Jonathan Banks did not take any reps in the last 30 minutes of practice today, although he took mental reps while standing on the field and even mimicked some of the moves he is supposed to make coming off the snap. The way he played after dislocating his finger on the second snap against South Florida on Saturday, I can't imagine any way he won't start against Memphis this Friday.
"Yeah, he should be fine," Willie Fritz said. "We had him earlier in practice doing a bunch of stuff, but in 11 on 11 we gave the reps to Brantley and Glen.
In his absence, Glen Cuiellette got his first team reps since the first few days of preseason drills. I'm not sure where Khalil McClain was, and the format of Willie Fritz' Tuesday press conferences made it hard to ask him, so I will check tomorrow on an answer. Johnathan Brantley got the first-team reps ahead of Cuiellette.
Meanwhile, Rod Teamer did not practice either after hurting an ankle against USF. P.J. Hall, who replaced him at strong safety in that game, got the reps with the first team in practice.
Braynon Edwards missed practice, too, watching from the sideline in a red no-contact jersey. He did not play against USF due to an unspecified injury.
Wide receiver Jacob Robertson, who did not dress against USF even though the official book listed him as starting, was in a full practice jersey, but I did not see him getting reps with the team at the end.
But here is some good news. Robert Kennedy, who has not played yet while recovering from offseason knee surgery, practiced today for what I believe is the first time this fall. He looked pretty good, too, batting down a Brantley pass. Since they don't have much contact in practice, it is hard to judge if he is ready to play, but practicing obviously is the first step, and Tulane needs him. The line play has not been as good in the last few weeks, and Kennedy is one of the Wave's most talented linemen. I definitely will get an update on him Wednesday.
The offensive scout team has a tough assignment simulating Memphis with its high-octane passing attack. The players on the scout team this morning were receivers Kevin LeDee, D.J. Owens and Travis Tucker, quarterback P.J. Hurst, running back Corey Dauphine and offensive linemen Cameron Jackel, John Washington, Brian Webb, Devon Johnson and walk-on Timothy Shafter.
Parry Nickerson was named one of 13 semifinalists for the Thorpe Award this week. He is the only defensive back from the AAC on the list and one of only two from outside the power five conferences. Penn State and Alabama have two guys among the semifinalists, with Ohio State, Georgia, Florida State, Texas and Stanford supplying one each.
Other than a rough night at FIU, when he still managed to get one of his three interceptions for the year, Nickerson has been rock solid, with few quarterbacks challenging him. I asked Fritz a few questions about him.
What makes Parry Nickerson special?
"He does a great job of playing the ball, playing man-to-man coverage. There's an art to understanding where you can turn to the quarterback or turn through the face of the receiver or stay in phase and sink and fade and catch the ball or play the hands. He makes those really good split-second decisions. And then the other thing he has really improved on in the last couple of years is tackling. He's a complete player. That's probably what's going to give him an opportunity to continue to keep playing when the season's over with."
South Florida threw at him once, and he knocked the deep ball away and gestured toward the sideline to tell them to keep trying him. Did you like that?
"I want those guys to play with confidence, and he certainly does."
Anthony Miller of Memphis has put up some incredible receiver stats (second all time in receptions for Memphis). What challenge does he present for Nickerson?
"All of the DBs are going to be important with their passing attack. He's a very good player, a deep ball threat. We'll have different guys on him from time to time depending on what we play."
MORE FROM FRITZ
Is the emphasis this week on starting fast?
"Yeah, you know, if you really emphasize starting fast, you de-emphasize finishing. We just want to play good every play and learn how to focus on every single play regardless of whether you had a good result or a bad result on the play before. I think we're getting more guys doing that, but in order for us to be successful, everybody's got to do their 1/11. We have to be mentally and physically into it on every single play."
How do you regain the momentum you had before the last two games?
"It's being consistent, it's not dwelling on negative things. It's accenting positive things. Each week is an entity unto itself. You just gotta move on. The Army game didn't get us to win the Tulsa game. It was preparation and going out and executing on game day. I try to be as consistent as I can and be as positive as I can. I just don't think in this day and age brow-beating guys works. We are very positive and want to play as well as we can every single week and getting these guys to focus on every single play.
"Also, in some areas where we have younger guys, it's getting our game plan formulated early every week so we have a chance to rep it on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday. This week it's only Tuesday and Wednesday."
Last week you went against South Florida and a running quarterback and this week you face a passing quarterback. What's that like in preparation?
"They are both quarterback led. They are different in how they go about it. They are going to run and escape the pocket. I think we missed five sacks against Flowers last week that would have been losses. They were just leverage. It happens fast, and there's a reason why he's had all that success. The quarterback at Memphis is a lot different guy. He's another NFL prospect, but he goes about it a different way. And he's got good feet, too, but he's more of a thrower than a runner."
"Yeah, he should be fine," Willie Fritz said. "We had him earlier in practice doing a bunch of stuff, but in 11 on 11 we gave the reps to Brantley and Glen.
In his absence, Glen Cuiellette got his first team reps since the first few days of preseason drills. I'm not sure where Khalil McClain was, and the format of Willie Fritz' Tuesday press conferences made it hard to ask him, so I will check tomorrow on an answer. Johnathan Brantley got the first-team reps ahead of Cuiellette.
Meanwhile, Rod Teamer did not practice either after hurting an ankle against USF. P.J. Hall, who replaced him at strong safety in that game, got the reps with the first team in practice.
Braynon Edwards missed practice, too, watching from the sideline in a red no-contact jersey. He did not play against USF due to an unspecified injury.
Wide receiver Jacob Robertson, who did not dress against USF even though the official book listed him as starting, was in a full practice jersey, but I did not see him getting reps with the team at the end.
But here is some good news. Robert Kennedy, who has not played yet while recovering from offseason knee surgery, practiced today for what I believe is the first time this fall. He looked pretty good, too, batting down a Brantley pass. Since they don't have much contact in practice, it is hard to judge if he is ready to play, but practicing obviously is the first step, and Tulane needs him. The line play has not been as good in the last few weeks, and Kennedy is one of the Wave's most talented linemen. I definitely will get an update on him Wednesday.
The offensive scout team has a tough assignment simulating Memphis with its high-octane passing attack. The players on the scout team this morning were receivers Kevin LeDee, D.J. Owens and Travis Tucker, quarterback P.J. Hurst, running back Corey Dauphine and offensive linemen Cameron Jackel, John Washington, Brian Webb, Devon Johnson and walk-on Timothy Shafter.
Parry Nickerson was named one of 13 semifinalists for the Thorpe Award this week. He is the only defensive back from the AAC on the list and one of only two from outside the power five conferences. Penn State and Alabama have two guys among the semifinalists, with Ohio State, Georgia, Florida State, Texas and Stanford supplying one each.
Other than a rough night at FIU, when he still managed to get one of his three interceptions for the year, Nickerson has been rock solid, with few quarterbacks challenging him. I asked Fritz a few questions about him.
What makes Parry Nickerson special?
"He does a great job of playing the ball, playing man-to-man coverage. There's an art to understanding where you can turn to the quarterback or turn through the face of the receiver or stay in phase and sink and fade and catch the ball or play the hands. He makes those really good split-second decisions. And then the other thing he has really improved on in the last couple of years is tackling. He's a complete player. That's probably what's going to give him an opportunity to continue to keep playing when the season's over with."
South Florida threw at him once, and he knocked the deep ball away and gestured toward the sideline to tell them to keep trying him. Did you like that?
"I want those guys to play with confidence, and he certainly does."
Anthony Miller of Memphis has put up some incredible receiver stats (second all time in receptions for Memphis). What challenge does he present for Nickerson?
"All of the DBs are going to be important with their passing attack. He's a very good player, a deep ball threat. We'll have different guys on him from time to time depending on what we play."
MORE FROM FRITZ
Is the emphasis this week on starting fast?
"Yeah, you know, if you really emphasize starting fast, you de-emphasize finishing. We just want to play good every play and learn how to focus on every single play regardless of whether you had a good result or a bad result on the play before. I think we're getting more guys doing that, but in order for us to be successful, everybody's got to do their 1/11. We have to be mentally and physically into it on every single play."
How do you regain the momentum you had before the last two games?
"It's being consistent, it's not dwelling on negative things. It's accenting positive things. Each week is an entity unto itself. You just gotta move on. The Army game didn't get us to win the Tulsa game. It was preparation and going out and executing on game day. I try to be as consistent as I can and be as positive as I can. I just don't think in this day and age brow-beating guys works. We are very positive and want to play as well as we can every single week and getting these guys to focus on every single play.
"Also, in some areas where we have younger guys, it's getting our game plan formulated early every week so we have a chance to rep it on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday. This week it's only Tuesday and Wednesday."
Last week you went against South Florida and a running quarterback and this week you face a passing quarterback. What's that like in preparation?
"They are both quarterback led. They are different in how they go about it. They are going to run and escape the pocket. I think we missed five sacks against Flowers last week that would have been losses. They were just leverage. It happens fast, and there's a reason why he's had all that success. The quarterback at Memphis is a lot different guy. He's another NFL prospect, but he goes about it a different way. And he's got good feet, too, but he's more of a thrower than a runner."
