In what figures to be a welcome change to many, look for Tulane to announce a change a placekicker some time this week. I should have caught this yesterday but I never looked at the depth chart buried in the back of the release they handed out after Willie Fritz' press conference. Walk-ons Merek Glover and Randy Harvey were listed as co-No. 1s with Neenan No. 3.
Operating in the dark, I asked to interview Coby Neenan after practice today for a story on his extra-point issues and the kicking game in general. He was not made available, and now I know why. I asked Fritz if Neenan would be the kicker against Oklahoma, and here was his response:
"We'll probably announce it here in the next day or two."
Fritz added Neenan had the same issue on his extra point miss against Navy as his two misses against Grambling. It's hard to believe any other kicker has missed three extra points already.
I would expect the new guy to be Glover, but that depends on how they kicked in a competition that occurred before I arrived at practice yesterday. Glover kicked off on Tulane's first two opportunities against Grambling before Zach Block took over, he was listed as the No. 2 kicker for the first two weeks and he was on the travel squad for the Navy game rather than Harvey.
Glover, from Long Island, joined the team during the year last year and is listed as a sophomore. I know nothing else about him. Harvey appeared to out-kick Neenan in the limited time I saw them in the spring, but his leg strength is an issue.
Fritz never seriously considered sending Neenan out for a 49-yard field that would have given Tulane a 24-23 lead in the fourth quarter against Navy, going for a fourth-and-5 that ended on an incomplete pass. No one who has watched Tulane's kicking game would second guess him on that one. The lack of a trustworthy kicker has a huge effect.
"It affects you, it really does," Fritz said. "That's a tough spot to put a guy in regardless. That's a long field goal and there was a little wind, and you don't know how many times you are going to get down there. We felt like our opportunity to get a first down was greater than our opportunity of having a (field goal) make."
In other practice news, Jonathan Banks threw early again today but did not get any team reps, so it's more and more apparent that Johnathan Brantley will start, although I don't expect an official statement about it from Fritz. That's not his style on injuries. Rod Teamer did not practice, either, but it was Taris Shenall instead of P.J. Hall alongside Chase Kuerschen in the 11-on-11 part of practice I watched. I'm sure all three of them will play a lot.
Second-string tight end Kendall Ardoin, who went to the locker room in the second half against Navy, left due to an illness rather than an injury. He has not practiced this week.
"He's been sick," Fritz said. "We're hoping that he got better today and is going to be able to go."
Fritz is optimistic Corey Dauphine will be back at practice in a few weeks.
"He's doing better," Fritz said. "I would think he'd be pretty close to full speed after the bye week."
Instead of doing scout team work, the starters practiced against the starters today and the backups worked against the backups, with some mixing and matching as the Wave continued to get ready for Oklahoma.
"It went all right," Fritz said with a more upbeat tone than the words indicated. "We did a little bit more good on good. There are some similarities with what they do and what we do, so we try to do that when we can. That way you don't have to draw up cards and we can call something similar to what we run defensively or offensively. It was good. The first part of the week we really front load everything with lifting and practice and then we taper off toward the end. You've got to be able to fight through it."
Fritz is excited about the opportunity to face Oklahoma, and he challenged his players Monday during a team meeting.
"One of the first things I told our guys was how many guys think they can play in the NFL," he said. "A bunch of dudes raised their hand. I said all right, show it here Saturday. I know they are one of the top teams in the country and are going to have a bunch of guys drafted. Show it here. The scouts coming in to Tulane to look at guys are going to look at the Oklahoma game."
Tulane's secondary members talked about wanting to be one of the best defensive back groups in the country in the preseason. This is a chance for them to back up that bold talk.
"We've got some good corners," Fritz said. "There's always a game within a game, and one of the neat things is their guys play in a lot of the kicking game, too. Shoot, let's see what you do. Compete against them in all facets."
Fritz also praised the linebackers. Rae Juan Marbley, Luke Jackson and Zach Harris, the guys who play by far the most, have combined for 34 tackles, with Marbley leading the team at 13, Jackson tied for second at 11 and Harris right behind with 10. Jackson has a team-best 2.5 sacks as well.
"They've done a nice job, they really have," Fritz said. "They've done a good job of understanding what we're doing. They are smart players, they don't make very many mistakes, they do their job and they make plays when they're there."
Upon further review, I am backtracking on my statement about Donnie Lewis a couple of days ago. I stand by the part about him playing well for the most part this year, but he definitely had to make that tackle on the 79-yard touchdown. He told me today he tried to wrap up too high and should have tackled him lower.
Operating in the dark, I asked to interview Coby Neenan after practice today for a story on his extra-point issues and the kicking game in general. He was not made available, and now I know why. I asked Fritz if Neenan would be the kicker against Oklahoma, and here was his response:
"We'll probably announce it here in the next day or two."
Fritz added Neenan had the same issue on his extra point miss against Navy as his two misses against Grambling. It's hard to believe any other kicker has missed three extra points already.
I would expect the new guy to be Glover, but that depends on how they kicked in a competition that occurred before I arrived at practice yesterday. Glover kicked off on Tulane's first two opportunities against Grambling before Zach Block took over, he was listed as the No. 2 kicker for the first two weeks and he was on the travel squad for the Navy game rather than Harvey.
Glover, from Long Island, joined the team during the year last year and is listed as a sophomore. I know nothing else about him. Harvey appeared to out-kick Neenan in the limited time I saw them in the spring, but his leg strength is an issue.
Fritz never seriously considered sending Neenan out for a 49-yard field that would have given Tulane a 24-23 lead in the fourth quarter against Navy, going for a fourth-and-5 that ended on an incomplete pass. No one who has watched Tulane's kicking game would second guess him on that one. The lack of a trustworthy kicker has a huge effect.
"It affects you, it really does," Fritz said. "That's a tough spot to put a guy in regardless. That's a long field goal and there was a little wind, and you don't know how many times you are going to get down there. We felt like our opportunity to get a first down was greater than our opportunity of having a (field goal) make."
In other practice news, Jonathan Banks threw early again today but did not get any team reps, so it's more and more apparent that Johnathan Brantley will start, although I don't expect an official statement about it from Fritz. That's not his style on injuries. Rod Teamer did not practice, either, but it was Taris Shenall instead of P.J. Hall alongside Chase Kuerschen in the 11-on-11 part of practice I watched. I'm sure all three of them will play a lot.
Second-string tight end Kendall Ardoin, who went to the locker room in the second half against Navy, left due to an illness rather than an injury. He has not practiced this week.
"He's been sick," Fritz said. "We're hoping that he got better today and is going to be able to go."
Fritz is optimistic Corey Dauphine will be back at practice in a few weeks.
"He's doing better," Fritz said. "I would think he'd be pretty close to full speed after the bye week."
Instead of doing scout team work, the starters practiced against the starters today and the backups worked against the backups, with some mixing and matching as the Wave continued to get ready for Oklahoma.
"It went all right," Fritz said with a more upbeat tone than the words indicated. "We did a little bit more good on good. There are some similarities with what they do and what we do, so we try to do that when we can. That way you don't have to draw up cards and we can call something similar to what we run defensively or offensively. It was good. The first part of the week we really front load everything with lifting and practice and then we taper off toward the end. You've got to be able to fight through it."
Fritz is excited about the opportunity to face Oklahoma, and he challenged his players Monday during a team meeting.
"One of the first things I told our guys was how many guys think they can play in the NFL," he said. "A bunch of dudes raised their hand. I said all right, show it here Saturday. I know they are one of the top teams in the country and are going to have a bunch of guys drafted. Show it here. The scouts coming in to Tulane to look at guys are going to look at the Oklahoma game."
Tulane's secondary members talked about wanting to be one of the best defensive back groups in the country in the preseason. This is a chance for them to back up that bold talk.
"We've got some good corners," Fritz said. "There's always a game within a game, and one of the neat things is their guys play in a lot of the kicking game, too. Shoot, let's see what you do. Compete against them in all facets."
Fritz also praised the linebackers. Rae Juan Marbley, Luke Jackson and Zach Harris, the guys who play by far the most, have combined for 34 tackles, with Marbley leading the team at 13, Jackson tied for second at 11 and Harris right behind with 10. Jackson has a team-best 2.5 sacks as well.
"They've done a nice job, they really have," Fritz said. "They've done a good job of understanding what we're doing. They are smart players, they don't make very many mistakes, they do their job and they make plays when they're there."
Upon further review, I am backtracking on my statement about Donnie Lewis a couple of days ago. I stand by the part about him playing well for the most part this year, but he definitely had to make that tackle on the 79-yard touchdown. He told me today he tried to wrap up too high and should have tackled him lower.