Tulane, which got a head start to Auburn week with a full practice yesterday, worked out again on a humid morning at Yulman Stadium. Sensing his guys dragging during the end of the workout in scout-team action, one of the defensive coaches yelled,"It's hot, your tired," sarcastically. adding they needed to be tougher if they wanted to beat Auburn.
Willie Fritz had noised piped in from start to finish during 11-on-11 work, with a mix tape that included crowd noise, fight songs and pop songs, including "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. I'm dating myself there. I see a lot of young writers reference the hip-hop songs at basketball games and I've never heard of the group or the song.
Tight end Tyrick James, who had a nice game against FIU, struggled to catch a few passes today. If I was surprised by anything on Thursday, it was his involvement in the passing game. I'd seen it in flashes during camp but not consistently. It will be interesting to see if he can build on that performance because it gives the offense another valuable weapon.
The running backs were terrific as always against FIU, gaining 288 yards on 34 carries while catching four passes for another 39 yards. I would expect them to have more receptions this week to take advantage of Auburn's aggressiveness, but regardless, this is a talented group. All seven scholarship running backs were productive against FIU, with Darius Bradwell the feature guy (13 rushes, 90 yards) as expected, Stephon Huderson more effective than last year (seven carries, 47 yards) and Corey Dauphine serving as the home-run hitter again. I field more questions from fans about Dauphine than any other player wondering why he does not play more. The answer is simple: Bradwell is the best, most consistent back on the team. Dauphine came in against a reeling defense and was outstanding on all three of his carries, including his 50-yard sprint, but he is not as consistent as Bradwell in games on in practice. His workload likely will increase, but man, what a weapon to have at your disposal as a fresh runner against a tired defense.
Amare Jones, a jack of all trades, is being used the right way by Will Hall. He started at slotback and had a nifty touchdown on a misdirection play. He is pumped for the Auburn game and I expect him to get more than the five touches (for 48 yards) he had against FIU.
"He can do a lot of things," Willie Fritz said. "He can catch the ball and he runs great routes. He could start for you at receiver. He could start for you at running back. He can start for you in the super back position (slotback) we've got now. He's a Swiss army knife. He does everything well. Catches punts, kickoffs. You could run him down on the kickoff team and he'd be good. He loves practicing. He's maybe the hardest practicing guy we've got. He's certainly in the top five, I know that."
Cameron Carroll, Tyjae Spears and Ygenio Booker were effective in garbage time. Carrroll ran eight times for 44 yards. Spears had a pair of 6-yard runs. Booker showed his speed, second to Dauphine's among this group, on a 19-yard run.
I'm not sure there will be a role for those three guys against Auburn, but Tulane is in wonderful shape for now and the future at running. Auburn's starting running back, JaTarvious Whitlow. likely would not be starting for Tulane at the position if he had signed with the Green Wave as expected in 2017. He probably would be at receiver, but if had moved to running back at Tulane, too, he would have faced serious competition.
"The best thing about it is they are an unselfish room," Fritz said. "In this day and age that doesn't happen very often where guys are rooting for other guys when they do things right, and these guys all do. I think it's led by Darius Bradwell. He's doing some things he hasn't had to do here his first few years such as blocking. He had a nice block on one of the plays, a pass play we slid the wrong way and he had to pick up a defensive end and it allowed Justin (McMillan) to have an extra count to throw the ball to (Darnell) Mooney in the corner. There's a lot of good players."
Look for Jeffery Johnson to start at nose tackle against Auburn. He did not start against FIU because he was limited last week in practice by an injury, but he looked good when he entered for the second series and rotated with Davon Wright the rest of the way. Wright still is not listed on the two-deep depth chart, but that's incorrect info. He will play a lot.
Tulane is two-deep just about everywhere on defense with the exception of the interior line, where Jeffery Johnson, Wright and DeAndre Williams, who was very active again versus FIU, are the main guys. Michael Hinton, Juan Monjarres and Carlos Hatcher can play on the outside, although Patrick Johnson and Cam Sample won't come off the field a ton. Malik Lawal and Nick Anderson are solid No. 2 linebackers. Tirise Barge at nickel, Chris Joyce and Willie Langham at cornerback and Macon Clark and Larry Brooks at safety all are capable of playing very well. Langham was victimized a couple of times Thursday, but he also had one of Tulane's two sacks on a blitz.
The second-team offensive line today was Timothy Shafter, Stephen Lewerenz, Sincere Haynesworth, Ben Knutson and Cameron Jackel, which is exactly what Tulane has listed.
I talked to Dauphine one-on-one after practice.
DAUPHINE
Your first carry came on Tulane's fourth possession, and you immediately ran 12 yards and then another 14 for a touchdown. Were those your first plays?
"Yes, that was my first series. When my number is called, I just wanted to make the best of it. That was in my mind, just making the best of every carry that I get."
You had a 50-yard touchdown on your next carry in the third quarter. What makes you so tough?
"Just me getting underlooked and knowing my situation and knowing that I have to give it my all every single play to make a name for myself is what drives me every time I get in a game."
There are so many good running backs on this roster. How much do you drive each other?
"We drive each other so much. We make sure we're on top of our game. That's the reason why I feel like I have to up my game to match theirs. That's pretty much good."
When did you know you were gone on the 50-yard TD run?
"Actually, I checked the defense out and noticed that I couldn't run on the side where the play was originally supposed to go, so I had to go backside. I knew my coaches weren't going to be cool with it, but I just noticed an opening, and when it happened I just knew I was going to hit it full speed and I knew nobody was going to catch me."
Coach Fritz says there are not many guys as fast as you in college football. Do you agree with him?
"Oh yeah. I run track when football season is over with during the spring. I make sure I maintain that speed and not get too much lazy."
Jaylon Monroe says you and he are the two fastest guys on the team. Are you faster?
"I think I've got him. If we go on the track, I think I've got them."
Coach Fritz says there are no egos in the running back room, which he added was rare to have it not become an issue?
"It's not an issue with me because I just want to win games. If they feel like that running back is helping us win, that's great with me. All I have on my mind is winning, and when my time has come, I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team win."
How much are you looking forward to this game at Auburn?
"I'm looking forward because actually my friend from back home, who I shared carries with, plays running back at Auburn. Cam Martin. That's my dog. We have been through so much together, and for us to play our last years against each other is great."
It didn't go well at Ohio State last year. How different is this Tulane team?
"I feel like we know what's at task and we know who we are going against and we know what we are going against and I feel like we are more mentally prepared and are getting there."
How smoothly did the offense run the other night?
"It was smooth. We still have some things to work on, but it was smooth."
And here's an interesting quote from Fritz on Dauphine:
"You watch him in practice, and I told Will (Hall) this a couple of weeks ago, you get in a game now and he's going to have a different gear. He's fast. 20.7 200 meters is fast. There are not many guys that can run that fast in the world, and he's one of them."
Willie Fritz had noised piped in from start to finish during 11-on-11 work, with a mix tape that included crowd noise, fight songs and pop songs, including "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. I'm dating myself there. I see a lot of young writers reference the hip-hop songs at basketball games and I've never heard of the group or the song.
Tight end Tyrick James, who had a nice game against FIU, struggled to catch a few passes today. If I was surprised by anything on Thursday, it was his involvement in the passing game. I'd seen it in flashes during camp but not consistently. It will be interesting to see if he can build on that performance because it gives the offense another valuable weapon.
The running backs were terrific as always against FIU, gaining 288 yards on 34 carries while catching four passes for another 39 yards. I would expect them to have more receptions this week to take advantage of Auburn's aggressiveness, but regardless, this is a talented group. All seven scholarship running backs were productive against FIU, with Darius Bradwell the feature guy (13 rushes, 90 yards) as expected, Stephon Huderson more effective than last year (seven carries, 47 yards) and Corey Dauphine serving as the home-run hitter again. I field more questions from fans about Dauphine than any other player wondering why he does not play more. The answer is simple: Bradwell is the best, most consistent back on the team. Dauphine came in against a reeling defense and was outstanding on all three of his carries, including his 50-yard sprint, but he is not as consistent as Bradwell in games on in practice. His workload likely will increase, but man, what a weapon to have at your disposal as a fresh runner against a tired defense.
Amare Jones, a jack of all trades, is being used the right way by Will Hall. He started at slotback and had a nifty touchdown on a misdirection play. He is pumped for the Auburn game and I expect him to get more than the five touches (for 48 yards) he had against FIU.
"He can do a lot of things," Willie Fritz said. "He can catch the ball and he runs great routes. He could start for you at receiver. He could start for you at running back. He can start for you in the super back position (slotback) we've got now. He's a Swiss army knife. He does everything well. Catches punts, kickoffs. You could run him down on the kickoff team and he'd be good. He loves practicing. He's maybe the hardest practicing guy we've got. He's certainly in the top five, I know that."
Cameron Carroll, Tyjae Spears and Ygenio Booker were effective in garbage time. Carrroll ran eight times for 44 yards. Spears had a pair of 6-yard runs. Booker showed his speed, second to Dauphine's among this group, on a 19-yard run.
I'm not sure there will be a role for those three guys against Auburn, but Tulane is in wonderful shape for now and the future at running. Auburn's starting running back, JaTarvious Whitlow. likely would not be starting for Tulane at the position if he had signed with the Green Wave as expected in 2017. He probably would be at receiver, but if had moved to running back at Tulane, too, he would have faced serious competition.
"The best thing about it is they are an unselfish room," Fritz said. "In this day and age that doesn't happen very often where guys are rooting for other guys when they do things right, and these guys all do. I think it's led by Darius Bradwell. He's doing some things he hasn't had to do here his first few years such as blocking. He had a nice block on one of the plays, a pass play we slid the wrong way and he had to pick up a defensive end and it allowed Justin (McMillan) to have an extra count to throw the ball to (Darnell) Mooney in the corner. There's a lot of good players."
Look for Jeffery Johnson to start at nose tackle against Auburn. He did not start against FIU because he was limited last week in practice by an injury, but he looked good when he entered for the second series and rotated with Davon Wright the rest of the way. Wright still is not listed on the two-deep depth chart, but that's incorrect info. He will play a lot.
Tulane is two-deep just about everywhere on defense with the exception of the interior line, where Jeffery Johnson, Wright and DeAndre Williams, who was very active again versus FIU, are the main guys. Michael Hinton, Juan Monjarres and Carlos Hatcher can play on the outside, although Patrick Johnson and Cam Sample won't come off the field a ton. Malik Lawal and Nick Anderson are solid No. 2 linebackers. Tirise Barge at nickel, Chris Joyce and Willie Langham at cornerback and Macon Clark and Larry Brooks at safety all are capable of playing very well. Langham was victimized a couple of times Thursday, but he also had one of Tulane's two sacks on a blitz.
The second-team offensive line today was Timothy Shafter, Stephen Lewerenz, Sincere Haynesworth, Ben Knutson and Cameron Jackel, which is exactly what Tulane has listed.
I talked to Dauphine one-on-one after practice.
DAUPHINE
Your first carry came on Tulane's fourth possession, and you immediately ran 12 yards and then another 14 for a touchdown. Were those your first plays?
"Yes, that was my first series. When my number is called, I just wanted to make the best of it. That was in my mind, just making the best of every carry that I get."
You had a 50-yard touchdown on your next carry in the third quarter. What makes you so tough?
"Just me getting underlooked and knowing my situation and knowing that I have to give it my all every single play to make a name for myself is what drives me every time I get in a game."
There are so many good running backs on this roster. How much do you drive each other?
"We drive each other so much. We make sure we're on top of our game. That's the reason why I feel like I have to up my game to match theirs. That's pretty much good."
When did you know you were gone on the 50-yard TD run?
"Actually, I checked the defense out and noticed that I couldn't run on the side where the play was originally supposed to go, so I had to go backside. I knew my coaches weren't going to be cool with it, but I just noticed an opening, and when it happened I just knew I was going to hit it full speed and I knew nobody was going to catch me."
Coach Fritz says there are not many guys as fast as you in college football. Do you agree with him?
"Oh yeah. I run track when football season is over with during the spring. I make sure I maintain that speed and not get too much lazy."
Jaylon Monroe says you and he are the two fastest guys on the team. Are you faster?
"I think I've got him. If we go on the track, I think I've got them."
Coach Fritz says there are no egos in the running back room, which he added was rare to have it not become an issue?
"It's not an issue with me because I just want to win games. If they feel like that running back is helping us win, that's great with me. All I have on my mind is winning, and when my time has come, I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team win."
How much are you looking forward to this game at Auburn?
"I'm looking forward because actually my friend from back home, who I shared carries with, plays running back at Auburn. Cam Martin. That's my dog. We have been through so much together, and for us to play our last years against each other is great."
It didn't go well at Ohio State last year. How different is this Tulane team?
"I feel like we know what's at task and we know who we are going against and we know what we are going against and I feel like we are more mentally prepared and are getting there."
How smoothly did the offense run the other night?
"It was smooth. We still have some things to work on, but it was smooth."
And here's an interesting quote from Fritz on Dauphine:
"You watch him in practice, and I told Will (Hall) this a couple of weeks ago, you get in a game now and he's going to have a different gear. He's fast. 20.7 200 meters is fast. There are not many guys that can run that fast in the world, and he's one of them."
