With rumors spreading that the Big Ten and Pac 12 will cancel fall football as soon as tomorrow, Tulane controlled what it could control on Monday morning, practicing a little earlier than usual and ending at 9:26 because it's a coronavirus testing day. Coaches and players have to proceed as if the season will continue, and they have done a good job of it to this point.
I saw all of the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 again today, and here is the rundown.
7 ON 7
The first-team defense had Dorian Williams and Marvin Moody at linebacker, Kyle Meyers and Jaylon Monroe at cornerback, Ajani Kerr at nickelback, Larry Brooks at strong safety and Chase Kuerschen at free safety.
The second-team defense had Nick Anderson and probably Kevin Henry at LB (I did not write it down), Kiland Harrison and freshman Kevaris Hall at cornerback, Willie Langham at nickelback, Cornelius Dyson at strong safety and Macon Clark at free safety.
The third-team defense had Jesus Machado and Matthew Hightower at linebacker, Reggie Neely and Rishi Rattan at cornerback, Clark at nickelback so he could get some work there and Shi'Keem Laister and Dyson again at safety (I did not see Tonquez Ball, and depth is light at the position with the summer departure of Tyler Judson).
Keon Howard was sharp again, completing his first six passes over three short stints before forcing one deep over the middle to Jha'Quan Jackson in an unfortunate play that ended in a deflected interception for Brooks and an injury to Jackson when he landed hard on his left shoulder. Jackson did not return for the rest of the day and appeared to be in a bit of pain. Before that play, Howard made quick, decisive decisions, hitting Jacob Robertson on a crossing pattern with Meyers trailing, connecting with Jackson for a short gain and finding Sorrell Brown over the middle (beating Meyers again) versus the first-team D, throwing to Tyjae Spears on a quick out and throwing a dart to Dane Ledford for a sizable gain against the second-team D and hitting Cameron Carroll on a pass in the flat he threw slightly behind him.
Michael Pratt struggled today. After completing a short pass to Spears, who as you would expect looks really good, he threw an interception directly into the hands of Anderson, who anticipated the decision and jumped the route. From that point, Pratt appeared hesitant, which is unusual for him. Operating against the No. 1 D on his next series, he waited forever before completing a pass to Jackson, having Jaylon Monroe break up a slant pass (Monroe has been good) and settling for Tyrick James as a safety valve after finding no one open downfield in his first set of downs against the No. 2 D. In his final series, he threw his best pass, hitting Spears in traffic over the middle and leading him perfectly, before connecting with Ledford on another slow-developing play and throwing underneath to Ryan Thompson.
11 on 11
Pratt opened the team portion of practice and was "sacked" by Cam Sample after a running play. He then had a slant pass deflected, scrambled when he could not find anyone open and hit Duece Watts on a crossing route after holding on to the ball for a long time. He tried to hit Tyrek Presley on a deep post, but Presley did not run his route with purpose, and Kevaris Hall made a better play on the ball than he did, knocking it down while trying to intercept it. Spears then made a sweet cut on a run that probably would have been a long gain in a live drill.
Ibieta was next, and Spears dropped a pass near the sideline as a safety valve when he had a lot of open field in front of him. He berated himself. A swing pass to Spears that probably would have gone for no gain followed before a run into a crowd by Stephon Huderson.
Howard entered and scrambled decisively, then completed a sideline pass to Carroll, scrambled again when no one was open, threw a nice pass to Ledford on an inside route and had a swing pass bounce off Carroll's hands when he threw it a little high.
Ibieta came back and almost threw an interception, with Rattan dropping a pass intended for Presley. He then threw a short pass that Carroll caught while having to stop to corral it because it was behind him, an incompletion that sailed over everyone's head in the middle of the field and was sacked by Adonis Friloux, who came in clean. I did not see who he beat on the pass rush, but it was a nice play, and it ended the day. Friloux and Noah Taliancich received reps together with the first unit inside during the 11 on 11.
NOTES
Ygenio Booker, who was dinged up in practice yesterday, did not practice. Neither did freshman offensive lineman Josh Remetich, who has not practiced in any of the three days I have watched.
Mykel Jones practiced in individual drills but was held out of 7 on 7 and 11 on 11. I asked him about it afterward and he said he was fine but coaches were just holding out of team drills. As is Willie Fritz's policy, Tulane is very tight-lipped about injuries, but Jones looked fine in individual work. Jaetavian Toles was not at practice as far as I could tell.
When I arrived at practice, the offense was on the stadium field and the defense was practicing on the smaller field outside the stadium. I had not seen that split before. Usually the offensive linemen and the defensive linemen spend time on the smaller field, but not the entire defense or offense.
Meyers did not have a great practice, particularly in 7 on 7. He was not happy with himself after giving up consecutive completions.
I like what I'm seeing from Howard. It's easy to see why he earned starting shots at Southern Miss as a freshman and sophomore. At the end of practice after players took pads off but before the team meeting in the middle of the field, he spent several minutes tossing the ball to Will Hall's son and just appears comfortable in his role as a team leader.
I saw all of the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 again today, and here is the rundown.
7 ON 7
The first-team defense had Dorian Williams and Marvin Moody at linebacker, Kyle Meyers and Jaylon Monroe at cornerback, Ajani Kerr at nickelback, Larry Brooks at strong safety and Chase Kuerschen at free safety.
The second-team defense had Nick Anderson and probably Kevin Henry at LB (I did not write it down), Kiland Harrison and freshman Kevaris Hall at cornerback, Willie Langham at nickelback, Cornelius Dyson at strong safety and Macon Clark at free safety.
The third-team defense had Jesus Machado and Matthew Hightower at linebacker, Reggie Neely and Rishi Rattan at cornerback, Clark at nickelback so he could get some work there and Shi'Keem Laister and Dyson again at safety (I did not see Tonquez Ball, and depth is light at the position with the summer departure of Tyler Judson).
Keon Howard was sharp again, completing his first six passes over three short stints before forcing one deep over the middle to Jha'Quan Jackson in an unfortunate play that ended in a deflected interception for Brooks and an injury to Jackson when he landed hard on his left shoulder. Jackson did not return for the rest of the day and appeared to be in a bit of pain. Before that play, Howard made quick, decisive decisions, hitting Jacob Robertson on a crossing pattern with Meyers trailing, connecting with Jackson for a short gain and finding Sorrell Brown over the middle (beating Meyers again) versus the first-team D, throwing to Tyjae Spears on a quick out and throwing a dart to Dane Ledford for a sizable gain against the second-team D and hitting Cameron Carroll on a pass in the flat he threw slightly behind him.
Michael Pratt struggled today. After completing a short pass to Spears, who as you would expect looks really good, he threw an interception directly into the hands of Anderson, who anticipated the decision and jumped the route. From that point, Pratt appeared hesitant, which is unusual for him. Operating against the No. 1 D on his next series, he waited forever before completing a pass to Jackson, having Jaylon Monroe break up a slant pass (Monroe has been good) and settling for Tyrick James as a safety valve after finding no one open downfield in his first set of downs against the No. 2 D. In his final series, he threw his best pass, hitting Spears in traffic over the middle and leading him perfectly, before connecting with Ledford on another slow-developing play and throwing underneath to Ryan Thompson.
11 on 11
Pratt opened the team portion of practice and was "sacked" by Cam Sample after a running play. He then had a slant pass deflected, scrambled when he could not find anyone open and hit Duece Watts on a crossing route after holding on to the ball for a long time. He tried to hit Tyrek Presley on a deep post, but Presley did not run his route with purpose, and Kevaris Hall made a better play on the ball than he did, knocking it down while trying to intercept it. Spears then made a sweet cut on a run that probably would have been a long gain in a live drill.
Ibieta was next, and Spears dropped a pass near the sideline as a safety valve when he had a lot of open field in front of him. He berated himself. A swing pass to Spears that probably would have gone for no gain followed before a run into a crowd by Stephon Huderson.
Howard entered and scrambled decisively, then completed a sideline pass to Carroll, scrambled again when no one was open, threw a nice pass to Ledford on an inside route and had a swing pass bounce off Carroll's hands when he threw it a little high.
Ibieta came back and almost threw an interception, with Rattan dropping a pass intended for Presley. He then threw a short pass that Carroll caught while having to stop to corral it because it was behind him, an incompletion that sailed over everyone's head in the middle of the field and was sacked by Adonis Friloux, who came in clean. I did not see who he beat on the pass rush, but it was a nice play, and it ended the day. Friloux and Noah Taliancich received reps together with the first unit inside during the 11 on 11.
NOTES
Ygenio Booker, who was dinged up in practice yesterday, did not practice. Neither did freshman offensive lineman Josh Remetich, who has not practiced in any of the three days I have watched.
Mykel Jones practiced in individual drills but was held out of 7 on 7 and 11 on 11. I asked him about it afterward and he said he was fine but coaches were just holding out of team drills. As is Willie Fritz's policy, Tulane is very tight-lipped about injuries, but Jones looked fine in individual work. Jaetavian Toles was not at practice as far as I could tell.
When I arrived at practice, the offense was on the stadium field and the defense was practicing on the smaller field outside the stadium. I had not seen that split before. Usually the offensive linemen and the defensive linemen spend time on the smaller field, but not the entire defense or offense.
Meyers did not have a great practice, particularly in 7 on 7. He was not happy with himself after giving up consecutive completions.
I like what I'm seeing from Howard. It's easy to see why he earned starting shots at Southern Miss as a freshman and sophomore. At the end of practice after players took pads off but before the team meeting in the middle of the field, he spent several minutes tossing the ball to Will Hall's son and just appears comfortable in his role as a team leader.
