Willie Fritz shies away from contact as much as possible in preseason drills to avoid injuries, but Tulane has been bitten by the injury bug anyway this year. Tight end Charles Jones is the latest to go down, suffering what Fritz termed a "serious ankle injury" in practice this week (I'm not sure what day; I missed yesterday's workout at the Saints indoor facility).
Jones is expected back for the season opener against Wake Forest, but it is no sure thing. Tulane is deep at tight end, with fellow fifth-year senior Kendal Ardoin, redshirt freshman Will Wallace and true freshman Tyrick James available, but none of them is as dynamic as Jones.
Jones joined defensive end Cam Sample and offensive tackle Noah Fisher on the sideline, although neither of those injuries is considered serious. Tulane also has numerous other players unavailable, but the only ones with definite long-term implications are the season-ending injuries to wide receivers Freddy Canteen and Kevin LeDee.
Cornerback Thakarius Keyes left practice with what appeared to be a leg problem today and was sitting on the training table during 11-on-11 drills. Backup safety Sean Harper was not dressed, too, along with wide receiver D.J. Owens. One guy I wondered about after yesterday's practice was back--Alfred Thomas lined up as the second-team defensive end.
The offense performed better in the passing game today than in recent practices. On the first play of 11-on-11 work, Jonathan Banks hooked up with Darnell Mooney deep down the sideline. It was a nice throw and more good work from Mooney, who has been Tulane's most consistent player in camp. On the next snap, Banks threw over the wrong shoulder of Jacob Robertson to the far sideline, but Robertson made the adjustment and hauled it in, barely getting a foot inbounds for a terrific reception.
The rest of the 11-on-11 was less spectacular, with the offense making some plays and the defense making some plays. Running back Amare Jones had a pass bounce off his hands along the sideline. Dane Ledford completed a nice one over the middle to Wallace. Daniels threw to Mooney over the middle and hit Brian Newman on a slant. Safety P.J. Hall made an outstanding play on a pass over the middle, jumping the route to slap a pass away. The session ended with a nice run by freshman Cam Carroll.
Earlier, in a 7-on-7 red zone drill, Banks was off target on a throw to Newman in the corner of the end zone before hitting walk-on Miles Lapeyre while he was kneeling down in the corner just past the goal line. Banks then threw incomplete to Lapeyre.
Ledford got the next crack at it and overthrew Jaetavian Toles in the end zone before hitting Mooney over the middle and completing a sideline pass to Bradwell short of the goal. He then threw three incomplete passes in a row, missing Terren Encalade on a slant, having cornerback Willie Langham knock a ball away from Newman in the end zone and having freshman Ygenio Booker stop on a route over the middle as the ball sailed past him.
Daniels got his chance and hit James on the inside and Stephon Huderson on the outside before getting picked by Langham, who stepped in front of a late pass in the flat and would have returned it all the way for a touchdown if the drill had been live. Daniels bounced back to complete a short pass to Newman.
Banks had one more opportunity but chose to run on two of the three plays when no one was open, hitting Mooney on the sideline the one time he threw.
It was a strong practice for Langham in general. He got some reps with the first-team defense after Keyes went out and is ahead of Chris Joyce in the battle for No. 4 cornerback. Thats significant because Tulane might have three corners on the field in its base defense, so he would be the first one to rotate in off the bench in that circumstance.
Late in the practice, four fighter jets flew over the field. It was pretty cool and a planned event by Fritz, who was disappointed they arrived five minutes later than scheduled at 9:27 instead of 9:22.
Earlier in the workout, Robertson, Amare Jones, Newman and Toles practiced catching balls fired high into the air by a Juggs machine. They are working on their hands in case they are used to return kicks and punts.
Freshman La'Dedrick Jackson got some run with the first-team defense in 11-on-11 work along with Lawrence Graham. Although Jackson has looked pretty good, that came out of nowhere. I'll check tomorrow to see what is going on there. I was concentrating on other things today and did not notice where Marvin Moody was. Zach Harris did not practice, likely because he is still taking classes to finish up a master's degree in December.
Jones is expected back for the season opener against Wake Forest, but it is no sure thing. Tulane is deep at tight end, with fellow fifth-year senior Kendal Ardoin, redshirt freshman Will Wallace and true freshman Tyrick James available, but none of them is as dynamic as Jones.
Jones joined defensive end Cam Sample and offensive tackle Noah Fisher on the sideline, although neither of those injuries is considered serious. Tulane also has numerous other players unavailable, but the only ones with definite long-term implications are the season-ending injuries to wide receivers Freddy Canteen and Kevin LeDee.
Cornerback Thakarius Keyes left practice with what appeared to be a leg problem today and was sitting on the training table during 11-on-11 drills. Backup safety Sean Harper was not dressed, too, along with wide receiver D.J. Owens. One guy I wondered about after yesterday's practice was back--Alfred Thomas lined up as the second-team defensive end.
The offense performed better in the passing game today than in recent practices. On the first play of 11-on-11 work, Jonathan Banks hooked up with Darnell Mooney deep down the sideline. It was a nice throw and more good work from Mooney, who has been Tulane's most consistent player in camp. On the next snap, Banks threw over the wrong shoulder of Jacob Robertson to the far sideline, but Robertson made the adjustment and hauled it in, barely getting a foot inbounds for a terrific reception.
The rest of the 11-on-11 was less spectacular, with the offense making some plays and the defense making some plays. Running back Amare Jones had a pass bounce off his hands along the sideline. Dane Ledford completed a nice one over the middle to Wallace. Daniels threw to Mooney over the middle and hit Brian Newman on a slant. Safety P.J. Hall made an outstanding play on a pass over the middle, jumping the route to slap a pass away. The session ended with a nice run by freshman Cam Carroll.
Earlier, in a 7-on-7 red zone drill, Banks was off target on a throw to Newman in the corner of the end zone before hitting walk-on Miles Lapeyre while he was kneeling down in the corner just past the goal line. Banks then threw incomplete to Lapeyre.
Ledford got the next crack at it and overthrew Jaetavian Toles in the end zone before hitting Mooney over the middle and completing a sideline pass to Bradwell short of the goal. He then threw three incomplete passes in a row, missing Terren Encalade on a slant, having cornerback Willie Langham knock a ball away from Newman in the end zone and having freshman Ygenio Booker stop on a route over the middle as the ball sailed past him.
Daniels got his chance and hit James on the inside and Stephon Huderson on the outside before getting picked by Langham, who stepped in front of a late pass in the flat and would have returned it all the way for a touchdown if the drill had been live. Daniels bounced back to complete a short pass to Newman.
Banks had one more opportunity but chose to run on two of the three plays when no one was open, hitting Mooney on the sideline the one time he threw.
It was a strong practice for Langham in general. He got some reps with the first-team defense after Keyes went out and is ahead of Chris Joyce in the battle for No. 4 cornerback. Thats significant because Tulane might have three corners on the field in its base defense, so he would be the first one to rotate in off the bench in that circumstance.
Late in the practice, four fighter jets flew over the field. It was pretty cool and a planned event by Fritz, who was disappointed they arrived five minutes later than scheduled at 9:27 instead of 9:22.
Earlier in the workout, Robertson, Amare Jones, Newman and Toles practiced catching balls fired high into the air by a Juggs machine. They are working on their hands in case they are used to return kicks and punts.
Freshman La'Dedrick Jackson got some run with the first-team defense in 11-on-11 work along with Lawrence Graham. Although Jackson has looked pretty good, that came out of nowhere. I'll check tomorrow to see what is going on there. I was concentrating on other things today and did not notice where Marvin Moody was. Zach Harris did not practice, likely because he is still taking classes to finish up a master's degree in December.
