint of the half. Ryna Smith then turned it over with a soft move in the lane, leading to a 3-point play that gave SMU its first lead. Finally, Frazier, let an easy rebound go off his hands and bounce on the floor, handing a basket to SMU as it went up by 4. That's three bad plays by Frazier, but he actually had an outstanding game with a career high in assists and some excellent defense. I'm not trying to pick on him.

I'm impressed Tulane did not fall apart from there. It easily could have become a 15-point loss, but the Wave hung around until the final 30 seconds. If Tulane shoots like it did in the first half, it will be competitive the rest of the way, but there's been little evidence it can maintain that level.

That said, it's possible for Tulane to end the season on a three-game home winning streak, which would be quite remarkable considering the Wave is 2-22 at home in AAC action and has never won one in regulation. South Florida, Saturday's opponent, is 0-7 on the road and lost to Tulane by 15 at home. East Carolina, which comes to Devlin Fieldhouse next Tuesday, is 0-6 on the road in conference games and lost to SMU 86-46. Tulsa, which comes to Devlin on March 5, has lost five in a row overall, including a 22-point defeat at mediocre Memphis and an 18-point defeat at mediocre UCF in its last two road contests.

I'll go one step further. If Tulane wants to say it has gotten any better during the year, it HAS TO WIN ALL THREE OF THOSE GAMES. Otherwise, it's more of the same ugliness we've seen for the last several years.

I believe it was the right choice for Tulane to keep the Air Force doubleheader games at 9 innings today. College baseball games, as a rule, are not nearly as long as they used to be since they changed the bats.

Here is the length of each weekend home game last year for Tulane:

3:12 (extra innings)
2:29
2:28
2:49
2:31
3:05
2:58
3:11
2:17
2:56
3:20
2:46
2:33
2:14
2:56
2:30
1:52
2:50
3:11
3:07
2:23
2:21
2:49

History does not dictate the future, and we don't know what pace Jewett likes, but there should be a decent chance that the 4:00 game starts on time, particularly with Merrill going in game 1.

Friday starter Merrill
Saturday starter France
Sunday starter Massey

DeHart in left
Kaplan in center
Witherspoon in right
Rowland DH
Montalbano catcher
Gozzo shortstop

The only Friday game is at Memphis on Oct. 27. That game and the Navy game will be CBS Sports TV. The TV for every other game has not been determined yet.

This schedule is very balanced, featuring two home and road games in September, October and November and only one streak of two road games (at Navy and Oklahoma in September) or two home games (Army on Sept. 23 and Tulsa on Oct. 7, separated by the open date).

2017 TULANE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 2

Grambling State

Sept. 9

at Navy*

Sept. 16

at Oklahoma

Sept. 23

Army (Military Appreciation)

Oct. 7

Tulsa* (Hall of Fame Weekend)

Oct. 14

at FIU

Oct. 21

USF* (Breast Cancer Awareness)

Oct. 27 (Fri.)

at Memphis*

Nov. 4

Cincinnati* (Homecoming)

Nov. 11

at East Carolina*

Nov. 18

Houston* (Senior Day)

Nov. 25

at SMU*

Dec. 2

American Athletic Conference Championship

Since I'm already on record saying Tulane will go to a bowl this year, my initial guess is W, L, L, W, L, W, L, L, W, W, W, L. But that will change, maybe even if I think about it for the next few minutes.

I talked to Jewett before the scrimmage yesterday, which I did not watch.

Are you going to do any work with the infield after the sand was coming up in the scrimmage last Friday?

"What I think happened was we got a little bit busted at the very end. The field was all kind of down and ready. They'd laid most of the product, but the sand they were putting in was a little bit wet, then we got a heavy rain and a couple of freeze days and then the sand was wet. We were able to kind of sit down in the fibre. They were trying to see if it would settle on its own, but obviously it didn't work to how we want the field to play, so we are going to get someone out here to try to touch it up. It looks good, though."

Inheriting a team with a lot of seniors can be a comfortable thing or an uncomfortable thing. What has it been like for you and your staff?

"It's more comfortable than uncomfortable for sure. Like I've told everybody, I just like the fact that they've had innings on the mound. They've made pitches in big situations. We've had guys playing defense and offense and at-bats and all the things. The price tag for the age is invaluable. It's maybe not typical of college baseball where you see so many (seniors), but geez, Louise, it's good for us. You look around at the guys we're talking about, and they're good players. I'm excited about what they are going to bring to the team, that's for sure."

Is Corey Merrill going to be your Friday pitcher?

"I knew you were going to ask me that. Can I tell you this? It's going to be him or Massey. Today, kind of one week out, I wouldn't call it a tryout, but both are going to pitch today and then obviously someone will be on course to grab it on Friday and the other guy will just have one more day and be ready for Saturday. That's kind of where it's at. France has pitched well, too. (EDs note: A poster on GoTula.net said Merrill and Massey both gave up some runs in four innings of work, so it's hard to glean much from their performance on Friday). We'll feel pretty good about where that's going. We'll probably have a more concrete idea maybe even after tonight."

Are you closer on the closer?

"Yeah. Teddy Andrews. Like I talked to you before, being a closer is not always about throwing the hardest on the team. It's like, can you do it frequently? If the situation arose 10 days in a row, obviously we wouldn't do that to him from a health standpoint, but he's a guy that can grab the ball and do it on multiple days, a few times a week, and I just trust him. He's another one of the older players that we talk about, a grad transfer. But he understands the running game, he can field his position, so he can do some things. We'll go with him to start and see how it goes."

Is the midweek starting pitcher role wide open?

"More than anything it changes maybe on the depth of your pitching staffs. You're always looking at the now. I'm kind of an acronym guy, and I talk about WIN, which is What's Important Now, so if the game is in front of us, that's what's most important now. And if we have some scenarios over the course of the weekend where maybe that potential Tuesday guy could better suit us right now and give us what we're looking for, then we're going to use him. Then we'll worry about Tuesday on Tuesday."

What do you feel is the biggest concern between now and next Friday?

"Identifying the roles out of the bullpen. That's it. I could tell you that right now. Just who it's going to be and when, just trying to figure that part of it out. Obviously we talked about Teddy. Brandon Issa has made some really good strides. He's transitioned himself from training all the time to actually taking his training and putting it into a competitive environment and trusting his training and now competing."

What kind of stuff does he throw?

"It's fastball, slider, change. It's kind of coming at you crossfire, hard to see, but I think he's going to be able to bridge some gaps for us. I believe on the pitching part of it, you kind of reverse your roles. You want to be good in the back and you want to be able to hold a lead or gap it to the closer, things like that. I like the bullpen to be strong. You can grab yourself a lot of Ws out of the bullpen when you have a lot of guys that you trust."

I keep hearing good things about Matt Rowland. Is he continuing to hit?

"He's been really good. I don't know what else to tell you. He's probably been our top hitter since the day I got here. HIs at-bats are quality, he can work counts, he can walk, he can homer, he can hit a line drive the other way. The thing a lot of people don't realize about him is he can run. I feel a little bit not sorry for him, but because he's swinging the bat so well, we're just cross-training the crud out of him. The poor guy, he's looking at me the start of training and he has five gloves in his hand and he's like, which one do you want me to use today? I'm like, use them all."

I guess when Montalbano doesn't catch, you want to find a way to get Rowland and Montalbano in the lineup?

"If you came out to training today and the scrimmage tonight, Rowland's going to play left field and a little third, first base, and through 21 innings this weekend, we've got a plan, maybe a little bit more in the outfield because he's trained quite a bit in the infield, but you are going to see him in left field, third base, second base, first base, just trying to utilize his bat and his speed. He's a smart player, too. He understands the game. I'm excited for him. He's worked hard, and this is maybe going to be his chance to get some at-bats."

Terrific piece in The Advocate, Guerry, Thanks!!

Roll Wave!!!

Any news on Nick Kubiet?? Did he or will he sign today and with whom?

Tulane has one player in this weekend, DE Nick Kubiet of Matanzas High in Palm Coast. Fla. I've never heard of that school, which means it's relatively new because in the 1990s I was one of two staffers who compiled a high school preview book that listed every returning starter and a writeup of every high school football program in the state, and Matanzas wasn't one of them.

That pointless digression aside, Kubiet reportedly had offers from Tulane, Georgia Southern and Southern Miss. Obviously that Tulane offer was on the table by signing day, but the Wave is bringing him in for another look.

Here is his Rivals profile page:

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/72122

With the caveat that I believe your thoughts are more informed than my thoughts on this topic, here are a few nuggets about this class:

1) I am not sure what to make of it overall. Clearly, Rivals, 247 Sports and Scout were not particularly impressed, rating it 89th, 104th and 104th again respectively and near the bottom of the AAC. Tulane beat out some decent competition for some of the players but not others, and I didn't feel there was much of a different in that aspect from the last several years. What it comes down to is trusting that Willie Fritz and his staff are excellent evaluators of talent, which I believe they are. We'll find out whether I'm right in the next few years, but it is very important that Tulane reach a bowl game next fall and show progress. Fritz admitted the Wave's history of losing was hard to overcome when recruiting Louisiana athletes in particular.

2) Tulane's two biggest misses were Whitlow and Jakyle Holmes, but the staff did not do anything wrong in either case.

Whitlow, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards last year as a quarterback, was coming until Auburn's change of heart in the last few days. When the Tigers offered him to play wide receiver and return kicks, Tulane had little chance of getting him. It's Auburn, and his hometown is 30 minutes away. It was just a very tough break.

The staff loved Holmes. He just didn't love Tulane, and the word is he was scared away by the Wave's academic rigor and felt more comfortable at ULM. This is not about ULM being perceived as a better football opportunity. It's all about him feeling like a fish out of water at Tulane. He projected as a perfect fit for Fritz' scheme.

As for Kieston Roach, all I can say is from day 1 after 247 Sports listed him as a commitment, Tulane indicated he was not a high priority and still needed to prove he was the right fit on an official visit before they pulled the trigger. This absolutely, positively is not a case of a school feigning lack of interest when it realized it wasn't going to get a player. The ball was in Tulane's court, and the Wave decided to pass. Maybe the staff was wrong about Roach, but clearly, a lot of other schools felt the same way. That's how a touted 3-star recruit ends up at Texas State.

3) Tulane needed more defensive tackles, but none of the guys it missed on were sure bets to succeed in college. They wanted Shannon Forman and Kelvin Kegler and Ellison Hubbard and Isaac Buell but were not broken up about not getting them. Those guys were lack of numbers needs rather than "wow, look what he can do" needs.

I'm concerned about Tulane's DT play next fall, but it has less to do with the lack of players in this class --let's face it, even Tanzel Smart did not start as a true freshman--than with recruiting issues in the past few years. They need some great work between now and September because other than projected starters Sean Wilson and Eldrick Washington, none of these guys were functional players by the end of 2016.

4) I don't buy the argument that recruiting rankings are meaningless--heck, last year Fritz said on signing day the coaches who claimed that usually were the coaches with weak classes--but they definitely aren't gospel, particularly outside the top 50. One of the signees the coaches are the most high on is linebacker Marvin Moody, whose only offer was Central Arkansas. He basically was a silent commitment from the weekend he visited in mid-January Tulane did not want any other school realizing how talented he was. We'll see if they are right about him. Darnell Mooney, just about the lowest rated member of the 2016 class, had the best season of that group.

5) Tulane's huge first recruiting weekend in January, which by all accounts was a rousing success that included second lining in the French Quarter (I'm still amused that Khalil McClain is not familiar with the term "French Quarter" even after he went there), produced only three signings--McClain, Moody and Cameron Sample. The Wave did not have stiff competition for the latter two, so of the heavy hitters, it only got one.

Paul Gainer (USM), Shaquan Griffin (Georgia Souther), Holmes (ULM), Keirston Johnson (USF), George Nyakwol (Rice), Buell (Virginia), Sam Crawford (Tulsa), Terence Dunlap (Troy), Forman (Arizona State), Tyree Gillespie (Missouri), Hubbard (Colorado State), Michael Robinson (Troy) and Darreon Jackson (Arkansas State) ended up elsewhere. I can't swear that every one of them visited, but they were supposed to. If Tulane starts winning, I bet five more of those guys would choose the Wave.

6) Tulane had much more success on its second January recruiting weekend, getting five of 10. Clearly, these guys were not as highly recruited, but that's still a good ratio, with Dublin, Montgomery, Singletary, Barge and Johnson all signing. Roach would have made it six if Tulane had sent him papers. The others: Justice Oluwaseun (UNLV), Naz Bohannon (unsigned, sure Tulane did not offer him), Jamal Gates (FIU) and Melton Brown (Georgia Southern).

To round it out, I believe Tulane had only three visitors in the final recruiting weekend, flipping Quentin Brown from Boise State while Joctavius Phillips signed with Colorado State and Kelvin Kegler stuck with his commitment to USF.

I'll post more impressions as the week goes on.

(EDITED to reflect Shaquan Griffin signed with Georgia Southern)

I watched the first two innings of the scrimmage last night before I had to take my son to a soccer game, and I also talked to Jewett before the game. Here are some impressions followed by the transcript from the interview:

The new turf has not settled yet. Dust flew up when the first single landed in center field, and it flew up again when a second baseman dove in the infield. I assume that's the normal process.

Corey Merrill was the starting pitcher for the green team and Ross Massey started for the blue team. The leadoff hitter for the blue team was third baseman Hunter Hope, followed by first baseman Grant Witherspoon, left fielder Matt Rowland, second baseman Jake Willsey, shortstop Sal Gozzo, center fielder Grant Brown, catcher Paul Gozzo and right fielder Michael Kirsch. They did not use a DH.

The leadoff hitter for the blue team was right fielder Lex Kaplan, followed by left fielder Jarrett DeHart, catcher Jeremy Montalbano, center fielder Tyler Heinrichs, shortstop Kody Hoese, second baseman Alex Galy, third baseman Jonathan Artigues and first baseman Grant Matthews.

Neither team scored in the two innings. Merrilll struck out Hope to start the game before Witherspoon singled to center field and Rowland walked. The inning ended when Willsey struck out and Witherspoon was caught stealing on a good throw by Montalbano.

Kaplan walked to lead off the bottom of the first before DeHart flew out. Kaplan then stole second, beating a poor throw by Gozzo and advanced to third on grounder to short by Montalbano before being stranded on a grounder to second by Heinrichs.

Sal Gozzo struck out to start the second. Grant Brown walked and Paul Gozzo flew out to right field, with Brown being doubled off at first in a piece of atrocious base running. It was not a line drive, and while it was Kaplan had to run a long way to get it, the ball never looked like it was going to land.

Hoese struck out to to start the bottom of the second, with Galy grounding out to short, Artigues walking and stealing second, taking off after a pitch to the plate bounced and the throw went to first when he appeared to be picked off. Matthews then flew out to shallow left on a long run by Rowland, who caught it on the foul line.

I left right after Kirsch led off the third with an infield single. Galy made an incredible diving stop deep in the hole but threw wide of the bag from a prone position.

Hoese hit a towering, Hope-like foul ball about 50 foul and about 50 field over what would have been the wall in left field if it had been fair.

The only notable absence was Hunter Williams, but Jewett did not mention him being hurt before the scrimmage and even mentioned him as having had a good first week.

Other than that, it was hard to judge a whole lot. Merrill looked sharp. The team looked more fundamentally sound than the day I watched a scrimmage in the fall. It was interesting to see Witherspoon at first, but that was probably due to Williams not playing.

There are a few here who clearly post regularly from their phones. Often those messages end up being garbled up pretty bad. Please check them and edit them before posting. It can be frustrating to try and figure out what is being said. This has been going on for a few months at least. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has encountered the problem.

Live from my living room coach, I will post signing updates as they come in. As all of you know, you can follow Tulane's signings on twitter and Snapchat @GreenWaveFB and at TulaneGreenWave.com's Signing Day Central to get the latest news.

Cameron Sample was supposed to choose between Tulane and Georgia Southern at 7 today.

Of the players who were committed to Tulane at one point but won't sign, it's clear that most of the the decisions came from the Green Wave's end.

OT Charlie Clark, who flipped to Georgia Tech, WR Davontavean Martin, who might end up at Virginia, and DT Caleb Sampson, who reportedly is deciding between Missouri and Kansas State, are the notable exceptions.

Here's where the others stand. I'm sure I'm missing one or two.

1) Darius Campbell, CB, John Ehret

--likely will end up at Colorado State

2) CJ Sturdivant, RB, Hoover Ala.

--committed to North Alabama

3) Kaylan Wiggins, QB, Sanford, Fla.

--He went public when Tulane changed its mind. Committed to FIU now.

4) Kris Reed, WR, Tallahassee

--committed to Southern Miss

5) Evan Reese, DE, Savannah

--Will sign with Savannah State of the FCS

6) Luke McCleery, OT, Grapevine, Texas

--committed to Army

7) Gage Mallory, C, Argyle Texas

--reportedly has offers from Fresno State, North Texas and Tulsa, but I'm not sure about that.

I really appreciate that interview, Guerry. That type of coverage we cannot get elsewhere and I'm not sure you get enough credit for the job you do. Here's hoping you can provide similar insights from Jatarvious Whitlow, Paul Gainer, Terence Dunlap, and Shannon Forman after tomorrow.

Roll Wave!!!

It’s been a long time (maybe forever) since we’ve had so many kids (involved with Tulane) making their final public decision on who they will sign with on “signing day.”

Normally, we know that we expect “X” number of kids to sign and we know all of their names. We always “hope” that some “superstar” will make a last-minute decision to join the “Wave,” but mostly we just pray that each of our commits comes into the fold (even though we have doubts about some of them as legitimate BCS-level football players).

This year is really different. Based on what research I’ve been able to put together, Terence Dunlap, the RB/DB from Alabama, will make his announcement at 8AM CST, choosing between Tulane, Rutgers, and Troy. I think it’s down to us and Troy with distance from home to campus the only thing I see in Troy’s favor. Sadly, that may be enough.

Paul Gainer, the OL from Mississippi, and one of my favorites, has said he will announce his choice at 1PM CST. Presumably, he’s choosing between Tulane, USM, and ULL. I really want him but have thought for some time that he will go to USM, the lesser choice in my view, but we’ll see.

Kierston Johnson, the LB from Florida, who I consider to be the best LB on our board (including those who have committed) is scheduled to make his decision public at 12 PM CST. His latest “tweets” suggest it is between Tulane, USF, and Fla. International. I’m guessing USF.

Frankly, these 1PM announcements confuse me. In the past, we’ve had signed letters for the entire class by about noon. Do we have “backups” standing by for an afternoon call if things don’t go our way? How does a kid “gamble” on getting a “fall back” call on signing day if he has other options with schools that want him NOW, no caveats?

Jatarvious Whitlow, athlete from Alabama, has not specified a time to my knowledge but has said he will make his decision tomorrow between Tulane, Troy, UAB, and, a recent entrant, Georgia Southern. To me, we should beat all of those competitors but who knows? Our QB position is starting to be filled up and though the Alabama schools may provide some “local” enticements, I think Georgia Southern’s offensive philosophy, and possibly fewer competitors for the position, might “win the day.”

Shannon Forman, the DT from Southern Lab, hasn’t been very vocal about his decision. It appears he is waiting on a firm offer from a couple of P5 options, and if he receives such, he’s gone. Will we fill up before he decides? Will we still be looking for another DT if he gets his “dream” offer? I have no clue, but I don't have a good feeling..

Kieston Roach is another anomaly. He’s been listed as a Tulane commit on some sites but apparently didn’t have a great senior season. Are we still interested? He has other offers; is he still interested in us? To me, we have probably filled up on defensive backs so I think, regardless of his interest, he’s on the outside looking in. If he wanted Tulane, he may be too late.

Nick Kubiet (DT), Sanny Ochoa (DT), and Kelvin Kegler (DT) are all names that have surfaced in the past week. Are they backups to Shannon Forman? Has one or all passed him in the “pecking order?” For that matter, how do they “stack up” against each other? Clearly DT is a position of need. Are any of them what we want/need?

Or, maybe a superstar will join the fold, or, more likely, someone who visited recently but has fallen below my radar. Again, we'll find out more on the 'morrow.

But, back to these media-driven announcements. Do these kids “signal” to their choice in advance? How embarrassing would it be for a 17-18 year old kid to go on local TV to announce his “school of choice” only to find “no room at the inn?” I have no idea how this works or what strategy a coach needs to employ. I just hope for the best and trust in Coach Fritz.

Roll Wave!!!

I just talked briefly to Terence Dunlap, the 2-star RB from Alabama whom Tulane really wants, and he said he had picked a school but refused to tell me which one. Said he wasn't telling anyone yet. It's down to Tulane, Rutgers and Troy, the last three schools he visited.

I also texted Shannon Forman, and he replied he had not made a decision yet. It's hard to know what's going on with him. He may have offers from Arizona State and Missouri or he may not. He definitely has offers from Tulane and Arkansas State and meets a huge need for the Wave. I guess it's wait and see on him.

Melton Brown and Kelvin Kegler, two more players Tulane is actively pursuing, have not responded to my texts today.

Enterprise DB Marcus Jones chose Troy today.

Although Tulane is listed as offering him, the offer no longer was on the table.

I talked to Chattanooga (Tenn.) Notre Dame defensive end prospect Patrick Johnson this afternoon. Here is what he had to say about his commitment to Tulane earlier this week and why he feels like he flew under the radar.

When did Tulane first start recruiting you, and what do you like best about Tulane?

"They actually started recruiting me about two-and-a-half weeks ago. Coach (graduate assistant Walker) Ashburn just saw me through an All-Star game, and he was recruiting throughout the Tennessee area because Chase Kuerschen (Knoxville Catholic safety and Tulane commitment) played in it. (It was the Toyota East-West All-Star Classic in December on the Tennessee Tech campus)."

What happened after the initial contact with them?

"They actually reached out to me through twitter. They were showing some interest, and then they sent coach (Kevin) Peoples, the D-line coach, and the week after that they sent coach (Jack) Curtis, the defensive coordinator, down to see me. That's how it went."

What were the other schools that offered you?

"I had Mercer, FAU, FIU. Cincinnati called me the day that I committed to Tulane. They wanted to give me a scholarship, but I declined because I had already committed. I had some other ones interested, but I never got back to those schools."

Rivals has you listed as an athlete, but is the plan for you to start out at defensive end?

"Yes. That's it."

Where can you help the team the most?

"Most definitely pass rushing because my speed off the ball, I feel real comfortable with that. That's the biggest thing."

Tulane has had five commitments from the weekend you visited (Jan. 17). What did you like best about that weekend in New Orleans?

"Well, the reason I chose Tulane was I felt like getting a degree from Tulane was going to help me get far in life. I had a feel for the coaches when I was there. It was such a short process with them getting me down there and getting to talk to coach Fritz and coach Peoples. Those guys are going to turn that program around, and I want to be a part of it. That was the biggest thing."

What did you do on your visit?

"Of course they took us around campus, but I went to the Pelicans game with the players, so I got the chance to hang with them (The Pelicans lost 143-116 to pitiful Brooklyn). It gave me a chance to talk with them. I was still hanging out with them at their apartments, and they see the same thing the coaches do. They're all in. You can't pass up on a chance like that."

Who was your chaperone?

"Sam Davis."

By the end of the visit, did you pretty much know you were going to commit to Tulane?

"It took a couple more days. I knew that I was going to commit, but I just wanted to come home and talk with my family first about it because emotions can be crazy when you're on a visit. Everything's going great, so I just wanted to sit down, relax for a second, think and talk about all the schools I was considering."

Did you take an official visit to any other school?

"No. I've been to FAU before, but their coaches had only been there for about a week so it was kind of hard. I talked to Lane Kiffin, too, but I felt comfortable with Tulane."

Tulane has not won much recently, but Fritz has only been the coach for one year. Did that staff convince you the program is on the rise?

"Shoot, you see what they did over at Georgia Southern? They put that program on the map. I remember watching them, and I was like, man, that crew over there is doing something big, and they are going to do the same thing over here at Tulane. So why go somewhere that already has a name to themselves? Why not make one for yourself. That's my biggest thing."

Where do you need to work the most on your game to be successful in college?

"I would say getting my strength up. Learn more technique. My technique's pretty good, but not being 6-5 (he is listed at 6-3), sometimes you can't power your way through it, so you have to use technique and just learn the game. The speed of the game is fine with me. I just have to learn what's coming next."

How many tackles did you have a senior, and what positions did you play?

"I played outside linebacker. I probably had about 60 tackles and about 15 tackles for loss and about eight sacks. In my division, they ran away from me all along. I played field side, and they just ran away, so it was kind of hard to make tackles and chase them down every time. I did really well. I missed two games with a little injury."

What was the injury?

"Just a sprained MCL. It was in the beginning of the year, so it was no problem at all."

What is the reason you weren't heavily recruited?

"It was most definitely, I got on the map my junior year and it was my height actually. When I got measured at some of these camps, I was 6-1, so that kind of scared them away a little bit. I was at outside linebacker then plus tight end. That's another thing. Tulane might play me at offense, too, but they are actually bringing me in at defensive end. They might have me at wing, too. But (recruiters backed off) because of the height. Everything else was fine. I ran well. It just came down to my height."

Is versatility one of your strengths?

"Most definitely. I was playing inside linebacker, defensive end, outside linebacker. Our head coach even put me at receiver, but we went through four quarterbacks, so eventually we just had to start running the ball, so that kind of blew that."

A few things could change before Wednesday, but what are your thoughts on Tulane's top five recruits?

You can include Roach and anyone else you think will be part of the class even if they are not official commitments at this point.

Guerry- can you confirm that the St. Aug safety and Jesuit RB are preferred walk ons and not scholarship guys? It would be pretty disappointing to take these two on scholarship with so many others still uncommitted. It also flies in the face of Fritz's mantra about not taking players just to fill spots.

begins Friday. I will be there to start coverage of the Jewett era. Not sure what to expect with the loss of the irreplaceable Jake Rogers plus Stephen Alemais, but this team has the potential for a really good year.

From Nola.com:

http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2017/01/lsu_tulane_baseball_swap_oppon.html#incart_river_index

I'm very excited about this kid, hope he lives up to his film! Someone else used the nickname Honey Barger, and I think it's a perfect fit