I talked to numerous players and coaches at Media Day but did not have time to transcribe them right away. I will post them as I do it.

LAWRENCE GRAHAM

Coach Fritz said today he did not come here to go 6-6 and reach a bowl. His goals are bigger. Is that the way the whole team feels this year?

"Yeah, since coach Fritz has gotten here we've been on an ascending path. OK, we've reached the goal of a bowl game. Now it's time for something better. We're not going to be satisfied with just another bowl game. We need a conference championship under our belt. We plan to get one and that's a promise."

Do you feel like you're more than just a darkhorse contender in the AAC. Is a championship the expectation?

"Yes, sir, it's a definite expectation. If we fall short, it will be a disappointment. It's not one of these seasons where we just feel like we're good enough to maybe make it. We feel like we deserve it and we've worked hard for it."

With eight returning defensive starters, how confident are you guys as a defense?

"Very confident. Today being the first day of practice we went out there and had our rough patches, but for the most part everything looked pretty smooth and we're a unit. If we play as a unit, we're going to be a good one."

You lost two emotional leaders and good players in Rod Teamer and Donnie Lewis. What's the key to replacing them?

"It's next man up. Rod and Donnie are a big loss. There's losses all over the field, but it's next guys up. The freshmen have to step up, the juniors, the sophomores, everybody has to step up."

What about the talent on the defensive line in front of you?

"Man. Young, fast, hungry, aggressive. Everybody on that line from Pat (Johnson) all the way down to the newest freshman end is a dog, and I think we're going to eat."

PATRICK JOHNSON

Coach Fritz talked about not coming here to go 6-6. What are your expectations?

"The expectations for all of us right now are most definitely win the conference championship game. I don't think our minds are anywhere else this year. We want to have a 10-plus season for wins. We have a really strong core coming back on the D-line. The DBs look really good, and the offense is a whole new squad."

Not one of the 30 voters at AAC Media Days picked you to win the AAC West.

"How I go about life is I don't feel like I have to try to prove people wrong. I feel like when we were 2-5 last year, nobody else trusted in us, and you saw how we ended up--7-6. We only had each other's backs, and that's kind of how we're going to go throughout the year. Nothing comes to my mind besides just being together and not worrying about that."

How different is the offense under Will Hall?

"It's very different. It's very fast. A lot of new things can be thrown at you with a lot of different looks but is also can be different plays from the same look. He's doing a great job. Him and coach Kennedy are working great together and doing a good job."

What about the depth you have on the defensive line?

"Oh man, it's ridiculous. Hopefully it will give me a little bit of rest. Guys like Carlos (Hatcher), Juan (Monjarres), new freshman Armoni (Dixon), a guy like Torri Singletary, too. They are all growing. I know Carlos and Juan put on like 20 pounds each, so it's kind of like they caught up to me. It brings me confidence to know they can do it just like I can."

Opponents are going to game plan for you specifically this year. How much does it help to have the talent around you if that happens?

"Yeah, you can't pick off one guy. If they are trying to pick me off, that's OK. I've got three other guys on the defensive line that are going to punish you just like I would. We all have the same mentality on the D-line, so it really doesn't matter. The training I do in the offseason shouldn't be any different if I was getting double-teamed or single-teamed. Nothing really changes for me."

In the past when Tulane had any success players got satisfied and stopped working as hard. I assume that's not the case with you?

"No, that's not the case at all. That's one thing (Fritz) brought to the table when we first started doing meetings. He said I don't want to talk about being satisfied with anything, I want to win the championship next year, and that's all we've been talked about."

This team has never won back-to-back bowl games ever and hasn't been to back-to-back bowls since 1979 and 80. Are you pretty sure those stats will be put to rest?

"Oh yeah, those are going to be put to rest easy. I'm not going to say easy because you've got to come out and you still have to perform like you should, but I'm not worried about that. We've just going to take care of what we've got to do."

Cam Sample was getting the preseason accolades last year and now he's forgotten.

"That's something I keep joking around about. I tell people y'all keep sleeping on Cam. He was my roommate last year, and I'm telling you he's hungry. He goes about his business. He got hurt versus USF, and as long as he stays healthy, he's going to be a problem. Everyone will know who he is."

I'm pulling double duty for The Advocate today writing a feature on Kuerschen and then heading to the Alario Center for a story on Melvin Frazier's charity hoops event. With no practice tomorrow, I will post something about today's practice then.

Here's a quickie: They had the pads on today so the workout was more physical than the others. The receivers did not have a great day holding on to the ball, but the energy was good. Willie Fritz really likes freshman center Sincere Haynesworth, although he noted his previously perfect snapping was not as sharp with pads on. Haynesworth got reps with the second and third-team groups and appears like a guy who can earn time this year if there is room, either at center and guard.

They blew two whistles at the end of each play, and I'll let Fritz explain what that's about. He's been doing it for a long time.

Here is Fritz from today:

"It was better. We're still learning how to practice. We just have to keep coaching them up. Some of the groups play harder than other groups do. The physicality, we're trying to define what we're looking for. I've been doing this two-whistle deal since 1987. What we're really trying to get is the first whistle is everybody going a million miles an hour, but when that first whistle blows, we're trying to limit the contact then other than trying to strip the ball or tag off with your hand on their hip. Otherwise there's not any more contact going on, but we're accenting running the ball. Some guys are doing a better job of that than others. Some coaches are doing a better job coaching than others."

How have the grad transfers looked?

"Oh, they are awesome kids. I had a new one with Christian Montano today. I was watching him and he had his mouthpiece dangling from his face mask. I ran up to him and I told him you've got to put your mouthpiece in prior to the play. He smiled at me and he had his green mouthpiece in and he said that's my backup mouthpiece, so he's pretty smart. I've never had a guy do that one,. He isn't going to screw up."

Haynesworth is lining up at center right now. What are your early thoughts on him?

"I'm really impressed. He's a big, thick kid. He's got good strength. I've watched some of our guys try to bull rush him in one-on-one pass rush and they have a tough time moving him. He's a guy we might play at guard as well. We're going to keep him there at camp at center for at least another week. He's good. The first couple of days he was a really accurate snapper and then we put the pads on he got a little bit throwing it around, but in high school he was a very accurate snapper, too.'

With the commitment from Rashad Green, Tulane now has 21 "public" commitments. Assuming Tulane signs 22 this year as Coach Fritz has predicted, it would appear we only have one more slot. Of course, that means we need to “attrit” about 5 players from the current roster and who they are is anyone’s guess, though I feel comfortable that the coaching staff has a good handle on it. Frankly, I don’t know the last time, if ever, I thought our coaching staff had a “good handle” on anything. Although Bowden/Rodriguez had a good handle on game day I don’t think they recruited all that well. Anyway…

We’ve signed more offensive and defensive linemen than I expected and If we are to maintain current commitments (and I doubt we’ll retain them all) and sign one more, it would seem to me the major “needs” are 1) a GREAT player (ie. 4 star type) regardless of position followed by 2) a defensive back, 3) a running back, and 4) a wide receiver. Depending on what five players leave “the fold,” the order might change or another position might require further addressing. Since we may have only the one slot remaining, It should be interesting regardless.

I personally like Caleb Anderson (East Feliciana) at DB, though we’ve offered a number of out-of-staters who I’d be thrilled to sign. At running back I’d love to see us sign one of several out-of –staters we’ve offered. At wide receiver, Trenton Grow from West St. John is intriguing at 6’3.” He looks like a “top 25” type player to me. That he has not gotten more interest may suggest an off-field issue, but he looks really good to me on film. Tyler Kirkwood from Holy Cross is another local possibility who could fit nicely, but I also realty like Jacorrei Turner, a 6’4” wide out from Georgia who also plays linebacker.

Anyway, we’re almost full and have an entire season and 4 ½ months to early signing day. Should be fun to follow.

Roll Wave!

Per Kendal Rogers:

NEWS: 1B Justin Campbell, ranked 195th nationally by @prepbaseball in the 2019 class, will not attend @GreenWaveBSB this fall. Instead, he’s headed to @OSUBaseball because of a non-baseball related hiccup. Campbell was an 18th-round selection of the @astros in teh #MLBDraft.

Did we screw ourselves yet again?

Tulane had another two-hour practice Friday morning on day 3 of camp, remaining in shorts. Cameron Carroll, who will have a hard time moving up on the running back depth chart because of the quality of the players in front of him, sat out with a shoulder injury today and had wrapping on the shoulder. With Darius Bradwell, Corey Dauphine, Amare Jones, Stephon Huderson, Tyjae Spears and Ygenio Booker at the position, Carroll has his work cut out for him but will not get a chance to show his worth for the time being. When he walked back to the field after taking a bathroom break, Justin McMillan walked up to him and encouraged him and asked how he was doing.

At right offensive guard, Cameron Jackel was on the first team in 11-on-11 drills. Keyshawn McLeod occupied the spot on Wednesday, with Ben Knutson there on Thursday in a a tight three-way battle for a starting spot. The rest of the first-team offensive line appears set, with Tyler Johnson at left tackle, Corey Dublin at left guard, Christian Montano at center and Joey Claybrook at left tackle. It is too early to judge how effective this group will be --we will get a better picture when they put on full pads and have scrimmages--but Willie Fritz says he is comfortable with seven linemen as starter quality. He has not named which seven.

Freshman Sincere Haynesworth, a 3-star prospect from Texas, worked with the second team at center while Stephen Lewerenz shifted to left guard with that group. Nik Hogan was the left tackle, with Knutson the right guard and McLeod the right tackle as they experiment with different combinations.

The third-team line was walk-on Timothy Shafter at left tackle, Michael Remondet at left guard, Lewerenz at center, walk-on Ben Bratcher at right guard and Colby Orgeron at right tackle.

The depth chart on defense was pretty much the same as the first two days, although Chase Kuerschen told me he is playing free safety rather than strong safety and P.J. Hall is playing strong safety. I'll continue watching to see how that pans out, but Rod Teamer played strong safety last season while Hall was at free safety, and defensive coordinator Jack Curtis told me Wednesday they thought Kuerschen could do a lot of the things Teamer did. Phil Steele, who bases his depth charts on talking with coaches, has Kuerschen at free safety and Hall at strong safety.

Regardless, it looks like Kuerschen will be a starter on opening night, with youngsters Macon Clark and Larry Brooks getting playing time as well.

There were not many big plays in the 11-on-11 work but not many bad plays either. Justin McMillan improvised well on one down, rolling to his left to avoid pressure and hitting tight end Tyrick James for a first down. James has been getting most of the reps with the first unit and is more dynamic as a receiver than Will Wallace, his primary competition. A lot of the plays were runs today, and when they are not allowing full contact, it is hard to judge what is successful and what is not successful.

The wide receiver depth chart is shaking out like this: Darnell Mooney, Jalen McCleskey and Jaetavian Toles are the clear No. 1s. Jacob Robertson and Jorien Vallien are No 2s (part-time wideout and running back Booker was with them today). Freshmen Tyrek Presley and Jha'Quan Jackson and walk-on Ryan Thompson ran with the 3s. Kevin LeDee is practicing in position drills but did not get reps in 11 on 11. Sorrell Brown showed up today with a wrap on his right knee, the opposite of the one he tore last August. Yesterday Fritz said they hoped to get him in uniform by the third week of drills. Dane Ledford sat out today after getting hurt near the end of Thursday's workout, so Tulane remains thin at wideout with tons of questions behind the top three. Robertson made a first-down catch today, but juggled the ball before pinning it against his hip. A little later, he caught a short hitch and accelerated downfield. Of the non-starters, he has made the most plays in the first few days of camp. Jackson had a nice catch on a ball from Keon Howard.

Christian Daniels still does not put a lot of zip on his throws. The pecking order is pretty clear at QB.

When the third-team defense was on the field, end Juan Monjarres was part of the defensive line along with walk-ons Jeremiah Hernandez (De La Salle) and Dane Ziegler (Lakeshore High in Mandeville) and freshman Darius Hodges. The Wave has a lot of depth outside, but that's not a grouping Monjarres wants to be a part of. Davon Wright is the second-team end behind Cam Sample.

Has there been any word on who the new play by play announcer will be?

I have kid duties this week until school starts Monday, so I got to practice about 9 a.m. after dropping him off at his grandmother's. I was there before the start of 11-on-11 work, so I did not miss a whole lot.

The 1s versus 1s began with running back Darius Bradwell catching a swing pass and getting stripped downfield, mimicking a drill the defense had just run for about 15 minutes. I was blocked from seeing who stripped the ball, but the defensive coaches were very pleased. McMillan spiked a ball on the next play when no one got open, something he has done a lot more the first two days than he did last year.

Overall, though, it was not McMillan's sharpest day. He went 1 of 3 on the opening set and was "sacked" by Jeffery Johnson on a good push up the middle. McMillan actually threw the ball after the whistle, and Jaetavian Toles dropped it trying to make a low catch.

On McMillan's next series, Amare Jones made a nice catch near the sideline before McMillan connected with an open receiver deep down the sideline (I believe it was McCleskey, but I was blocked again) for what would have been a touchdown if he had not led him too far to the outside, forcing him to step out of bounds right after he grabbed it. McMillan chided himself for the inaccurate throw. One play later, Thakarius Keyes dropped a would-be interception, and on the next snap, McMillan threw deep down the field in desperation under heavy pressure and Corey Dauphine made a circus catch in traffic.

On his third series, McMillan missed Bradwell with a short throw, had a deep ball in the end zone knocked down on a heck of a play by Jaylon Monroe covering McCleskey and threw behind Darnell Mooney on a crossing route.

McMillan has become much more comfortable as a leader. He had plenty of discussions with his receivers on the sideline in between series, instructing them where they needed to be and taking feedback. Insiders say that's one of the primary differences between him and Jonathan Banks. While Banks tried to make plays, McMillan wants to do whatever is necessary to win. He's clearly much more comfortable with his teammates than he was last year.

Backup Keon Howard threw pretty well, including a deep ball to Jacob Robertson over safety Larry Brooks, but he dropped two perfect shotgun snaps, which simply cannot happen. One play after the ball sailed through his hands the first time, he connected deep with walk-on Ryan Thompson for a touchdown. He then threw deep for Jorien Vallien, but Willie Langham blanketed him (and maybe interfered with him when he got too handsy unnecessarily).

Christian Daniels and Josh Holl also got reps with limited success. Holl found wide-open freshman tight end Keshon Williams for a nice gain in the middle of the field but missed Dauphine on an easy throw and was picked off by freshman safety Tyler Judson on another throw.

Willie Fritz felt much better about today's practice than yesterday's, when he talked with the players about how winded they were halfway through and reminded them that all the summer running they did had not prepared them for the fast pace of Will Hall's offense with helmets on. Today, they appeared more acclimated, which they will need to be on both sides of the ball to keep up.

"You have to be in shape to play at this pace," Fritz reminded them.

NOTES

--Virginia grad transfer Ben Knutson practiced with the first team today at right guard.

--Willie Langham worked with the first team at cornerback at the start of 11 on 11 work, with Monroe getting reps there later. That's one of Tulane's closest position battles.

--Linebacker Quentin Brown left the field and headed to the trainers' room with what appeared to be a left hip issue. Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams got reps with the second unit at linebacker, as did Arizona State grad transfer Malik Lawal a little later.

--Freshman Sincere Hayneworth is the third-team center behind Christian Montano and Stephen Lewerenz.

--Reserve defensive end Nick Kubiet is not practicing with an unspecified injury. He is taking mental reps.

--wide receiver Dane Ledford was wincing in pain at the end of practice with some type of upper-leg injury.

--Colby Orgeron is lining up as a reserve right tackle. Nik Hogan is at left tackle and Michael Remondet is at left guard.

--KJ Vault has missed the first two practices, or at least the second half of them, because of a class conflict.

--Keitha Jones remains with the tight ends, the position he played in the spring, so Tulane has five scholarship guys at the position--Jones, Tyrick James, Will Wallace, Williams and Conner Richardson.

--Ygenio Booker is a definite threat as a receiver wherever he lines up. I predict that Tulane's running backs will match or surpass the 14 receptions they had in 13 games last year in two games this season. I've covered teams that did ran different stuff in games from what they had showed in practice, but Hall is a smart guy and he knows who his best playmakers are.

Posted 1 hour ago. Suggest it’s a local?

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Coach Fritz has commented on our inability to redshirt players over his early years at Tulane. By my count, we redshirted 25 of 68 freshmen during his first three years (37%). With depth at virtually every position and the ability to play four games without losing eligibility, I’m wondering how many of our 20 scholarship freshmen will redshirt this season. I’d be surprised if it’s not at least half (10 or more). Any thoughts?

Roll Wave!!!

Media Day starts at noon today with Willie Fritz speaking at 12:30, but here's a quick report on practice. I arrived around 8:50 when they were still doing individual position work and watched the last hour.

The first play of the first 11-on-11 drill, which pitted the ones against each other, was a handoff to Amare Jones, who figures to be Tulane's breakout star this year. He accelerated through a nice hole. The short series ended with a bullet pass from Justin McMillan to slot receiver Jaetavian Toles on a slant. Toles needs to build on his terrific catch and run for the touchdown that led to the winning 2-point conversion against Navy last year and give the Wave a viable No. 3 receiver to complement Darnell Mooney and Jalen McCleskey.

Keon Howard went in next with the twos against the twos and connected with Jorien Vallien on a deep post. Howard still needs to be more consistent with his throws, but he was on the money with that one. I believe Vallien beat Chris Joyce on the play, but it might have been Willie Langham.

Christian Daniels went in with the threes against the threes and did not do anything notable.

On McMillan's next series, he threw a late floater for Toles and got what he deserved, as Chase Kuerschen roved over for an easy interception. McMillan rebounded with a completion to a leaping McCleskey on the sideline (McCleskey is a natural) and then threw a gorgeous deep ball to Jones in the end zone, leading him perfectly. In the surprise of the day, Jones dropped it and was beside himself. He did five up and downs without any prompting from the coaches after returning to the sideline.

Ygenio Booker, who I kept listing as a receiver in the spring but Fritz referred to as a running back at the end of drills, is going to be involved in the passing game regardless of where he lines up. He was a frequent target today, although he dropped one short pass from Howard he should have caught. New offensive coordinator Will Hall is much more interested in getting the ball to playmakers in space than Doug Ruse was.

The only changes at the top of the depth chart I noticed from the end of spring were Jaylon Monroe lining up at first-team cornerback instead of Willie Langham and redshirt senior Keyshawn McLeod lining up as the first-team right guard instead of Cameron Jackel. The rest of the line was as expected, with Tyler Johnson, Corey Dublin, Christian Montano and Joey Claybrook. Ben Knutson was the second-team right guard. I did not see Jackel taking any reps, although he was in uniform when the team left the field, so he might have a minor injury.

As Fritz promised at the end of spring, a healthy Kuerschen was the first-team strong safety ahead of Macon Clark, the first-teamer in the spring while Kuerschen practiced in a no-contact jersey to protect an injury. Tirise Barge was the starting nickelback, and Larry Bryant ran with the 2s.

Mike Hinton worked with the second-team D, as did Larry Brooks at free safety. Patrick Johnson is wearing No. 7 this year, giving Tulane a pair of single-digit outside rushers with fellow starter Cam Sample switching from 55 to 5.

I am hearing the only player who had eligibility remaining who did not return is obscure walk-on running back James Poche, a Newman product who had zero chance to play. There were a few guys I did not spot today, but they may be injured, had an excused absence or were wearing a different jersey number than listed.

While Kevin Ledee is back, Sorrell Brown is not. I assume he still has not recovered sufficiently from the serious knee injury he sustained in preseason practice last year. All of the other wideouts practiced.

I did not see KJ Vault or Keitha Jones, whom I looked for at linebacker and tight end. I also did not see Cam Carroll, but I might have missed him in the logjam at running back. I will check on their status at practice tomorrow.

I did not notice anyone who was out of shape, but again, I will double-check tomorrow.

Justin Ibieta, the QB commit from Country Day, watched practice. He looks the part of a D1 QB physically.

A scout from the San Francisco 49ers was in attendance and talked to strength and conditioning coach Kyle Speer after practice.

I will post quotes tonight. There were no interviews directly after practice.

Practice starts Wednesday morning, but here are a few tidbits from Phil Steele's preview magazine.

1) He does not have Tulane going to a bowl game, which means he must believe FIU will win the opener. Since he has the Wave third in the West, he has to think it will win at least four conference games plus Missouri State. He has FIU as the best team in CUSA in his power ratings. HIs bowl teams from the AAC are SMU (Frisco Bowl), Houston (Cure Bowl), UCF (Boca Raton Bowl), USF (Gasparilla Bowl), Temple (Military Bowl), Cincinnati (Birmingham Bowl) and Memphis (Cotton Bowl).

2) He ranks Tulane's defensive line 26th best in the nation. The only Group of Five lines rated higher are Marshall at No. 21 and Boise State at 23.

3) He ranks Tulane's running backs No. 27, an impressive number but below Cicinnati (No. 11), UCF (No. 12) and USF (No. 18). LSU is two spots higher at 25.

4) He ranks Tulane's special teams No. 47. The improvement under Fritz in that area has been tremendous.

5) He has Patrick Johnson as the No. 31 DE. Cam Sample is not on the list of 91. His injury last year knocked him off the radar but I expect he will make a huge impact quickly this season.

6) Darnell Mooney is the No. 37 WR. If he gets over the case of the drops he developed last year, he will justify that ranking.

7) Darius Bradwell is the No. 55 RB. That's lower than I would have him.

8) Tulane is 76th out of 130 teams in the power poll, which rates overall talent regardless of schedule. The Wave is behind No. 27 Cincinnati, his pick to win the East (I agree with him), No. 39 UCF, No. 46 Memphis, his pick to win the West (I have the Tigers third) and No. 69 Houston (I'm leaning toward picking the Cougars first in the West, which would be a good thing for Tulane since my last two picks in the West were 2017 Tulsa, which went 1-7, and 2018 Navy, which went 2-6). He has Temple at No. 79 and SMU at No. 81 but expects them to go to bowls because of easier schedules than Tulane.

9) Tulane's other FBS opponents: FIU is No. 64, Auburn is No. 10, Army is No. 67, Tulsa is No. 95, Navy is No. 99 and UConn is No. 129.

10) He expects the AAC to be the best Group of Five conference this year. Surprisingly, he rates the Mountain West ahead of the AAC based on performance last year.

New Commit

As I mentioned in another thread, Ed Daniels and I shared him and had limited time, so I did not get to ask some of the questions I wanted to ask.

What's the message going into fall camp?

"It's really just attention to detail, block out the noise, consistency, get better every day. I'm not a big theme guy."

So you don't think that (big themes) helps you win?

"I don't think so. I've had some good themes, but if you have real good players and good coaches, you'll win a bunch of games. Everybody wants to do what Clemson does with their theme, but eight years ago when they were 8-6, they probably had a theme that year. too."

Do you feel this is a much more talented club than you had last year?

"Yeah, I really do. We were looking at it just the other day. I'm always going over the depth chart and there are some spots we've got three veterans at the position. That's what we didn't have when I first got here. We didn't have very much depth. Most teams you are going to have five to 10 upper-level type players who have a chance to play in the NFL. It's those guys that are 11 to 45 and 50 that win you championships, and we've got a lot more of those guys. If we have an injury at different positions, it won't be a catastrophe. We'll be OK because we have good backups."

You have painstakingly built that depth, right?

"It's like in recruiting. People think you have 22 scholarships and can sign any 22 guys. You have to do it based off who's graduating and each position and how many seniors, juniors, sophomores so you always have that depth. You don't want to sit there and look at a year and all of a sudden you've only got seven offensive linemen. That's the position where I think we've really built the depth up."

Is there an area that concerns you?

"No. I just think it's finding guys that can help you in the kicking game that maybe haven't played a whole lot. We really feel like we signed a talented freshman class. Early in camp the big deal is teaching them how to play in the kicking game because a lot of those guys haven't done it. They played all the snaps on offense, defense or both, of if they were (on special teams), they were a returner. That's all they ever did. So getting those guys schooled up in how to cover punts and kicks and block in the return game, it's hose kinds of things."

Is there a true freshman you think that might (make a huge impact)?

"One thing we do is the first 10 practices everybody's getting reps. We'll roll with three groups and everybody's going to get an opportunity to show us what they can do. The reason why more true freshmen are playing nowadays than in the past is because they are here all summer. They learned the system, they understand the system, they've lifted weights with you and they've done the drills with you. The only thing you can't do is go out there with the football, so practice No. 1 tomorrow will be like practice No. 20 in the old days. We're going to get after it."

How important is sustained success for recruiting?

"Big time. That's all I ever talk about it. I had a couple of recruits in today and I did a presentation to them about Tulane football and all the great players that have played at Tulane and also the great teams that have been here at Tulane. The problem is it just hasn't been done consistently year after year after year. That's what we want to achieve. We want to be a team that does it year after year. If we play in a bowl game this year, it will be the first time since 79 and 80 (to play in back-to-back bowls). That's the only time it's been done in the history of the school., If you win a bowl game this year, it's never been done in the history of the school, so these are things I'm putting out there for our guys. This was the sixth winning season in the last 37 years we had last season, so we have a lo to accomplish. We're just getting started right now."

There's a lot of outside talk that you guys can be a darkhorse contender in the AAC this year. Having tied for the top spot last year, you probably feel like you were legitimate contenders last year. Do you feel good about your chances?

"Yeah, our goal is a conference championship. I've put it out there to our guys and I've told them that's what we want to accomplish. I don't think you can accomplish anything great unless you understand what your goal is and you go work to do it, but that's the goal. We want to compete for AAC championships."

You have a lot of grad transfers. That's been a good thing for you, right?

"It really has. We're getting the guys that are going to fit in here. In the Ivy League you cannot play football if you've already graduated, so we've got a guy from Columbia, Michael Hinton, and we've also got Christian Montano from Brown and then also Ben Knudson from Virginia. That's almost like an Ivy League school, too. Probably the reason we got him is he lived in Slidell when he was a little kid and his sister was a med school graduate from Tulane and went to school there, too, so that probably helped us."

Will he play at guard?

"We'll play him at guard but we'll also play him a little bit at tackle as well."

Hinton played both inside and outside at Columbia. Where will he play for you?

"He's going to play defensive end for us, 4i technique (playing on the center side of the offensive tackle) but also 5 technique (playing on the outside shoulder of the tackle), too."

You already have pretty good depth there, but I assume you don't bring in a grad transfer if you're not sure he can contribute?

"I only bring those guys in if they have an opportunity to play for us. He's going to show us what he can do. Just from what I've watched in the summer, he's fit in very well."

You also have two other grad transfers who are sort of important in Justin McMillan and Jalen McCleskey. How important to this team is being able to get those guys?

"It is big time for Justin, who came in five days before the first game last year. It really took him a while to understand exactly what we were doing. Plus at the previous school I think they'd had two or three different coordinators during the time period he was there, so there was a lot of different terminology to digest. He really understands what we're doing, and then also Jalen McCleskey had 167 catches at his previous school. He's a really good player. I've been very impressed, and he's got a tremendous work ethic as well."

You've only lost one grad transfer starter to another school in Junior Diaz. What does that say?

"This last year I think we are one of the only schools in the country that has not lost a kid to the transfer portal who had eligibility left for us. Jabril Clewis had a year of Division II eligibility, and I think he's playing at St Paul Concordia, but he would have stayed here if he would have had eligibility. I think our kids are happy, and why wouldn't they be. They've got a chance to get this great education and a chance to play a great level of football and they get to do it all in New Orleans, so it's a win-win-win."

Are you a fun guy to play for?

"I think probably the difference between me and maybe other coaches is I'm around our guys all the time. A big advantage for us is where we're standing right now (in the Wilson Center). I've got the academic facility right there, and right around the corner here is where our kids eat every day. Our weight room is right there. Our athletic training facility is over there. Our offices and meeting rooms are right there. I see our guys four or five times a day. There's been other places where the academic support area was across campus and the weight room was some place else. We practice right out here. Everything is so convenient and close and I think it helps us establish relationships quickly."

You are going to have several practices at the Superdome this year. How much does your relationship with the Saints and everything associated with them help you?

"Once again, the Saints are awesome and the people down at the Superdome, Doug Thornton and his staff, are awesome. I always get somebody to ask me how many indoor (facilities) do you have, and I say we've got two. We have to drive to them, but with a police escort it takes us about five minutes to get to the Superdome and it takes about 10 to 15 to get over to the Saints. We're fortunate that we go in the morning and they go in the afternoon and the Bensons are just unbelievable in extending that offer. I was out there watching a practice yesterday and every single person I came in contact with that works for the Saints said, 'anything we can do, tell us, coach.' That's a neat deal."

How about Rob Kelley getting a tryout with the Saints?

"That's great. I was hoping he would get a chance. We ran a little kids' camp a few weeks ago and Rob was there. He had an unbelievable first season with the Redskins (in 2016) and he feels like he's 100-percent healthy. He didn't play for me but he's around all the time. He's a great kid and I hope he gets a good shape and gets an opportunity to make it."

3-star OT Trey Tuggle of Mize High in Mize, Miss. committed today, giving Tulane its third offensive lineman.

He had offers from Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Indiana among others. Sounds like another good get.

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Malik Lawal LBer 6’1 215 from Arizona St. I guess Tulane has room.

I doubt we’ll know much about some of the obvious position battles until the week before the first game but some questions I have for the first week or so of camp:

Who is there? Who is not? Has anyone left the team?

What is the status of last year’s injured?

Anyone sitting out practices? Why? When are they expected to return?

Does anyone look particularly out of shape, thinking primarily offensive and defensive linemen?

Any unexpected position changes?

Roll Wave!!!

Fritz announced on twitter.
Malik Lawal from Arizona State. Former 3* recruit from California. Looks like part time starter last year. 21 tackles. 3 1/2 sacks. Will add some veteran depth.

big pickup OL Josh Remetich a local kid and 5.7 3-star. @Guerry Smith

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Guerry any idea when Rivals might rate Tulane’s non rated recruits?

Here are the scholarship players by position heading into the start of preseason practice next Wednesday. Pretty much all of them should be accurate with the the possible exception of some of the new freshmen, whose positions may be different than anticipated.

The only walk-on deserving of a scholarship is redshirt junior kicker Merek Glover,

QB (3)

McMillan (Sr.)
Howard (Jr.)
Daniels (RFr.)

Running back (7)

Bradwell (Sr.)
Dauphine (Sr.)
Jones (So.)
Huderson (Jr.)
Carroll (RFr)
Booker (RFr)
Spears (Fr.)

Tight end (4)

T. James
Wallace
K. Williams
Richardson

Wide receiver (10)

Mooney (Sr.)
McCleskey (Sr.)
Toles (Jr.)
Robertson (RJr.)
Vallien (So.)
Brown (RFr)
LeDee (RSo.)
Ledford (RSo)
Jackson (Fr.)
Presley (Fr.)

Offensive line (14)

T. Johnson (Sr.)
Dublin (Jr.)
Montano (Sr.)
Knutson (Sr.)
Claybrook (RSo.)
Oldner (Fr.)
Jackel (RSo.)
McLeod (RSr)
Lewerenz (RFr.)
Hogan (RFr.)
Remondet (RFr.)
Orgeron (Fr.)
Haynesworth (Fr.)
Fort (Fr.)

DT (6)

De. Williams (RJr.)
J. Johnson (So.)
Thomas (So.)
J. James (RFr.)
Hinton (Sr.)
Hicks (Fr.)

DE/OLB (9)

Sample (Jr.)
P. Johnson (Jr.)
Hatcher (So.)
D. Wright (So.)
Monjarres (So.)
Singletary (RSo.)
Kubiet (RSo.)
Dixon (Fr.)
Hodges (Fr.)

Linebacker (7)

Moody (Jr.)
Graham (Sr.)
Anderson (So.)
Jones (So.)
Vault (RSo.)
Brown (RSo.)
Do. Williams (Fr.)

Nickelback (3)

Barge (Jr.)
W. Harper (Sr.)
Bryant (Sr.)

Corrnerback (7)

Keyes (Sr.)
Monroe (Jr.)
Langham (RSo.)
Joyce (So.)
Norman (Fr.)
L. Williams (Fr.)
Harrison (Fr.)

Safety (8)

Hall (Sr.)
Kuerschen (Jr.)
Clark (So.)
Brooks (So.)
S. Harper (RJr.)
Ball (Fr.)
Judson (Fr.)
Walker (Fr.)

Special teams (3)

R. Wright (So)
Neenan (RJr.)
Eatherly (Sr.)

If you follow Tulane recruiting, and if you're on this site you do, you must check out this FTW podcast!!!

https://soundcloud.com/user-774038550

I’ve noticed some talk elsewhere about star inflation at Rivals and 247. I’ve been having trouble getting previous year data online and I can’t seem to find some of the info I collected over the years on this issue, but inflation appears to be almost out of control on 247 while Rivals is a little more reticent to “fudge” the numbers for their fan base. Anyway, to date, roughly 90% of P5 commitments have received 3 stars or more from Rivals. For 247, the similar number is over 99%. For G-5 commitments, only 31% have received 3+ stars from Rivals and 78% have the same rating from 247. More than half of those commitments not receiving 3+ stars have not been rated so the percentages would be even higher in each case. Of course, future commitments may have different ratings and the percentages may go up or down by February signing. We’ll see.

Anyway, that we are 9/16 (56%) from Rivals and 16/16 (100%) from 247 suggest that, at least to date, we are doing significantly better than the average G5 school and not that terribly far behind the average P5 school. Need to keep it up.

Roll Wave

Jake Levant, who committed yesterday, is very under the radar and picked Tulane over half the Ivy League. He also had an offer from UAB.

Tulane offered him after he attended the invite-only camp in June. The coaches really liked him.

My story is up on the front page.

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