I continued to focus on the receivers at Tulane's practice today because they are the easiest to judge in non-contact drills and are the biggest question mark entering the season the Green Wave still hopes to play. I arrived to see individual drills about halfway through the workout, and it was not a pretty start. With no one covering them, Sorrell Brown, Tyrek Presley and Amare Jones dropped passes that hit them in the hands, although in the dog days of August practice, concentration tends to slip at times. Phat Watts dropped a pass thrown behind him, and Jacob Robertson dropped a very low throw that would have been hard for anyone to hold on to. Still, receivers should catch just about anything in individual drills, and they did not do it today.
Mykel Jones was dressed but did not get a rep while I was there. Dane Ledford was full go, as was Amare Jones, who was held out of Thursday's scrimmage. Jha'Quan Jackson, whose absence had been noticeable, participated in individual drills in a no-contact jersey but sat out the 7 on 7 and 11 on 11. His return is good news, though, because he was the best all-around receiver on the team in the five spring practices.
The news got better at the start of 7-on-7 work, with the quarterbacks completing their first seven passes. Keon Howard, who is content to take the shorter routes when they are available, hit tight end Will Wallace twice and Sorrrell Brown once in his three-play opening stint. Michael Pratt entered and threw underneath to Wallace, who is having a good camp, and hit Tyjae Spears downfield on a pass he threw slightly behind him before connecting with walk-on Ryan Thompson on an intermediate route in the middle of the field.
Justin Ibieta went in and hit Keshon Williams on a quick pop before ending the streak with a misfire to Williams in traffic farther down the field. He found Stephon Huderson over the middle on his next attempt, making the QBs 8 for 9 to start, although most of them were completed near the line of scrimmage.
In Howard's second stint, he hit Sorrell Brown inside of Kyle Meyers, who has not given up many completions in the last week, missed tight end Tyrick James over the middle on a dangerous throw into traffic and threw over James' head when Willie Langham had tight coverage.
Ibiata was next and threw a beautiful deep ball to Thompson, who dropped it. Duece Watts caught a pass but fumbled it as he tried to adjust the ball. Brown then juggled a catch and secured it as he fell down headed back toward the line of scrimmage. Cameron Carroll, who looks good, then got wide open for a big gain on a wheel route. I did not notice who he beat, but it was by at least 5 yards on a well executed play.
The longest gain of the day came on one of the only rep walk-on Josh Holl got. He found Dane Ledford deep down the middle of the field against the third-team defense.
In Howard's third stint, he hit Brown on a short route, threw behind Christian Daniels, who could not hold on to the ball and could not connect with Duece Watts with Meyers blanketing him.
Pratt returned and tried to hit Duece Watts on a deep route, but Kiland Harrison was all over him. Pratt completed a pass to Tyrek Presley on a crossing route before Presley hauled in his second consecutive reception on on throw from Ibieta.
11 on 11
This segment started with a nice deep throw by Howard to a receiver I could not catch the number of (think it was Duece Watts). A little later, Pratt showed his innate ability with a scrambling dart to a well-covered Huderson. He was near the sideline when he lofted it over the head of a defender. Although the whistle already had blown signifying the end of the play, it was nice improvisation.
Linebacker Dorian Williams showed his speed on Ibieta's first throw, getting downfield to break up a bomb for Duece Watts. The other completions came from Howard to James on the sideline, Howard to Brown for a nice gain over the middle and Pratt to Duece Wats inside. The day ended when Presley dropped an Ibieata pass that was thrown behind him.
Although the receivers did not miss any easy grabs, what I'm not seeing is the spectacular catch. The ball has to be on target without a ton of traffic. No one is making the plays Darnell Mooney made the past few years, although the full health of Mykel Jones and Jha'Quan Jackson can make a huge difference. They are both projected starters. The rest of the group has been up and down, although Duece Watts appears ticketed to start and definitely is a deep threat.
The first team on defense has been consistently the same group the past few practices, with Eric Hicks replacing an injured Jeffery Johnson at defensive tackle and Ajani Kerr replacing an injured Chase Kuerschen at safety. Meyers and Jaylon Monroe are the clear starters at cornerback, although Kiland Harrison continues to impress, with Larry Brooks at safety, Kevin Henry and Marvin Moody at linebacker, Langham at nickekback, Patrick Johnson and Cameron Sample at end and De'Andre Williams at nose tackle.
The linebacker depth is quite good. Jesus Machado had a "sack" in 11-on-11 work, and he is the fifth guy.
Trey Tuggle practiced today with the second-team line at right tackle. He replaced walk-on Timothy Shafter at that spot.
An injured Ygenio Booker missed another practice. If he can stay healthy, he will be a significant factor in the passing game, but he's missed a lot of time since he arrived.
I will post quotes later.
Mykel Jones was dressed but did not get a rep while I was there. Dane Ledford was full go, as was Amare Jones, who was held out of Thursday's scrimmage. Jha'Quan Jackson, whose absence had been noticeable, participated in individual drills in a no-contact jersey but sat out the 7 on 7 and 11 on 11. His return is good news, though, because he was the best all-around receiver on the team in the five spring practices.
The news got better at the start of 7-on-7 work, with the quarterbacks completing their first seven passes. Keon Howard, who is content to take the shorter routes when they are available, hit tight end Will Wallace twice and Sorrrell Brown once in his three-play opening stint. Michael Pratt entered and threw underneath to Wallace, who is having a good camp, and hit Tyjae Spears downfield on a pass he threw slightly behind him before connecting with walk-on Ryan Thompson on an intermediate route in the middle of the field.
Justin Ibieta went in and hit Keshon Williams on a quick pop before ending the streak with a misfire to Williams in traffic farther down the field. He found Stephon Huderson over the middle on his next attempt, making the QBs 8 for 9 to start, although most of them were completed near the line of scrimmage.
In Howard's second stint, he hit Sorrell Brown inside of Kyle Meyers, who has not given up many completions in the last week, missed tight end Tyrick James over the middle on a dangerous throw into traffic and threw over James' head when Willie Langham had tight coverage.
Ibiata was next and threw a beautiful deep ball to Thompson, who dropped it. Duece Watts caught a pass but fumbled it as he tried to adjust the ball. Brown then juggled a catch and secured it as he fell down headed back toward the line of scrimmage. Cameron Carroll, who looks good, then got wide open for a big gain on a wheel route. I did not notice who he beat, but it was by at least 5 yards on a well executed play.
The longest gain of the day came on one of the only rep walk-on Josh Holl got. He found Dane Ledford deep down the middle of the field against the third-team defense.
In Howard's third stint, he hit Brown on a short route, threw behind Christian Daniels, who could not hold on to the ball and could not connect with Duece Watts with Meyers blanketing him.
Pratt returned and tried to hit Duece Watts on a deep route, but Kiland Harrison was all over him. Pratt completed a pass to Tyrek Presley on a crossing route before Presley hauled in his second consecutive reception on on throw from Ibieta.
11 on 11
This segment started with a nice deep throw by Howard to a receiver I could not catch the number of (think it was Duece Watts). A little later, Pratt showed his innate ability with a scrambling dart to a well-covered Huderson. He was near the sideline when he lofted it over the head of a defender. Although the whistle already had blown signifying the end of the play, it was nice improvisation.
Linebacker Dorian Williams showed his speed on Ibieta's first throw, getting downfield to break up a bomb for Duece Watts. The other completions came from Howard to James on the sideline, Howard to Brown for a nice gain over the middle and Pratt to Duece Wats inside. The day ended when Presley dropped an Ibieata pass that was thrown behind him.
Although the receivers did not miss any easy grabs, what I'm not seeing is the spectacular catch. The ball has to be on target without a ton of traffic. No one is making the plays Darnell Mooney made the past few years, although the full health of Mykel Jones and Jha'Quan Jackson can make a huge difference. They are both projected starters. The rest of the group has been up and down, although Duece Watts appears ticketed to start and definitely is a deep threat.
The first team on defense has been consistently the same group the past few practices, with Eric Hicks replacing an injured Jeffery Johnson at defensive tackle and Ajani Kerr replacing an injured Chase Kuerschen at safety. Meyers and Jaylon Monroe are the clear starters at cornerback, although Kiland Harrison continues to impress, with Larry Brooks at safety, Kevin Henry and Marvin Moody at linebacker, Langham at nickekback, Patrick Johnson and Cameron Sample at end and De'Andre Williams at nose tackle.
The linebacker depth is quite good. Jesus Machado had a "sack" in 11-on-11 work, and he is the fifth guy.
Trey Tuggle practiced today with the second-team line at right tackle. He replaced walk-on Timothy Shafter at that spot.
An injured Ygenio Booker missed another practice. If he can stay healthy, he will be a significant factor in the passing game, but he's missed a lot of time since he arrived.
I will post quotes later.
