Tulane practiced Thursday morning with no clear realization it might be the last practice of the spring. In fact, I neglected to ask Willie Fritz a question about coronavirus because it felt like a normal day at the time. It wasn't until I got out of the shower after returning home and turned on the TV to watch conference tournament basketball games that I realized cancellations were progressing rapidly.
But enough about that. Here's the report:
Jaetavian Toles, Tulane's leading returning wide receiver, missed the first five practices and will not not be back if the Wave resumes practice. He caught 13 passes for 160 yards last year in what I consider a disappointing season. I expected more from him after preseason drills, but he still rates as Tulane's most experienced wideout. Fritz said he had surgery for a pectoral tear and will be back in the summer.
Patrick Johnson, Ygenio Booker, Chase Kuerschen, Chris Joyce, Juan Monjarres, Connor Richardson (who is wearing a different number than listed, which is why I had not mentioned him earlier), Jackson Fort and Kanyon Walker all missed practice again. Monjarres, coming off knee surgery, did stadium steps during the workout. Kuerschen, who got hurt two practices ago, did stretching exercises while lying on his back. Walker, who has not practiced once since arriving last year to the best of my knowledge, still has crutches as he recovers from a hip injury. Richardson was on the exercise bike for a good portion of practice. Deuce Watts returned after missing a couple of days.
I was there for the start of 7-on-7 work. Keon Howard's first pass was almost intercepted by two players. Linebacker Jesus Machado read the throw over the middle and had it bounce off his hands when he jumped to catch it, and it deflected right to Willie Langham, who was playing nickelback and he could not hold on to it either. Howard then hit Jacob Robertson for a nice gain and Jha'Quan Jackson, my favorite receiver in the spring, made a great diving catch over the middle. He is really quick off the mark, and as Fritz said Tuesday, he has no fear going over the middle. Granted, these are not full-contact practices, but he runs those routes in a different manner than anyone else.
Michael Pratt's first pass went off Amare Jones' hands. Pratt loves throwing quick passes to his backs in the flat, and he hit Tyjae Spears there on the next play for what would have been a sizable gain in a live drill.
When Howard went back in, he completed a pass to Stephon Huderson on the outside before Mykel Jones made a diving catch. Jones looks the part of a big-time receiver but had not made a play like that in the first four days. Phat Watts then dropped a pass on the sideline.
When they went to 11-on-11 work, there was a change on the offensive line. Walk-on Timothy Shafter replaced Cameron Jackel at left tackle, but it did nom go well for Shafter. On one of the early plays, joker Armoni Dixon, who has a quick first step, ran around him like he was a turnstile to sack Howard. The rest of the line was the same as usual.
The first-team defense had Cam Sample and Carlos Hatcher on the outside, Jeffery Johnson and De'Andre Williams inside, Machado and Kevin Henry at linebacker, Langham at nickelback, Jaylon Monroe and Kiland Harrison at cornerback and Larry Brooks and Macon Clark at safety. Harrison, who won a fastest-man contest at a Tulane football camp in 2018 before signing, will be a factor in the fall.
The second-team defense was Alfred Thomas and Torri Singletary on the outside, walk-on Noah Seiden and Jeffery Johnson again (Davon Wright must not have been practicing), Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams at linebacker, K.J. Vault at nickelback, Levi Williams and walk-on Grant Hamel at cornerback and Ton'Quez Ball and Tyler Judson at safety. Clearly, Marvin Moody must not have been practicing, too.
The 11-on-11 started with Pratt, who bobbled the first shotgun snap and then misfired on a scramble after never appearing to get comfortable because of the bobble. Most of the plays were runs before Howard came in and got "sacked" by Dixon in the play I mentioned earlier. Howard completed back-to-back passes to Phat Watts and Christian Daniels on quick outs before Josh Holl came in and connected with Amare Jones. Holl had a chance for a long touchdown on the next play when Phat Watts got wide open against Langham, but he threw inaccurately.
Jackel began alternating with Shafter on the first and second teams.
When Howard went back in, he hit Cam Carroll in the flat and Will Wallace in the middle before throwing a touchdown pass on the sideline to Phat Watts. K.J. Vault looked lost in coverage there. I don't see him winning the job at nickel.
Pratt threw a pass about 20 yards down the field toward the sideline that looked like it was going to be intercepted, but tight end Tyrick James snatched it at the last second like a DB undercutting a route. It was a heck of a grab and a pretty good throw, too. Pratt also hit Carroll and Jones for short gains before Brooks broke up a pass for Amare Jones on the sideline. I expect Brooks to have a big year at strong safety.
They had the horn blowing over the loudspeaker on every third down like they do during games when the opponent has the ball, which was incredibly annoying to those of us standing close to the loudspeaker. Practice ended at 10:08, and we will see when they are able to practice again.
Quick interview with Fritz:
Have you gotten what you wanted to get out of the first five practices?
"Yeah, I think so. The thing you gotta do is you can't have it be drudgery with the guys. Every workout you've got to get everything out of them you possibly can. I see great improvement in a lot of guys. We pride ourselves in recruiting Division I guys and having a culture where they stay here and retain them year after year and developing them. You've seen some guys that have gotten better since they got here. That's a big deal for us."
How is Christian Daniels developing?
"Well, he's a really good athlete. I think he was fifth in the state of North Carolina in the 60-meter dash or something like that indoors. He's got great speed. He's got great length. He's a tough kid. I hate having a good athlete standing over there on the sideline. He can help us in the kicking game. He can help us a tight end. He can help us as a running back if we needed him to do it. He can do some wildcat stuff if we wanted to put him in there. I think he can be a frontline guy in kickoff return. He can be a guard or a tackle on punt. He can be a hold-up guy on punt return. KIckoff he can run down the field and cover, so there's a lot of stuff he can do and help us."
But enough about that. Here's the report:
Jaetavian Toles, Tulane's leading returning wide receiver, missed the first five practices and will not not be back if the Wave resumes practice. He caught 13 passes for 160 yards last year in what I consider a disappointing season. I expected more from him after preseason drills, but he still rates as Tulane's most experienced wideout. Fritz said he had surgery for a pectoral tear and will be back in the summer.
Patrick Johnson, Ygenio Booker, Chase Kuerschen, Chris Joyce, Juan Monjarres, Connor Richardson (who is wearing a different number than listed, which is why I had not mentioned him earlier), Jackson Fort and Kanyon Walker all missed practice again. Monjarres, coming off knee surgery, did stadium steps during the workout. Kuerschen, who got hurt two practices ago, did stretching exercises while lying on his back. Walker, who has not practiced once since arriving last year to the best of my knowledge, still has crutches as he recovers from a hip injury. Richardson was on the exercise bike for a good portion of practice. Deuce Watts returned after missing a couple of days.
I was there for the start of 7-on-7 work. Keon Howard's first pass was almost intercepted by two players. Linebacker Jesus Machado read the throw over the middle and had it bounce off his hands when he jumped to catch it, and it deflected right to Willie Langham, who was playing nickelback and he could not hold on to it either. Howard then hit Jacob Robertson for a nice gain and Jha'Quan Jackson, my favorite receiver in the spring, made a great diving catch over the middle. He is really quick off the mark, and as Fritz said Tuesday, he has no fear going over the middle. Granted, these are not full-contact practices, but he runs those routes in a different manner than anyone else.
Michael Pratt's first pass went off Amare Jones' hands. Pratt loves throwing quick passes to his backs in the flat, and he hit Tyjae Spears there on the next play for what would have been a sizable gain in a live drill.
When Howard went back in, he completed a pass to Stephon Huderson on the outside before Mykel Jones made a diving catch. Jones looks the part of a big-time receiver but had not made a play like that in the first four days. Phat Watts then dropped a pass on the sideline.
When they went to 11-on-11 work, there was a change on the offensive line. Walk-on Timothy Shafter replaced Cameron Jackel at left tackle, but it did nom go well for Shafter. On one of the early plays, joker Armoni Dixon, who has a quick first step, ran around him like he was a turnstile to sack Howard. The rest of the line was the same as usual.
The first-team defense had Cam Sample and Carlos Hatcher on the outside, Jeffery Johnson and De'Andre Williams inside, Machado and Kevin Henry at linebacker, Langham at nickelback, Jaylon Monroe and Kiland Harrison at cornerback and Larry Brooks and Macon Clark at safety. Harrison, who won a fastest-man contest at a Tulane football camp in 2018 before signing, will be a factor in the fall.
The second-team defense was Alfred Thomas and Torri Singletary on the outside, walk-on Noah Seiden and Jeffery Johnson again (Davon Wright must not have been practicing), Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams at linebacker, K.J. Vault at nickelback, Levi Williams and walk-on Grant Hamel at cornerback and Ton'Quez Ball and Tyler Judson at safety. Clearly, Marvin Moody must not have been practicing, too.
The 11-on-11 started with Pratt, who bobbled the first shotgun snap and then misfired on a scramble after never appearing to get comfortable because of the bobble. Most of the plays were runs before Howard came in and got "sacked" by Dixon in the play I mentioned earlier. Howard completed back-to-back passes to Phat Watts and Christian Daniels on quick outs before Josh Holl came in and connected with Amare Jones. Holl had a chance for a long touchdown on the next play when Phat Watts got wide open against Langham, but he threw inaccurately.
Jackel began alternating with Shafter on the first and second teams.
When Howard went back in, he hit Cam Carroll in the flat and Will Wallace in the middle before throwing a touchdown pass on the sideline to Phat Watts. K.J. Vault looked lost in coverage there. I don't see him winning the job at nickel.
Pratt threw a pass about 20 yards down the field toward the sideline that looked like it was going to be intercepted, but tight end Tyrick James snatched it at the last second like a DB undercutting a route. It was a heck of a grab and a pretty good throw, too. Pratt also hit Carroll and Jones for short gains before Brooks broke up a pass for Amare Jones on the sideline. I expect Brooks to have a big year at strong safety.
They had the horn blowing over the loudspeaker on every third down like they do during games when the opponent has the ball, which was incredibly annoying to those of us standing close to the loudspeaker. Practice ended at 10:08, and we will see when they are able to practice again.
Quick interview with Fritz:
Have you gotten what you wanted to get out of the first five practices?
"Yeah, I think so. The thing you gotta do is you can't have it be drudgery with the guys. Every workout you've got to get everything out of them you possibly can. I see great improvement in a lot of guys. We pride ourselves in recruiting Division I guys and having a culture where they stay here and retain them year after year and developing them. You've seen some guys that have gotten better since they got here. That's a big deal for us."
How is Christian Daniels developing?
"Well, he's a really good athlete. I think he was fifth in the state of North Carolina in the 60-meter dash or something like that indoors. He's got great speed. He's got great length. He's a tough kid. I hate having a good athlete standing over there on the sideline. He can help us in the kicking game. He can help us a tight end. He can help us as a running back if we needed him to do it. He can do some wildcat stuff if we wanted to put him in there. I think he can be a frontline guy in kickoff return. He can be a guard or a tackle on punt. He can be a hold-up guy on punt return. KIckoff he can run down the field and cover, so there's a lot of stuff he can do and help us."
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