Noah Fisher was wearing a brace on his right leg and has been ruled out of the Cincinnati game due to injury, clearing up some of the confusion about what happened to him on the depth chart against Memphis.
I probably whiffed on his injury last week, when my attention was divided. He did not play a down against Memphis, and Willie Fritz is not going to volunteer injury information if reporters don't are not alert enough to notice at an open practice. Two weeks ago, Tyler Johnson got as many reps with the first unit at the end of the week as Fisher, so I just assumed Johnson had beaten him out when Johnson started Friday. Joey Claybrook practiced as the second-team left tackle and likely would go in if Johnson got hurt.
Jonathan Banks was sharp today, looking like he did in the first week of preseason drills. He started having some off days as preseason camp went along, and those issues continued into the first four games before he had a breakout performance against Memphis. He was making quick, on-the-money throws in practice today. Backup Justin McMillan threw a dart to Terren Encalade on an in route but also had some miscommunications. His arm talent continues to be impressive.
The same four hashtag messages repeated on the scoreboard throughout practice:#Tough Guys. # Unselfish. #Beat Cincy and #Compete. Tulane wore the same Angry Wave helmets that debuted against Memphis.
It rained lightly for the last 20 minutes of practice before lightning in the area forced the team into the bowels of Yulman Stadium just as practice was about to end.
There's not much else to report. Devin Glenn is back to 100 percent after missing the Ohio State trip and playing sparingly against Memphis, but he has a tough road ahead of him earning playing time at a deep running back position. Amare Jones looked good today. The coaches have rewarded his practice ability with carries that have not paid off in games yet, but his time is coming.
Here was Fritz:
How has practice been this week?
"It's been OK. We're still learning the game plan right now. Luckily we were able to get a full practice in today. It was kind of tight a little bit. You just have to stay consistent in your preparation, and we've done that."
What is the biggest challenge that Cincinnati presents?
"Well, they are really good. I made the comment the other day that they are the second most talented team in the state of Ohio behind some other group we played a few weeks ago. They are really good. I've recruited against these guys since 2014. Every year has been a great recruiting class and then coach (Luke) Fickell has amped it up even more, so they have quality, quality players. They may be the most talented team in our conference. Last year they were big, tall, long and physical and they kind of tried to find their way offensively, and they found their way. They are a really good inside zone read team. They average probably 6-4, 6-5, 320 or 30 pounds on the offense line. They are big."
Their freshman QB does not look that fast but he has been effective running and throwing the ball. What problem does he present?
"He runs pretty well. I'll be he's a 4.6 kid at the least. He's a smooth strider, so he doesn't look as fast maybe, but when he tucks it and runs it, he does a very nice job."
Does going to Ohio a couple of weeks ago benefit you in any way going back?
"This will be our second time. It's going to be a good atmosphere. They will have a heck of a crowd there. I've had some friends who've played there before, and they told me it's a really good atmosphere."
Will Noah Fisher be out for a while?
"He'll be out this week."
JONATHAN BANKS
How good is this defense you are going to face, and what is going to be the key against Cincinnati?
"Just being able to control the line of scrimmage. They have a real good interior D-line. They are an undefeated team. We just have to be able to come out there and execute."
What was working so well against Memphis for you?
"Just being in a rhythm, having chemistry, getting back in my groove, just being able to make the right reads and making some plays."
What do you mean by getting back in the groove?
"Just being comfortable and just playing football, not thinking too much and playing my game."
Coach Fritz talked about you making quick decisions Friday. Is that what you need to do?
"Yeah, you just have to adjust sometimes. I realized I have to get the ball out quicker and make quicker reads. I was able to do that and had a pretty good idea where I was going with the ball pre-snap, so I was good."
There have been so many big plays in the offense this year. How much is that helping you guys?
"It's helping us tremendously. We've got a lot of great players that I've been mentioning since the offseason. We're just ready to keep this thing rolling, not get too comfortable and go out there and play Cincinnati on Saturday."
Noah Fisher is walking around in a boot. How did you overcome his loss (not my question)?
"Yeah. It's next guy up just like last year. Whoever gets hurt, the next guy has to come in and do a good job of coming in. He (Tyler Johnson) played for us last season, so it's not like it's nothing new for him. He did a tremendous job and is ready to keep going."
This program has had a hard time sustaining victories in the past. How important is to to come off the win against Memphis and play the same way?
"It's huge just to be able to stay consistent. Memphis, they were an undefeated team (actually a one-loss team). Cincinnati is an undefeated team, so obviously we have a big task. It's all about being consistent and kind of taking track of what we did last week and doing the same thing this week with a few adjustments. Teams are going to adjust to us, so we just have to be able to adjust."
Before the season, you talked about trying to get six wins and becoming bowl eligible (actually, I heard them state higher goals than that). Does that create a little bit more of a one-game focus?
"Yeah, it's been tough. Just being able to start out 1-3, I feel like it makes us more hungry. We understood last week was a must-win situation, so we went out there and took care of business. We have to look at every week from here on out. We can't just go win at Cincinnati and be like, oh, we're going to win six games. We have to look at every week just like we did last week."
I probably whiffed on his injury last week, when my attention was divided. He did not play a down against Memphis, and Willie Fritz is not going to volunteer injury information if reporters don't are not alert enough to notice at an open practice. Two weeks ago, Tyler Johnson got as many reps with the first unit at the end of the week as Fisher, so I just assumed Johnson had beaten him out when Johnson started Friday. Joey Claybrook practiced as the second-team left tackle and likely would go in if Johnson got hurt.
Jonathan Banks was sharp today, looking like he did in the first week of preseason drills. He started having some off days as preseason camp went along, and those issues continued into the first four games before he had a breakout performance against Memphis. He was making quick, on-the-money throws in practice today. Backup Justin McMillan threw a dart to Terren Encalade on an in route but also had some miscommunications. His arm talent continues to be impressive.
The same four hashtag messages repeated on the scoreboard throughout practice:#Tough Guys. # Unselfish. #Beat Cincy and #Compete. Tulane wore the same Angry Wave helmets that debuted against Memphis.
It rained lightly for the last 20 minutes of practice before lightning in the area forced the team into the bowels of Yulman Stadium just as practice was about to end.
There's not much else to report. Devin Glenn is back to 100 percent after missing the Ohio State trip and playing sparingly against Memphis, but he has a tough road ahead of him earning playing time at a deep running back position. Amare Jones looked good today. The coaches have rewarded his practice ability with carries that have not paid off in games yet, but his time is coming.
Here was Fritz:
How has practice been this week?
"It's been OK. We're still learning the game plan right now. Luckily we were able to get a full practice in today. It was kind of tight a little bit. You just have to stay consistent in your preparation, and we've done that."
What is the biggest challenge that Cincinnati presents?
"Well, they are really good. I made the comment the other day that they are the second most talented team in the state of Ohio behind some other group we played a few weeks ago. They are really good. I've recruited against these guys since 2014. Every year has been a great recruiting class and then coach (Luke) Fickell has amped it up even more, so they have quality, quality players. They may be the most talented team in our conference. Last year they were big, tall, long and physical and they kind of tried to find their way offensively, and they found their way. They are a really good inside zone read team. They average probably 6-4, 6-5, 320 or 30 pounds on the offense line. They are big."
Their freshman QB does not look that fast but he has been effective running and throwing the ball. What problem does he present?
"He runs pretty well. I'll be he's a 4.6 kid at the least. He's a smooth strider, so he doesn't look as fast maybe, but when he tucks it and runs it, he does a very nice job."
Does going to Ohio a couple of weeks ago benefit you in any way going back?
"This will be our second time. It's going to be a good atmosphere. They will have a heck of a crowd there. I've had some friends who've played there before, and they told me it's a really good atmosphere."
Will Noah Fisher be out for a while?
"He'll be out this week."
JONATHAN BANKS
How good is this defense you are going to face, and what is going to be the key against Cincinnati?
"Just being able to control the line of scrimmage. They have a real good interior D-line. They are an undefeated team. We just have to be able to come out there and execute."
What was working so well against Memphis for you?
"Just being in a rhythm, having chemistry, getting back in my groove, just being able to make the right reads and making some plays."
What do you mean by getting back in the groove?
"Just being comfortable and just playing football, not thinking too much and playing my game."
Coach Fritz talked about you making quick decisions Friday. Is that what you need to do?
"Yeah, you just have to adjust sometimes. I realized I have to get the ball out quicker and make quicker reads. I was able to do that and had a pretty good idea where I was going with the ball pre-snap, so I was good."
There have been so many big plays in the offense this year. How much is that helping you guys?
"It's helping us tremendously. We've got a lot of great players that I've been mentioning since the offseason. We're just ready to keep this thing rolling, not get too comfortable and go out there and play Cincinnati on Saturday."
Noah Fisher is walking around in a boot. How did you overcome his loss (not my question)?
"Yeah. It's next guy up just like last year. Whoever gets hurt, the next guy has to come in and do a good job of coming in. He (Tyler Johnson) played for us last season, so it's not like it's nothing new for him. He did a tremendous job and is ready to keep going."
This program has had a hard time sustaining victories in the past. How important is to to come off the win against Memphis and play the same way?
"It's huge just to be able to stay consistent. Memphis, they were an undefeated team (actually a one-loss team). Cincinnati is an undefeated team, so obviously we have a big task. It's all about being consistent and kind of taking track of what we did last week and doing the same thing this week with a few adjustments. Teams are going to adjust to us, so we just have to be able to adjust."
Before the season, you talked about trying to get six wins and becoming bowl eligible (actually, I heard them state higher goals than that). Does that create a little bit more of a one-game focus?
"Yeah, it's been tough. Just being able to start out 1-3, I feel like it makes us more hungry. We understood last week was a must-win situation, so we went out there and took care of business. We have to look at every week from here on out. We can't just go win at Cincinnati and be like, oh, we're going to win six games. We have to look at every week just like we did last week."
