Tulane senior women's basketball player Jamie Kaplan is up for the Senior CLASS Award, which honors those NCAA Division i student athletes who have made notable achievements in community, classroom, character and competition.

Here is the link to vote for her. The winner will be determined by fan voting, media voting and voting by head coaches.






Link

1) Defensive end is the clear top battle for starting roles at Tulane this spring, with pretty much every other position accounted for, so I will focus there more than anywhere else.

I talked to Robert Kennedy yesterday, and he cleared up a misconception I had that dated to incorrect information Tulane provided when he arrived. I asked him when he was moved to end from linebacker, his projected position coming out of high school, and he looked at me funny. He said Tulane's coaches always recruited him as an end and he lined up there from day 1 in the preseason.

Kennedy is one of six ends available for spring practice, joining Ade Aruna, Daren Williams, Peter Woullard, Quinlan Carroll and Luke Jackson with Royce LaFrance out due to what CJ said were academic issues. Realistically, Kennedy is in the top three, ahead of Woullard, Carroll and Jackson, so he is in position to be part of the rotation even if LaFrance is fine for the fall.

Here is what CJ said about Kennedy yesterday:

"He's a pass rushing demon. I love Robert Kennedy. I like how he's played. He's learning the defense and playing very, very fast. He's one of those guys that's fast and strong we need to help us."

Kennedy told me he want to be a starter in the fall and have six or seven sacks. Those are lofty goals, but at least they are conceivably attainable, unlike when Corey Redwine told me he he hoped to have 10 sacks from his interior line spot last preseason (he finished with zero). Kennedy felt like his redshirt season was very useful.

"Now I know what I'm doing," he said. "I have a whole lot of experience under my belt, maybe not like game-day experience, but I know the defense. I would love to be in the starting rotation."

Kennedy listed his best strengths as his speed and explosiveness, saying he needed to perfect his pass-rushing technique and dip his shoulder. He has a quiet confidence about him, and I think he will be a productive member of the rotation in the fall.

That said, the key to substantial improvement involves Ade Aruna. He walked past me in the Wilson Center after I talked to Kennedy, and he is the definition of a physical specimen. I covered the University of Florida for 17 years, and Aruna would fit right in if he were in the Gators locker room. But he is beyond raw as a player, so defensive line coach Kwahn Drake has his work cut out for him.

His potential, though, is off the charts.

"He's starting to pick it up," CJ said. "I know one thing--he leads the world in batted down balls. He's batting down a lot of them. He needs to learn to be a little more physical, but he's a pass rusher now. We have some really good pass rushers."

Former co-defensive coordinator and line coach Jon Sumrall said during signing day in 2013 that Aruna would play right away and learn on the job because could not afford to keep him on the sideline. Then he had the NCAA eligibility hassles that forced him to miss almost all of the preseason and started out hopelessly behind, forcing him to redshirt. He was pretty ineffective last year, too, making seven tackles in eight games with one sack and one forced fumble. I watched him get abused on running plays against UCF when he looked like he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Now is the time for him to begin getting it. Tulane's fortunes could hinge on his improvement.

2) If you're wondering when is the last time a team played in the spring with only three scholarship wide receivers, offensive coordinator Eric Price does not have the answer. He said he's never had that situation in his coaching career. The depth will get better in the fall if Leondre James returns, giving Tulane six wideouts counting the two incoming freshmen, but that's still too low. The good news is Tulane also has four scholarship tight ends and three running backs (Josh Rounds, Sherman Badie and Dontrell Hilliard) who can help out in the passing game.

Of the various walk-ons who are helping out this spring due to numbers, only two of them have any chance of becoming factors. One is Larry Dace, a 5-9, 175-pound ex-St. Aug guy entering his senior year He made some plays on the scout team last fall and has earned praise from CJ this spring. The other is David Dubriel, a 6-0, 170-pound sophomore from Baton Rouge McKinley. I wouldn't count on either become factors, but it's not inconceivable.

3) CJ had high praise for Leonard Davis yesterday, saying he had to apologize to Darion Mornoe but Davis might be Tulane's best safety. That would be more encouraging if the coaches had not been high on Davis last year before the season started, only to have him struggle in coverage all season. Davis is starting at strong safety during the spring, and there's no real competition for his spot.

"Leonard's doing absolutely phenomenal," CJ said.

4) Two starters you don't have to worry about are defensive tackles Tanzel Smart and Sean Wilson. Smart should be ready to become an All-AAC performer as a junior, and Wilson exhibited excellent promise while starting as a true freshman.

"Golly, Sean and Tanzel, we can't block them," CJ said Wednesday. "Those guys are good."

5) Tulane will practice Friday morning at Yulman Stadium, starting at 8. I probably will get there at 9 and maybe head to the press box. It's too cold to stand out there for a long time.

Check the front page for my first interview with Sheridan on Wednesday. Some of its was coach speak because, well, he's a coach, but he was also very revealing about the strengths and weakness of his three scholarship receivers and the challenges of his new job. I like him. He says more than a lot of assistants do.

Most Tulane fans, including me, have to be happy with the 8-1 start of the baseball team. We're only one pitch away from being 9-0, though probably a couple of pitches away from being 6-3. Even the latter would probably have made most of our fans happy. Of course, last year we were 7-2 through nine games with a pitch or two away from being 9-0 or 6-3 also. But this year "feels" different.

Pitching[/B]: Through nine games, we have a 1.86 ERA compared to last year's 2.31. Both are clearly very good but it's hard to ignore the seven consecutive good starts by Yandel, Duester, Merrill, Massey, Yandel, Duester, and Gibbs. Through the last seven games, those guys have thrown 44 2/3 innings, allowed 25 hits, three earned runs (0.60 ERA), 15 BB's and 33 SO's. That's truly exceptional. And though, when I watch them pitch, none of them appears overpowering, the results tend to speak for themselves. In the bullpen, Gibault has thrown in five of our nine games and has been generally good. Strangely, three other guys, Johnson, Rankin, and Steel, have our three saves, while Gibault has our only "blown save." Overall, relief pitching has been very good.

Hitting[/B]: This year, through nine games, we're hitting .288 with eight HR's. Last year at this time, we were batting .277 with four HR's. Clearly we tailed off considerably last season, particularly on the power side of the equation (we hit only six HR's in our last 43 games). While I don't expect us to keep up a near "homer a game" pace this season, I do expect us to hit much better the rest of this season than last year. Still, I think we have several players who simple don't have the necessary "bat speed" to hit consistently at the college level. And it's not simply keeping up with the fast ball. Starting the swing early can solve that. But, committing to swing early causes batters to swing at bad balls, take good pitches, be far ahead of curves and change-ups, and it makes for some very ugly swings. It's causing us to get to two strikes far too often where virtually no one hits within .100 of his average earlier in the count. High school pitching with 80-85 MPH fast balls allows for a later commitment by the batter than 90 MPH college pitching. Again, I think we'll be better this year but we're playing all the same guys.

Fielding:[/B] We've made some spectacular plays this year, particularly by Brown and Alemais, and we're fielding at a .974 pace compared to last season's .970. And, if it hadn't been for the defensive meltdown by Rogers and Deschamp at third base in the third game against Pepperdine, our fielding percentage would be much higher. Last year, Alemais (16) and Hope (15) made almost half of our 64 errors. This year, Alemais (3), Hope (1), Deschamp (1), and Rogers (2) have contributed 7 of our ten errors from the SS and 3B positions. That clearly needs to improve as we go along, but I don't have any real complaints about our defense, though Carthon provides some thrills chasing balls when he's in the outfield.

Small Ball:[/B] To the proponents of "small ball," Coach Pierce must seem like a Messiah. Through nine games, we've attempted 16 steals compared to 48 all last year in 52 games. Of course, we've only been successful this year on eight occasions (50%) compared to the 36 for 48 (75%) last year. I don't think we've tried many hit and runs this season, and I know we've had at least two base runners thrown out "stealing" when the batter failed to make contact. But I think we also had one successful steal on a failed "hit and run." I'm not sure we've had any successful hit and runs but I haven't seen every game and the radio play-by-play, without Graf, has not been very trustworthy. Bunting, however, is where we've seen a huge change. Last season we had only 36 SH's all year (a little below the national average) and thus far this year, we already have 19 (*explanation below), the most in all of college baseball. Moreover, we've only had the lead runner thrown out on one bunt this year that I can recall, so we're 19 for 20 as far as that goes. Equally important, four of our "bunters" reached base without incurring an out-three by fielding errors and one by a fielder's choice when the throw was late to second. More telling, of our 31 base runners involved (the 27 on base and the four who reached), 12 have come around to score (38.7%). Compare this to our record of scoring base runners overall (36.8%) and we see that, despite the myriad of statistics compiled that would recommend very judicious use of the sacrifice, our wholesale use has resulted in slightly higher scoring results. Let's hope we continue this success.

(* The official site credits us with 20 SH's, but I'm pretty sure that is wrong. In the second game of the season, Carthon laid down a bunt, and the runner was thrown out at second (the only such occurrence this year), yet the official scorer credited a sacrifice to Carthon. It should have been a fielder's choice, time at bat, and no sacrifice. The official site continues to credit the SH.)

The Opposition:[/B] So far our opponents have a combined record of 25-49 (.338), which is REALLY BAD. I expect that to improve markedly over the season which should help our RPI. People tend to equate strength of schedule to opponent's RPI, but that is far from correct. Our RPI is based 25% on our winning percentage and 75% on "strength of schedule. 50% of that 75% is based on our opponent's win percentage and 25% based on their opponent's win percentage. Our opponent's RPI may give an indication of the strength of our schedule but it doesn't match the math.

Anyway, based on how it has started, I believe there is every reason for optimism this year, but I still have some nagging doubts that hopefully will be erased in the coming weeks.

Roll Wave!!!

I was there at 8:20 on a cold, dreary morning. They started off in a 11-on-11 virtual walkthrough, with Tanner Lee and the first-team offense going against the first-team defense at one end and Devin Powell and the second-team offense going against the second-team defense at the other end. Next up were exercises and calisthenics, then individual drills, then larger group work with the linebackers and DBs grouped together, the QBs,WRs and RBs grouped together and the DL/OL grouped together. They moved on to the 8-on-8 running drill with the wide receivers working separately, then had special teams work and 11-on-11 action to finish the practice.

1) Tulane's placekicking continues to be terrible, a very scary sign for a team that probably won't have much margin for error in the fall. I didn't chart all of the attempts in a field goal drill, but I counted five misses--Trevor Simms was wide left on two 36-yarders and wide right on a 45-yarder and Andrew DiRocco was wide left from 42 and 45 yards. They missed more kicks than they made once they got out of chip shot range. The snaps appeared fine, and there was no rush, so there were no external factors in the misses other than the kickers not being accurate.

"We've been inconsistent kicking the ball," CJ said. "I don't know who's the starting kicker right now. It may be me. We gotta get some guys to kick the ball through the upright."

That about sums up what I watched from the kickers. Incoming freshman Zach Block will get a shot to win the job in the fall, but he was considered a better punter than kicker in high school. If he proves unreliable, Tulane could be headed for a major headache. There is no positive spin to put on it.

Tulane also worked on kickoff returns, with Sherman Badie, Dontrell Hilliard and Devon Breaux getting opportunities. That's another area where the Wave needs to improve tremendously after finishing 124th out 125 teams last year (16.8 average).

2) Other than the kicks, the biggest problem in today's practice was dropped passes. Teddy Veal, usually one of the most sure-handed receivers on the team, dropped an easy one in the flat. Running back Lazedrick Thompson dropped one, and so did some of the walk-on wideouts. With Veal, Terren Encalade and Breaux the only scholarship wideouts available, they are playing a lot of snaps in practice and may be losing their concentration at times.

"We had too many drops today," CJ said before he was even asked a question in a post-practice interview. "We just have to drill them a little bit more. We're playing some guys in different positions and stuff like that. Teddy Veal doesn't usually drop too many balls. It may be too much for him right now, but he'll be fine."

Veal, though, has been the best wideout in the first four practices by far in my view. He made a terrific grab in coverage near the sideline today, snagging a ball that looked headed out out of bounds and doing it with flair. He's a natural playmaker and should make a huge leap from him freshman year to his sophomore season.

3) The coaches were ornery today. CJ criticized the wide receivers, and defensive coordinator Lionel Washington lit into safety Stephon Lofton for not getting off a block downfield. It wasn't a tackling drill, but when Lofton loafed a little bit at the end of the play, Washington let him have it. The offensive and defensive line coaches yelled at their players a lot in a running drill when they missed a block or did not stay in their gap. On one of those plays, Nico Marley went in untouched to meet Thompson abruptly (tackling was not allowed). On another, Zachery Harris went in untouched and ran into Josh Rounds, who hurt his left in the collision. Rounds finished the practice but was limping a bit as he left the practice field.

4) Here is some depth chart information:

The first-team offensive line remained unchanged, but Nathan Shienle did slide over to play left guard for a while as Junior Diaz worked with the first-team OL at center and Chris Taylor took a breather. The second-team offensive line had John Leglue at left tackle, Jason Stewart at left guard, Brandon Godfrey at center, Bob Bradley at right guard and Anthony Taylor at right tackle. A little later, Devon Johnson went in at right tackle, with Taylor sliding to right guard and Bradley getting snaps at center.

Luke Jackson is back to defensive end after practicing at linebacker last year coming off his cancer scare. He was not big enough to play end after his treatment and still appears light, but he would never get on the field at linebacker. He's an end.

Robert Kennedy and Peter Woullard got reps with the first unit at defensive end. Daren Williams and Ade Aruna are the top guys there with Royce LaFrance missing the spring due to academics.

The linebackers had a good day. Harris in particular was impressive as he got extra playing time because Jarrod Franklin missed practice. Quinlan Carroll was playing at LB rather than end.

5) I talked to Josh Rounds after practice today. I'll post that interview either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Running back Josh Rounds was redshirted last year after playing in his first two seasons at Tulane, an unusual move that could have left him bitter. Instead, he accepted the coaches' decision and vowed to get better. With two years of eligibility left, he entered spring practice trying to carve out a role for himself in a crowded backfield that features Sherman Badie, Lazedrick Thompson and Dontrell Hilliard.

Rounds had 66 carries and 26 catches in his first two years, also returning 23 kickoffs as a freshman. After practice on Monday, he talked about his prospects.

When they first told you you were going to redshirt last year, how did you feel?

"I understood the situation. I understand the circumstances on the team. I'm just trying to help the team and get better and get my best opportunity to maybe go to the next level."

When did the coaches approach you about redshirting?

"During camp. I had a real good camp and a real good spring, so I was just prepared for anything. I prepare myself for the season as if I'm going to start anyway, so I'm just ready for everything. If they need me, I was going to play. If they redshirted me, so be it."

Did you get better in your redshirt year?

"Definitely I got better going against the No. 1 defense every day. You're always going to get better when you're getting all the reps on the scout team. I feel like I got a lot quicker and understand the defense more by playing against the 1s."

Tulane has a huge shortage at wide receiver. Can you see yourself being moved there?

"Running back is my first position, but like I said earlier, wherever they need me, if I have to play slot some plays in order to get all of us on the field and do the best we can, I'm ready for anything."

Do you like catching passes out of the backfield, your primary role in limited playing time your first two years?

"Yeah. I feel good catching out of the backfield. Running receiver routes I'm going to need a little work if they have me doing that, but I feel comfortable anywhere on the field."

Three running backs shared time last year, but often only one of them was healthy. Do you look at that as a positive?

"Running back is a position where you get hit every play, so one play could be your last play, so you always need a lot of running backs. I'm not really worried about reps because we all are going to touch the ball."

You were limping after getting hit in a ball-carrying drill today. What happened?

"I got hit in my lower area. It hurt pretty bad and it felt like I hurt my hamstring, but I'll be all right. I'll finish practice. It's nothing major."

What are your goals for next year?

"My goal for next year is to win first and then whatever happens, happens. If I'm an All-American, I'm an All-American, but I just want to progress and get better in the hopes of going to the next level."

What are your strengths when you carry the ball?

"I have great quickness. My foot speed is great, and I feel like I read the holes pretty well and I have the ability to catch out of the backfield. I do want to work on my balance a little more and just little technical things as a running back and get back into the groove because since I've been here I haven't really touched the ball that much."

A lot of guys wouldn't have handled being redshirted as well as you did. Why were you OK with it?

"It's just the situation. I'm here at Tulane, I'm at home getting a great education. I knew what I can do. I know I have the ability to go and start somewhere else, but it's not what I want to do. I feel comfortable here. I have a lot of friends here. Football is a part of my life, but it's not everything. I'm going to play hard and whatever the coaches asks me to do, I'm going to do. I'm not a selfish person."

You played at McMain a few blocks from here. How close did you live to Tulane?

"Actually I live in New Orleans East, but I grew up right around the corner from Tulane actually. That's the benefit of being at Tulane, being close and having family that can watch you. This is a great city. It's not like any other place in the world, so it's a great opportunity."

2015 Spring Girl's Skills Clinics
Boy's Clinic Info

Over the past 10 years Maximum Exposure Basketball has helped thousands reach their dream of playing college basketball. Our girls clinics are for 6th graders - Post Grad players. Will you join our impressive list of event alumni? Don't miss your chance to participate in one of the top exposure events in the country!

SPRING CLINICS INCLUDE

- Every Clinic is run by a former or current College Coach!

- Each player gets valuable recruiting information, participates in an advanced skill session development workout, and is evaluated by our staff with those evaluations along with your contact information being sent out to EVERY coach in the country!

- Put yourself through a college level workout... learning what it takes to make it to the next level and what you need to improve on.

- Have a chance to play your way into our Summer Invitational Events. Last year over 200 Division I coaches were present at these events including coaches from almost every Division I conference in the country as well as numerous Division II, III, and NAIA coaches

- These events will fill up extremely fast and the only way to secure a spot is by getting your deposit in! Last year we turned away over 150 players because they waited too late to register!

Register Online HERE!

Mail-in Registration Form[/B]




WHY OUR EVENTS INSTEAD OF OTHERS?
WHAT PARENTS & PLAYERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OUR EVENTS
WHAT COLLEGE COACHES ARE SAYING ABOUT OUR EVENTS


2015 Spring Clinic Dates & Locations


Click on Event for directions, times, hotel information, etc.



Sat. March 28 - Phoenix, AZ
Sun. March 29 - Las Vegas, NV
April 4 - Chicago, IL
April 4 - Dallas, TX
April 12 - Orlando, FL
April 18 - Greensboro, NC
April 18 - Seattle, WA
April 19 - Portland, OR
April 25 - New York, NY
April 26 - Boston, MA
May 2 - Southern California
May 2 - Washington, DC
May 3 - Bay Area California
May 9 - Atlanta, GA
May 10 - Columbus, OH
May 16 - Kansas City
May 17 - New York City Area
May 17 - St. Louis, MO


Clinic Cost is $85.00 per player. A $45.00 deposit is required to reserve a spot. There is a $25.00 late registration fee (if spots are still open) if you are not registered 10 days prior to the event, thus increasing the total cost to $110.00 per player. All deposits / payments are non-refundable.

Can't attend an event? Click HERE!







GIRL'S SKILLS CLINIC SAMPLE SCHEDULE

All Skill work will be done by current or former college coaches!

9:30 Registration
10:00 Orientation
10:30 Skill Work
11:30 Lecture (Recruiting)
11:50 Ball Handling Work
12:10 Offensive Moves Work
12:30 Lecture (Strength & Conditioning)
12:45 Defensive Work (guarding the ball)
1:00 Shooting off the dribble
1:15 Shooting off the screen
1:30 One on One / Two on Two / Three on Three
2:00 Event Ends

Questions? Email us at info@maximumexposurebasketball.com or call or text our office at (704) 664-9845

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON OUR REFERRAL PROGRAM!




Click Here for a list of former participants in our Events and the schools they have signed with!
[/B]
Click here for a list of College's that have attended our Events!

Over 250 coaches attended our 2014 Events!!!

Proud partner with the NCSA... the ultimate source for all your recruiting needs!

No, I'm not covering college golf for this site, but I want the story I thought I was writing for The Advocate previewing the womens golf tournament at English Turn to see the light of day somewhere.

The left hand assigned me the story on Thursday. I set up phone interviews, researched the team so I'd know what was I was talking about when I talked to the coach and players, then wrote the story Friday night when there were a 100 other things I could have done.

Then, when I sent the story to The Advocate yesterday, the right hand said it had never been on the budget and they didn't want it. OK. Not that I was already busy last week or anything and could have used the five hours back I spent on this story.



By Guerry Smith
Special to The Advocate

After establishing numerous individual and team records in the last three years, the Tulane women's golfers are aiming for another unprecedented accomplishment at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship.

They want to win their home tournament for the first time.

It won't be easy against a field that includes six of the nation's top 18 teams, including fourth-ranked, defending tournament champion UCLA, but the Green Wave has concrete reasons for confidence that belies its No. 31 national ranking.

The fifth-annual event starts Sunday and ends Tuesday at English Turn, with 15 teams competing over three rounds.

"We're playing really well and obviously we know the course well," senior Gemma Dryburgh said. "My teammates and I were talking today about how no Tulane team has won a home tournament before. If we get a good first round in, we should be in good shape."

While Tulane lacks the consistency of the nation's elite programs, it has shown the ability to get white hot.

The Wave is coming off a second-place finish at the UCF Challenge in which is shattered the school record for lowest round with a 17-under-par 271 on the second day and also carded its lowest 54-hole total (13-under 851) ever. Junior Silvia Garces tied the Tulane mark for lowest score with a 7-under 65, and Dryburgh recorded a personal-best 66.

"It was awesome to watch and awesome to be a part of," coach Lorne Don said. "That just really gave them confidence that we can be one of the best teams in the country. We'll have another opportunity to prove that this week."

Dryburgh finished the tournament one shot behind the co-leaders at 8-under 208 and one stroke ahead of Garces.

"It was the best I've ever played," Dryburgh said. "I was very in control of my game. I knew where the ball was going almost every time."

That was not the first time Tulane scorched a course with its core of four players who have been together for three seasons, including juniors Emily Penttila and Madison Opfer. At the NCAA Championships last May, the Green Wave shot a 2-under 278 in the third round --the best by any team in the tournament to that point.

The Wave finished 15th, tying the second-best result in program history. A year earlier, Tulane placed ninth at NCAAs.

That's why the team's No. 31 ranking entering its home tournament-the exact same spot it occupied at this time a year ago --carries little significance. If the rankings hold up, Tulane would finish eighth at English Turn, right in the middle of the pack.

"This is definitely an event that is circled on our calendars," Don said. "To have a chance to play all these top teams on our home course is truly a special week. We've never won it, and I know this group of young ladies would like nothing more than to break that trend and get a win this year."

Tulane's best showing at its home event was third in 2011. It placed fourth in 2013 but dropped to 10th last season when the field included three of the top four teams in the nation.

The Wave has practiced at English Turn every day since returning from Orlando on Feb. 11.

"We've done a lot of preparation," Don said. "We know where all the holes are going to be. We know the speed of the greens and where to hit it an where not to hit it. We hope they use that to their advantage."

I basically missed the entire practice because I did not get informed that it had been moved up an hour. I did arrive in time for interviews and the post-practice sprints and also talked to Cairo Santos, who was in town and visiting today.

Some thoughts:

1) I question whether Jason Stewart or Braynon Edwards will ever be productive.

Granted, I have a thing about athletes who cannot get in shape, but that duo still is overweight. Stewart, entering his third year, and Edwards, entering his second year, could not run at all in the wind sprints after the first full pads practice. They had to be encouraged by teammates to try to job but basically just walked from one sideline to the other, too spent to run. That's a problem. If they don't have the discipline to get in shape, it's hard to see how they will have the discipline to turn into good players the coaches can trust.

CJ had a positive spin on it when I asked him.

"They made it through practice. It's the first time that these two kids, usually they are lying on the sideline (after a day like this one). This is going to be a recurring problem throughout. I think they'll grow up and as they get older they'll be fine."

Hope he's right.

2) I like to talk about how Tulane is loaded at running back, but CJ objected to my premise today when I asked him a question, and he had a point. At times in the second half of 2014, Dontrell Hilliard was the only healthy tailback while Sherman Badie and Lazedrick Thompson nursed ankle sprains, and the running game suffered. You can never have enough good running backs, and CJ believes Josh Rounds is a fourth. He was redshirted last year to give him two years of eligibility left and could be a significant factor in the fall even with the incoming freshmen at his position adding to the depth.

"Rounds is an outstanding player," CJ said. "We saw so many backs go down last year. He has speed through the hole, he can catch, he's a smart guy. He's going to help us out tremendously."

I liked Rounds in preseason practice last fall and was surprised when he ended up on the scout team and CJ said he was redshirting. With Tulane's lack of scholarship receivers, he can be very effective lining up in the slot or catching passes out of the backfield. I'm not sure I would give him the ball on carries more than once or twice a game because he's not as good as the top three there, but he can play a role as a third-down back for sure.

3) If I had to name the opening game starters right now, I bet I would come close to nailing all 22 barring injuries. It's pretty clear cut at most spots. On offense, its Tanner Lee and Sherman Badie in the backfield, Charles Jones at TE, Teddy Veal, Terren Encalade and Devon Breaux at wide receiver and Arturo Uzdavinis, Colton Hanson, Nathan Shienle, Chris Taylor and Kenneth Santa Marina on the offensive line. As a side note, when I was doing research on another topic today, I ran across a message board from last spring where people were raving about Junior Diaz and predicting him to be the sure starter at center. I don't claim to be an expert on offensive line play, but Diaz looked small to me the first time I saw him practice, so I'm surprised people were as high on him as they were.

On defense, my projected starters are Royce LaFrance and Ade Aruna at end (although LaFrance is no certainty to be eligible and Aruna still has to prove himself), Tanzel Smart and Sean Wllson at tackle (locks), Edward Williams and Nico Marley at linebacker, Jarrod Franklin at nickel back, Parry Nickerson and Richard Allen at CB and Darion Monroe and Leonard Davis at safety. Other than end, I don't see many possibilities where I could be wrong, although Davis scares me at safety. The coaches raved about his athletic ability before the season last year but it did not translate to production on the field.

I loved this quote from Monroe on Franklin:

"When he first got here his freshman year he didn't know anything. We used to call him scarecrow because we thought he didn't have a brain. Now he knows the defense like the back of his hand."

4) Breaux was not nearly as close to being a quality receiver last year as he or the coaches thought, and I think he realizes it now. Here's what he said about where he needs to improve:

"Things like having stronger hands, coming back to the ball, coming into the game with a positive mindset and just trying to get better throughout the whole game and minimize my mistakes. I need to not even think about last year. It's a new year. I just have to compete and get better every day."

5) Here is my interview with Franklin after the first day of spring practice. I never got the chance to transcribe it until today.

How is your knee?

"It feels very well. It's just like my other knee now. I can't feel the difference. The doctors just told me to carry out the knee brace the first year. I had surgery last year on March 14. I remember the date and I remember the exact play and I remember the exact time, all that."

What happened?

"It was a blitz pickup drill and it was Alec Macias, one of our running backs, and I was blitzing an inside gap, and I remember I engaged him and I tried to pull and rip. I had a very wide base, and I pulled a rip and pushed him right on top of my leg, so it was kind of my fault."

Did you tear three ligaments?

"I tore two ligaments. I tore my MCL, my ACL and I tore a piece of my meniscus off."

Did you feel ready to play by the end of the year?

"I actually felt pretty good. I started practicing in late November. Coming back and practicing was definitely fun."

You made a terrific interception on a pass for Breaux in the end zone. Take us through that play?

"It was a good route by Breaux. We all know Devon. He's a jumping guy. He likes to jump a lot, so I knew I had to keep my leverage on Devon, lean an delicate him and look for the ball."

What position are you playing?

"I'm use playing a lot of nickel position, the Sam position as well, so definitely perfecting those two positions. It is the exact same thing I did last spring. Playing the slot corner positions and also coming in at the outside linebacker positions."

Here's more from Monroe on Franklin:

"He's better (than he was before his injury. He got a lot of mental reps last year, and he's doing much better. The knee is not bothering him. He's trying to take the knee brace off, but they are not letting him yet. He's a high energy guy, and that's the guy we need. He's a tweener between a linebacker and a safety. He can do all of those things.

"He's a perfect nickel for our defense. He allows me to go back to the back end and make calls."

"He wasn't down (after the injury) because he's a happy kid. He said I'm going to get stronger and be back for next year. He had a smile on his face during his whole rehab."

ONE OTHER NOTE: Starting Monday, I will be able to watch almost the entire practices. I drop my kid off at school at 8 a.m. and can head to campus right after that.

Good story by Andrew Lopez of Nola.com

Link

I'm stockpiling a lot of interviews and will start having time to do longer writeups early next week. Got Jarrod Franklin and Richard Allen on Wednesday and haven't used those interviews yet.

Today I got to practice late, but I focused on the offensive line rotation. Clearly, Kenneth Santa Marina is beginning spring drills as the No. 1 right tackle in place of Sean Donnnelly, Tulane's lone departure on the offensive line. The other four starters return from a unit that improved significantly for the second straight year but still was not good enough for Tulane to win against solid competition. The Wave needs Santa Marina to come through with a big year and the holdovers to get better.

"He (Santa Marina) is very impressive," CJ said. "He's jumped right in there. He was good. I like what he's doing. He's going to be good for us."

Santa Marina was less effusive than CJ.

"It is real exciting to have a chance to go out on the field and play alongside my teammates," he said. "The role is kind of tough, trying to fill in the big shoes of Sean Donnelly. I have to know all the plays and all the right calls. I'm trying my best not to make any kind of mistakes or any type of errors."

Santa Marina, a McDonogh 35 product who arrived as a heralded three-star recruit in 2013, was redshirted his first year and played sparingly last season. More was expected of him early, but he needed some time to adjust to college football.

"When I first came, I really had to work on my pad level and my steps and movement," he said. "It was kind of hard. It's more up-tempo than high school. You have to get off the ball real fast."

Santa Marina comes off as a humble guy, easily mentioning his shortcomings while needing to be prompted to talk about his positives. He graded himself "OK" for the first two of spring practice.

"Right now I need to work on exploding off the ball even more," he said. "I have to get faster off the ball in the running game and the passing game."

Santa Marina roomed with Donnelly for road games last year, and he says he picked up a lot of pointers.

"He was showing me plays I didn't know," he said. "Every time I had a question I didn't know, I asked him. He gave me a lot of advice on what to do and what not to do."

The first-team line the first two days was no surprise--Arturo Uzdavinis at left tackle, Colton Hanson at left guard, Nathan Shienle at center, Christ Taylor at right guard and Santa Marina at right tackle.

The backup line today was John Leglue at left tackle, Brandon Godfrey and Jason Stewart at left guard, Junior Diaz at center, Bob Bradley and Anthony Taylor at right guard and Todd Jacquet and Devon Johnson at right tackle.

Johnson, a less-heralded recruit from Amite who redshirted as a freshman, passed Santa Marina on the depth chart at tackle during preseason drills last fall, but it looks like he will have some work to do get back up there again. CJ said Johnson was being double-trained at guard at tackle, but Johnson said he was spending most of his time on the outside. He lists pass blocking as his best strength.

"I just need to continue to get better and work on my game," he said. "It doesn't matter where I play. I played both positions in high school. I will work hard to get better and just hope for the best."

CJ praised Johnson, too.

"He's big, he's physical and he's tough," Johnson said. "He's very physical. We're trying to figure out a home for him, but he looks good at guard and tackle."

PRACTICE NOTES

CJ liked what he saw from the running backs, who are coming off a solid year, at least when they here healthy.

"The backs had a good day," he said. "Sherman (Badie), Dontrell (Hilliard), Lazedrick (Thompson), (Josh) Rounds, all those guys ran the ball very well, Marshall (Wadleigh), too. They are picking up protections. Tanner (Lee) threw it well. I thought they had a good day."

CJ did not like what he saw from some of the linebackers and the linemen on both sides of the ball. It was a non-tackling day, but some guys didn't get the message.

"I just thought tackling, grabbing guys, throwing them to the ground (drew his ire)," he said. "The linebackers got a little sloppy. I didn't like the hustle of some of the offensive and defensive linemen. But other than that, I thought we practiced very, very well."

Guys can change from year to year, and that's a good thing for safety Leonard Davis. After the coaches raved about him in the 2014 preseason, he just wasn't effective when he played last year, giving up a pivotal long TD that hurt Tulane in the opener against Tulsa and never really recovering. He made 15 tackles for the year and looked shaky in pass coverage several times.

With Sam Scofield graduating, a spot is open at safety, and Davis is getting first crack to play alongside Darion Monroe.

"These two days, he's been very impressive," CJ said. "One thing he can do, he can run, he's covering guys up, he's doing a good job for us."

Tulane will return to the practice field on Saturday morning to finish the first week of spring drills. The Wave will work out four times in each of the next three weeks (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday), with the spring game taking place at Yulman Stadium on March 14.

Here's the link from the Tulane website.

The key will be finding a way to beat Duke in the season opener. After a 3-9 year, CJ and his players can talk about their confidence all they want, but the only way to really gain confidence is to win. I'm not optimistic about Tulane's chances if the Wave loses to Duke and Georgia Tech to start the year. I'm not assuming a loss to Georgia Tech because the Yellow Jackets have been very inconsistent from season to season under Paul Johnson, but winning on the road against the Yellow Jackets will be a much tougher ask than beating Duke at home.



Link

I notice that Kelley is now off the roster as Guerry predicted, but Alex Paul is still listed, though CJ announced he was finished with football. Also, several "walk ons" are no longer on the roster, though I'm sure a bunch of new freshmen will show up in the fall.

Not that published roster heights or weight are noted for their accuracy, but some interesting changes are apparent on the new spring roster:

Tanzel Smart is down from 331# to 303#.

Royce LaFrance is up from 244# to 265#.

Nathan Shienle, now listed as a Guard, is down from 317# to 300#

Kenneth Santa Marina is down from 323# to 305#.

Jason Stewart is still at 355#. I was hoping for more like 330#

Paul Godfrey is up from 277# to 290#

Junior Diaz is up from 270# to 276#, still pretty light for a college lineman.

Braynon Edwards is up from 345# to 350#. Not sure that's the right direction.

Tanner Lee is up from 203# to 220#

Devin Powell is up from 213# TO 228#

There are a number of other minor changes but nothing significant. Most of the little guys are still little and most of the heavy guys are still heavy, again, assuming these numbers are close to correct. Often, they are not. Eyes on observation of some of the guys with weight issue will tell us a lot more. My biggest interests are in Diaz-- is he big enough? and Stewart, Edwards, and Devon Johnson-- are they in shape and have the needed mobility for their positions?

Roll Wave!!!

I am swamped today because I have to write three stories for The Advocate (football, basketball, baseball game) AND have my kid in tow for Mardi Gras holidays, but here is some quick news from the first practice with a CJ Q&A. I will have much more thorough coverage after this week is over and my kid is back in school (he gets the whole week off).

Royce LaFrance was on the exercise bike for much of practice today, but it had nothing to do with an injury. He won't practice all spring for what CJ termed "academic" reasons. Assuming he is back for the fall, and that certainly is CJ's assumption, it's not a huge deal. The young guys competing for the other starting spot and top backup roles will get more reps, and LaFrance wasn't going to benefit that much from the spring anyway. He has been an up and down player, but I don't think anything he could have done in the spring would have affected his performance in the fall.

Leondre James is suspended for the spring for unspecified reasons. That's a bigger deal. With four scholarship receivers on the roster, Tulane needs all of them to get reps with Tanner Lee, and James appeared to be less polished than fellow freshmen Teddy Veal and Terren Encalade in the fall.

In other news, defensive tackle Corey Redwine is back with the team. He decided to walk with the seniors for the final home game last fall even though he had a year of eligibility left, but he has changed his mind. That is good news for the team. Redwine lost his starting job to Sean Wilson during the season and did not play very well, but he would be a quality backup with experience.

Ryan Griffin was at practice today and gave some pointers to Lee.

Braynon Edwards is still too big. He has good feet, but he has to lose weight to become relevant.

Jarrod Franklin, who has taken Lorenzo Doss' No. 6 (at least today), looked terrific. He made a spectacular interception in the end zone when he outjumped Devon Breaux and wrestled the ball away from him when it looked like it would be a TD throw from Lee. He also caught a deflected INT that Parry Nickerson let bounce off his chest. Nickerson, though, made his own sensational play, leaping to deflect a post pass that looked like a sure touchdown and doing it as if it second nature. He is really good.

Richard Allen is the first-team corner in the spot Lorenzo Doss occupied.

I only caught the last 30 minutes of practice and did not get a good read on the RIGHT TACKLE POSITION. From what I saw, Santa Marina was getting most of the reps, but that was a limited sample size.

Good stuff Guerry. Looking forward to the coverage. I would point out that here and in the Advocate you talk about the left tackle position being open. Actually Donnelly played right tackle. Also Calvin Thomas played as a true freshman and then has not been able to play the last two seasons due to the foot injury.

Spring football practice is almost here. Coming off a 3-9 season (2-9 in the FBS), Tulane has a lot of questions to be answered going into next season. Some could be answered in the spring.

My first question is simple. Will CJ conduct practices open to the media so people like Guerry can see for themselves what is going on? Will they be open to the public? I really enjoy the insights of knowledgeable observers like Winwave, Buck2481 and others when they have the chance to attend. Receiving information from post-practice interviews dominated by "coach speak" is better than nothing, but it's nice to hear from someone with "fresh eyes" what's going on.

As for the team, much of the fan and media interest for the spring workouts will probably focus on the QB position. So I'll start there.

1. Can Tanner Lee do the job at QB? Frankly, I doubt this can be answered in the spring. CJ continuously raves about all of our QB's in practice, and none have performed to that level in the game. The question of who will be first off the bench if Lee stumbles or is injured might be answered. Powell or Cuiellette? Still, observers can provide opinions on how Lee looks.

2. Can our placekicker do the job? Will he consistently make 40 yard field goals in the spring? That's the minimum required in my view. Even that means going for it or punting outside the 23 yard line. That's not what "good teams" do. We need a significant upgrade, and with Block not arriving until the fall, we may not know this spring.

3. What about the rest of special teams? How does Picerelli look? How does Lizanich look? Is anyone else practicing at "deep snapper?" How do they look? We probably can't tell much about returners, but who is being looked at? It's been a weakness for a long time.

4. Who will replace Gilbert at the DE opposite LaFrance? Aruna, Carroll, and Daren Williams were unable to "grab the job" when given the opportunity this year. Can Luke Jackson return from his illness? Can a redshirt freshmen, Peter Woullard or Robert Kennedy, step up? Could Bell or Washington move back outside? The spring should give us some insight, but we need at least three competent DE's to join LeFrance in next year's rotation. We've got nothing coming in the new class.

5. After Smart and Wilson, who will join the rotation in the interior defensive line? Can Braynton Edwards show up in good enough shape to compete? Is Calvin Thomas healthy enough to contribute as he did in his freshman year? What's happening with Eldrick Washington and Eric Bell? Are we going to have to wait to the fall and incoming freshmen to find an answer?

6. In the defensive backfield, where we play primarily six men, who will replace Scofield, Doss, Nixon and LeBeau? Leonard Davis didn't play that well at safety and, though Townsend had a good game against Georgia Tech, he didn't make another tackle all year after that second game; and, he didn't play at all the last few contests. Jarod Franklin (if he doesn't move permanently to linebacker) and Richard Allen appear likely to join the six man rotation if they recover from injuries. How do they look? Additionally, Cooper got some special teams experience and Carthon has become a star on coverage teams but hasn't moved up the depth chart at safety. Moreover, he'll be playing baseball for the next couple of months. Finally, we have three redshirt freshmen ready to show what they can do in the spring. Are they ready? Of course, with seven defensive backs coming in as "true" freshmen, we may have to wait until fall to resolve the defensive backfield rotation. Right now, it's a big question, at least to me.

7. Who will be our five man front on the offensive line? And who will be the next two or three off the bench? Uzvadinis, Hanson, Shienle, and Taylor seem to be entrenched, having started virtually every play for more than a year. Can anyone unseat them? Is Santa Marina ready to take the right tackle spot? Is Devon Johnson, whom some have "guaranteed" to be a starter next year, ready to take that position? What about Dias? Can he move in at center and move Shienle and others around to make our "best" starting five? Can Jason Stewart get in the playing shape to contribute significantly? Is relatively unheralded redshirt freshman, John Legue, ready to make a statement? Will Todd Jaquet, Bobby Bradley, Anthony Taylor or Brandon Godfrey make any move on the depth chart? The unit this past year, though improved, was still well below average in my view. We finished #90 in rushing as an example, despite gaining a lot of yards after contact. Will we see someone step up in the spring? Or, will they leave the door open to a freshman in the fall? Gosh, I hope not.

8. The first question at wide receiver is fairly simple in my mind. Do we have enough of them to even have a spring practice? We only have four on scholarship, though six more walk-ons can fill in. But, I don't think QB's gain much experience or establish necessary timing by throwing to walk-ons. The same with defensive backs covering them. The early departures of Banks, Boutte, Van Houser, and Edwards and the failure to recruit enough WR's have left us very short. Will any of our DB's be moved to the offensive side? Will our young receivers show necessary improvement?

9. At Linebacker, it will be interesting to see if Zach Harris is back at full strength and how Rene Fleury, Rae Juan Marbley and Eric Bowie are looking. One of them at least needs to step up to join Marley, Edward Williams, and Eric Thomas in the rotation or when we go to a true 4-3 lineup.

10. Running back is a team strength and the health of Badie and Thompson is important. Also, how does Rounds look after a redshirt year? Can he/will he join the rotation with Badie, Thompson, and Hilliard? And how is the transition of Sergio Medina to fullback looking? Is he a viable replacement for Butler or will he continue to be primarily a special teams player? What about Kelley? He's apparently in school and listed on the roster. Is he even a possibility at this point?

11. I don't have a lot of questions regarding tight end. Marfisi, our best blocker is gone and Sydie London didn't play the final five games last year. Who will be our blocking tight end? Jones is obviously not the answer due to his size, but how is he catching the ball? Last season he dropped almost half the balls thrown to him-caught ten of 25 passes, with most of the incompletes due to "drops." And what about Ardoin? He was probably the more heralded of our freshmen tight ends last year, yet didn't play. Is he ready?

12. My final question is regarding the post spring roster. How many of our "redshirt juniors will be listed as seniors for the coming year. That's usually a "give away" as to their future in the program. Right now, only Bradley is listed as a senior on the roster posted on the official site, but, by my count, there are seven others now that Paul is apparently through with football due to injuries.

Regardless, it should be interesting.



Roll Wave!!!!

Against Pepperdine, we came from behind in the 9th inning to win on Saturday and then failed to hold the lead in the 9th inning the next day to lose. How unusual is that?

Over the previous ten years (2005-2014) Tulane went into the 9th inning trailing on 205 occasions. We came back to win on ten of them (4.9%). We went into the 9th leading in 318 games and won 307 of them (96.5%). It doesn't happen very often.

Here's the link:

Link

Here was the story from the Cincinnati Enquirer. I hope the story doesn't get converted to a paywall story like the last time I did this after the Green Wave's win at Memphis.

Link

Talked to some of the played and David Pierce yesterday and got some information

1) This isn't for public consumption because Pierce told me he wanted me to wait for an official word from the doctor, but J.P. France probably is done for the year. He had a setback with his injured elbow Sunday. Before practice on baseball media day, France told me he had a problem with a nerve in the elbow and that the injury happened in the summer. It aggravated him for a while before shutting him down, forcing him to miss fall practice and limiting him to an inning here or there this preseason.

France looked terrific in shutting out Arkansas Pine Bluff is his freshman debut last year as an opening-day starter, but he never pitched well again and lost his spot in the rotation after his next two starts, finishing with an ERA near 6.00.

2) Ian Gibaut will not start against Pepperdine this weekend unless Pierce changes his mind. Corey Merrill, who had a solid freshman season despite going winless (0-5) because of Tulane's inept hitting, will pitch in the opener, with junior Alex Massey (who I incorrectly listed as a senior in my Advocate story that ran today) going Saturday and Tim Yandel likely starting Sunday.

Yandel is a surprise. He came to Tulane as a hitter, starting 35 games as a freshman. Last year he spent most of his time as a pitcher, appearing in 13 games as a reliever and pitching 18 effective innings.

3) Unlike Rick Jones, Pierce does not like rigid roles for his pitchers, so he is not wedded to the idea of Gibaut being a closer. His actual quote on Gibaut was this: "We'll use him. We don't really look at him as a closer. We look at him much more as a stopper. If the game's on the line in the seventh inning and we have a chance to win, he'll be in the game."

4) Stephen Alemais led his summer league in stolen bases after stealing only 11 (in 12 attempts) for Tulane last year, but don't look for him to run willy nilly under Pierce, who pointed out at that A) Alemais needs to get on base more often to have a chance to steal and B) pitchers in college baseball are much more attuned to the running game than they are in summer ball, which is all about individual number rather than the team concept. In other words, it was easy to steal bases in the summer and won't be as easy this spring.

Still, Pierce likes Alemais' potential.

"He's been outstanding," Pierce said. "He's a great athlete. He's got fast twitch, he runs really well and he's got a great arm. He has fit right in and he really wants to win. I look for great things to come from Stephen."

5) My informed guess for the lineup in the opener is this:

Catcher: Jake Rogers
First base: Garrett Deschamp
Second base: Jake Willsey
Shortstop: Alemais
Third base: Hunter Hope
Left field: Richard Carthon
Center field: Grant Brown
Right field: Lex Kaplan
Designated hitter: Yandel

The infield is the same as last year. Carthon has come on in preseason practice after appearing in danger of losing his starting job while John Gandolfo, who had a terrific fall, has quieted a bit. Yandel, who was horrendous at the plate last year (one hit in 24 at-bats), has been much better this spring, and Pierce's mentor, Rice coach Wayne Graham, has a history of using two-way players. By no means is Yandel starting at DH written in stone, though. Pierce is circumspect about his lineup, and when I talked to him there were still two more practices before Tulane travels Thursday to get to Pepperdine.

One, I believe, is Manatee DE Kwanzi Jackson, who had more than 20 sacks last year as Manatee reached the semifinals of the Class 8A state playoffs.

I'm still looking for the other one.

Here's Jackson's link on Rivals.com

Link

This was a pretty interview with Lorenzo Doss by a site that covers the Green Bay Packers. He's a really good guy who doesn't give much in interviews, but he revealed some interesting thoughts.

I had to chuckle, though, when he praised himself for holding Smelter of Georgia Tech to zero catches. The Yellow Jackets only threw eight passes that day.

This post was edited on 2/11 11:31 PM by Guerry Smith

Link

Obviously, Hunter Dale would be the highest rated player in the class, and he has not signed anywhere yet, but what are your thoughts on this Tulane class?

Happy? Unhappy? Guardedly optimistic? Guardedly pessimistic?

LSU and SLU.

This is not in the release, but there also will be a game on CBSCollegeSports against an undetermined AAC opponent.

This post was edited on 2/11 8:50 AM by Guerry Smith

Link

Scott and Tammy had separate interviews with CJ today, and I will take their news and put it here.

According to Tammy, Eldrick Washington is the only Tulane player who will miss spring drills with an injury after having offseason knee surgery. Jarrod Franklin is back, which we pretty much already knew since he was close to ready by the end of last season.

Jordy Joseph has been awarded a scholarship because they have three to give. They are holding at least two, one of which could go to Hunter Dale (my info, not Tammy's) and the others to possible transfers.