I had a doctor's appointment that ran long and did not make it for interviews today, which was the eighth of 15 practices.

I definitely will be there for Saturday morning's scrimmage.

After far too many no-shows this year, Tulane needs to sweep Memphis to have any real confidence moving forward. The players say the right things about believing in themselves, but they have to play like it.

Tulane has owned Memphis over the years, winning seven straight last season (with only close one) after losing the opener to the Tigers and going 12-4 against them overall under Travis Jewett. The last time Tulane lost a series to Memphis in the AAC was never, and the last time in any conference was 2010 in CUSA.

Tonight's matchup, which is on ESPN+, pits Grant Siegel (4-0, 0.62) against Dalton Kendrich, who was Memphis' closer until last weekend, when he went five innings and allowed eight hits and four runs in a 12-0 loss to Indiana State. He did not walk anyone, and Tulane sometimes struggles against guys who do not offer freebies. He got rocked by the Wave last year in New Orleans, but he rebounded to strike out a season-high five while giving up no runs in three innings in Memphis and struck out the only guy he faced two days later, too. His ERA was above 9.00 for the season. His ERA is 2.86 this year. It will be very interesting to see which Tulane teams shows up in the early inning after Tuesday's debacle against UNO.

Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup (radio only) is Dylan Carmouche (30-1. 4.63) against Dalton Fowler (1-1, 6.20), an Oklahoma transfer who was abysmal for the Sooners in limited opportunities last year. Carmouche is better than his ERA suggests and I will be surprised if he does not shut down Memphis. Fowler pitched well against Indiana State, allowing one run in 5.1 innings of a 3-1 loss, but he struggled in four of his five previous starts. He walks a lot of people and throws a lot of wild pitches, and Tulane usually fares well against those guys. This is a game that should be a blowout.

Sunday's 1 p.m. matchup (radio only) is Michael Massey (1-0. 3.99) against Landon Gartman (3-0, 2.63), a freshman juco transfer lefty who started Tuesday against Mississippi State and blanked the Bulldogs for four innings before the bullpen imploded in a 10-4 loss. He has been unbelievably good this year, giving up 11 hits in 27 innings with six walks and 31 strikeouts. He probably will not be able to go long on short rest, but he could give the Tigers an early advantage. His competition was not strong in his first five starts, but he proved his ability against Mississippi State.

But forget the numbers. Memphis does not have the resources, the facilities or the commitment to beat Tulane if the Wave is on point. Let's see what happens.

Tulane finished its sixth and final non-conference series over the weekend, winning two of three from Dayton and really struggling to hit after an opening-game blowout. The good news is Tulane's RPI rose 48 spots from the previous Monday in a nondescript 3-1 week that had a one-run win against now 8-16 SLU and the series win against 11-12 Dayton, primarily because the Wave's previous weekend opponents went 11-4 over the weekend and midweek opponents Southern Miss and LSU went 5-1. The bad news is the RPI is still a long way from at-large range at 91, and Tulane will have to win a ton of games the rest of the way to get in the top 50. The AAC is having an awful year to this point, ranking ninth among conferences after finishing no lower than sixth in any year since the Wave joined the league. There is still time to move up to sixth with successful results in midweek games the rest of the way--the margin separating leagues 6 through 9 is small--but Tulane cannot count on getting much of an RPI boost from its league.

Tulane's strength moving forward should be its young weekend rotation and closer Zach DeVito. Grant Siegel has good stuff and a tough mentality as the new Friday starter. Saturday starter Dylan Carmouche is a bulldog and better than his numbers indicate. Freshman Michael Massey has been up and down, but he has superb control and figures to match up favorably with most Sunday starters in the league. DeVito imploded Saturday, but he had not given up a run in 10 appearances until then and has excellent stuff. Getting a bridge from the starters to DeVito often is an adventure, but that's standard college baseball stuff and can be alleviated if the starters go deep into games as they appear capable of doing. The Wave does not know what it will get from Chandler Welch, Clifton Slagel, Lane Thomas or anyone else who comes in for middle or long relief, and unfortunately it has become pretty clear what the Wave will get from deposed starter Tyler Hoffman--runs scoring. He has the electric stuff (in theory, thought not in reality this year) to be an effective middle reliever, but he just can't seem to get out of his own way, either struggling with control or simply getting hit when he does have command.

The defense is fine, particularly in the outfield, where Jared Hart has more range than any Wave outfielder in a long time and is getting good a good read on balls off the bat unlike in the past. The Infield has made its share of errors and fallen apart a couple of times, but it's nothing you don't see across the country in college baseball.

The problem is in the batter's box. Despite ranking second nationally in doubles, Tulane is underachieving at the plate. No one could have imagined Bennett Lee hitting .234 when the season started, but that's where he is, although he still has a good eye, drawing five walks over the weekend. Aside from Ethan Groff, who has been unexpectedly spectacular, and talented freshman Jackson Linn, who joins Groff above .400, it's been a struggle for the most part. Luis Aviles was on a good streak before missing Sunday's game with an illness, but he's had long periods with far too many strikeouts. Hart is hitting .277 and has been a little better with the bat than expected in my opinion. Simon Baumgardt had the game-winner yesterday but has been merely OK. Everyone else is straight up struggling, from Trevor Minder (.244, 28 strikeouts) to Chase Engelhard (.235) to Brady Marget (.229) to Brayden Morrow (.222) to Brennan Lambert (.216) to Brady Hebert (.173) to Jake LaPrairie (.080), who had his second hit of the year yesterday right before the game-winner. Travis Jewett said he had to figure out something at third base after yesterday's game because no one is hitting there. For Tulane to make a run, though, Lee, Engelhard and Minder in particular need to get going. I expect Lee to have a big second half of the year, and I can see Engelhard raising his game, too, but Minder, a fixture because of his mostly solid defense at shortstop, does not look good with his swings. It also would help if Teo Banks gets on a roll when he returns from a thumb injury.

The best thing this team has going for it is its series win at La Tech, which has gotten on a roll. Tulane had nothing like that on its resume last year. The Mississippi State series win could help, too, but only if the Bulldogs overcome an injury-riddled pitching staff and have a good SEC season. They pulled two games out of their butt against Alabama over the weekend, winning the opener after trailing by 2 with no one on base with two outs in the ninth inning and winning the second game after trailing by three at the start of the ninth. If they aren't better against the top teams in the league, they could finish below .500.

First, Tulane has to put itself in position for a series win at La Tech to matter. The Wave might have to win the AAC regular-season title AND win midweek games against Southern Miss (home) and South Alabama (away) while avoiding bad losses to get it done.

My week was a logistical nightmare for reasons that are not related to my job, but I never posted the visitor info I received last weekend. Here it is:

1) Prince PInes, a 6-5, 340-pound transfer portal OT from Sam Houston State and a Baton Rouge native

Skinny: Has two years of eligibility left, a second-team All-Conference pick in 2020 and first team in 2021.

2) Jameian Buxton, a 4-star, 6-3, 275-pound DT from Thibodaux High

Skinny: He is rated sixth nationally at his position and is the 17th overall prospect in Louisiana. Has offers from LSU and Georgia among many notables.

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3) Dezaray (DJ) Delmore, a 3-star, 5-11, 170-pound CB from Woodlawn High in Baton Rouge.

Skinny: Has an offer from Southern Miss.

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4) Jirrea Johnson, a 3-star, 6-0, 215-pound LB from Warren Easton.

Skinny: Has offers from Louisville, Nebraska and others.

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5) Malik Blocton, a 3-star 6-3, 255-pound DE from Pike Road High in Alabama

Skinny: Has an offer from Auburn; 14th highest rated overall prospect in state.

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6) Jaylan Jarrett, a no-star 6-2, 260-pound DT from Pike Road High in Alabama

Skinny: Teammate of Blocton. Don't know much else about him.

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7) Ashton Stamps, a no-star, 6-0, 167-pound WR from Rummel

Skinny: Has offers from Nicholls and Tulane. Rummel is a school Tulane seldom gets players from.

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8) Caleb Komolafe, a no-star, 6-0, 190-pound safety from Katy Tompkins High in Texas.

Skinny: He has offers from Tulane and Tulsa.

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9) Malaki Pegues, an unrated 6-4, 225-pound DE from Oxford High in Mississippi

Skinny: He is in the 247 database but not Rivals at this point. Has offers from South Alabama, USM and Troy. I will create a profile for him today or tomorrow. I believe his older brother went to Auburn and just transferred to Ole Miss.

Sorry for getting this up two days later, but I attended Saturday's practice, which featured a scrimmage at the end. Michael Pratt was not there at all because he was sick, and Justin Ibieta did not participate in the scrimmage, leaving Kai Horton and Carson Haggard as the two quarterbacks. De'Andre Williams came to watch along with his young daughter, who drew a lot of attention. Matt Lombardi did not practice, wearing a sling on his right side. Before the scrimmage, they attempted some field goals with just the snapper, the holder and the kicker. Kriston Esnard, Graham Dable and Bobby Noel all made their attempts form about 32 yards. Esnard then tried a 41-yarder and hooked it well left of the upright, which has been a constant problem for him. It looks like he tries to kick too hard, but I'm no expert on field goal technique. Casey Glover was solid on punts, although a practice observer said he was not getting the ball to turn over like it should. That brought back memories to me because TV announcers used to always say whether the punt turned over or not and I never to this day have known what that meant. You never hear announcers talk about that now.

Tulane's starting offensive line has been steady since the start of spring practice, with Joey Claybrook at left tackle, Rashad Green at right tackle, Josh Remetich at left guard, Caleb Thomas at right guard and Sincere Haynesworth at center. They begin that way in the scrimmage, which was mostly situational as Willie Fritz hollered out down and distance before each snap with both quarterbacks taking turns getting six reps.

Horton led a 65-yard touchdown drive on the first series, hitting Will Wallace for a decent gain on the first snap and connecting with Duece Watts for a big play down the sideline. I actually was blocked off by players, but an observer told me Watts pulled the ball down with a guy draped all over him. He tends to make tough catches and miss easy ones. Being blocked out prompted me to head to the stands to get a better view, and while I was doing that,, Horton scrambled into the end zone.

Haggard came in and was awful on his first series, with walk-on linebacker Aidan McCahill knocking down a slightly underthrown deep out, Haggard misfiring on second down after rolling left and Haggard throwing low over the middle and almost having his third-down pass picked. I had not seen any throw like that from him in the other practices I attended, but he improved significantly the rest of the way. First, though, they had him hand off to Ashaad Clayton twice in a row. Clayton picked up 8 yards and 1 yard, creating a third-and-1, and Haggard scrambled for a 2-yard gain to convert it.

Horton went back in handed off to Cam Carroll for an insignificant gain before Jha'Quan Jackson touched the ball on a reverse. Before he could turn the corner, Macon Clark ran him down and made a nice tackle. Clark is a bit of a hothead, but he is coming off a good year and should be even better this season. Fritz made it third-and-2, and Iverson Celestine caught a pass in the flat for no gain before Carroll was stuffed in the backfield on fourth down. The series started over at the 35 and linebacker Nick Anderson "sacked" Horton, who then threw to tight end Tyrick James for 4 yards.

Haggard returned and hit Tyrek Presley for 12 yards on the sideline. Presley has done zilch in three years, but he still has that good-looking receiver body and maybe the light will finally go on for him. He caught a bullet pass from Haggard for a 15-yard gain on the next snap on an inside route. Haggard then kept for a short gain, threw to Reggie Brown over the middle for 7 yards on a play that was nullified by multiple penalties (illegal formation, movement) and hit Brown again in the flat before he turned up field and picked up a first down. The last play in the segment was a short pass to Wallace, who juked a defender and gained 8 yards.

They did kickoff drills for a while after that, but really it was just a Juggs machine sending balls to Jackson, Lawrence Keys, Carroll, Bryce Bohanon and Dea Dea McDougle. I guess they are the five candidates for the role. Whlie that was going on, they did a kick coverage drill where a player started on the sideline and had to avoid a defender as he ran toward the middle of the field.

The next part of the scrimmage was a four-minute drill. The clock started at 3:57, the offense was ahead by 3 points and neither team had a timeout. With Horton at QB, Ygenio Booker gained 3 yards on first down, was stuffed on second down and Horton scrambled for a yards on fourth down, leading to a punt.

Haggard went in and handed off to Clayton for 1 yard, threw to Phat Watts on a slant for 6 yards and hit Phat Watts again for 2 yards, creating a fourth-and-1. The offense went for it and Celestine picked up 4 yards on fourth-and-1, leading to back-to-back kneel downs by Haggard to run out the clock.

They moved the ball to midfield for the next segment. On the first play, a Horton pass for Duece Watts was intercepted by regular scrimmage star Rishi Rattan, a walk-on defensive back more scrimmage interceptions than anyone else on the team in the last two years. Fritz praised Rattan for a nice read, but since he never was a factor on the depth chart last year, I doubt he will be next fall. Corey Platt sacked Horton on the next snap. Horton threw late to no one in particular on the next play, was sacked again by Patrick Jenkins, who actually hit his arm and left him shaking it for a minute after the play to wipe out the sting. Celestine had a nifty run for 14 yards and Wallace gained 13 yards on a swing pass before Haggard returned for his next six-play segment.

Clayton ran wide to the left for 4 yards, Haggard hit Brown for 12 yards (Brown looked good) on an inside route and Clayton ran 7 yards for a touchdown on the first three plays, which were a continuation of the drive that started with Horton. With the ball moved back to the offense's 35 after the TD, Haggard hooked up with walk-on tight end Jonathan Kahn for 7 yards (walk-on safety Jean-Jacques Hunter gave him a big stick) and hit walk-on wideout Lucas Desjardins with a 15-yard completion that was a little low. Haggard then got sacked when he held the ball because no one got open.

The scrimmage was not quite over at that point, but I had to leave and there were primarily walk-ons playing on both sides of the ball at that point. The defensive starters were in for two series against Horton before sitting out the rest. The first-and-second-team offensive lines rotated throughout. The first-team defensive line was Angelo Anderson, Eric Hicks, Jenkins and Armoni Dixon. The second-team defensive line was Keith Cooper, Adonis Friloux (trust me, he will be first team when it matters), Noah Taliancich and I believe Michael Lunz (I wrote the number down wrong), so clearly they were mixing and matching. Friloux is Tulane's best interior lineman by a good bit. Nik Hogan, who moved to defensive tackle for two years, is back on the offensive line and got some reps with the second team at right tackle.

There are no interviews after Saturday practices this year.

For the third time this spring, Willie Fritz elected to have the team practice at the Saints indoor facility, and for the third time, not a drop of rain fell at Yulman Stadium during the workout. That's OK, though, because the Saints facility provides an excellent practice environment. Unfortunately, those workouts are closed to the media, so there is not report today. I did talk to Fritz and new offensive line coach Eman Naghavi when the team returned to the Wilson Center. Michael Pratt walked by in uniform, so he was back today after missing Saturday due to illness.

FRITZ

On practice:

'It was a good practice. We're still healthy and we're stilling rolling three groups at a lot of different positions. The only group we're not able o roll three groups with is our offensive line, but we're rolling two there. Everybody is able to not get too worn out and get good quality reps. We've amped our quantity of plays up. We were doing 30 reps of seven-on-seven and we're doing 36. We were doing 36 of team (11 on 11) and we're doing 48 now, so it's really basically another rack for everybody. We're doing well. I think we got better."

On Darius Hodges being back:

"All these kids, I get to know pretty well, particularly the ones that have been here two to three years. I always tell them sometimes people think the grass is greener (elsewhere) and really all it is is green. Sometimes they find that out. Absence makes the heart grown fonder."

On if he had any catching up to do:

"He missed one practice. He's a veteran. He's played in this system. Obviously you always want guys there every day because it gives you an opportunity to get better, but he didn't fall too far behind."

On scrimmage impressions:

"We had everybody participate. I always do that. It's important to have everybody get some plays in. The other part with the scrimmage is having the officials out there. Now those penalties are real penalties. They can't say, oh, that wasn't a penalty.' Yeah it was. He threw the flag. Regardless of what you think, it was a penalty. There was a lot of good work on special teams, and then the last two scrimmages we'll really get heavily involved in special teams as well."

On key to Joey Claybrook having better season:

"Well number one he needs to be healthy, and he is healthy. He had a knee (issue last year), just planting on it. He's done everything that he needs to do to get ready to play. He's up here all day, every day. We're excited about him coming back. He's the epitome of a Tulane guy."

On Claybrook having thought last year would be his final season:

"Yeah, we did, too. He enjoys himself. He's going to get another graduate degree. He's taken advantage of his opportunity and getting everything out his college experience he can get."

NAGHAVI

On being sixth OL coach in two years:

"That's definitely something that crosses your mind when you come in. You've got some guys that have been here a long time and they've been through a lot of line coaches and a whole bunch of different schemes. That's always in the back of my head because I want to make sure I keep everything simple. When I came in I didn't change a lot of terminology. I kept the terminology the same so they could continue to build on it and grow, but there's definitely some things that I do different than probably any other line coach here had. That was a big transition for sure for them."

On his own transition to Tulane:

"I was actually in spring practice at my last job (as running backs coach/special teams coordinator at Georgia State). I'd gotten off the practice field and got a call from coach Fritz. He said he was interested, and by that night he offered me the job and I accepted. I was in the car on a Thursday before spring ball and drove down here. We had gone through five practices (at Georgia State), so I restarted."

On why he was running backs coach there after being OL coach last year:

"We ended up shuffling staff. We lost the offensive coordinator, so he (head coach Shawn Elliot) basically started shuffling around the staff. He moved everyone. The running backs coach went to tight ends. The tight ends coach went to quarterbacks and I went to running backs."

On whether it was tough decision to come to Tulane:

"I've always wanted to be down here, so it really wasn't that tough a decision. I've spent most of my career in Texas and Louisiana. The year that I was at Georgia State I grew as a coach and we had a really good year, but being back down in Louisiana is kind of where I belong. I'm close to my family in Houston and I've built a lot of relationships. Heck, I've probably lived most of my life in Louisiana now."

On his coaching philosophy:

"I'm a big technician, so I'm big in drills and basically showing them what we do in drills and translating over to the team stuff. The guys probably get tired of it, but I always try to compare what we do in drills to team and I try to get on film like look, this is what we worked and this is what we're seeing. That would probably be the biggest thing. I'm a big technical guy. I want them to know what they're doing, but then I want to give them the tools where they can play fast and be successful."

On line underachieving last year and wanting to atone for it:

"They definitely do have a chip on their shoulder, and to be honest that's how they need to play. They need to play with a chip on their shoulder. They had a few close games last year. We have to come out with a little confidence and be able to run the football. That's going to be our identity--running the football and being physical, and that's how they've been so far. They've taken me in with open arms."

On Claybrook:

"Joey's definitely the seasoned vet. He kind of makes the room go. I know he was battling some injuries and hasn't really been healthy, and knock on wood he's been really healthy this camp. He's doing some really good things and he's leading the guys. He's being that guy along with Sincere (Haynesworth) that can anchor the O-line. They have experience. They are tough. They are dependable. They are smart, and they are good players."

On Haynesworth:

"Sincere is probably about as good as I've seen, and I've coached in high school, FCS, Power Five (two years as an assistant at Texas). He's about as good as I've seen in terms of playing with power leverage and being the total package because the one thing that a lot of people probably don't see about Sincere is the intangibles. The guy is a pure born leader."

On Josh Remetich and Caleb Thomas:

"Both of them have done a really good job stepping up. We have a lot of guys that are competing for spots, so competition is big in the room. The good thing is there's a lot of guys that have that ability where they can be starters, so right now for me it's trying to evaluate them and see where they would fit in in what we're trying to do offensively, and eventually there are going to be the so-called starters, but we will probably play a lot more than just five guys."

On being willing to play more than five guys:

"I do. I was telling coach the other day I've been places where I played five and I've been places where I've played 10, so if the competitions' close, we are going to play multiple guys and we are going to be fresh and we are going to play hard, and if the competition isn't close, then we are going to play the guys that are the best. That's kind of what we're trying to evaluate right now in spring football."

On Rashad Green:

"It looks to me like he's kind of a swing guy. He can play guard and tackle. Really good body control and has a really good football knowledge of what we're doing, and the good thing about him is he's portable. He can play left, right, tackle, guard, which is an advantage for him."

on Trey Tuggle:

"He's about 100 percent. He's back to what he was. He started nine games I believe in 2020. He had to mature pretty quickly when he got here, and him sitting out last year gave him some motivation and also gave him a chip on his shoulder. He's just now getting back in shape, and heck he hasn't missed anything for us, so I'm looking for big things from Trey."

Tulane practiced in shorts and shoulder pads on Thursday morning at Yulman Stadium in a relatively light workout compared to what will take place tomorrow, when the teams goes in full pads and has a scrimmage primarily for the younger players. Defensive lineman DeVean Deal, who is recuperating from a torn ACL he sustained in preseason drills, was walking in the stands and doing exercise drills there during the workout. Willie Fritz believes Deal will be a heck of player when he gets healthy. He was having a good camp last summer before getting hurt.

There was a brief skirmish early in a 11-on-11 drill that involved Joey Claybrook, Macon Clark and others, and Fritz wanted no part of it. He screamed at the group in the scrum to break it up, then forced the entire team to come on the field and do a series of up-downs. "We don't have time for all that crap," he yelled.

Michael Pratt and Carson Haggard were sharp again. This was only the second practice I've seen out of five due to two being moved to the Saints indoor facility and me being in Fort Worth last Saturday, but the passing attack looks much more crisp than it did for most of last spring. Pratt began with a completion to Jha'Quan Jackson on a slant for a first down on a designated third-and-7 and hit Phat Watts in the flat for a first down on a designated fourth-and-2 in his first series of reps. Justin Ibieta was next, and he handed off to Tyjae Spears, who sprinted through a hole and accelerated past everyone before pulling up with what appeared to be a right hamstring injury. This will have no effect on his long-term status, but I would not be surprised if he is out for a while in the spring He did not look comfortable after it happened, and although he can use the reps in the new offense, he's so good, he can play well in any system at any time. Ibieta finished his set with a completion to tight end Tyrick James down the middle.

Haggard was next, and I'm not sure I've seen him throw an incomplete pass in an 11-on-11 drill yet. He started with a dart to T.J. Huggins, who continues to wear a no-contact jersey, Iverson Celestine then got stuffed on a run (there was no tackling of course) and was lectured by new running backs coach Derrick Sherman for needing to run with more purpose.

Pratt went back in, rolling out and hitting Shea Wyatt downfield, with Wyatt making a leaping catch. He threw to an open Ashaad Clayton in the flat, but after Clayton ran downfield, Sherman lectured him on not bringing the ball into his body soon enough, taking three steps while carrying it away from him and then not tucking it in high enough. Pratt finished the segment by completing a pass to James and scrambling for a first down on fourth-and-3. He absolutely needs to learn when to slide and how not to take a big hit in games, but his running ability will remain a part of the new offense.

Ibieta's next turn should have produced a long touchdown pass, but Huggins dropped it after getting behind everyone deep. Ibieta then threw short to Will Wallace for a decent gain.

Haggard's last throw appeared to be the first one that would cause him trouble, a deep out to Phat Watts that did not have as much zip as his usual passes. But lo and behold, it went right into Watts' hands for a big gain. Fritz praised Haggard for his quick release last week, and it really is a valuable too. He reminds me of Rex Grossman, the third best quarterback I covered in 18 years at the University of Florida (behind Heisman winners Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow) in the way he gets the ball out quickly. For what it is worth (probably not much), I singled out Grossman in his first practice with the Gators, and it panned out. He was considered the underdog to win the job against Evangel Christian product Brock Berlin but beat him out pretty easily, leading to Berlin's eventual transfer to Miami. Haggard will not beat out Pratt this year, but he is a keeper in my opinion.

I talked to Joey Claybrook after practice. He does not sugarcoat what happened to the team or to himself last year.

CLAYBROOK

On looking for stability after having six line coaches in his career (Alex Atkins, Cody Kennedy, George Horton, Chris Watt, Geep Wade, Eman Naghavi):

"It's good to have coach Naghavi. It's really trying to make it about the room. Coaches come and go. We have to stick together and just believe what each coach is telling us and buy into it."

On where he needs to get better after rough year:

"Everywhere. Everything. Pass blocking, run blocking, communication, being a better leader, every aspect. You have a year like that, you learn a lot and have to get better in everything you do."

On line issues last year:

"Communication, lack of confidence, not believing in each other, not believing in yourself. You've got to find it, and it was hard for us to find it last year. It might have been something we didn't ever get to."

On potential for line:

"It can be great. It can be as good as want it to be."

On Naghavi:

"He's just a very positive guy, very technical. He's been great so far and we have to keep believing in him.:

On different styles of each line coach:

"At this point for all of us it's more personalities than it is technique. Each person comes with their technique and their own calls, but at the end of the day there's only so many different ways to block somebody. It's just believing what he's teaching us and growing with it."

On coming back for another year:

"I want a conference championship. That's what we're going to do--win a conference championship and go to a New Year's Six bowl game. We've done the bowl games. That's what we came here to accomplish. We want to win."

Expecting rain, Tulane practiced at the Saints indoor facility again today, which mean the workout was closed to reporters. It did not rain during practice, but the forecast was for rain lasting past 8 a.m.

We interviewed Ashaad Clayton and Patrick Jenkins. I will have their full quotes tomorrow.

Just got it on good authority that he will be at practice tomorrow. I won't be there since I'm in Fort Worth, but that's terrific news for Tulane.

This is two straight years a player has entered the portal and then returned to Tulane (Jeffery Johnson last year). Rarely happens anywhere. Hodges led the AAC in tackles for loss.

The first time I saw Michael Pratt in spring ball in 2020, he excelled and looked far better than any quarterback I had seen under Fritz. Although he slowed down that spring when the defense started throwing more at him, that initial impressions proved accurate when he replaced Keon Howard and immediately changed the offense that fall.

I'm here to tell you my first impression of Carson Haggard is even better than the first impression of Pratt. He is small (6-0, 175) and needs to bulk up down the road to withstand the rigors of college football, but he had as stretch during the middle of practice yesterday that was the best I've seen from any Tulane quarterback since I started covering the team when Ryan Griffin was the starter. Take it for what it's worth, but I'm not someone who engages in much hyperbole. He looks like the real deal. The quarterbacks were alternating reps in an 11-on-11 drill with no pads, and his accuracy on the run was uncanny. He threw a bullet to a receiver whose number I did not catch for a touchdown while rolling to his right, zinging it between two defenders. He threw another beautiful touchdown pass on a corner route, hitting the receiver in stride. He threw short to secondary receivers when the defense had guys covered downfield. He hit Tyjae Spears on an improvised swing pass that would have gone for a long gain if Spears had not dropped it. He hit walk-on Matthew Redmond with a dart in traffic while running to his right again. He found Tyrek Presley on an inside route and hit him again a few plays later. He threw a touchdown pass to Luke Besh. And mind you, these were essentially consecutive reps. I might have missed one or two, but I'm not cherry picking the good plays. A former Tulane wide receiver watching practice next to me (I won't name him because he had no idea I would write what he was saying) simply called Haggard "a baller."

So yes, that was my No. 1 impression of the first open practice, and I can promise you I did not go there expecting to report about a true freshman fourth-string quarterback who enrolled early from high school. There must be something about the Florida quarterbacks Tulane has signed. Obviously there is much more to being a great quarterback than excelling in a no-pads, 11-on-11 drill at the beginning of spring, but the uncanny accuracy--something all Tulane quarterbacks under Fritz before Pratt struggled with mightily--is a huge asset.

Pratt was not as sharp as Haggard, airmailing a short throw over Shae Wyatt's head and going up to him to apologize afterward and floating another throw over the middle that could have gotten a receiver injured in a tackling drill, but he had some good moments. Remember, he was just cleared a week ago for full work after underdoing unspecified shoulder surgery following an injury-filled 2021 season. He may have thrown a perfect pass to former high school teammate Dea Dea McDougle in the corner of the end zone early in the drill, but I admit I did not see the ball released and am not sure whether it was him or Justin Ibieta. I do know safety Macon Clark, who was a step late to get over to the throw, was angry enough that he slammed his fist into the padding along the wall.

For the rest of the drill, Ibieta did not have any noteworthy or bad throws--Fritz said he was not 100 percent coming off a torn labrum--but Kai Horton made the best pass I've seen from him since he arrived for a TD to McDougle. He also threw high of a walk-on running back on another one.

The first thing I did when I got to practice was write down who was practicing with each position group, although I did not get to the defensive linemen because they stayed on the small practice field outside the stadium until team drills. You know the four quarterbacks.

The running backs were Spears, Ygenio Booker, Iverson Celestine, Cam Carroll, Ashaad Clayton and walk-ons Josh Coltrin, Lucas Barisas and Charles Schibler.

The wide receivers were Duece Watts, Phat Watts, Wyatt, McDougle, Lawrence Keys, Presley, T.J. Huggins (who was in a no-contact jersey) and walk-ons Lucas Desjardins, Michael Lavergne, Besh, Trevor Evans and Reed Rutkowski. I did not see Byrce Bohanon.

The tight ends were Tyrick James, Will Wallace, Reggie Brown and walk-on Jonathan Kahn.

The offensive linemen were Nik Hogan, who has been moved back, Joey Claybrook, Joseph Solomon, Caleb Thomas, Jackson Fort, Trey Tuggle, Matt Lombardi, Sully Burns, Hutson Lillibridge, Josh Remetich, Rashad Green and walk-on Ethan Marcus. I did not see Sincere Haynesworth, who has a class conflict. I requested him for an interview Tuesday and he was not made available because of a class he had to get to.

The linebackers were Nick Anderson, Dorian Williams, Jesus Machado, Mandel Eugene, Corey Platt and walk-ons Aidan McCahill, Jack Collins, Austin Sybrandt and Adam Uppuluri. I did not see walk-ons Matthew Remondet, the younger brother of departed scholarship O-lineman Matthew Remondet, or Andrew Wilks, both of whom are listed on the roster.

J.J. McCleskey was working with four defensive backs--Jadon Canady, Levi Williams, Jarius Monroe (who looks good) and walk-on Chadwick Bailey.

Joshua Christian-Young was working with Larry Brooks, Macon Clark, Bailey Despanie, DJ Douglas and walk-ons Gabe Liu, Jean-Jacques Hunter and No. 29 (not on the roster). Jonathan Mestayer, another walk-on, was out there but did not practice.

Chris Hampton was working with Lance Robinson, who looks better than a year ago, Kiland Harrison, Kevaris Hall, Shi'Keem Laister and walk-ons Rishi Rattan, Brandon Kim and Rodrek Williams II.

Carlos Hatcher, recovering from ACL surgery, will not be cleared to practice this spring but he made himself useful by flipping the ball to Hampton before each rep of a defensive backs catching drill.

There were fewer dropped passes than in most of the days last spring or fall, although Jha'Quan Jackon had one in a passing drill, and so did McDougle. Presley let one go through his hands in a 11-on-11 drill and it deflected to Monroe for an interception. Pratt got picked by Canady, who jumped a route and is without a doubt is Tulane's best defensive backs regardless of where he lines up.

Without Haynesworth, the first-team center was Fort, with Claybrook, Remetich, Thomas and Green around him. The second-team line was, from left to right, Lillibridge, Burns, Solomon at center, Tuggle and Lombardi.

New running backs coach Derrick Sherman was all over Celestine for losing a fumble even though it happened late in a play with guys slapping at the ball. He let him know ball security was paramount, and Celestine took it well.

Wide receivers coach John McNemanin is very active on the field.

I talked to Fritz and both coordinators after practice but don't have time to transcribe the interviews now. They will be up before the next practice.

Saw on another message board where someone mention Rudy Dyson & Jeff Nwankwo are still on the roster. I thought they entered the Portal.

RON HUNTER

On Jalen Cook's status:

"It's probably 70-30 that he'll play. Again, I need to see how he's going to react really tomorrow to all this, but he wants to play and is going to try. We'll see what happens."

On making sure he's not hurting the team by playing:

"No question. That's the thing. We've played well since he was not out there, so he has to prove to me he can do those things, but he wants to play desperately. We'll see, but right now I think it's 70-30."

On being in it to win it:

"As I told the guys, you win three games, you are in the NCAA tournament. How bad do you really want that. We're playing consistent basketball. I would love to have a healthy Cook, there's no question about that, but I feel good where we're at right now. Our style of play is convenient for conference tournament play."

On what went wrong against SMU after being up 11 late in the first half:

"We were down 17-4 to start the game, and that doesn't happen to us. We just couldn't make shots, and Jadan Coleman put on one of his runs and it really lifted our team up a little bit. The difference is we only made four 3s in that game and none in the second half. If we don't make 3s, that's part of what we do."

On Coleman 3 that would have put Tulane ahead just under the 1:00 mark in second half if it had gone in:

"It was a great shot. For him. If he makes that shot, we probably win that game. But again, we're playing a team on Senior Night and they have all their horses, we don't, and still had a chance to win it, so I walked out of their really pleased."

On preparing his teams for conference tournaments:

"From day 1 when we start in April, everything for me is about the conference tournament. I've been a mid-major coach and I don't think it will ever change for me. Your livelihood is based on March, so everything that we do from April until the next March is about playing well in March."

On winning rebounding battle against SMU by six:

"That's one thing I want everybody to understand. We won the rebounding battle and still lost the game, so I don't ever want to win the rebounding battle. It's so funny. Everybody wants us to go get that 6-11 guy, but that's not who we are. Think about this. Cross just became a third-team, most improved at the 5, so why would I go replace him and put him at a different spot? I think our fans sometimes have to understand how and what we are. We're a matchup team that shoots 3s. That's our system, and it works. For us, anyway."

On what needs to do to beat Temple:

"The big key is we've got to be able to make 3-point shots. Jalen Cook is over a 40-percent shooter, and that's a big threat where he can go inside-out. We've got to be able to make 3-point shots and make baskets and put pressure on them. They are not a great shooting team, but they are really solid defensively, so when you get your open looks, you've got to make them."

On playing Temple for the third time in 28 days:

"We know each other. To be honest with you it's what you'll see in the next couple of years because we're two of the youngest teams in the league that these battles will be going on for next couple of years but differently because we'll probably be fighting for championships. They play to his (Aaron McKey's) identity, and that's a great time for a coach."

JAYLEN FORBES

On thoughts going into tournament:

"We are confident enough to know we can compete with every team in the conference. Of course our plan is to just go in there and win it all. That's something we want to do."

On what need to do to beat Temple:

"We have to force them to shoot contested 3s. Coach said they weren't a good 3-point shooting team, so we have to make sure they shoot contested 3s and stop dribble penetration."

On Cook status:

"We are a stronger team with him, but we're also a good team without him. It's just the next guy up. Everybody has to come out and compete and just hold their end."

On not holding on against SMU:

"We made a couple of mistakes on defense. It's just staying locked in on the defensive end. When we went on that run, they pretty much weren't scoring. I don't know how long they went without scoring, but I know it was a pretty long time (five minutes and 34 seconds without a basket), so it was us depending on our defense."

On feeling fresher entering tournament this year than last year despite leading league in minutes again:

"Most definitely. I have the help of Kev and all the other guys, so I don't have to do as much this year. The minutes really doesn't matter. It's just me being out there because I want to win."

On Cross being touch matchup:

"Very tough. There's no 5 in the league that can guard him. They try to sag off him, but it still doesn't work. He's a monster to deal with."

KEVIN CROSS

On being named most improved player in league and third team:

"It means a lot. It means just being able to see what I did all summer finally pay off. I feel like I'm still not where I want to be. I feel like I can improve defensively and also offensively as well beyod the arc, midrange and all."

On going to Fort Worth to win:

"I feel like our bench is going to be key just with Cook being out, a couple of guys are going to have to step up and help us."

On playing well with out Cook:

The ball movement is touching all five, and I feel like that's key and everybody is getting involved in the game early."

JALEN COOK

On chance to play:

"Right now I'm about 70-30 really. The key is just feeling comfortable out there and feeling I'm capable of going out there and playing to the best of my abilities and not hurting the team."

On could tell it would be problem:

"This time I felt a pop."

On making first team:

"That was big. It was a blessing from God. It was total focus and hard work."

On frustration of being injured now:

"Man, it hurts not being able to compete and be out there with my teammates. You just gotta stay positive and hopefully the hamstring will magically get better. Time will tell."

Football scoop has him as the leading candidate to take the Oline coaching job at App St.. Guerry...what have you heard?

If this is true then this spot on our staff is certainly snake bit the last two years.

Willie Fritz moved Tulane's practice indoors to the Saints facility, where media no longer is allowed, so there will be no report today. Fritz, Nick Anderson and Michael Pratt met with reporters when the team returned to campus. Fritz said the new defensive line coach is Travian Robertson, who arrived Sunday. Robertson was a teammate of Chris Hampton's at South Carolina in 2007 when Hampton was a senior and he was a freshman. After a four-year career in the NFL, he spent the past three seasons at Georgia State as defensive line coach.

FRITZ

"We're excited about going first day here. We were hoping to be outside. I guessed wrong again. I thought it was going to rain. I blame that on my football ops guy. He told me it was going to rain. We were very fortunate they allowed us to come out there. We had a great practice. The kids were excited about it. They'd been away from it for a while, really almost an extra month not getting an opportunity to play in a bowl game this last season. It was just a good practice. We're a young team, but we have a lot of veterans coming back, so that's exciting.'

On new OL coach Geep Wade and new DL coach Gerald Chatman leaving for Appalachian State and Colorado right after they were hired:

"That's part of the business. You can't sit around and whine about it. I'm really excited. I think we did a nice job getting the two guys that we got (offensive line coach Eman Naghani and and neither one of them was available when I was interviewing, so it was good to get them both. Hopefully this will be the end of it and we'll move on from here. Eman (Naghani)'s here. He played over at McNeese, was the offensive coordinator at ULM when they were putting a bunch of points on the board. He's been over at Georgia State the last couple of years. I've known him a while. His father-in-law is the J.T. Curtis of Texas--Gary Joseph. He's won a ton of games. He hasn't won 600, but he's won a bunch of games (he is 241-23 at Katy High with five state championships), so he comes from a great football family. He was an All-American player at McNeese, and then our other coach, Travian Robertson with the defensive line, he actually played college football at South Carolina with coach Hampton (and was a seventh round draft pick in the NFL in 2011) and played in the NFL for four seasons. He got injured and has been over there at Georgia State, done a great job there, so we're excited to have both of those additions.

On what leap he expects to see from defense:

"We want to continue to keep doing what we did the last five games. We played really well the last five games of the year and did not very well the first seven, so we have to build upon what we did in the second half of the season. And we showed that to the guys. We showed what our season stats were defensively and what our last five games were. We would have been one of the top 10 defenses in the country the last five games, but you can't do that. You have to count the whole thing, so we have to do a good job building on what we did at the end of the season."

On Jim Svoboda and his vision for the offense:

"I'm really excited. I've known Jim forever. I was head coach at Central Missouri for 13 years and he came in and took my place and was there for 12 years. He was a Broyles Award finalist at UCLA. He was at Montana State calling plays for a couple of years. I went against him when I was at Central Missouri when he was at Northwest Missouri State, which is a Division II powerhouse. A really exciting offense. I'm more familiar with him than maybe some other people. Our wide receiver coach, John McMenamin, actually played for Jim and was the quarterback when I was coaching at Central Missouri. John came to Central Missouri and was the offensive coordinator for five years and went to Wayne State as the head coach last year and did a great job. We've got some guys who really understand what Jim wants to accomplish offensively who are here on staff with us."

On simplifying the offense:

"The big part of it is just having a plan and making something complex simple. Jim does a great job of that. You've got to put that game plan together early and understand what you're doing during the spring, getting your base stuff in there, and he's doing a super job over the last month of installing things with our offense. The NCAA allows us to have some practice sessions without a football now. You used to not be able to do that, but you get a couple of hours a week where you can do those things, so our guys have a pretty good idea about what we're doing leading into practice 1."

On J.J. McCleskey:

"He'll be working with the defensive backs. He's going to be in charge of player development for us. He did such a good job with the community and really guiding and leading these guys."

On if McCleskey cannot be involved on game days anymore:

"You can have him there, but you just can't, it's called tactical or schematic, that you're not allowed to do in that role."

On Derrick Sherman:

"He was with me for a couple of years here (as an analyst) and then at Samford as the offensive coordinator and put up big numbers there and then was also at Georgia Southern. He actually went up and coached at my alma mater for a year, Pittsburgh State, and I helped him get that job. I wouldn't have sent anybody up there that I didn't think was real good. He's going to do a great job with the backs."

On what led to 2-10 season:

"There's just a lot of things that played into that. We started off really poor defensively, and a lot of it was just schematic. We've got to get a lot better on third down both offensively and defensively. We were great the last five games third down defensively. Offensively our guys struggled with what we were doing at times. You want to make sure the defense doesn't have a bead on what you're doing, but you've got to determine what that game plan is early in the week so you're guys feel confident about it when they go out and execute on Saturday, and we had some struggles with that at times. We got beat up a little bit, and unfortunately we got beat up at a key position--quarterback. Michael got hurt the last play against Oklahoma and really was never the same. He just got cleared to go full speed here last week. He had surgery two months ago. The guy that I would have put in was (Justin) Ibieta, and he damaged a labrum and was out for the season (in week 2). Then our third-team guy, Kai Horton, dislocated a finger in his throwing hand, so we were a little limited. We had about two weeks where our G.A.s were throwing the football during practice. We just didn't have anybody, so that was a tough position, but you can overcome that if everybody else is playing well. We didn't. We looked at it and our kids are excited about the opportunity to redeem ourselves and get on the right track."

On Ibieta's status:

"He's back. He's about 75-80 percent throwing it right now and will probably be full by June 1, but he's pretty close right now."

On taking transfers from New Orleans area he did not get the first time:

"You establish a relationship with them, number one, which is good, so they know you and trust you. And then sometimes the guys think the grass is just greener when really it's just green and we try to get them back. They are all excited about coming back and being at home. I try to tell these guys you gotta understand, Tyjae Spears was getting recruited by a bunch of people and he went on an official visit, and I told him this is the only time they can pay for the trip. Otherwise your parents, are they gong to watch you play? 'Oh, they never miss a game.' They are going to fly to this town, rent a car, leave their car here at the airport for a few days, go get a hotel room, buy all their meals and be there for two nights. Pretty soon you're talking about $1500 to $2,000 in just a weekend if two or three people are going, and they understand that. It's nice and easy to just drive over here and watch Tyjae play. We hope we can get them on the front end, but if it works and you get them on the back end, hey, there's a bunch of kids from New Orleans that wanted to come back but we couldn't take. We just didn't have the room and the space at their particular position. We'd rather get them on the front end, but if we get them on the back end, that will be fine, too, at times."

Brown gives an overall recruiting update ahead of his visit this weekend. The Green Wave have inside help on getting Brown on campus.

Spring practice starts tomorrow at 8 a.m, and Tulane has dropped two assistants since the end of the 2021 season with the firing of line coach Byron Dawson and the reassignment of defensive backs coach J.J. McCleskey.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE (7)

Gone: Jeffery Johnson, Noah Seiden, Colby Orgeron
Returning: Adonis Friloux, Eric HIcks, Noah Taliancich, Alfred Thomas, Elijah Champaigne, Nik Hogan
Newcomer: Patrick Jenkins

Outlook: Johnson's transfer to Oklahoma would have hurt more if he had not participated in Senior Day with the intention of applying for the NFL draft, never letting anyone think he would be back for a fifth year. Still, he will be missed a lot even though I doubt he will be a high impact player with the Sooners unless he revs his motor on every down. Seiden had his moments even though he was under-sized. The key here is Jenkins being an impact player after a couple of non-impactful years at TCU. Friloux appears ready to become a very good player, and Jenkins would give him a complement. Hicks regressed after a surprisingly effective season in 2020 and needs to get back to where he was then. Taliancich came in as an end but has grown. This is an important spring for him because he has the potential to be a big contributor. Thomas, who has been injured most of the time and done very little in his career, has one more chance. He looked like he could develop into a good player as a true freshman. Champaigne remains a total unknown.

DEFENSIVE END/JOKER (7)

Gone: Darius Hodges, JoJo Dorceus.
Returning: Angelo Anderson, Carlos Hatcher, Keith Cooper, Michael Lunz, Armoni Dixon, Devean Deal, Parker Peterson

Outlook: Hodges entering the transfer portal is the first huge personnel blow Tulane has felt this offseason. He was not as dominant as his AAC-leading 16.5 tackles for loss indicated last year, but he was a definite playmaker. The most likely replacement for his production is Hatcher, who missed last season with a knee injury after being the favorite to start and likely will not be back for spring drills. Anderson, a big-time recruit in 2020, needs to step up in the spring after having an average year. Keith Cooper did some good things (18 tackles) as a true freshman but needs to keep progressing. The other guys all need to develop, and their ability to contribute next fall is unclear at the moment. They certainly will get the opportunity to prove themselves this spring at a spot very shy on proven performers.

LINEBACKER (5)

Gone: Marvin Moody, Kevin Henry
Returning: Nick Anderson, Dorian Williams, Eugene Machado, Mandel Eugene, Corey Platt

Outlook: Anderson's decision to return was vital, although it was curious that he never mentioned Tulane in his tweet about returning for another year of college. Assuming he is back, he and Dorian Williams are the strength of the defense and do not need to show much in the spring because they already have proven themselves. The other three guys are the ones to watch. Machado has shown flashes of playmaking ability but had a hard time getting on the field with the experienced trio in front of him. Eugene is undersized but plays with aggression. Corey Platt will get a chance to show his progress, too, As good as Anderson and Williams are, two of the young guys need to step up to replace the downs Henry and Moody played last year. That duo combined for 91 tackles.

CORNERBACK (7)

Gone: Jaylon Monroe
Returning: Jadon Canady, Lance Robinson, D.J. Douglas, Kevaris Hall, Kiland Harrison, Levi Williams
Newcomer: Jarius Monroe

Outlook: I'm listing Canady as a cornerback because I'm not doing a separate write-up on the nickelbacks, but he will be the best defensive back on the team regardless of where he plays. He's a natural who combines good tackling skills with outstanding ball-hawking instincts. Other than him, there are a bunch of question marks. Fans never liked Jaylon Monroe, who did give up his fair share of big plays, but he was the best cover corner on the roster last year. Robinson, the Kansas State transfer, did not help much. Hall never appeared to recover from the injury that sidelined him after an impressive debut early in his freshman year. Harrison, the first-team cornerback for all of spring in 2020, has not been able to get on the field for two consecutive seasons. He has speed, but so far nothing else. Douglas, who backed up Canady at nickelback, was merely decent after transferring from Alabama, where he was a walk-on. Darius Monroe, an All-Southland cornerback who started all 32 games Nicholls State played the past three years, is intriguing. Darion Monroe's younger brother might be the much needed answer at one corner, or not. We'll find out about him in the next few weeks.

SAFETY (5)

Gone: Derrion Rakestraw, Cornelius Dyson
Returning: Macon Clark, Larry Brooks, Shi'Keem Laister, Bailey Despanie
Newcomer: Lummie Young

Outlook: Clark is coming off a solid year, but before Young transferred from Duke, Tulane was very thin at the back with Rakestraw gone and Dyson leaving. Neither of them was effective last year, particular Dyson, a good athlete with no natural position, but they still combined for 59 tackles. Brooks has been a bit of a disappointment since coming on strong at the end of 2019--he had no interceptions and two break-ups last year--but he is capable of playing better. Fritz predicted he would be All-Conference in the future two years ago, and it has not happened. Now he has to hold off Young for a starting spot along with Clark. Laister worked with the second team in practice at times in 2021 but played in only five games. Despanie was redshirted.

SPECIAL TEAMS (2)

Gone: Merek Glover, Ryan Wright
Returning: Casey Glover, Kriston Esnard, Ethan Hudak

Outlook: I expect Casey Glover will be put on scholarship for the fall because he will be the punter. He has big shoes to fill in Wright's, but he looked good in practice. Your guess probably is better than mine as to the kicker. It won't be Esnard, the only current scholarship player at the position, unless he has learned how to kick straight. and I simply don't know much about the walk-ons. Graham Dable is the only listed walk-on kicker on the roster. He went 0 for 2 on field goals last year, sending one wide and having the other one blocked. Unless the coaches have found somebody, this could be an even bigger problem than last year, when the regressing Merek Glover botched the easiest field goal imaginable to deprive the Wave of a comeback victory against Tulsa. Maybe special teams coordinator Robby Discher, the first one Fritz has hired at Tulane, will have an answer. Hudak is a good long snapper.

Spring practice starts this week and we don’t have Dline coach. Guerry, could you find out from CWF how they plan on handling that

Spring ball starts tomorrow morning at 8 and I will be there. Look for the full reports here tomorrow and Thursday. It appears that Saturday's practice will be closed to reporters, which is fine with me since I will be in Fort Worth for the AAC basketball tournament from Thursday night until Sunday morning (longer if Tulane makes the final).

Here's a look at the offense as Tulane begins the on-field process of bouncing back from a 2-10 season. The numbers in parentheses are scholarship players at the position.

QUARTERBACK (4)

Gone: no one.
Returning: Michael Pratt, Justin Ibieta, Kai Horton
Newcomer: Carson Haggard

Outlook: Pratt will have to learn his fifth offensive scheme in as many years dating to his junior year of high school, which is never a good thing, but Willie Fritz said they would make the terminology as similar as possible under new coordinator Jim Svoboda, meaning Svoboda will have to learn a fair amount, too. I assume Ibieta will be healthy after missing the last 10 games of 2021 with an injury. Kai Horton had a rough go of it when he started for an injured Pratt last fall, but most true freshmen would struggle against Cincinnati. Haggard will have time to develop, but it will be interesting to see if he looks anywhere near as good as Pratt did when he enrolled early as a freshman. Other than Pratt, every quarterback who has signed under Fritz has struggled when he first arrived. Pratt, who was banged up for most of last year, never looked sharp last spring as he learned Chip Long's offense, but then again, the receivers were inept with the top guys out. This is a chance to see if he adapts more quickly to Svoboda. Long remained a big fan of Pratt when he left for Georgia Tech, and he said a better group of receivers would make a huge difference in his development.

RUNNING BACK (5)

Gone: No one from the end of last season.
Returning: Tyjae Spears, Cameron Carroll, Ygenio Booker, Iverson Celestine
Newcomer: Ashaad Clayton

Outlook: This should be fine. It doesn't really matter what Spears does in the spring because he can adapt to any scheme and be a star. He is that good when healthy. The people I know who cover New Orleans high school football raved about Clayton's ability and expected him to be great in college. It did not happen at Colorado, but Fritz has an excellent track record with running backs. Carroll did not play as well last year as in 2020 and will need to show improvement to warrant regular time with Spears and Clayton on the roster. Specifically, he needs to be more decisive in his cuts and stop trying to bounce outside when the hole is not there. Booker just needs to be healthy for four weeks, something that has eluded him through three years. He can contribute as a runner and receiver if he does not get hurt again, affecting his confidence. Celestine looked pretty good to me in practice last year. This is the best position on the team.

WIDE RECEIVER (8)

Gone: Jaetavian Toles, Jeff Nwanwko, Ryan Thompson
Returning: Jha'Quan Jackson, Duece Watts, Phat Watts, Shae Wyatt, T.J. Huggins, Bryce Bohanon, Tyrek Presley
Newcomers: Lawrence Keys, Dae Dae McDougle

Outlook: Last year was a debacle, with a Division II transfer (Wyatt) the most polished and arguably the best overall wideout on the roster. Jackson got hurt in preseason camp and never regained confidence in his knee or got the reps to improve as a still raw receiver. The Watts twins were inconsistent, and that's putting a positive spin on it. Toles, a guy the coaches had moved to cornerback a little more than a year earlier, played major downs, and he was not a Division I-caliber starting receiver (although an outstanding special teams player). The freshmen weren't ready, and Nwankwo, who clearly never would have been ready, left. Keys, a Notre Dame transfer, and McDougle, a Maryland transfer, need to make a huge impact after not doing a whole lot at their former schools. They were rated much higher coming out of high school than the group they are joining. Are the Watts twins still on the team after recent rumors of their departure? Can Huggins or Bohanon make the big leap in their second year after combining for one catch as true freshmen? Can Presley, who has been downright awful for three years but has the body of a big-time receiver, show something? This group bears more watching than any other one on offense, that's for sure.

TIGHT END (3)

Gone: Christian Daniels, Keitha Jones
Returning: Tyrick James, Will Wallace, Reggie Brown

Outlook: Daniels never really got a look at tight end under Long and even spent some time at running back and no longer is on the roster. Jones, a converted linebacker, showed promise as a blocker but caught only two passes and has departed. James did not have the breakout season many expected, but he was second on the team with 31 receptions for 429 yards and had a team-high four touchdown receptions--all good numbers for modern tight ends. Long always has loved tight ends, so it will interesting to see how James fits into Svoboda's system. Wallace made some plays (14 catches, three touchdowns) but had an incredibly frustrating drop on a fake field goal pass from holder/high school quarterback Ryan Wright. Brown was hurt for much of the season and needs to prove he can be a factor.

OFFENSIVE LINE (11)

Gone: Corey Dublin, Cameron Jackel, Timothy Shafter, Hayden Shook
Returning: Sincere Haynesworth, Joey Claybrook, Rashad Green, Caleb Thomas, Josh Remetich, Trey Tuggle, Matt Lombardi, Joseph Solomon, Jackson Fort, Hutson Lillibridge
Newcomer: Sully Burns

Outlook: Other than Dublin, the three departures had eligibility left, but Jackel never developed, Shafter was a former walk-on whose time decreased last year from 2020 and Shook was a Juco transfer who could not crack the depth chart. Haynesworth, Claybrook and Green are returning full-time starters, and Thomas was a part-time starter. Claybrook had a very disappointing year and will look to regain his previous form in the spring. Tulane also needs to find its starting guards, with Remetich a possibility after beginning his career with a bang two years ago but regressing. Tuggle is a bit of a mystery, too, after being hurt last year. Burns is not likely to contribute right away, but arriving early as a true freshman is a plus. Stability in the coaching is a huge issue after the line coach Fritz hired in the offseason departed early for the second consecutive year. These guys heads have to be spinning after having five coaches from the beginning of December in 2020 until now.

Welp...Tulane appears to be losing one of its best pass rushers, as Darius entered the portal today.

Not sure what the market leading into spring practices, but I wouldn't be shocked if he found a new home.

During an update interview with Rivals, 2024 CB Jaylen Heyward shared he may visit Tulane while in town for the Battle 7v7 tournament.

Any comments after the game on last ten seconds in your interviews? Disappointing finish. Plus Sampson spent ten plus seconds speaking to Cross in post-game handshake line. That was unusual

First pitch for the Tulane-Nicholls game is in about an hour-and-a-half.

I talked to tonight's starting pitcher for the Wave, Carter Robinson, yesterday. He spent two years as Mesa Community College in his home state of Arizona, leading the nation in innings pitched in his second season, and two more at ULL before becoming a grad transfer at Tulane for his final season.

CARTER ROBINSON

Why Tulane:

"When I entered the portal, coach Latham and coach Uhlman contacted me close together. I’d thrown against them a couple of times, and I guess they liked what they saw and I thought it was a fun place to play, a cool environment and I figured I’d come here for my last year."

So far, so good:

"It’s been awesome. It’s a change of pace for sure. It’s a really cool place. New Orleans is unique and the coaching staff is unique and the culture we have here is different than a lot of other places. It’s more tight knit than a lot of other teams I’ve been on."

On 112 innings in one year of juco:

"It wasn’t like there was a whole different process. I just went out and tried to execute pitches the same as normal and I just happened to be in a lot of good spots that year and had a good year."

Last year:

"Last year there were some struggles at times. There were a couple of different little changes I was trying to make. It’s never easy during the season obviously, but it was stuff I felt like I had to do for long-term success. I think I’ve ironed some stuff out now and feel really good about the way I feel going into the season."

Style:

"Just trying to execute pitches. It’s not something I try to analyze too much because it’s something you can’t think about too much. I try command my fastball, I try to mix pitches and I try to keep guys not on time. I try to disrupt timing a little bit."

Height on mound (he is 6-8):

"I don’t know. I’m not a real super high slot guy but I definitely get a little extra tilt just because of my height. And obviously as far as stressing my arm, the longer arm means I don’t have to stress my shoulder and elbow as much to throw the same velocity. I feel good going deep into games more than some other guys would."

No wear down in 112 inning year:

"No, I was good. I’ve been lucky enough not to have any serious arm trouble."

Pitched Saturday (one 1-2-3 inning):

"Yeah, it’s good. It’s always different when another team steps on the field and the game starts to matter, so it was a good little intro. Coach Latham talked about do you want to throw bullpen or do you want to throw to hitters. It’s such a different environment throwing to hitters, and I just figured it would be good to get my toe in the water before I go all in."

Dad was on rodeo team in college:

"In college he was a roper and a bull rider, and he did a little professional bull riding for a couple years afterward."

Not you:

"I’m too tall. Height comes from my mom’s side. That’s not me. Maybe after baseball career though."

Baseball the main thing:

"Baseball was always the sport. I used to wrestle in high school and my freshman year of high school. I played pick-up basketball and pick-up football at the park, but it’s pretty always been baseball."

Why Mesa:

"I had a couple of friends from high school who ended up going there. I missed competition. I went to University of Arizona my freshman year. I didn’t play. I just went as a student, but I missed baseball and missed the competition and just figured I should get back to it."

Offers out of high school:

"I had some opportunities—junior college, NAIA, D2 opportunities. I just didn’t see myself doing it forever, but as soon as I left, I missed it and realized it’s just different without baseball. I felt that was the missing piece, so I came back."

Plan for Nicholls:

"Go out and execute pitches. I can’t have too much of a plan. As soon as you get caught up saying I want go this deep, I want to have this many strikeouts, I want to give up this few hits, you get nervous. I’m just going to go execute every pitch and do as good as I can."

Close knit team:

"It’s huge. It’s a team game, so chemistry comes into it a lot."

Rowdy Tulane dugout caused controversy against ULL last year:

"They (Tulane) were the most annoying baseball team I’ve ever played in my life. I’ve told the guys, I’ve told the coaches, but now being on this side, it’s awesome. And it was fun last year, too. It gets you more into the game. I think everybody who comes here has a cool experience."

JEWETT on Carter Robinson

"It’s the experience, whether it be at the highly decorated junior college pitcher to his ULL experience and just having that ability. Sometimes you can find yourself on a Tuesday being a newbie. This gives us a grayhair out there that’s done it. The midweek games are important. If you can win those, you can separate yourself a little bit. I’m excited about his ability to go out there and act like he’s been there before."

On his height:

"When you’re that tall and big, you’ve probably got a chance to get down the hill, so then then closer you get to the hitter. I think it’s three miles an hour for every foot. He can make his 90 mile an hour fastball play a little hotter. He throws a lot of strikes, controls the running game and fields his position."

TREVOR MINDER on Robinson

"His experience for one is something that really wlll help him. He holds runners well, locates really well and just has a presence to him that’s extremely calming. He’s in the zone all the time, which allows the defense to stay locked in. Having him as a midweek guy is really good for us a whole. You can’t take those games for granted, and with him on the mound we’ve got a good chance to win every one of them."

1) THE STREAK SHOULD END

I really like the basketball team's chances to end a 23-year, 46-game losing streak to top 25 teams when it hosts Houston on Wednesday night. The short-handed Cougars, though still my favorite to win the AAC regular-season title, have become very sloppy with the ball recently, and Tulane turns teams over a ton. Much will be made of the Cougars' rebounding superiority--and the disparity is real--but Ron Hunter sacrifices rebounding to get more ball-handlers on the floor, which is why his teams almost always lead their leagues in turnover differential at the same time as being at or near the bottom in rebounding differential. Tulane beat Memphis earlier this year with a rebounding differential of minus-20, and although I would not recommend that approach on Wednesday, the key is just competing on the boards and grabbing the rebounds that are attainable. If the Wave does that, it will make up the difference in extra possession by forcing turnovers and not committing many. Tulane should be able to win it if makes open shots, something it could not do in Houston. Two of the three outside shooters need to be on among Jaylen Forbes, Jalen Cook and Jadan Coleman, and it would hep if Tylan Pope, who figures to play heavy minutes again because of his physicality--continues to knock down the one or two open looks he gets from the baseline, something that appears to be in his repertoire now. Coleman did not play in the first meeting, but he is coming off the two best games of his career. Cook has been slumping, but he is too good to continue struggling.

Houston was lucky to beat Wichita State in double overtime yesterday. Center Josh Carlton, who had never attempted a 3-point shot in his five-year college career, picked up a loose ball late in the shot clock and swished one late in regulation. The Cougars appear a little worn down, and with a potential conference-deciding home game against SMU coming up on Sunday, they could be ripe for that taking. That's easier said than done because Kelvin Sampson's team always plays with a tremendous will to win, but Tulane, which already is 6-1 at home in conference play, is explosive enough offensively to do it. The Wave needs to win because the bye that goes to one of the top five seeds is by no means a lock with Temple's recent surge. The Wave needs to finish ahead of either the Owls or UCF and still has to play both of them again. Temple, because of its victory against SMU, currently would win a tiebreak with Tulane if it beats the Wave in Philly this Sunday (if teams split their season series, it goes to the team that beat the highest seeded team). UCF, which beat the Wave in Orlando,, can sweep the season series by beating Tulane next week. The Knights are 8-7 and have two winnable games at home against Cincinnati and at Tulsa. Temple is 8-5, can get to 10 wins by beating Tulane and South Florida at home and still has a makeup date at home with Wichita State that has not been scheduled yet.

Tulane realistically could finish anywhere from third (if it goes 3-1 or 4-0) to sixth (virtually assured if it loses to Temple and UCF). Running the table to get to 13-5 likely would not net the Wave the No. 2 seed because SMU, by virtue of its sweep of Memphis, almost certainly would win a tiebreak with Tulane even if it loses to the Wave on the final day of the regular season.

Beating Houston is important because it is time to end the ridiculous streak of failure against ranked opponents. Getting the bye is even more important because this team is capable of winning three days in three days in Fort Worth to get the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It is not capable of winning four games in four days. No team is.


2) DEFENSE RULES

It's hard to glean much from the baseball team's sweep of terrible UMass Lowell, a mediocre (at best) northern team that had practiced little because of the weather up there and looked exactly like a team that had practiced little. Travis Jewett's teams actually have gone 3-0 on opening weekend in four of the last five years. But defense is not affected by the quality of the opponent. and Tulane's fielders went the entire weekend without mishandling a grounder or misplaying a fly ball. Just about everything that could be gloved was gloved, and each starting outfielder made an excellent play, from the best throw I've ever seen from a Tulane outfielder when Ethan Groff gunned down a runner at the plate from right field in the opener to Jake LaPrairie's quick jump and sliding catch of a sinking liner to a couple of good reads by Jared Hart in centerfield. The only time they let one get by them was on a hard shot by UMass Lowell that somehow rolled all the way to the wall when Hart, who was shaded far away from where the ball went, took a poor angle, turning a single/possible double into a triple. There were two throwing errors on Sunday, one by Trevor Minder at shortstop and one by Chase Engelhard at second base that drew Luis Aviles off first base (he should have been able to keep his foot on the bag), but those happen. Minder looked very comfortable and showed good range all weekend. The defense simply looked more polished than an any other year under Jewett.

Other than that, I don't have much to say. The bats were good but not great. Dylan Carmouche looked very good on Saturday, but I want to see him against better competition. Neither Tyler Hoffman nor Michael Massey was sharp, but again, I'm not going to read much into a first start. Most of the relievers looked good, so depth could be better there. We'll know a heck of a lot more after the series at Louisiana Tech.

3) BACK-LOADED SCHEDULE

The two most interesting conference games for the Tulane football team in the schedule released late last week are the final two--another chance to finally beat SMU in AAC play on a Thursday, Nov. 17 at Yulman Stadium, and a trip to 2021 college football playoff participant Cincinnati on my birthday, Nov. 26. There is no way the Bearcats will be as good next year as they were this year, but with the culture and talent in place there, you know they will be at or near the top of the league again. That's a tough season-ending assignment.

The non-conference order we already knew, but Tulane will match last season's victory total after two games by beating UMass and Alcorn State at home. Then comes a trip to Kansas State where Willie Fritz will try to get over the hump and beat a Power Five conference team for the first time in his coaching career. After a probable win over Will Hall and Southern Miss, Tulane begins conference play with a trip to Houston for another Thursday night affair (it might be moved to Friday). The Cougars have clobbered the Wave every single time in Houston under Fritz, with a clear talent advantage at the skill positions. If Tulane writes a different storyline this time, the season could be good. The schedule is pretty friendly after that (ECU, at USF, Memphis, at Tulsa, UCF), but then again, nothing was easy for this team as it stumbled to a 1-7 conference record last fall. With wholesale staff changes, spring ball will be more interesting than usual as Fritz tries to right a ship that was reeling in the fall. I was very surprised Fobbs was not retained as running backs coach, but Fritz's running backs have been good everywhere he has been. It may not have been Fobbs' doing. The rest of the staff changes were expected and logical, but it remains to be seen whether the offense will click.