Having an open week always allows a team to work on fundamentals, and Tulane's defensive backs went through a long drill on making interceptions Tuesday. Punter Ryan Wright, a high school quarterback, lofted high passes down the sideline, and the defensive backs had to point the balls. Secondary coach J.J. McCleskey was hard on them when they kept their feet on the ground and let the ball come to them.
Aside from Thakarius Keyes' easy dropped interception on the opening series of the Navy game, which allowed the Midshipmen to set the tone for a dominant first quarter offensively, I cannot recall a blatant drop for the DBs, but it is always important to continue working on this stuff. Willie Langham, who returned a fumble for a touchdown against Tulsa, dropped an easy interception in the end zone during the drill, and so did freshmen Levi Lewis, prompting McCleskey to yell "go up and get it."
Amare Jones did not practice, and Willie Fritz said he was surprised Jones played against Tulsa. I can vouch that Jones did not practice at all last week, but he pronounced himself fit to play in warm-ups before the game. The coaches limited him to kickoff returns and hope to have him back closer to full strength against Temple.
Keyes and Patrick Johnson were in red no-contact jerseys but practiced. Carlos Hatcher, who has been out the past two weeks, took mental reps but did not practice, leaving Malik Lawal and Armoni Dixon as the other guys playing the joker position. Lawal has been very versatile for Tulane this year and a nice grad transfer pickup. The four inside linebackers in practice were Lawrence Graham, Marvin Moody, Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams. Also among the injured is K.J. Vault, who has spent time at inside linebacker and nickelback this season but missed the last two games.
In 11-on-11 work, freshman safety Tyler Judson jumped a route for a nice interception of a Keon Howard pass, but the play of the day came from wide receiver Kevin LeDee, who made a nice leaping grab in the back of the end zone. LeDee has been very quiet, making one catch for 17 yards against Missouri State, and did not play against Tulsa, but he has the potential to develop into a solid receiver. He hurt his case with a lame attempt late in the Memphis game on a pass down the sideline, falling down meekly for no real reason when the ball was in the air. He and Jorrien Vallien, who has not played in the last four games, are competing for the No. 5 receiver spot behind Darnell Mooney, Jalen McCleskey, Jaetavian Toles and Jacob Robertson. Right now that spot does not exist, but there is still time for someone to make a play or two.
Although Tulane lists Tyjae Spears as playing four games, he did not get on the field against Houston and still is eligible to play in one more game and still be redshirted. I've never been a big proponent of redshirting him because he can help Tulane win now even with the crowded backfield, but the coaches clearly intend to redshirt him barring another spate of injuries at the position.
Almost all of the true freshman will be eligible for redshirts. Tight end Conner Richardson, defensive end dDarius Hodges, injured defensive back Kanyon Walker (who serves as a signaler from the sideline) and injured defensive tackle Caleb Thomas have not played in any games. Offensive tackle Colby Orgeron, defensive back Levi Williams, defensive back Ton'Quez Ball, defensive tackle Eric Hicks, joker Armoni Dixon and offensive lineman Jackson Fort played agains UConn only. Tight end Keshon Williams played only against Missouri State. Defensive back Jacquez Norman played in two games along with wide receiver Tyrek Presley and cornerback Kiland Harrison. Spears and Judson played in three and wide receiver Jha'Quan Jackson played in four.
Linebackers Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams and offensive lineman Sincere Haynesworth are the only freshman who cannot be redshirted. Haynesworth started at right guard against Tulsa ahead of Ben Knutson. Anderson started against Missouri State and has played in every game with 18 tackles. Williams has played in every game with nine tackles.
JUSTIN MCMILLAN
How helpful on the body and the mind is being able to go into a bye week?
"Considering this is our second bye week, this is probably the first time since I've been in college we've had two bye weeks in a season, so it's kind of like a leap year. It feels good just to know that we have another week on top of our previous bye week to take a break and kind of heal back up. It's not normal to have two bye weeks. It feels pretty good to get out here and get a couple reps and get back to basics as far as offense."
You've scored 38 points in every game but two this year. What do you feel like is clicking the best offensively?
"Bringing in coach Hall, you'll notice a lot throughout the season that our offense is slowly starting to fit more in the passing game or the running game. A lot of the small mistakes we made at the beginning of the season we don't make those same mistakes towards the end of the season. We've brought this offense in months ago and we probably have had two of the best back-to-back seasons. That tells you how far this offense can go."
P.J. HALL
When you learned you were AAC Defensive Player of the Week, what did it mean to you?
"It felt good. It was a big honor. There's a lot of great defensive players in our conference, but I can't take all the credit. Some of those pass breakups, the D-line didn't give them time to throw the ball. Coach put me in a position to make the play. Everybody out there helped me."
With the proliferation of spread offenses and up-tempo pace, you're seeing a lot of high scores. How hard is to play defense these days?
"It's tough. Just with the speed of the game now, but we see it every day in practice with an up-tempo offense, so us being able to see it at practice kind of slows it down for us when it comes to game time."
The fumble return you caused at Tulsa was a huge play. How important was that?
"It was big. We always talk about us scoring on defense and creating takeaways and winning the takeaway/turnover margin. That series of them scoring and then us scoring right after them changed the momentum of the game. We ran away with it after that."
You're bowl eligible but still have three games left. How important is it to keep moving forward?
"It's very important. We're excited about going to a bowl but we're not just trying to go to a bowl. We're trying to finish out the season 9-3. We're going into every week preparing the same way. The bowl wasn't the only goal for the season."
Aside from Thakarius Keyes' easy dropped interception on the opening series of the Navy game, which allowed the Midshipmen to set the tone for a dominant first quarter offensively, I cannot recall a blatant drop for the DBs, but it is always important to continue working on this stuff. Willie Langham, who returned a fumble for a touchdown against Tulsa, dropped an easy interception in the end zone during the drill, and so did freshmen Levi Lewis, prompting McCleskey to yell "go up and get it."
Amare Jones did not practice, and Willie Fritz said he was surprised Jones played against Tulsa. I can vouch that Jones did not practice at all last week, but he pronounced himself fit to play in warm-ups before the game. The coaches limited him to kickoff returns and hope to have him back closer to full strength against Temple.
Keyes and Patrick Johnson were in red no-contact jerseys but practiced. Carlos Hatcher, who has been out the past two weeks, took mental reps but did not practice, leaving Malik Lawal and Armoni Dixon as the other guys playing the joker position. Lawal has been very versatile for Tulane this year and a nice grad transfer pickup. The four inside linebackers in practice were Lawrence Graham, Marvin Moody, Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams. Also among the injured is K.J. Vault, who has spent time at inside linebacker and nickelback this season but missed the last two games.
In 11-on-11 work, freshman safety Tyler Judson jumped a route for a nice interception of a Keon Howard pass, but the play of the day came from wide receiver Kevin LeDee, who made a nice leaping grab in the back of the end zone. LeDee has been very quiet, making one catch for 17 yards against Missouri State, and did not play against Tulsa, but he has the potential to develop into a solid receiver. He hurt his case with a lame attempt late in the Memphis game on a pass down the sideline, falling down meekly for no real reason when the ball was in the air. He and Jorrien Vallien, who has not played in the last four games, are competing for the No. 5 receiver spot behind Darnell Mooney, Jalen McCleskey, Jaetavian Toles and Jacob Robertson. Right now that spot does not exist, but there is still time for someone to make a play or two.
Although Tulane lists Tyjae Spears as playing four games, he did not get on the field against Houston and still is eligible to play in one more game and still be redshirted. I've never been a big proponent of redshirting him because he can help Tulane win now even with the crowded backfield, but the coaches clearly intend to redshirt him barring another spate of injuries at the position.
Almost all of the true freshman will be eligible for redshirts. Tight end Conner Richardson, defensive end dDarius Hodges, injured defensive back Kanyon Walker (who serves as a signaler from the sideline) and injured defensive tackle Caleb Thomas have not played in any games. Offensive tackle Colby Orgeron, defensive back Levi Williams, defensive back Ton'Quez Ball, defensive tackle Eric Hicks, joker Armoni Dixon and offensive lineman Jackson Fort played agains UConn only. Tight end Keshon Williams played only against Missouri State. Defensive back Jacquez Norman played in two games along with wide receiver Tyrek Presley and cornerback Kiland Harrison. Spears and Judson played in three and wide receiver Jha'Quan Jackson played in four.
Linebackers Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams and offensive lineman Sincere Haynesworth are the only freshman who cannot be redshirted. Haynesworth started at right guard against Tulsa ahead of Ben Knutson. Anderson started against Missouri State and has played in every game with 18 tackles. Williams has played in every game with nine tackles.
JUSTIN MCMILLAN
How helpful on the body and the mind is being able to go into a bye week?
"Considering this is our second bye week, this is probably the first time since I've been in college we've had two bye weeks in a season, so it's kind of like a leap year. It feels good just to know that we have another week on top of our previous bye week to take a break and kind of heal back up. It's not normal to have two bye weeks. It feels pretty good to get out here and get a couple reps and get back to basics as far as offense."
You've scored 38 points in every game but two this year. What do you feel like is clicking the best offensively?
"Bringing in coach Hall, you'll notice a lot throughout the season that our offense is slowly starting to fit more in the passing game or the running game. A lot of the small mistakes we made at the beginning of the season we don't make those same mistakes towards the end of the season. We've brought this offense in months ago and we probably have had two of the best back-to-back seasons. That tells you how far this offense can go."
P.J. HALL
When you learned you were AAC Defensive Player of the Week, what did it mean to you?
"It felt good. It was a big honor. There's a lot of great defensive players in our conference, but I can't take all the credit. Some of those pass breakups, the D-line didn't give them time to throw the ball. Coach put me in a position to make the play. Everybody out there helped me."
With the proliferation of spread offenses and up-tempo pace, you're seeing a lot of high scores. How hard is to play defense these days?
"It's tough. Just with the speed of the game now, but we see it every day in practice with an up-tempo offense, so us being able to see it at practice kind of slows it down for us when it comes to game time."
The fumble return you caused at Tulsa was a huge play. How important was that?
"It was big. We always talk about us scoring on defense and creating takeaways and winning the takeaway/turnover margin. That series of them scoring and then us scoring right after them changed the momentum of the game. We ran away with it after that."
You're bowl eligible but still have three games left. How important is it to keep moving forward?
"It's very important. We're excited about going to a bowl but we're not just trying to go to a bowl. We're trying to finish out the season 9-3. We're going into every week preparing the same way. The bowl wasn't the only goal for the season."
