I arrived about 8:45 for Tulane's first preseason practice in year No. 2 of the Willie Fritz era. The update is a little later than usual because my wife and I just moved into a new house, and due to monumental mistake by AT&T (they went to the wrong address), I will not have wifi and home until Aug. 10. I had to make a series of phone calls today to even get that Aug. 10 date. Ridiculous, but I now am somewhere with wifi.
The only player out with an injury--as far as I could tell--is Robert Kennedy. Fritz said he was ahead of schedule, however, and said he was pretty sure Kennedy would play at some point this year. In other words, don't count on him being back any time soon.
Two more players--Jabril Clewis and Braynon Edwards--missed practice entire due to summer school classes. That's one of the disadvantages of the NCAA eliminating two-a--days and allowing schools to start practice a week earlier. Instead of having conflicts with summer school for one week, Tulane has a conflict for two weeks.
A host of players had to leave at 10:15 to go to class, but Fritz blew the whistle about a minute later to end the day, so they missed little other than the post-practice huddle and announcements. That list included Jonathan Banks, Larry Bryant, Jarrod Franklin, Darius Bradwell, Jacob Robertson, Stephon Huderson, Dominique Briggs, Peter Woullard, Eldrick Washington and Rae Juan Marbley among others.
Just after I got there, one-on-one drills with the receivers going against the defensive backs started, with all six quarterbacks getting one rep at a time. Jonathan Banks threw a perfect strike to tight end Charles Jones on a deep route and was very accurate in this drill. Freshman Khalil McClain was impressive, too, with Dane Ledford frequently throwing slightly behind his target. Cuiellette lofted a nice floater on an out pattern to freshman Travis Tucker, who stood out of the most among the large freshman group of receivers. Johnathan Brantley overthrew a couple of receivers, but he showed good arm strength after having all sorts of problems throwing last year, prompting Fritz to admit recently on a local radio show that he told Brantley not to throw at all in the pregame before Navy last year because he didn't want the Middies to realize how weak his arm was due to soreness.
Next then went to 7-on-7 work, and the incompletion rate went up dramatically. Brantley threw nice pass to Tucker. Banks looked deep a lot with little success, throwing into coverage on one and misfiring on a long ball to Devin Glenn, although receivers coach Jeff Conway got on Glenn for not recognizing the ball was going to the inside of him instead of outside.
Chris Johnson, coming of ACL surgery, participated in the practice with a brace on his right knee.
The worst play of the day came on a option pitch to freshman Kevin LeDee, whose 6-5 frame makes him ill-suited to that style. The pitch was low and he dropped it. That part of the offense, a staple in Fritz' system, needs to get a lot better than it was last year. It's the difference between a negative play and a potential 50-yard gain when run correctly.
Parry Nickerson, who had minor knee surgery after missing the spring game, practiced and looked 100 percent. Miles Strickland, who spent his first year and most of the spring on the sideline with injuries, practiced, too, as did cornerback P.J. Hall, who was not cleared for contact in the spring. I did not notice Tre Jackson, who missed the end of spring drills with a recurrence of a high school knee injury, and will check again tomorrow.
Freshman cornerback Willie Langham is an impressive physical specimen. Fritz was impressed with the size of the AAC wideouts last year, and at 6-2, Langham will be able to match up with them in the future.
There were no surprises on the first-team depth chart when they went 11-on-11 for a brief period (no pads, so no contact), although Ade Aruna spent more time inside than outside. That's strictly dictated by numbers, as I indicated before practice this morning. Tulane is perilously thin at tackle and will need big years from Sean Wilson and Eldrick Washington plus an in-shape Edwards to provide depth. I should get my first look at Edwards tomorrow.
Trying to read too much into an opening workout is silly, but Fritz pointed out (and I agree) that the freshman class blends in. Often those guys look a lot weaker and skinnier (or fat and out of shape, depending on the position) than their teammates, but that's not the case with this group.
The only player out with an injury--as far as I could tell--is Robert Kennedy. Fritz said he was ahead of schedule, however, and said he was pretty sure Kennedy would play at some point this year. In other words, don't count on him being back any time soon.
Two more players--Jabril Clewis and Braynon Edwards--missed practice entire due to summer school classes. That's one of the disadvantages of the NCAA eliminating two-a--days and allowing schools to start practice a week earlier. Instead of having conflicts with summer school for one week, Tulane has a conflict for two weeks.
A host of players had to leave at 10:15 to go to class, but Fritz blew the whistle about a minute later to end the day, so they missed little other than the post-practice huddle and announcements. That list included Jonathan Banks, Larry Bryant, Jarrod Franklin, Darius Bradwell, Jacob Robertson, Stephon Huderson, Dominique Briggs, Peter Woullard, Eldrick Washington and Rae Juan Marbley among others.
Just after I got there, one-on-one drills with the receivers going against the defensive backs started, with all six quarterbacks getting one rep at a time. Jonathan Banks threw a perfect strike to tight end Charles Jones on a deep route and was very accurate in this drill. Freshman Khalil McClain was impressive, too, with Dane Ledford frequently throwing slightly behind his target. Cuiellette lofted a nice floater on an out pattern to freshman Travis Tucker, who stood out of the most among the large freshman group of receivers. Johnathan Brantley overthrew a couple of receivers, but he showed good arm strength after having all sorts of problems throwing last year, prompting Fritz to admit recently on a local radio show that he told Brantley not to throw at all in the pregame before Navy last year because he didn't want the Middies to realize how weak his arm was due to soreness.
Next then went to 7-on-7 work, and the incompletion rate went up dramatically. Brantley threw nice pass to Tucker. Banks looked deep a lot with little success, throwing into coverage on one and misfiring on a long ball to Devin Glenn, although receivers coach Jeff Conway got on Glenn for not recognizing the ball was going to the inside of him instead of outside.
Chris Johnson, coming of ACL surgery, participated in the practice with a brace on his right knee.
The worst play of the day came on a option pitch to freshman Kevin LeDee, whose 6-5 frame makes him ill-suited to that style. The pitch was low and he dropped it. That part of the offense, a staple in Fritz' system, needs to get a lot better than it was last year. It's the difference between a negative play and a potential 50-yard gain when run correctly.
Parry Nickerson, who had minor knee surgery after missing the spring game, practiced and looked 100 percent. Miles Strickland, who spent his first year and most of the spring on the sideline with injuries, practiced, too, as did cornerback P.J. Hall, who was not cleared for contact in the spring. I did not notice Tre Jackson, who missed the end of spring drills with a recurrence of a high school knee injury, and will check again tomorrow.
Freshman cornerback Willie Langham is an impressive physical specimen. Fritz was impressed with the size of the AAC wideouts last year, and at 6-2, Langham will be able to match up with them in the future.
There were no surprises on the first-team depth chart when they went 11-on-11 for a brief period (no pads, so no contact), although Ade Aruna spent more time inside than outside. That's strictly dictated by numbers, as I indicated before practice this morning. Tulane is perilously thin at tackle and will need big years from Sean Wilson and Eldrick Washington plus an in-shape Edwards to provide depth. I should get my first look at Edwards tomorrow.
Trying to read too much into an opening workout is silly, but Fritz pointed out (and I agree) that the freshman class blends in. Often those guys look a lot weaker and skinnier (or fat and out of shape, depending on the position) than their teammates, but that's not the case with this group.
