There weren't many surprises on Tulane's two-deep depth chart that was released today, the first once since prior to the SMU game at the end of 2017.
Running back might qualify as a bit of a surprise, though. Stephon Huderson, the only one of the returning guys who practiced every day in the preseason, is listed as co-No. 1 with Darius Bradwell, who dressed today but did not get any reps, while Corey Dauphine is not on there. Both Bradwell and Dauphine missed a fair amount of time in camp with injuries, and Willie Fritz said the other day that Huderson reminded him of Dontrell HIlliard because he does everything well.
The first- and second-team offensive linemen are the same I've listed all along, although Devon Johnson and Cameron Jackel have switched sides at second-team guard. I have a feeling that might be an error because Johnson has been on the right side and Jackel on the left side all camp, but I'll check tomorrow.
The starting wide receivers, as expected, are Mooney, Clewis and Encalade. Clewis missed some time in camp, but no one stepped up to take his job away from him, and he wore a full contact jersey today for the first time in a while. Someone will have to outperform him in games to beat him out. The backup WRs, as expected, are Toles behind Mooney, Newman behind Clewis and Robertson behind Encalade.
Dane Ledford is the backup QB.
Kendall Ardoin is the starting TE, and Charles Jones will be unavailable with his ankle injury. Will Wallace is the backup, although he has not looked good as a receiver since I wrote a lead note about him in The Advocate a couple weeks ago. He had a bad drop today.
On defense, they list De'Andre Williams and Jeffery Johnson as co-No. 1 at NT. I had players and coaches tell me Williams would start last week, but defensive coordinator Jack Curtis said Johnson would start a few days later. They'll both play a lot.
They have Marvin Moody as the starting LB next to Zach Harris, with Graham and Vault on the second team. I'd say Graham got more reps with the first unit than Moody in camp, but it was close.
Donnie Lewis, who returned to practice today in a full-contact jersey, is starting at CB, while Jaylon Monroe and Thakarius Keyes are listed as co-No. 1 on the other side. Keyes has gotten more reps with the first unit lately, but both of them have looked good.
The safeties are the same as always--P.J. Hall and Teamer starting and Shenall and Kuerschen backing them up. Shenall made a nice play in the end zone today to knock down a pass.
At nickel, Tirise Barge, who emerged as a starter in the spring, is nowhere to be found on the depth chart. I found him playing backup safety in practice today rather than nickel, but they had three safeties on the field at the time and probably were working on special situations.
Will Harper is starting at nickelback and Larry Bryant is second. Harper was third team for the first half of camp but has gotten the majority of the reps with the first unit the last week or so. He is the biggest riser on the team along with Huderson in terms of the depth chart if this holds up. He played almost exclusively on special teams as a sophomore a year ago.
Zach Block is listed at the top punter. I expected Ryan Wright to get the nod but barely have seen any punting in camp, so I have no idea how either one of them has looked for the most part. Sterling Stockwell is the backup to Glover at PK and to Block as kickoff specialist.
They divided up into scout teams today. On offense, the most notable scout-team guys was Tyrick James. On defense, freshman linebacker La'Dedric Jackson was on the scout team after receiving some second-team reps at times during camp.
Two NFL scouts were at practice today. One represented the Bears. I'm not sure about the other, although his shirt was the color of the Dolphins.
Running back might qualify as a bit of a surprise, though. Stephon Huderson, the only one of the returning guys who practiced every day in the preseason, is listed as co-No. 1 with Darius Bradwell, who dressed today but did not get any reps, while Corey Dauphine is not on there. Both Bradwell and Dauphine missed a fair amount of time in camp with injuries, and Willie Fritz said the other day that Huderson reminded him of Dontrell HIlliard because he does everything well.
The first- and second-team offensive linemen are the same I've listed all along, although Devon Johnson and Cameron Jackel have switched sides at second-team guard. I have a feeling that might be an error because Johnson has been on the right side and Jackel on the left side all camp, but I'll check tomorrow.
The starting wide receivers, as expected, are Mooney, Clewis and Encalade. Clewis missed some time in camp, but no one stepped up to take his job away from him, and he wore a full contact jersey today for the first time in a while. Someone will have to outperform him in games to beat him out. The backup WRs, as expected, are Toles behind Mooney, Newman behind Clewis and Robertson behind Encalade.
Dane Ledford is the backup QB.
Kendall Ardoin is the starting TE, and Charles Jones will be unavailable with his ankle injury. Will Wallace is the backup, although he has not looked good as a receiver since I wrote a lead note about him in The Advocate a couple weeks ago. He had a bad drop today.
On defense, they list De'Andre Williams and Jeffery Johnson as co-No. 1 at NT. I had players and coaches tell me Williams would start last week, but defensive coordinator Jack Curtis said Johnson would start a few days later. They'll both play a lot.
They have Marvin Moody as the starting LB next to Zach Harris, with Graham and Vault on the second team. I'd say Graham got more reps with the first unit than Moody in camp, but it was close.
Donnie Lewis, who returned to practice today in a full-contact jersey, is starting at CB, while Jaylon Monroe and Thakarius Keyes are listed as co-No. 1 on the other side. Keyes has gotten more reps with the first unit lately, but both of them have looked good.
The safeties are the same as always--P.J. Hall and Teamer starting and Shenall and Kuerschen backing them up. Shenall made a nice play in the end zone today to knock down a pass.
At nickel, Tirise Barge, who emerged as a starter in the spring, is nowhere to be found on the depth chart. I found him playing backup safety in practice today rather than nickel, but they had three safeties on the field at the time and probably were working on special situations.
Will Harper is starting at nickelback and Larry Bryant is second. Harper was third team for the first half of camp but has gotten the majority of the reps with the first unit the last week or so. He is the biggest riser on the team along with Huderson in terms of the depth chart if this holds up. He played almost exclusively on special teams as a sophomore a year ago.
Zach Block is listed at the top punter. I expected Ryan Wright to get the nod but barely have seen any punting in camp, so I have no idea how either one of them has looked for the most part. Sterling Stockwell is the backup to Glover at PK and to Block as kickoff specialist.
They divided up into scout teams today. On offense, the most notable scout-team guys was Tyrick James. On defense, freshman linebacker La'Dedric Jackson was on the scout team after receiving some second-team reps at times during camp.
Two NFL scouts were at practice today. One represented the Bears. I'm not sure about the other, although his shirt was the color of the Dolphins.
