Tulane hit the practice field Thursday morning for the second time and for the first time in ffront of reporters, finishing around 9:45 at Yulman Stadium. In a Zoom conference call later, athletic director Troy Dannen said he did not anticipate any fans being allowed at Tulane games this year, including the early basketball games, and that he he saw no scenario with more than 3,000 fans allowed in the stadium. He added that there have been only five positive coronovarius tests out of 1,080 administered to football players since testing began June 13, with two of them happening to players who had just arrived and the other three from players living in the same house right after arrival. No football players are in quarantine at the moment, with Tulane testing twice a week.
But more on that later. This report is focused on the football, with Tulane having an extensive 11-on-11 session in shorts and shoulder pads during the second hour of practice.
FSU grad transfer Kyle Meyers is wearing No. 10 and has practiced both days. When they went to 11-on-11 work today, he was the nickelback with the second-team defense. Later, he received reps with the first team at cornerback and nickelback. I still have no idea why he is not listed on the roster, but his status is not in question according to Willie Fritz.
"He's good to go," Fritz said. "He's 100-percent eligible. Most of you know Kyle. He played at Holy Cross High School, is a transfer student for us from Florida State and we're pumped up about having him. We needed some more experience at the corner position, and he's given that to us. He can also step inside and play some nickelback for us and also has a lot of experience in the kicking game. Kyle's here and we're pumped about that."
The first-team defense in the first reps of 11 on 11 was Patrick Johnson, Jeffrey Johnson, DeAndre Williams and Cameron Sample on the front --Fritz labeled the D-line as good as any group in the country--Marvin Moody and Kevin Henry at linebacker, Georgia Tech transfer Ajani Kerr at nickelback, Jaylon Monroe and Willie Langham at cornerback, Larry Brooks at strong safety and Chase Kuerschen at free safety.
Langham, who also got some time at nickelback, had a good day. He jumped a quick out and almost had a pick-six he would have take 90 yards for a touchdown if he had held on to the ball on a throw from Michael Pratt to Jacob Robertson and also broke up a couple other passes later in the practice.
The first-team offensive line had Duke grad transfer Jaylon Miller at right tackle, joining holdovers Joey Claybrook Corey Dublin, Sincere Haynesworth and Ben Knutson from left to right. Tyrick James was the starting tight end.
Keon Howard, of course, is the first-team quarterback, although Fritz said afterward Michael Pratt was competing with him for the starting job. Howard's best pass today was a beautiful fade to Sorrell Brown over the outstretched hands of freshman cornerback Reggie Neely (they were mixing and matching personnel by that point) for a touchdown. He did misfire on a swing pass to Ygenio Booker and had to throw one into the stands under duress.
Pratt had a rough stretch, following his near pick six with two fumbled snaps under center (one with Haynesworth snapping) and getting "sacked" by backup nickelback K.J. Vault on a blitz when he came in untouched. Third-string quarterback and Country Day product Justin Ibieta looked sharper, throwing a pretty fade to Phat Watts for a 13-yard gain to the 1-yard line in a drill where each play started from the 14. But Fritz emphasized the advantage Pratt had in going through five spring practices and everything else on campus in January and February.
All five running backs looked good, with Amare Jones, Tyjae Spears, Cameron Carroll, Stephon Huderson and Ygenio Booker making nice runs. Most of the plays took place either from the 14- or 9-yard lines, making it a red zone workout.
There was a Dane Ledford sighting when he beat Vault on a corner route. He juggled the catch slightly but brought it in before he went out of bounds.
Davon Wright, listed as 6-1, 305 pounds, got some reps with the first unit at defensive tackle, replacing Jeffrey Johnson, but I don't like Wright's body. He looks like he has too much of a belly, but players carry their weight differently.
The biggest cheer of the morning came near the end of the 11-on-11 session when walk-on freshman cornerback Rishi Rattan, from Shawnee, Kansas, intercepted a fade pass from Howard on the play after Howard's TD toss to Brown on the other side of the field. He threw it into a crowd, and Rattan caught it and started running the other way as he was serenaded by screaming teammates from the defensive sideline. Rattan is not in the mix for playing time, and players love it when backups like that get their time in the spotlight.
Two players were shaken up. Defensive back Cornelius Dyson limped off with a leg injury early in the 11-on-11 session, and defensive tackle Adonis Friloux came up gimpy near the end of the practice after a play when Fritz yelled at the players for going to the ground and not staying on their feet.
The second-team defense had Alfred Thomas (I believe it was him although I wrote down the wrong number), Eric Hicks, Wright and Carlos Hatcher on the line. Darius Hodges got some reps, too. The second-team linebackers were Dorian Williams and Nick Anderson, although the LBs rotated a bit. The second-team secondary consisted of Meyers/Kerr at nickelback, Kiland Harrison and Meyers/Kerr at cornerback and Ton'Quez Ball and Macon Clark at safety. I did not see Clark getting any time at nickelback as he did in the spring, but I might have missed it.
I did a double-take when I saw the second-team offensive line, which appeared to be Nik Hogan at left tackle, Rashad Green at left guard, Caleb Thomas at center, Stephen Lewerenz at right guard and Cameron Jackel at right tackle. I've tended to discount Thomas because he's been hurt from the time he arrived.
The third-team offensive line was Matt Lombardi at left tackle, Colby Orgeron at left guard, Michael Remondet at center, Joseph Solomon at right guard and Trey Tuggle at left tackle. I did not notice Josh Remetich, so he might have an injury.
Other than the concentration on red zone work, it looked like a normal practice to me. Coaches wore masks when they talked to players at close range, and the handshaking among players that was a ritual at the end of practice has been replaced by raising one arm over their heads in the era of coronavirus, but they clearly are trying to make it as normal as possible. Fritz and his players said they were fully confident the season would go on as scheduled and they were preparing that way, while Dannen was much more cautious, saying he couched everything he said with the realization the season might not happen. Tulane is very lucky to have Dannen as its AD in time like this, not because of his cautious words but because of his proactive approach and professional manner that was sorely lacking before he arrived. He was in command of all the facts in his Zoom interview, which coincided with Fritz's, after practice.
Look for an announcement at 2 p.m. of Tulane adding games against South Alabama and Southern Miss. Dannen said it would be a joint announcement with the other schools, although I'm just speculating on the Southern Miss part because he did not name the schools.
I'll have more quotes soon.
But more on that later. This report is focused on the football, with Tulane having an extensive 11-on-11 session in shorts and shoulder pads during the second hour of practice.
FSU grad transfer Kyle Meyers is wearing No. 10 and has practiced both days. When they went to 11-on-11 work today, he was the nickelback with the second-team defense. Later, he received reps with the first team at cornerback and nickelback. I still have no idea why he is not listed on the roster, but his status is not in question according to Willie Fritz.
"He's good to go," Fritz said. "He's 100-percent eligible. Most of you know Kyle. He played at Holy Cross High School, is a transfer student for us from Florida State and we're pumped up about having him. We needed some more experience at the corner position, and he's given that to us. He can also step inside and play some nickelback for us and also has a lot of experience in the kicking game. Kyle's here and we're pumped about that."
The first-team defense in the first reps of 11 on 11 was Patrick Johnson, Jeffrey Johnson, DeAndre Williams and Cameron Sample on the front --Fritz labeled the D-line as good as any group in the country--Marvin Moody and Kevin Henry at linebacker, Georgia Tech transfer Ajani Kerr at nickelback, Jaylon Monroe and Willie Langham at cornerback, Larry Brooks at strong safety and Chase Kuerschen at free safety.
Langham, who also got some time at nickelback, had a good day. He jumped a quick out and almost had a pick-six he would have take 90 yards for a touchdown if he had held on to the ball on a throw from Michael Pratt to Jacob Robertson and also broke up a couple other passes later in the practice.
The first-team offensive line had Duke grad transfer Jaylon Miller at right tackle, joining holdovers Joey Claybrook Corey Dublin, Sincere Haynesworth and Ben Knutson from left to right. Tyrick James was the starting tight end.
Keon Howard, of course, is the first-team quarterback, although Fritz said afterward Michael Pratt was competing with him for the starting job. Howard's best pass today was a beautiful fade to Sorrell Brown over the outstretched hands of freshman cornerback Reggie Neely (they were mixing and matching personnel by that point) for a touchdown. He did misfire on a swing pass to Ygenio Booker and had to throw one into the stands under duress.
Pratt had a rough stretch, following his near pick six with two fumbled snaps under center (one with Haynesworth snapping) and getting "sacked" by backup nickelback K.J. Vault on a blitz when he came in untouched. Third-string quarterback and Country Day product Justin Ibieta looked sharper, throwing a pretty fade to Phat Watts for a 13-yard gain to the 1-yard line in a drill where each play started from the 14. But Fritz emphasized the advantage Pratt had in going through five spring practices and everything else on campus in January and February.
All five running backs looked good, with Amare Jones, Tyjae Spears, Cameron Carroll, Stephon Huderson and Ygenio Booker making nice runs. Most of the plays took place either from the 14- or 9-yard lines, making it a red zone workout.
There was a Dane Ledford sighting when he beat Vault on a corner route. He juggled the catch slightly but brought it in before he went out of bounds.
Davon Wright, listed as 6-1, 305 pounds, got some reps with the first unit at defensive tackle, replacing Jeffrey Johnson, but I don't like Wright's body. He looks like he has too much of a belly, but players carry their weight differently.
The biggest cheer of the morning came near the end of the 11-on-11 session when walk-on freshman cornerback Rishi Rattan, from Shawnee, Kansas, intercepted a fade pass from Howard on the play after Howard's TD toss to Brown on the other side of the field. He threw it into a crowd, and Rattan caught it and started running the other way as he was serenaded by screaming teammates from the defensive sideline. Rattan is not in the mix for playing time, and players love it when backups like that get their time in the spotlight.
Two players were shaken up. Defensive back Cornelius Dyson limped off with a leg injury early in the 11-on-11 session, and defensive tackle Adonis Friloux came up gimpy near the end of the practice after a play when Fritz yelled at the players for going to the ground and not staying on their feet.
The second-team defense had Alfred Thomas (I believe it was him although I wrote down the wrong number), Eric Hicks, Wright and Carlos Hatcher on the line. Darius Hodges got some reps, too. The second-team linebackers were Dorian Williams and Nick Anderson, although the LBs rotated a bit. The second-team secondary consisted of Meyers/Kerr at nickelback, Kiland Harrison and Meyers/Kerr at cornerback and Ton'Quez Ball and Macon Clark at safety. I did not see Clark getting any time at nickelback as he did in the spring, but I might have missed it.
I did a double-take when I saw the second-team offensive line, which appeared to be Nik Hogan at left tackle, Rashad Green at left guard, Caleb Thomas at center, Stephen Lewerenz at right guard and Cameron Jackel at right tackle. I've tended to discount Thomas because he's been hurt from the time he arrived.
The third-team offensive line was Matt Lombardi at left tackle, Colby Orgeron at left guard, Michael Remondet at center, Joseph Solomon at right guard and Trey Tuggle at left tackle. I did not notice Josh Remetich, so he might have an injury.
Other than the concentration on red zone work, it looked like a normal practice to me. Coaches wore masks when they talked to players at close range, and the handshaking among players that was a ritual at the end of practice has been replaced by raising one arm over their heads in the era of coronavirus, but they clearly are trying to make it as normal as possible. Fritz and his players said they were fully confident the season would go on as scheduled and they were preparing that way, while Dannen was much more cautious, saying he couched everything he said with the realization the season might not happen. Tulane is very lucky to have Dannen as its AD in time like this, not because of his cautious words but because of his proactive approach and professional manner that was sorely lacking before he arrived. He was in command of all the facts in his Zoom interview, which coincided with Fritz's, after practice.
Look for an announcement at 2 p.m. of Tulane adding games against South Alabama and Southern Miss. Dannen said it would be a joint announcement with the other schools, although I'm just speculating on the Southern Miss part because he did not name the schools.
I'll have more quotes soon.