The most significant event in Tulane's football practice today took place before I got there, but I found out what happened after the fact.
No, it was not an injury or a fight or anything negative. It was a field goal drill right after warm-ups, taking place around 7:30. If I've written it once, I've written it 100 times, but Tulane will not be able to challenge for anything if it cannot make field goals consistently. The Green Wave's margin for error is too small to include missed chip shots, and Rutgers transfer Valentino Ambrosio went 3 for 3 today. I don't have the distance or hash mark for the makes, but he appears to be someone capable of converting kicks consistently. His numbers at Rutgers indicate it (21 of 29 in two years), and his performance to this point in camp verifies. Obviously he will need to prove himself in games, but it starts with making the kicks in practice. He also had another opportunity during a 7-on-7 work later in practice when a two-minute drill stalled at the defense's 27. He went in for a 44-yard attempt (with just the snapper and holder on the field) and drilled it through the uprights. That was the only kick during the regular portion of practice.
Graham Dable, a walk-on who probably would have been the frontrunner for the job without Ambrosio's arrival, went 1 for 3 this morning after missing both of his attempts in games last year. Kriston Esnard, the other scholarship kicker on the roster, hit both of his. I"m not sure I ever saw him make two in a row in the spring, but he does have a very good leg if he could over the issues that have hurt him dating to his senior year of high school in 2020. Lucas Dunker, the walk-on transfer from Washington State who handled kickoffs but not field goals for the Cougars, went 1 for 2.
Now, on to the stuff I actually saw. While everyone got equivalent reps in the first week of preseason practice, they are beginning to narrow it down a bit and will really narrow it down after Saturday's scrimmage. Freshman quarterback Carson Haggard did not get to participate in 11-on-11 work at the end of practice, with Michael Pratt, Justin Ibieta and Kai Horton rotating in that order. Pratt began the drill with a pretty pass to Duece Watts in the middle of the field for a significant gain, although the defense was in control of affairs for most of the day. That drive stalled quickly when Pratt threw behind a well-covered Shae Wyatt, threw short for Wyatt on an underneath route and was "sacked" by I believe Dorian Williams on a blitz (It happened a long way from me, and the starting defenders are not wearing numbers), who came in untouched.
Ibieta almost had a pass picked off off a ricochet on his first series, which did not go very far. Later, he hit Bryce Bohanan deep, although he held on to the ball a long time and might not have gotten that throw off in a game.
Horton was Captain Checkdown, which is not necessarily a bad thing, completing four passes in a row with three of them on underneath routes to Makhi Hughes, Alex Bauman and a player whose number I did not see. The other completion came when he scrambled to his left and found walk-on Lucas Desjardins for a decent gain with some nice improvisation. At the end of practice, during a two-minute drill that had the offense coming off its own goal line, Horton started airing it out with mixed results. Walk-on Luke Besh made a terrific adjustment on a deep ball that was deflected down the sideline, catching it on the rebound as he fell down. But when Horton threw a deep ball to the other side on the next snap, walk-on safety Jean-Jacques Hunter should have intercepted it.
Earlier, when they started situational 7-on-7 work, the wide receivers had their worst day of camp. It was not nearly like many of the days last fall and this spring, when drops were contagious, but Wyatt dropped the first pass from Pratt over the middle. The QB rotated by play with Horton throwing a bad pass to Dea Dea McDougle, Ibieta missing walk-on tight end Jonathan Kahn, Haggard almost getting picked on a poor throw at the start. Pratt then completed one to Deuce Watts on Tyrek Presley. Horton held the ball too long and drew a whistle. Besh dropped a throw by Ibieta. A little later, Chris Brazzell dropped an Ibieta pass that was behind him.
Each quarterback then got a full possession in a late-half simulation with the clock in operation and timeouts allowed. Pratt connected with tight end Tyrick James on a seam route for a nice gain on his first play, threw one off the fingertips of Jalen Rogers and completed an underneath throw to Tyjae Spears that left little time on the clock. As Pratt held the ball looking for an open receiver on the next play, Willie Fritz blew the whistle signiifying the play (and the drive) was dead.
Ibieta's series lasted two plays. He completed a short pass to Keys before walk-on nickelback Rishi Rattan undercut a sideline route and intercepted him. I have gotten no indication Rattan is in line for any playing time, but I am almost positive that since the start of spring drills in 2021 and running through preseason camp last year, the spring this year and the five practices this preseason, he has more interceptions than anyone else on the team, and most of them have come against Ibieta. He's Ibieta's Kryptonite in practice.
Horton, working short, completed four of his five throws, with the exception a near interception by cornerback Kentrell Webb. After the ball reached the defense's 27, Horton threw one away and had a short pass dropped by Desjardins before Ambrosio's field goal.
Kanan Ray was in uniform today but appeared to be under the weather. He did not get any reps in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 in the second half of practice but did participate in individual drills. With him out for the second straight day, Trey Tuggle was the starting left guard and Prince Pines was the starting right guard. I did not see any other changes. The second-team line was Sully Burns, Hutson Lillibridge, Shadre Hurst, Jackson Fort and Matt Lombardi from left to right, and the third-team line was Keanon McNally, Joseph Solomon, Ethan Marcus, NIk Hogan and Lombardi again from left to right.
The first-team defense was mostly guys without numbers, but Jarius Monroe worked with the first-team D wearing his No. 11, and Jesus Machado and Tylo Phillips later got reps with the first unit in their jersey numbers. The second-team D had Darius Hodges (likely a continued motivational ploy), Phillips and Angelo Anderson up front at the beginning, with Machado and Corey Platt at linebacker, Rattan at nickelback, Cadien Robinson and Presley at cornerback and Bailey Despanie and DJ Douglas at safety. I did not catch the number of the fourth guy up front.
In what has become a familiar scene over the years, defensive tackle Alfred Thomas did not practice. I am not sure what his injury is, but he was watching practice in uniform but no helmet or shoulder pads. Carlos Hatcher, whom Fritz said Saturday would be out for about a week as he continues to recover from a torn ACL, and Caleb Thomas, who has yet to practice this preseason, joined Alfred Thomas as observers.
I talked to Chris Hampton and Jadon Canady, who continues to look terrific after practice. I will post their interviews shortly along with Fritz.
No, it was not an injury or a fight or anything negative. It was a field goal drill right after warm-ups, taking place around 7:30. If I've written it once, I've written it 100 times, but Tulane will not be able to challenge for anything if it cannot make field goals consistently. The Green Wave's margin for error is too small to include missed chip shots, and Rutgers transfer Valentino Ambrosio went 3 for 3 today. I don't have the distance or hash mark for the makes, but he appears to be someone capable of converting kicks consistently. His numbers at Rutgers indicate it (21 of 29 in two years), and his performance to this point in camp verifies. Obviously he will need to prove himself in games, but it starts with making the kicks in practice. He also had another opportunity during a 7-on-7 work later in practice when a two-minute drill stalled at the defense's 27. He went in for a 44-yard attempt (with just the snapper and holder on the field) and drilled it through the uprights. That was the only kick during the regular portion of practice.
Graham Dable, a walk-on who probably would have been the frontrunner for the job without Ambrosio's arrival, went 1 for 3 this morning after missing both of his attempts in games last year. Kriston Esnard, the other scholarship kicker on the roster, hit both of his. I"m not sure I ever saw him make two in a row in the spring, but he does have a very good leg if he could over the issues that have hurt him dating to his senior year of high school in 2020. Lucas Dunker, the walk-on transfer from Washington State who handled kickoffs but not field goals for the Cougars, went 1 for 2.
Now, on to the stuff I actually saw. While everyone got equivalent reps in the first week of preseason practice, they are beginning to narrow it down a bit and will really narrow it down after Saturday's scrimmage. Freshman quarterback Carson Haggard did not get to participate in 11-on-11 work at the end of practice, with Michael Pratt, Justin Ibieta and Kai Horton rotating in that order. Pratt began the drill with a pretty pass to Duece Watts in the middle of the field for a significant gain, although the defense was in control of affairs for most of the day. That drive stalled quickly when Pratt threw behind a well-covered Shae Wyatt, threw short for Wyatt on an underneath route and was "sacked" by I believe Dorian Williams on a blitz (It happened a long way from me, and the starting defenders are not wearing numbers), who came in untouched.
Ibieta almost had a pass picked off off a ricochet on his first series, which did not go very far. Later, he hit Bryce Bohanan deep, although he held on to the ball a long time and might not have gotten that throw off in a game.
Horton was Captain Checkdown, which is not necessarily a bad thing, completing four passes in a row with three of them on underneath routes to Makhi Hughes, Alex Bauman and a player whose number I did not see. The other completion came when he scrambled to his left and found walk-on Lucas Desjardins for a decent gain with some nice improvisation. At the end of practice, during a two-minute drill that had the offense coming off its own goal line, Horton started airing it out with mixed results. Walk-on Luke Besh made a terrific adjustment on a deep ball that was deflected down the sideline, catching it on the rebound as he fell down. But when Horton threw a deep ball to the other side on the next snap, walk-on safety Jean-Jacques Hunter should have intercepted it.
Earlier, when they started situational 7-on-7 work, the wide receivers had their worst day of camp. It was not nearly like many of the days last fall and this spring, when drops were contagious, but Wyatt dropped the first pass from Pratt over the middle. The QB rotated by play with Horton throwing a bad pass to Dea Dea McDougle, Ibieta missing walk-on tight end Jonathan Kahn, Haggard almost getting picked on a poor throw at the start. Pratt then completed one to Deuce Watts on Tyrek Presley. Horton held the ball too long and drew a whistle. Besh dropped a throw by Ibieta. A little later, Chris Brazzell dropped an Ibieta pass that was behind him.
Each quarterback then got a full possession in a late-half simulation with the clock in operation and timeouts allowed. Pratt connected with tight end Tyrick James on a seam route for a nice gain on his first play, threw one off the fingertips of Jalen Rogers and completed an underneath throw to Tyjae Spears that left little time on the clock. As Pratt held the ball looking for an open receiver on the next play, Willie Fritz blew the whistle signiifying the play (and the drive) was dead.
Ibieta's series lasted two plays. He completed a short pass to Keys before walk-on nickelback Rishi Rattan undercut a sideline route and intercepted him. I have gotten no indication Rattan is in line for any playing time, but I am almost positive that since the start of spring drills in 2021 and running through preseason camp last year, the spring this year and the five practices this preseason, he has more interceptions than anyone else on the team, and most of them have come against Ibieta. He's Ibieta's Kryptonite in practice.
Horton, working short, completed four of his five throws, with the exception a near interception by cornerback Kentrell Webb. After the ball reached the defense's 27, Horton threw one away and had a short pass dropped by Desjardins before Ambrosio's field goal.
Kanan Ray was in uniform today but appeared to be under the weather. He did not get any reps in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 in the second half of practice but did participate in individual drills. With him out for the second straight day, Trey Tuggle was the starting left guard and Prince Pines was the starting right guard. I did not see any other changes. The second-team line was Sully Burns, Hutson Lillibridge, Shadre Hurst, Jackson Fort and Matt Lombardi from left to right, and the third-team line was Keanon McNally, Joseph Solomon, Ethan Marcus, NIk Hogan and Lombardi again from left to right.
The first-team defense was mostly guys without numbers, but Jarius Monroe worked with the first-team D wearing his No. 11, and Jesus Machado and Tylo Phillips later got reps with the first unit in their jersey numbers. The second-team D had Darius Hodges (likely a continued motivational ploy), Phillips and Angelo Anderson up front at the beginning, with Machado and Corey Platt at linebacker, Rattan at nickelback, Cadien Robinson and Presley at cornerback and Bailey Despanie and DJ Douglas at safety. I did not catch the number of the fourth guy up front.
In what has become a familiar scene over the years, defensive tackle Alfred Thomas did not practice. I am not sure what his injury is, but he was watching practice in uniform but no helmet or shoulder pads. Carlos Hatcher, whom Fritz said Saturday would be out for about a week as he continues to recover from a torn ACL, and Caleb Thomas, who has yet to practice this preseason, joined Alfred Thomas as observers.
I talked to Chris Hampton and Jadon Canady, who continues to look terrific after practice. I will post their interviews shortly along with Fritz.