If you thought Willie Fritz would use a two-quarterback system against Grambling, think again. Asked today after practice if Jonathan Banks and Johnathan Brantley would play, he demurred.
"Maybe, we'll see," he said. "Right now it's Banks. More than likely he's going to go, and we'll see what occurs."
I'm sure Brantley will get in if it's a blowout, but coaches never, ever want to mention that possibility publicly. He'd also likely play if Banks really struggled.
Keyshawn McLeod did not practice today, and although Willie Fritz would not officially rule him out, it's very unlikely he will play against Grambling.
That leaves Tulane with an offensive line of John Leglue, Corey Dublin, Junior Diaz, Leeward Brown and Dominique Briggs from left to right. They might opt for Tyler Johnson at right tackle, Briggs at right guard and Brown on the bench, but the number of practice reps they are receiving says otherwise.
"We'll probably play about seven or eight guys," Fritz said. "We're pretty sure who will start but not positive. You can evaluate all you want with practice, but this is real situations here, and there's no better evaluation than a real game."
Hunter Knighton, backing up Diaz at center, likely will be the seventh lineman to play. I'm not sure about the potential eighth guy Fritz mentioned because freshmen Joey Claybrook and Cameron Jackel, two of the second stringers don't need to get on the field.
It is almost certain that Dublin will become Tulane's first true freshman offensive lineman to start an opener since Andrew Nierman in 2007. He's getting virtually every rep with the first team at left guard.
"He's had a great camp," Fritz said. "He really has a great presence to him. He's obviously well coached and very mature about the way he goes about his business. He's a tough kid."
I asked about Zach Harris working with the second team at weakside linebacker and whether they were still concerned about his knee.
"Not really," Fritz said. "We think he's in pretty good shape as far as that's concerned, but he's missed a couple weeks now learning and getting reps. He'll play on Saturday, though."
Redshirt senior Luke Jackson will start for the first time in his career, in front of Harris.
Today was Tulane's 26th practice of the preseason. Because two-a-days were eliminated, camp started earlier than in the past, exactly 31 days ago.
"We've had a very good camp," Fritz said. "It's been a long camp. I thought we did a good job of taking some time off and making sure we didn't do overkill. Sometimes you prepare too much and everybody's mind gets cluttered and they are not able to play to the best of their ability. I just got done talking to them about how important--I used to talk to them about the final 48 hours, but with us practicing in the morning, it's really more like the final 56 when you're playing a night game. It's getting the proper amount of rest, eating right, hydrating, studying the playbook, staying off your feet, all those different things that allow you to play to the best of your ability."
"Maybe, we'll see," he said. "Right now it's Banks. More than likely he's going to go, and we'll see what occurs."
I'm sure Brantley will get in if it's a blowout, but coaches never, ever want to mention that possibility publicly. He'd also likely play if Banks really struggled.
Keyshawn McLeod did not practice today, and although Willie Fritz would not officially rule him out, it's very unlikely he will play against Grambling.
That leaves Tulane with an offensive line of John Leglue, Corey Dublin, Junior Diaz, Leeward Brown and Dominique Briggs from left to right. They might opt for Tyler Johnson at right tackle, Briggs at right guard and Brown on the bench, but the number of practice reps they are receiving says otherwise.
"We'll probably play about seven or eight guys," Fritz said. "We're pretty sure who will start but not positive. You can evaluate all you want with practice, but this is real situations here, and there's no better evaluation than a real game."
Hunter Knighton, backing up Diaz at center, likely will be the seventh lineman to play. I'm not sure about the potential eighth guy Fritz mentioned because freshmen Joey Claybrook and Cameron Jackel, two of the second stringers don't need to get on the field.
It is almost certain that Dublin will become Tulane's first true freshman offensive lineman to start an opener since Andrew Nierman in 2007. He's getting virtually every rep with the first team at left guard.
"He's had a great camp," Fritz said. "He really has a great presence to him. He's obviously well coached and very mature about the way he goes about his business. He's a tough kid."
I asked about Zach Harris working with the second team at weakside linebacker and whether they were still concerned about his knee.
"Not really," Fritz said. "We think he's in pretty good shape as far as that's concerned, but he's missed a couple weeks now learning and getting reps. He'll play on Saturday, though."
Redshirt senior Luke Jackson will start for the first time in his career, in front of Harris.
Today was Tulane's 26th practice of the preseason. Because two-a-days were eliminated, camp started earlier than in the past, exactly 31 days ago.
"We've had a very good camp," Fritz said. "It's been a long camp. I thought we did a good job of taking some time off and making sure we didn't do overkill. Sometimes you prepare too much and everybody's mind gets cluttered and they are not able to play to the best of their ability. I just got done talking to them about how important--I used to talk to them about the final 48 hours, but with us practicing in the morning, it's really more like the final 56 when you're playing a night game. It's getting the proper amount of rest, eating right, hydrating, studying the playbook, staying off your feet, all those different things that allow you to play to the best of your ability."