As I suspected, Eldrick Washington is done for the year for Tulane, meaning his Green Wave career is over.
Willie Fritz confirmed Washington torn a knee ligament against FIU on Saturday night, and the recovery time will go well past the end of his redshirt senior year.
It's rough news not only because of the loss of a starter, but because he is a hard-working guy who does everything the right way. My spies tell me Washington, a Helen Cox High product, showed up at his first class 15 minutes early on Monday and was in the weight room on time to work out even though he knew his career was over. He is going to be the feature story on the Tulane game program for South Florida --he plays the bass and drums with New Orleans bands in his spare time--and they decided not to make a change even though he won't be able to play.
Washington finishes his career with 38 tackles. He started only once until this season, when he started all six games at defensive end.
It turns out Peter Woullard, a potential replacement for Washington, is not hurt. He's just fallen down the depth chart. Fritz said he thought Woullard might have played a few downs against FIU but was not sure. Cameron Sample, who has been very productive with 17 tackles, the most for any Tulane lineman, will start in Washington's place. Looking at Tulane's notes, I see Patrick Johnson is listed as the backup to Ade Aruna, so maybe redshirt freshman De'Andre Williams will be Sample's backup. Williams has played in all six games, making six tackles.
Robert Kennedy was in uniform today but did not have a helmet, so he still has not been cleared to practice. I'll get an update on him tomorrow. His return would be a huge help for a line that got pushed around a little bit against FIU. Before getting hurt last year, he was the Wave's second best defensive end behind Ade Aruna.
Offensive tackle Joey Claybrook got hurt in Tuesday's practice, something I forgot to mention. I'm not sure about the extent of his injury, but he was being redshirted anyway.
Caught up with offensive coordinator Doug Ruse after practice today. Here's what he had to say:
What was off in the passing game against FIU? I know it was a team-wide thing, but how do you get it corrected?
"It was a team-wide effort. We struggled in protection at times. We struggled to get open at times, and we struggled to hit the spot with the ball at times. We had seven or eight times in that game where we were off by six inches that were potentially big plays that may change the outcome. We had a fourth-down opportunity when we had a busted assignment with a guy open. It was a group effort, but it's been addressed. Why we had those issues I just don't know. That was kind of the story of the night. We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. That's part of football. You can't have them. You've got to prepare great during the week, knowing you're going to know what to do, and execute fast on Saturday."
You didn't throw a lot, but the matchups were there for big plays. How badly did you need to hit those shots?
"They were playing straight man, cover zero and daring us to throw the ball, and like I said, we had ample opportunity over the course of the game. We just were not able to connect."
Jonathan Banks was off. What did you tell him and what does he need to do better?
"It's kind of the coaches' go-to. We didn't have a great week of preparation at the quarterback position and all positions offensively, and that's the way we played. Whether that's the reason, you don't know, but as a coach that's how you attack it. You prepare at the top of your game all week and you expect to go out and play at the top of the game on Saturday. We just were out of rhythm. They played their tails off against us. Give them credit. They beat our butts."
Fritz said Dontrell Hilliard should have gotten the ball more, but he added hindsight was 20-20. What are your thoughts?
"Every game I've even been a part of that we lost, that's always been a part of the deal--you evaluate what you should have done different. We definitely had our moments in this game, but like I said, if we hit on a couple of those big opportunities we had in the throwing game, nobody's second-guessing anything. Yeah, knowing what I know now, I wish we would have fed Dontrell more."
What worries you about South Florida's defense?
"They are freakishly fast and athletic, and the thing that's amazing about these guys, they are returning nine guys defensively and were one of the lowest-ranked defenses in the country a year ago and are just playing lights out. The thing they're doing, and it's kind of our m.o., too, they are winning because they have a huge advantage in the turnover/takeaway, and because they're taking the ball away and they are scoring points offensively, they are forcing people to try to do things that really doesn't suit them, and that's what's creating mistakes and that's what's leading to turnovers. They are playing great complementary football as a team right now, and that's what we've got to do against those guys. We talk about ball security every week, but it's never been more important than this week. That's why these guys are winning. They are plus-14 in turnover (differential)."
How do you attack their run defense?
"We always check the stats. That's the first thing we do to see where they're ranked rushing, passing, but at the end of the day it really doesn't matter. It's execution. You've got to go out and do what you do. If you try to become something you're not, it's going to bite you in the tail. We've got to go out and do what we do. That's not giving you a whole lot of information, but that's the truth. We've got to be ourselves."
Banks appears tough mentally. Some guys might struggled to bounce back from a game liek he had against FIU, but are you confident he will be OK?
"That's not his mindset. He's not that kind of guy. The thing about the quarterback position is you get too much praise when things go good and too much blame when things go bad. You have to be the same guy every day. You have to feel good all the time. There's no extreme highs or extreme lows. Be the same guy every play, every week, every game."
Coming off a game like that, is there any better opportunity to bounce back than a game against a team like USF?
"I expect not just the quarterback, but as a team we'll bounce back. We're playing a heck of an opponent. We'll have to play our tails off, but I feel very good that we'll do just that."
Willie Fritz confirmed Washington torn a knee ligament against FIU on Saturday night, and the recovery time will go well past the end of his redshirt senior year.
It's rough news not only because of the loss of a starter, but because he is a hard-working guy who does everything the right way. My spies tell me Washington, a Helen Cox High product, showed up at his first class 15 minutes early on Monday and was in the weight room on time to work out even though he knew his career was over. He is going to be the feature story on the Tulane game program for South Florida --he plays the bass and drums with New Orleans bands in his spare time--and they decided not to make a change even though he won't be able to play.
Washington finishes his career with 38 tackles. He started only once until this season, when he started all six games at defensive end.
It turns out Peter Woullard, a potential replacement for Washington, is not hurt. He's just fallen down the depth chart. Fritz said he thought Woullard might have played a few downs against FIU but was not sure. Cameron Sample, who has been very productive with 17 tackles, the most for any Tulane lineman, will start in Washington's place. Looking at Tulane's notes, I see Patrick Johnson is listed as the backup to Ade Aruna, so maybe redshirt freshman De'Andre Williams will be Sample's backup. Williams has played in all six games, making six tackles.
Robert Kennedy was in uniform today but did not have a helmet, so he still has not been cleared to practice. I'll get an update on him tomorrow. His return would be a huge help for a line that got pushed around a little bit against FIU. Before getting hurt last year, he was the Wave's second best defensive end behind Ade Aruna.
Offensive tackle Joey Claybrook got hurt in Tuesday's practice, something I forgot to mention. I'm not sure about the extent of his injury, but he was being redshirted anyway.
Caught up with offensive coordinator Doug Ruse after practice today. Here's what he had to say:
What was off in the passing game against FIU? I know it was a team-wide thing, but how do you get it corrected?
"It was a team-wide effort. We struggled in protection at times. We struggled to get open at times, and we struggled to hit the spot with the ball at times. We had seven or eight times in that game where we were off by six inches that were potentially big plays that may change the outcome. We had a fourth-down opportunity when we had a busted assignment with a guy open. It was a group effort, but it's been addressed. Why we had those issues I just don't know. That was kind of the story of the night. We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. That's part of football. You can't have them. You've got to prepare great during the week, knowing you're going to know what to do, and execute fast on Saturday."
You didn't throw a lot, but the matchups were there for big plays. How badly did you need to hit those shots?
"They were playing straight man, cover zero and daring us to throw the ball, and like I said, we had ample opportunity over the course of the game. We just were not able to connect."
Jonathan Banks was off. What did you tell him and what does he need to do better?
"It's kind of the coaches' go-to. We didn't have a great week of preparation at the quarterback position and all positions offensively, and that's the way we played. Whether that's the reason, you don't know, but as a coach that's how you attack it. You prepare at the top of your game all week and you expect to go out and play at the top of the game on Saturday. We just were out of rhythm. They played their tails off against us. Give them credit. They beat our butts."
Fritz said Dontrell Hilliard should have gotten the ball more, but he added hindsight was 20-20. What are your thoughts?
"Every game I've even been a part of that we lost, that's always been a part of the deal--you evaluate what you should have done different. We definitely had our moments in this game, but like I said, if we hit on a couple of those big opportunities we had in the throwing game, nobody's second-guessing anything. Yeah, knowing what I know now, I wish we would have fed Dontrell more."
What worries you about South Florida's defense?
"They are freakishly fast and athletic, and the thing that's amazing about these guys, they are returning nine guys defensively and were one of the lowest-ranked defenses in the country a year ago and are just playing lights out. The thing they're doing, and it's kind of our m.o., too, they are winning because they have a huge advantage in the turnover/takeaway, and because they're taking the ball away and they are scoring points offensively, they are forcing people to try to do things that really doesn't suit them, and that's what's creating mistakes and that's what's leading to turnovers. They are playing great complementary football as a team right now, and that's what we've got to do against those guys. We talk about ball security every week, but it's never been more important than this week. That's why these guys are winning. They are plus-14 in turnover (differential)."
How do you attack their run defense?
"We always check the stats. That's the first thing we do to see where they're ranked rushing, passing, but at the end of the day it really doesn't matter. It's execution. You've got to go out and do what you do. If you try to become something you're not, it's going to bite you in the tail. We've got to go out and do what we do. That's not giving you a whole lot of information, but that's the truth. We've got to be ourselves."
Banks appears tough mentally. Some guys might struggled to bounce back from a game liek he had against FIU, but are you confident he will be OK?
"That's not his mindset. He's not that kind of guy. The thing about the quarterback position is you get too much praise when things go good and too much blame when things go bad. You have to be the same guy every day. You have to feel good all the time. There's no extreme highs or extreme lows. Be the same guy every play, every week, every game."
Coming off a game like that, is there any better opportunity to bounce back than a game against a team like USF?
"I expect not just the quarterback, but as a team we'll bounce back. We're playing a heck of an opponent. We'll have to play our tails off, but I feel very good that we'll do just that."