We respond to subscriber posts around here, so the first players I looked for at Tulane's practice today were the offensive linemen on the scout team, and one of them was a surprise. When the defense began preparing for Grambling in 11-on-11 situations, John Washington was one of the guards.
That's quite the come down for a guy whom coach Willie Fritz touted as a potential starter when he moved from defensive tackle to the offensive line midway through 2016. At the time, Fritz said his only regret was not moving Washington over sooner, giving him a better opportunity to emerge as a significant contributor.
Yet, here we are about 10 months later, and Washington was practicing with true freshman Cameron Jackel and injured guard Brian Webb (Webb was out there because it was not a contact practice).
"It's a combination of (other guys improving and Washington's growth slowing down) both," Fritz said. "He has to learn what he's doing, too. He hasn't played a whole lot of offensive line. He certainly has the ability to play at this level."
The first-team offensive line today had John Leglue at right tackle, Joey Claybrook at left tackle (due to injuries), Junior Diaz at center, Corey Dublin at left guard and Dominique Briggs at right guard, with Leeward Brown getting some reps with the top unit in place of Briggs. Keyshawn McLeod and Tyler Johnson did not practice, leaving the Wave very thin at tackle since Tyler Johnson also is out. Career reserve Devon Johnson has received reps with the first team as a result, although he worked with the second unit today while Briggs even got some work at tackle.
Fritz expects the two tackles to be ready next week.
"We sure think so," he said. "We're giving them four or five days off. If we had a game tomorrow, it's amazing how everybody kind of heals up. Right now (they) are just unable to go at the pace we want them to, and this is the time to rest guys. We've got a long haul coming up. If we get those two guys going, we'll be in a lot better shape."
Leglue played all over the line in preseason camp, but he will be a tackle against Grambling because Tulane's biggest need is there.
"He can play any position and he doesn't make very many mistakes, and that's a big deal," Fritz said. We'd like to play him at guard. That's his best position and probably the place he'll play the least, but for us, we'd love to be able to keep him out there at tackle. Junior really does a good job at center and is a great snapper. We're playing Corey Dublin a little bit there at center as well, and Briggs can do some of that, too."
The scout-team defense had Paul Staudinger, Justin Walton. Torri Singleton, Chase Napoleon, Monty Montgomery, Sean Harper, Michael Scott, Quentin Brown, Stephon Lofton, Eric Lewis and Jeremy Allen--three walk-ons, four scholarship true freshmen, three second-year guys and a redshirt junior in Lofton.
"It went a lot better than yesterday," Fritz said. "We're working with this apparatus called the go route. One of the alums of Tulane is a big investor in it, so we'll see how they work for us. It has a little picture that shows you the play, and the guys are learning how to use it. They've got it on their belts, and they turn it up, here's the play and it shows you what you do. You can get more plays in quicker and they can stay out there by positions. We've used it a little bit. We've used it about four or five times. We used it yesterday and are trying to get a little bit better with it. It's just a way to be more efficient. Sometimes you tell a guy something, and the thing that's need about it, if someone is playing fullback, we can even put notes in at the bottom of it about what he needs to specifically do on that play."
Fritz had not liked what he saw Wednesday.
"The problem was we talked about the guys that were going to go on scout team, and I don't think I emphasized enough to the coaches, you've got to define that for them. A lot of those kids have never played scout team before. They have to understand we're going at a pace but we're staying on our feet."
The defensive depth chart has stayed the same the last week or so. Barring injury, the starters in the base formation will be Quinlan Carroll, Ade Aruna, Eldrick Washington, Sean Wilson, Luke Jackson or Zach Harris (depending on Harris' health status), Rae Juan Marbley, Jarrod Franklin, Parry Nickerson, Donnie Lewis, Taris Shenall and Rod Teamer. There's nothing new to impart there, although Tulane definitely will use more looks with some different personnel than last year.
The second-team base defense is De'Andre Williams and Braynon Edwards inside, Peter Woullard and Larry Bryant outside, Lawrence Graham and Marvin Moody at linebacker (with KJ Vault getting some reps, too), Tirise Barge at nickel, Tre Jackson and Jaylon Monroe at cornerback (Willie Langham is out with an injury) and Chase Kuerschen and P.J. Hall at safety, with Will Harper getting some reps, too.
The guys I just mentioned are the 27 guys who will play other than in garbage time, with Thakarius Keyes joining the mix when he gets healthy. I did not see Cameron Sample or Patrick Johnson playing on the scout team or with the regular defense, so I will check on their status tomorrow.
NOTES
---They have created space between the words "Yulman" and "Stadium" on top of the scoreboard, clearing room for the installation of that Angry Wave multi-dimensional thing to be placed there. You guys probably know more what it will be than I do.
---When researching Tulane's lousy third-down production from a year ago, I came across a doozy of a stat. Navy allowed opponents to convert 53.5 percent of their third downs last year, ranking dead last in the nation. If you're skeptical about my pick of Tulane to beat Navy for The Advocate in my game-by-game rundown, think about it. Navy simply was not a good team last year except for the incredible development of quarterback Will Worth. The Middies came one yard from losing to UConn in its AAC opener and trailed Tulane late in the fourth quarter the next week on the night Worth found himself. From there, Navy became an offensive juggernaut, and the second Worth got hurt late in the season, the team fell apart. Look, I understand that everything changes from year to year, but I really think Navy is vulnerable now that Worth is no longer there.
Here is the rest of Fritz from today:
On Terren Encalade:
"Terren's also a guy that's smart. He knows how to line up, he's an aggressive player and he has a lot of toughness to him. We talk about the Wave not beating the Wave and staying away from presnap and post-play penalties because those are the ones we can control and anybody can make those calls. He does a good job of lining up properly."
That was quintessential Fritz. He is a detail-oriented coach, and that's the first thing he thinks about even when asked about a star player. He added he was not surprised by Encalade's development.
"He's a good player. We knew coming out of spring ball he had an opportunity to be one of our top guys, and you saw he was last year."
That's quite the come down for a guy whom coach Willie Fritz touted as a potential starter when he moved from defensive tackle to the offensive line midway through 2016. At the time, Fritz said his only regret was not moving Washington over sooner, giving him a better opportunity to emerge as a significant contributor.
Yet, here we are about 10 months later, and Washington was practicing with true freshman Cameron Jackel and injured guard Brian Webb (Webb was out there because it was not a contact practice).
"It's a combination of (other guys improving and Washington's growth slowing down) both," Fritz said. "He has to learn what he's doing, too. He hasn't played a whole lot of offensive line. He certainly has the ability to play at this level."
The first-team offensive line today had John Leglue at right tackle, Joey Claybrook at left tackle (due to injuries), Junior Diaz at center, Corey Dublin at left guard and Dominique Briggs at right guard, with Leeward Brown getting some reps with the top unit in place of Briggs. Keyshawn McLeod and Tyler Johnson did not practice, leaving the Wave very thin at tackle since Tyler Johnson also is out. Career reserve Devon Johnson has received reps with the first team as a result, although he worked with the second unit today while Briggs even got some work at tackle.
Fritz expects the two tackles to be ready next week.
"We sure think so," he said. "We're giving them four or five days off. If we had a game tomorrow, it's amazing how everybody kind of heals up. Right now (they) are just unable to go at the pace we want them to, and this is the time to rest guys. We've got a long haul coming up. If we get those two guys going, we'll be in a lot better shape."
Leglue played all over the line in preseason camp, but he will be a tackle against Grambling because Tulane's biggest need is there.
"He can play any position and he doesn't make very many mistakes, and that's a big deal," Fritz said. We'd like to play him at guard. That's his best position and probably the place he'll play the least, but for us, we'd love to be able to keep him out there at tackle. Junior really does a good job at center and is a great snapper. We're playing Corey Dublin a little bit there at center as well, and Briggs can do some of that, too."
The scout-team defense had Paul Staudinger, Justin Walton. Torri Singleton, Chase Napoleon, Monty Montgomery, Sean Harper, Michael Scott, Quentin Brown, Stephon Lofton, Eric Lewis and Jeremy Allen--three walk-ons, four scholarship true freshmen, three second-year guys and a redshirt junior in Lofton.
"It went a lot better than yesterday," Fritz said. "We're working with this apparatus called the go route. One of the alums of Tulane is a big investor in it, so we'll see how they work for us. It has a little picture that shows you the play, and the guys are learning how to use it. They've got it on their belts, and they turn it up, here's the play and it shows you what you do. You can get more plays in quicker and they can stay out there by positions. We've used it a little bit. We've used it about four or five times. We used it yesterday and are trying to get a little bit better with it. It's just a way to be more efficient. Sometimes you tell a guy something, and the thing that's need about it, if someone is playing fullback, we can even put notes in at the bottom of it about what he needs to specifically do on that play."
Fritz had not liked what he saw Wednesday.
"The problem was we talked about the guys that were going to go on scout team, and I don't think I emphasized enough to the coaches, you've got to define that for them. A lot of those kids have never played scout team before. They have to understand we're going at a pace but we're staying on our feet."
The defensive depth chart has stayed the same the last week or so. Barring injury, the starters in the base formation will be Quinlan Carroll, Ade Aruna, Eldrick Washington, Sean Wilson, Luke Jackson or Zach Harris (depending on Harris' health status), Rae Juan Marbley, Jarrod Franklin, Parry Nickerson, Donnie Lewis, Taris Shenall and Rod Teamer. There's nothing new to impart there, although Tulane definitely will use more looks with some different personnel than last year.
The second-team base defense is De'Andre Williams and Braynon Edwards inside, Peter Woullard and Larry Bryant outside, Lawrence Graham and Marvin Moody at linebacker (with KJ Vault getting some reps, too), Tirise Barge at nickel, Tre Jackson and Jaylon Monroe at cornerback (Willie Langham is out with an injury) and Chase Kuerschen and P.J. Hall at safety, with Will Harper getting some reps, too.
The guys I just mentioned are the 27 guys who will play other than in garbage time, with Thakarius Keyes joining the mix when he gets healthy. I did not see Cameron Sample or Patrick Johnson playing on the scout team or with the regular defense, so I will check on their status tomorrow.
NOTES
---They have created space between the words "Yulman" and "Stadium" on top of the scoreboard, clearing room for the installation of that Angry Wave multi-dimensional thing to be placed there. You guys probably know more what it will be than I do.
---When researching Tulane's lousy third-down production from a year ago, I came across a doozy of a stat. Navy allowed opponents to convert 53.5 percent of their third downs last year, ranking dead last in the nation. If you're skeptical about my pick of Tulane to beat Navy for The Advocate in my game-by-game rundown, think about it. Navy simply was not a good team last year except for the incredible development of quarterback Will Worth. The Middies came one yard from losing to UConn in its AAC opener and trailed Tulane late in the fourth quarter the next week on the night Worth found himself. From there, Navy became an offensive juggernaut, and the second Worth got hurt late in the season, the team fell apart. Look, I understand that everything changes from year to year, but I really think Navy is vulnerable now that Worth is no longer there.
Here is the rest of Fritz from today:
On Terren Encalade:
"Terren's also a guy that's smart. He knows how to line up, he's an aggressive player and he has a lot of toughness to him. We talk about the Wave not beating the Wave and staying away from presnap and post-play penalties because those are the ones we can control and anybody can make those calls. He does a good job of lining up properly."
That was quintessential Fritz. He is a detail-oriented coach, and that's the first thing he thinks about even when asked about a star player. He added he was not surprised by Encalade's development.
"He's a good player. We knew coming out of spring ball he had an opportunity to be one of our top guys, and you saw he was last year."