What everyone feared when Phat Watts injured his knee on a non-contact play against Alcorn State has become reality--the twin brother of Duece Watts is lost for the year with an ACL tear, Willie Fritz confirmed after practice on Tuesday. Phat Watts started the opener against UMass, and although I would not pick him as one of the top five wideouts on the team, he was playing a bunch and Fritz expected him to have a solid year. Injuries are a part of football, but they still stink. It will be interesting to see how Duece Watts responds to not being able to play with his brother for the first time in ... forever?
That said, I have a feeling the Kansas State game will boil down to a battle of the running backs--the Wildcats' Deuce Vaughn and Tulane's Tyjae Spears. Fritz said he recruited Vaughn out of Round Rocks High in Texas. A year earlier, Tyjae Spears' decision came down to Tulane and Kansas State. Both were rated 5.5 3-star backs by Rivals, and although Vaughn has put up bigger numbers than Spears in college (1,400-plus yards last season), Spears takes a backseat to almost no one when it comes to ability and will be very motivated to play Kansas State after getting token work against Alcorn State to keep him healthy for this big game.
Spears was not made available for an interview today, but Michael Pratt made it clear how much the offense would rely on him.
"No doubt he's gotta have a huge game, so it will be interesting. The first two games he didn't play a whole ton of snaps trying to keep him healthy and feeling good, so that will be a big bonus is that he's going to come into this game at the highest percentage that he can be, so it's going to be exciting to see what he can do. I don't know of too many defenses that can keep up with him. It will be interesting."
Spears is outwardly humble but has tremendous self belief. You have to figure he will take all the attention Vaughn deservedly is getting--the 5-6 back has similarities to former K State and Saints star Darren Sproles--and show he deserves accolades, too.
"It's going to be a running back battle and a trench battle," Pratt said. "The offensive lines are going to have to step up on both sides. We are going to see a lot from both sides of running backs. I think that will motivate him a little bit."
Spears practiced today, allaying any fears that he might have gotten hurt against Alcorn State, although none of the key guys got any reps in the last part of practice. The running backs being used at that stage were Levi Williams and Josh Coltrin.
Meanwhile, Keith Cooper and Noah Taliancich, who both got hurt in the Alcorn State game, practiced today. Cooper, though, is no longer a starter. Angelo Anderson replaced him as the starter at defensive end on Saturday and continued in that role today along with the usual suspects up front--Darius Hodges, Patrick Jenkins and Eric Hicks. I did not see Taliancich getting 11-on-11 reps, but I arrived a little later than usual.
A pair of true freshmen who made moves in preseason camp have yet to make an impact in the first two games. Center Shadre Hurst, who did not play at all against UMass after being the second-team center for most of August. made an appearance against Alcorn State but is not running with first two groups up front. Cornerback Cadien Robinson, the No. 2 guy behind Jadon Canady for much of camp, is playing sparingly, too. Shi'Keem Laister has passed him on the depth chart. Freshmen have to earn the trust of coaches during games, and those two apparently have not done so to this point.
Fritz, Pratt and Patrick Jenkins talked in the interview room today. I had requested Spears and Jenkins, was outstanding on Alcorn State's opening series, personally making sure the Braves did not go anywhere before they missed a field goal.
Crowd noise played loudly from the stadium speakers throughout 11-on-11 work to get the team prepared for what it will face at Kansas State in its first road game. Attendance was 50,108 for the Missouri game on Saturday at a stadium with an official capacity of 50,000.
Tulane should be catching Kansas State at a good time. The Wildcats made a statement by clobbering SEC opponent Missouri 40-12 on Saturday and they travel to Oklahoma for their Big 12 opener in two weeks. No matter what their coaches say, you have to figure the Wildcats are looking at Tulane's 2-10 record from last year and thinking they will win comfortably. On the other hand, that 28-point win indicates the Wildcats are pretty darn good. This would be Fritz's best road win by a long way at Tulane if the Wave accomplishes it.
FRITZ
"We are excited about the opportunity to go up to Manhattan, Kansas and play Kansas State. I am really impressed with them on videotape. We had a good game last Saturday. We played 103 guys. That might be a record. We had two guys we wanted to get in and weren't able to get them in. It's so rewarding for these guys with all the work they put in and they get a chance to go out there and play in a Division I football game. I think 1.5 percent of high school players actually get the opportunity to go play at the Division I level, and half of those are FCS, so about .75 of high school kids per year get a chance to get on a Division I team. I'm just happy those guys got in there and were able to mix it up and be able to have that in their back pocket the rest of their life."
On K State RB Deuce Vaughn:
"He's outstanding. A really good player. We recruited him a few years back. They jumped all over him and it was a smart move. He's a really good player. Great balance, really explosive. He catches the ball well. He'll block. I think the first game of the year they ran a screen sweep with him leading on the edge for a 75-yard touchdown. He got in the middle of a guy, so he's a complete player."
On what he got out of first two games defensively:
"We tackled well both games. The big thing for us is obviously we are playing a much superior team than what we played the first two weeks. We're going to have to out-populate them at times on the line of scrimmage because if you sit back and play all coverage, they do a good job of getting bodies on bodies out in the open field. This is a little bit more similar to week 1 in regards to the quarterback run. The quarterback is going to carry the ball 10 to 15 times probably on Saturday."
On K State being impressive on Saturday:
"Yeah, they really were. They got after Missouri. I was surprised by how they just really dominated the game. I thought they'd win, but it was in a convincing fashion. They dominated both lines of scrimmage and got on the perimeter and really showed their speed. They've got two quality receivers and both of them are great returners. One of them is a great kickoff return guy and the other guy's a great punt returner, and as I said before, a big part of the run game is the quarterback. When he's running the football. it helps open it up for 22 (Vaughn)."
On QB Adrian Martinez, a transfer from Nebraska:
"He's a very good player. He had a great career at Nebraska and he's now played two really good games at Kansas State."
On Kansas State not passing a ton:
"Obviously we've got to do a good job with the run game, but he was really crisp on two or three RPO throws last Saturday, too, where he threw it with some zip and right on the money, so he's got a good arm also."
On Spears potential impact:
"Huge. We've got to get him going and running. He hasn't a chance to play a whole lot in week 1 and week 2, but he's going to need to carry the ball this week."
On beating Kansas State for Spears' services:
"I always show the parents around this area how much it costs to go up there every weekend. The only trip they can pay for is the visit. Then you have to take your car some place and pay for parking and you have to fly somewhere, then you have to rent a car and drive somewhere and get a couple nights' hotels and you have to do it all over on the way back. Sometimes people don't take that into consideration until they do it for a year, and instead of seeing every game their kid plays, they see two or three. That's what I tell them. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."
More on Spears:
"He's real close with his family. We were fortunate to get him, and he's also a great student. I think he's a 3.5 GPA."
On Phat Watts being out with ACL:
"Yes. Unfortunately. He got hurt on that play. He'll be out for the season. It's a shame because he was really playing well."
That said, I have a feeling the Kansas State game will boil down to a battle of the running backs--the Wildcats' Deuce Vaughn and Tulane's Tyjae Spears. Fritz said he recruited Vaughn out of Round Rocks High in Texas. A year earlier, Tyjae Spears' decision came down to Tulane and Kansas State. Both were rated 5.5 3-star backs by Rivals, and although Vaughn has put up bigger numbers than Spears in college (1,400-plus yards last season), Spears takes a backseat to almost no one when it comes to ability and will be very motivated to play Kansas State after getting token work against Alcorn State to keep him healthy for this big game.
Spears was not made available for an interview today, but Michael Pratt made it clear how much the offense would rely on him.
"No doubt he's gotta have a huge game, so it will be interesting. The first two games he didn't play a whole ton of snaps trying to keep him healthy and feeling good, so that will be a big bonus is that he's going to come into this game at the highest percentage that he can be, so it's going to be exciting to see what he can do. I don't know of too many defenses that can keep up with him. It will be interesting."
Spears is outwardly humble but has tremendous self belief. You have to figure he will take all the attention Vaughn deservedly is getting--the 5-6 back has similarities to former K State and Saints star Darren Sproles--and show he deserves accolades, too.
"It's going to be a running back battle and a trench battle," Pratt said. "The offensive lines are going to have to step up on both sides. We are going to see a lot from both sides of running backs. I think that will motivate him a little bit."
Spears practiced today, allaying any fears that he might have gotten hurt against Alcorn State, although none of the key guys got any reps in the last part of practice. The running backs being used at that stage were Levi Williams and Josh Coltrin.
Meanwhile, Keith Cooper and Noah Taliancich, who both got hurt in the Alcorn State game, practiced today. Cooper, though, is no longer a starter. Angelo Anderson replaced him as the starter at defensive end on Saturday and continued in that role today along with the usual suspects up front--Darius Hodges, Patrick Jenkins and Eric Hicks. I did not see Taliancich getting 11-on-11 reps, but I arrived a little later than usual.
A pair of true freshmen who made moves in preseason camp have yet to make an impact in the first two games. Center Shadre Hurst, who did not play at all against UMass after being the second-team center for most of August. made an appearance against Alcorn State but is not running with first two groups up front. Cornerback Cadien Robinson, the No. 2 guy behind Jadon Canady for much of camp, is playing sparingly, too. Shi'Keem Laister has passed him on the depth chart. Freshmen have to earn the trust of coaches during games, and those two apparently have not done so to this point.
Fritz, Pratt and Patrick Jenkins talked in the interview room today. I had requested Spears and Jenkins, was outstanding on Alcorn State's opening series, personally making sure the Braves did not go anywhere before they missed a field goal.
Crowd noise played loudly from the stadium speakers throughout 11-on-11 work to get the team prepared for what it will face at Kansas State in its first road game. Attendance was 50,108 for the Missouri game on Saturday at a stadium with an official capacity of 50,000.
Tulane should be catching Kansas State at a good time. The Wildcats made a statement by clobbering SEC opponent Missouri 40-12 on Saturday and they travel to Oklahoma for their Big 12 opener in two weeks. No matter what their coaches say, you have to figure the Wildcats are looking at Tulane's 2-10 record from last year and thinking they will win comfortably. On the other hand, that 28-point win indicates the Wildcats are pretty darn good. This would be Fritz's best road win by a long way at Tulane if the Wave accomplishes it.
FRITZ
"We are excited about the opportunity to go up to Manhattan, Kansas and play Kansas State. I am really impressed with them on videotape. We had a good game last Saturday. We played 103 guys. That might be a record. We had two guys we wanted to get in and weren't able to get them in. It's so rewarding for these guys with all the work they put in and they get a chance to go out there and play in a Division I football game. I think 1.5 percent of high school players actually get the opportunity to go play at the Division I level, and half of those are FCS, so about .75 of high school kids per year get a chance to get on a Division I team. I'm just happy those guys got in there and were able to mix it up and be able to have that in their back pocket the rest of their life."
On K State RB Deuce Vaughn:
"He's outstanding. A really good player. We recruited him a few years back. They jumped all over him and it was a smart move. He's a really good player. Great balance, really explosive. He catches the ball well. He'll block. I think the first game of the year they ran a screen sweep with him leading on the edge for a 75-yard touchdown. He got in the middle of a guy, so he's a complete player."
On what he got out of first two games defensively:
"We tackled well both games. The big thing for us is obviously we are playing a much superior team than what we played the first two weeks. We're going to have to out-populate them at times on the line of scrimmage because if you sit back and play all coverage, they do a good job of getting bodies on bodies out in the open field. This is a little bit more similar to week 1 in regards to the quarterback run. The quarterback is going to carry the ball 10 to 15 times probably on Saturday."
On K State being impressive on Saturday:
"Yeah, they really were. They got after Missouri. I was surprised by how they just really dominated the game. I thought they'd win, but it was in a convincing fashion. They dominated both lines of scrimmage and got on the perimeter and really showed their speed. They've got two quality receivers and both of them are great returners. One of them is a great kickoff return guy and the other guy's a great punt returner, and as I said before, a big part of the run game is the quarterback. When he's running the football. it helps open it up for 22 (Vaughn)."
On QB Adrian Martinez, a transfer from Nebraska:
"He's a very good player. He had a great career at Nebraska and he's now played two really good games at Kansas State."
On Kansas State not passing a ton:
"Obviously we've got to do a good job with the run game, but he was really crisp on two or three RPO throws last Saturday, too, where he threw it with some zip and right on the money, so he's got a good arm also."
On Spears potential impact:
"Huge. We've got to get him going and running. He hasn't a chance to play a whole lot in week 1 and week 2, but he's going to need to carry the ball this week."
On beating Kansas State for Spears' services:
"I always show the parents around this area how much it costs to go up there every weekend. The only trip they can pay for is the visit. Then you have to take your car some place and pay for parking and you have to fly somewhere, then you have to rent a car and drive somewhere and get a couple nights' hotels and you have to do it all over on the way back. Sometimes people don't take that into consideration until they do it for a year, and instead of seeing every game their kid plays, they see two or three. That's what I tell them. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."
More on Spears:
"He's real close with his family. We were fortunate to get him, and he's also a great student. I think he's a 3.5 GPA."
On Phat Watts being out with ACL:
"Yes. Unfortunately. He got hurt on that play. He'll be out for the season. It's a shame because he was really playing well."
