On a comfortable, warm morning at Yulman Stadium, Tulane went through a routine practice with no tackling as it heads into the second half of spring drills. There are seven practice remaining on the schedule, but I would not be surprised if the Wave practices only twice next week after the spring game. It will be either two or three, not four.
Some notes from yesterday:
1) The new snapper for field goals and extra points, as I indicated in my scrimmage coverage, is John Leglue. CJ said they wanted someone bigger and stronger than Mike Lizanich for field goals because opponents got pressure right up the middle last year. Lizanich will continue to snap for punts. Leglue has been considerably better than anyone who snapped for field goals last year, but he still needs to improve. A couple of them have been low, and a bad snap should never happen. It should be automatic.
2) Sean Wilson is fine. He practiced yesterday and was not favoring his left leg at all. CJ was correct when he said it was nothing after Wilson went down early in Saturday's scrimmage.
3) I heard words I have seldom heard at Tulane yesterday from offensive line coach John McDonnell: "Good job, Jacquet." This isn't meant as a shot at Todd Jacquet; it's just the reality that he has not been in the good graces of this staff very often. This spring, Jacquet has gotten a fair amount of reps with the first unit at right tackle. Kenneth Santa Marina is No. 1, but they definitely are looking at Jacquet, a redshirt junior from Jesuit, as a possibility. He did not play last year while recovering from a knee injury, and was granted a redshirt, but he started three times as a sophomore (once at tight end) and three times as a freshman (all as a blocking tight end). He has the quick feet to be a good lineman. The question always has been his dedication and motivation.
4) I saw something from Tanner Lee I have seldom seen -- a wounded duck pass when he was not under pressure. He actually had a good day, particularly in a two-minute drill at the end when he drove the offense down the field against the No. 1 defense, but earlier, he tried to hit Teddy Veal in the back of the end zone and the ball came down quacking before Richard Allen broke it up easily.
5) Don't count on Lazedrick Thompson being a factor in the passing game. He dropped a swing pass that could not have been any easier to catch. He is Tulane's hardest runner. Dontrell Hilliard is the most well-rounded of the backs. Sherman Badie is the big-play threat. But Thompson definitely ranks fourth out of four (Josh Rounds is the other) as a receiver.
6) The tight ends have to be a huge factor this year. Tulane tried last season, and although Charles Jones was effective in the red zone, Trey Scott dropped as many passes as he caught, killing several possessions. Now both true freshmen are sophomores, and they are playing like it in the spring. Jones caught a nice pass from Devin Powell, and Scott had an easy touchdown from Glen Cuillette when he ran uncovered down the middle. Tulane is using both tight ends at the same time a lot, with Scott split wide. Scott told me he is spending more time split wide than lining up as a traditional tight end, and he embraces that role. Here's a Q&A I had with him, and he certainly is not lacking for confidence:
What was the reason for all of your dropped passes last year, particularly early?
"It was all mental. Jordy (Joseph) helped me and coach CJ, they all worked with my hands to get better training for it. It as all eye contact with the ball. I was trying to run first instead of making the catch first. My goal was to score touchdowns."
The coaches kept using you despite your struggles. What did that say about their confidence in your potential?
"They said I had a lot of potential coming in. They needed me to get better, so I had to step up to the plate."
You played in a high school offense than ran the ball virtually all of the time. How much of an adjustment was Tulane's offense for you?
"We run a lot of the same plays, but of course we didn't run the ball, so it wasn't that big of an adjustment. Of course I had to work on my hands because I didn't really get the ball that much in high school."
What is your best asset?
"My speed. My athleticism."
The first play of the scrimmage went to you and you had a 45-yard reception, the longest of the day. What was the play?
"I created a mismatch. Leonard Davis actually covering me. I burned him. He thought I was running a flat route, but then I jumped inside of him. It was all over after that."
He told me it was a miscommunication in the secondary and you weren't his primary responsibility.
"Nah. We can check the tape, Leonard (laughing). I ran right by him."
Do you enjoy splitting wide?
"I love it. It's a mismatch, and it's extra work for me, too, so I can get better. Most of the time I'm working with (receivers) coach Carter (Sheridan) at receiver, so I'm pretty much a receiver now. I'm a mismatch."
You're pretty confident. What are your goals for this year?
"I'm trying to be an all-conference player this year, if not All-American. Those are my goals."
I also talked to tight ends/running backs David Johnson coach about Scott. His comments:
On the catching issues:
"His hand placement was real bad, so he had to continue to catch more balls. He did it over and over every day before practice and after practice and during the offseason. He never had an offseason before."
On his unfamiliarity with the passing offense:
"It was different for him being in so many pass concepts, but he's real explosive, and that's one thing we noticed about him when we evaluated him. He's coming on now."
On continuing to play him despite his early issues:
"I definitely didn't want to shatter his confidence, and that's one thing CJ kept emphasizing with the young guys--just keep playing them. They'll make their mistakes right now and we'll be better off in the future. It's paying off, and you can see it."
On long catch during scrimmage;
"That's major for us. If you put a linebacker on him, they're not going to be able to run with him, and even most safeties. He's a 4.4 guy, and that really stretches the defense. He's doing a great job."
And finally, here's CJ talking about Scott.
"He couldn't catch anything (early last year). He's awesome. He's outstanding. He can run, he's catching so much better. For a minute I didn't think he could catch at all, but I like where he is. Early on he was a little bit nervous, but now with the ball drills Dave Johnson has done a fantastic job getting him to catch the ball, and he can run. He can definitely play wideout, too, so that helps us with the receivers depth."
This post was edited on 3/3 11:35 AM by Guerry Smith
Some notes from yesterday:
1) The new snapper for field goals and extra points, as I indicated in my scrimmage coverage, is John Leglue. CJ said they wanted someone bigger and stronger than Mike Lizanich for field goals because opponents got pressure right up the middle last year. Lizanich will continue to snap for punts. Leglue has been considerably better than anyone who snapped for field goals last year, but he still needs to improve. A couple of them have been low, and a bad snap should never happen. It should be automatic.
2) Sean Wilson is fine. He practiced yesterday and was not favoring his left leg at all. CJ was correct when he said it was nothing after Wilson went down early in Saturday's scrimmage.
3) I heard words I have seldom heard at Tulane yesterday from offensive line coach John McDonnell: "Good job, Jacquet." This isn't meant as a shot at Todd Jacquet; it's just the reality that he has not been in the good graces of this staff very often. This spring, Jacquet has gotten a fair amount of reps with the first unit at right tackle. Kenneth Santa Marina is No. 1, but they definitely are looking at Jacquet, a redshirt junior from Jesuit, as a possibility. He did not play last year while recovering from a knee injury, and was granted a redshirt, but he started three times as a sophomore (once at tight end) and three times as a freshman (all as a blocking tight end). He has the quick feet to be a good lineman. The question always has been his dedication and motivation.
4) I saw something from Tanner Lee I have seldom seen -- a wounded duck pass when he was not under pressure. He actually had a good day, particularly in a two-minute drill at the end when he drove the offense down the field against the No. 1 defense, but earlier, he tried to hit Teddy Veal in the back of the end zone and the ball came down quacking before Richard Allen broke it up easily.
5) Don't count on Lazedrick Thompson being a factor in the passing game. He dropped a swing pass that could not have been any easier to catch. He is Tulane's hardest runner. Dontrell Hilliard is the most well-rounded of the backs. Sherman Badie is the big-play threat. But Thompson definitely ranks fourth out of four (Josh Rounds is the other) as a receiver.
6) The tight ends have to be a huge factor this year. Tulane tried last season, and although Charles Jones was effective in the red zone, Trey Scott dropped as many passes as he caught, killing several possessions. Now both true freshmen are sophomores, and they are playing like it in the spring. Jones caught a nice pass from Devin Powell, and Scott had an easy touchdown from Glen Cuillette when he ran uncovered down the middle. Tulane is using both tight ends at the same time a lot, with Scott split wide. Scott told me he is spending more time split wide than lining up as a traditional tight end, and he embraces that role. Here's a Q&A I had with him, and he certainly is not lacking for confidence:
What was the reason for all of your dropped passes last year, particularly early?
"It was all mental. Jordy (Joseph) helped me and coach CJ, they all worked with my hands to get better training for it. It as all eye contact with the ball. I was trying to run first instead of making the catch first. My goal was to score touchdowns."
The coaches kept using you despite your struggles. What did that say about their confidence in your potential?
"They said I had a lot of potential coming in. They needed me to get better, so I had to step up to the plate."
You played in a high school offense than ran the ball virtually all of the time. How much of an adjustment was Tulane's offense for you?
"We run a lot of the same plays, but of course we didn't run the ball, so it wasn't that big of an adjustment. Of course I had to work on my hands because I didn't really get the ball that much in high school."
What is your best asset?
"My speed. My athleticism."
The first play of the scrimmage went to you and you had a 45-yard reception, the longest of the day. What was the play?
"I created a mismatch. Leonard Davis actually covering me. I burned him. He thought I was running a flat route, but then I jumped inside of him. It was all over after that."
He told me it was a miscommunication in the secondary and you weren't his primary responsibility.
"Nah. We can check the tape, Leonard (laughing). I ran right by him."
Do you enjoy splitting wide?
"I love it. It's a mismatch, and it's extra work for me, too, so I can get better. Most of the time I'm working with (receivers) coach Carter (Sheridan) at receiver, so I'm pretty much a receiver now. I'm a mismatch."
You're pretty confident. What are your goals for this year?
"I'm trying to be an all-conference player this year, if not All-American. Those are my goals."
I also talked to tight ends/running backs David Johnson coach about Scott. His comments:
On the catching issues:
"His hand placement was real bad, so he had to continue to catch more balls. He did it over and over every day before practice and after practice and during the offseason. He never had an offseason before."
On his unfamiliarity with the passing offense:
"It was different for him being in so many pass concepts, but he's real explosive, and that's one thing we noticed about him when we evaluated him. He's coming on now."
On continuing to play him despite his early issues:
"I definitely didn't want to shatter his confidence, and that's one thing CJ kept emphasizing with the young guys--just keep playing them. They'll make their mistakes right now and we'll be better off in the future. It's paying off, and you can see it."
On long catch during scrimmage;
"That's major for us. If you put a linebacker on him, they're not going to be able to run with him, and even most safeties. He's a 4.4 guy, and that really stretches the defense. He's doing a great job."
And finally, here's CJ talking about Scott.
"He couldn't catch anything (early last year). He's awesome. He's outstanding. He can run, he's catching so much better. For a minute I didn't think he could catch at all, but I like where he is. Early on he was a little bit nervous, but now with the ball drills Dave Johnson has done a fantastic job getting him to catch the ball, and he can run. He can definitely play wideout, too, so that helps us with the receivers depth."
This post was edited on 3/3 11:35 AM by Guerry Smith