It was back to the grind in the morning heat for Tulane today, and having walked my dog at 7:45, I can attest it already was quite humid and uncomfortable by 8 a.m. With the Oklahoma game still nearly three weeks away and coming off Saturday's scrimmages, these are the ones where some players can have a hard time focusing, but Willie Fritz teams tends to reflect his even-keeled approach and never get too high or too low.
With that long preamble out of the way, it was not a particularly good day for Michael Pratt. He mishandles a shotgun snap on the first play of an 11-on-11 drill and then almost got intercepted on a deep throw into traffic for Ygenio Booker on a play that never was open. Pratt usually avoids those bad decisions. On his next series, he had a pass tipped at he line of scrimmage on the first play. After a break for individual work and special teams drills, he returned and threw an interception on another forced pass to a well-covered Booker. He then threw a pretty ball to Phat Watts on a deep out, but Watts dropped it, and another nice pass to Shae Wyatt, who made a good catch in tight coverage along the sideline. Wyatt's hands have been inconsistent in camp, but he looks more polished than the other receivers vying for playing time alongside Jha'Quan Jackson and Duece Watts, and he appears to get open more often, too.
Pratt threw a second interception in the final 11-on-11 session--I don't recall him having two picks in any other practice--but he was a little unlucky on this one. The ball went off the hands of a diving Booker and deflected to a defensive back, who made a nice play to catch it low. Pratt then overthrew an open Wyatt in the end zone, which made me think of Fritz's quote from last week that receivers do so much in practice that they have a hard time running full speed in the latter stages. It might have been a case of Wyatt not getting as far as he needed to get, but it definitely would have been a touchdown if Pratt had thrown it a few yards shorter. A little later, Pratt tried to hit Devin Brumfield on a dangerous screen pass in traffic. The ball was incomplete, but it felt like it could have been worse.
justin Ibieta was not great, either. He drew offensive coordinator Chip Long's criticism when, soon after overshooting Iverson Celestine, he short-hopped a screen pass to Tyrick James that appeared destined for a huge gain. It was a completely unforced error and uncharacteristic of Ibieta, who was a little off on a completion to Ryan Thompson on the sideline, throwing the ball behind him. Thompson, who had by far his most productive day, still made the grab. He later caught a long touchdown pass from Ibieta one play after James got open deep for a big gain.
The biggest cheer from the defensive sideline came on another interception. This time, walk-on safety Jean-Jacques Hunter backpedaled to pick off a Kai Horton pass near the sideline where the defensive players stand. They erupted, and Hunter returned the interception about 25 yards before stumbling to the turf by himself.
There were two offensive linemen who did not practice while I was there--Trey Tuggle and Matt Lombardi. Fritz was not aware Lombardi was out, so it had to be something minor, but I did not see him at all. Tuggle I believe has a leg injury. The first-team line remained unchanged, with Joey Claybrook, Corey Dublin, Sincere Haynesworth, Caleb Thomas and Rashad Green from left to right. Josh Remetich replaced Thomas at the beginning of the final 11-on-11 drill, but Thomas rotated back in. The second-team line, which had to be adjusted due to the absences, had Cameron Jackel, Hutson Lillibridge, Thomas, Jackson Fort and Tim Shafter from left to right. The third-team line had the same No. 2 guys on the left but walk-on Ethan Marcus at center, Haydan Shook at right guard and Joseph Solomon at right tackle, accounting for all 13 available linemen.
It's impossible to really tell when there is no tackling, but Brumfield popped through a huge hole against the No. 1 defense on a handoff from Pratt that looked like it could have been a 60-yard touchdown in a live drill. The running backs have looked good all preseason, with clear roles for Cam Carroll, Tyjae Spears, Brumfield and Booker.
The wide receivers still need to get more productive, and not just by catching the easy passes they have dropped at times. The final play of the day was sort of indicative of what I'm talking about. Horton threw a fade to Sutton, who was covered well but leaped to meet the ball at its high point. Yet, he could not bring the ball in. Those are the tough catches that make the difference between winning and losing, and Tulane's opponents have made those catches more than Tulane has in the past few years.
Jojo Dorceus is having an outstanding camp, but he has not talked to reporters yet. I wanted to write a feature on him today, but after skipping out on Media Day when all of the other Super Seniors were present, he was requested (not by me) yesterday and not made available and by me today and not made available (I believe his lifting time was an issue). It will be interesting to get his take on life at Tulane after a full career at Memphis, which included a 2-yard touchdown catch in last year's bowl game against Florida Atlantic when he lined up as a fullback. He's an excellent athlete and gives Tulane the extra pass rusher it needed on the outside.
Keitha Jones, who was out for a while with a minor injury, practiced today. Fritz is high on Tulane's entire tight end corps. I tend to focus on Tyrick James, but Fritz also likes Will Wallace, Jones and Reggie Brown and believes all of them can be significant factors in the passing game under Chip Long. It's a matter of being able to handle the heavy load on their plate Long has given them, which is a lot more than they did in the past. Brown is out with a minor injury at the moment, but he definitely can run along with James.
Noah Taliancich, who was injured for almost all of 2020, worked at defensive tackle today, lining up alongside end Keith Cooper. Bailey Despanie worked with the second team at safety, while Shi'Keem Laister is a cornerback. I had all of those guys at different positions entering camp.
Kriston Esnard, who did not participate in the scrimmage, was the second-team kicker in a kickoff drill today. They attempted onside kicks with the ball placed flat on the tee.
The backup cornerbacks were Kiland Harrison and Lance Robinson,with D.J. Douglas serving as the nickel. I'm not sure who served as the other first-team cornerback along with Jaylon Monroe. I assumed it was Robinson until I saw his jersey number. The first-team guys were all in the black number-less jerseys. Based on how they have lined up this preseason, the most likely candidate was Laister.
Other players who did not practice today were Christian Daniels (right leg, minor), cornerback Kevaris Hall and reserve defensive tackle Alfred Thomas. All were in jerseys with no helmet and none of the issues appear significant.
With that long preamble out of the way, it was not a particularly good day for Michael Pratt. He mishandles a shotgun snap on the first play of an 11-on-11 drill and then almost got intercepted on a deep throw into traffic for Ygenio Booker on a play that never was open. Pratt usually avoids those bad decisions. On his next series, he had a pass tipped at he line of scrimmage on the first play. After a break for individual work and special teams drills, he returned and threw an interception on another forced pass to a well-covered Booker. He then threw a pretty ball to Phat Watts on a deep out, but Watts dropped it, and another nice pass to Shae Wyatt, who made a good catch in tight coverage along the sideline. Wyatt's hands have been inconsistent in camp, but he looks more polished than the other receivers vying for playing time alongside Jha'Quan Jackson and Duece Watts, and he appears to get open more often, too.
Pratt threw a second interception in the final 11-on-11 session--I don't recall him having two picks in any other practice--but he was a little unlucky on this one. The ball went off the hands of a diving Booker and deflected to a defensive back, who made a nice play to catch it low. Pratt then overthrew an open Wyatt in the end zone, which made me think of Fritz's quote from last week that receivers do so much in practice that they have a hard time running full speed in the latter stages. It might have been a case of Wyatt not getting as far as he needed to get, but it definitely would have been a touchdown if Pratt had thrown it a few yards shorter. A little later, Pratt tried to hit Devin Brumfield on a dangerous screen pass in traffic. The ball was incomplete, but it felt like it could have been worse.
justin Ibieta was not great, either. He drew offensive coordinator Chip Long's criticism when, soon after overshooting Iverson Celestine, he short-hopped a screen pass to Tyrick James that appeared destined for a huge gain. It was a completely unforced error and uncharacteristic of Ibieta, who was a little off on a completion to Ryan Thompson on the sideline, throwing the ball behind him. Thompson, who had by far his most productive day, still made the grab. He later caught a long touchdown pass from Ibieta one play after James got open deep for a big gain.
The biggest cheer from the defensive sideline came on another interception. This time, walk-on safety Jean-Jacques Hunter backpedaled to pick off a Kai Horton pass near the sideline where the defensive players stand. They erupted, and Hunter returned the interception about 25 yards before stumbling to the turf by himself.
There were two offensive linemen who did not practice while I was there--Trey Tuggle and Matt Lombardi. Fritz was not aware Lombardi was out, so it had to be something minor, but I did not see him at all. Tuggle I believe has a leg injury. The first-team line remained unchanged, with Joey Claybrook, Corey Dublin, Sincere Haynesworth, Caleb Thomas and Rashad Green from left to right. Josh Remetich replaced Thomas at the beginning of the final 11-on-11 drill, but Thomas rotated back in. The second-team line, which had to be adjusted due to the absences, had Cameron Jackel, Hutson Lillibridge, Thomas, Jackson Fort and Tim Shafter from left to right. The third-team line had the same No. 2 guys on the left but walk-on Ethan Marcus at center, Haydan Shook at right guard and Joseph Solomon at right tackle, accounting for all 13 available linemen.
It's impossible to really tell when there is no tackling, but Brumfield popped through a huge hole against the No. 1 defense on a handoff from Pratt that looked like it could have been a 60-yard touchdown in a live drill. The running backs have looked good all preseason, with clear roles for Cam Carroll, Tyjae Spears, Brumfield and Booker.
The wide receivers still need to get more productive, and not just by catching the easy passes they have dropped at times. The final play of the day was sort of indicative of what I'm talking about. Horton threw a fade to Sutton, who was covered well but leaped to meet the ball at its high point. Yet, he could not bring the ball in. Those are the tough catches that make the difference between winning and losing, and Tulane's opponents have made those catches more than Tulane has in the past few years.
Jojo Dorceus is having an outstanding camp, but he has not talked to reporters yet. I wanted to write a feature on him today, but after skipping out on Media Day when all of the other Super Seniors were present, he was requested (not by me) yesterday and not made available and by me today and not made available (I believe his lifting time was an issue). It will be interesting to get his take on life at Tulane after a full career at Memphis, which included a 2-yard touchdown catch in last year's bowl game against Florida Atlantic when he lined up as a fullback. He's an excellent athlete and gives Tulane the extra pass rusher it needed on the outside.
Keitha Jones, who was out for a while with a minor injury, practiced today. Fritz is high on Tulane's entire tight end corps. I tend to focus on Tyrick James, but Fritz also likes Will Wallace, Jones and Reggie Brown and believes all of them can be significant factors in the passing game under Chip Long. It's a matter of being able to handle the heavy load on their plate Long has given them, which is a lot more than they did in the past. Brown is out with a minor injury at the moment, but he definitely can run along with James.
Noah Taliancich, who was injured for almost all of 2020, worked at defensive tackle today, lining up alongside end Keith Cooper. Bailey Despanie worked with the second team at safety, while Shi'Keem Laister is a cornerback. I had all of those guys at different positions entering camp.
Kriston Esnard, who did not participate in the scrimmage, was the second-team kicker in a kickoff drill today. They attempted onside kicks with the ball placed flat on the tee.
The backup cornerbacks were Kiland Harrison and Lance Robinson,with D.J. Douglas serving as the nickel. I'm not sure who served as the other first-team cornerback along with Jaylon Monroe. I assumed it was Robinson until I saw his jersey number. The first-team guys were all in the black number-less jerseys. Based on how they have lined up this preseason, the most likely candidate was Laister.
Other players who did not practice today were Christian Daniels (right leg, minor), cornerback Kevaris Hall and reserve defensive tackle Alfred Thomas. All were in jerseys with no helmet and none of the issues appear significant.
