Tulane moved its practice to the Saints indoor facility because of heavy rain in the area but had to finish it about 20 minutes earlier than planned --at 10 a.m. on the dot--to make room for the Saints, who are preparing for Sunday's game against the New York Giants.
I saw maybe the last five minutes, but that was enough time to watch Justin McMillan's arm talent show again. He threw a seed to Darnell Mooney for a touchdown on a skinny post, then zinged an out route that bounced off Jacob Robertson's hands. You have to have strong hands to reel in passes with that much zip on them, particularly when you are not used to it. I heard McMillan also threw a couple of beautiful strikes in 7-on-7 drills before I got there.
The team was rushed when it left the building, so I forgot to get confirmation from Fritz that Charles Jones and Kendall Ardoin would play against Houston on Friday. No one from the sports information staff was there, but I did ask Fritz a few questions.
Did you have to end practice early?
We ended about 15 or 20 minutes early, but we got some stuff in. It was lucky we did (considering the threatening weather around New Orleans).
How has the prep work gone for Memphis?
"Oh, it hasn't been bad. Obviously we were lucky to be able to come over here or we might not have been able to practice. So we were able to get it in. Both teams have short weeks. That's just the way it is."
What's your experience with short weeks?
"I've had a bunch of them, mostly Thursday night games. Sometimes you try to pack everything in. We went ahead and took Sunday off like we normally do just so we could prep and get ready, then we really turned the page and forgot about the last game and worked on corrections and things like that. Otherwise, we moved on."
Justin McMillan played a few series against Ohio State. Is there a plan or a package for him to get in the game on Friday?
"He's getting pretty close to having a good knowledge of our whole offense. We'll see how the game goes."
I checked on how many short weeks Fritz has had, and the total is eight since he became coach at Sam Houston State in 2010. He went 2-0 on Friday games there, winning a couple of FCS playoff games, and 1-0 on Thursday, beating Texas Southern. He went 2-1 on Thursdays at Georgia Southern, winning home games against Appalachian State and Troy and losing a road game against Appalachian State. He is 0-2 on Fridays at Tulane, losing to Memphis in each of the last two years.
I saw maybe the last five minutes, but that was enough time to watch Justin McMillan's arm talent show again. He threw a seed to Darnell Mooney for a touchdown on a skinny post, then zinged an out route that bounced off Jacob Robertson's hands. You have to have strong hands to reel in passes with that much zip on them, particularly when you are not used to it. I heard McMillan also threw a couple of beautiful strikes in 7-on-7 drills before I got there.
The team was rushed when it left the building, so I forgot to get confirmation from Fritz that Charles Jones and Kendall Ardoin would play against Houston on Friday. No one from the sports information staff was there, but I did ask Fritz a few questions.
Did you have to end practice early?
We ended about 15 or 20 minutes early, but we got some stuff in. It was lucky we did (considering the threatening weather around New Orleans).
How has the prep work gone for Memphis?
"Oh, it hasn't been bad. Obviously we were lucky to be able to come over here or we might not have been able to practice. So we were able to get it in. Both teams have short weeks. That's just the way it is."
What's your experience with short weeks?
"I've had a bunch of them, mostly Thursday night games. Sometimes you try to pack everything in. We went ahead and took Sunday off like we normally do just so we could prep and get ready, then we really turned the page and forgot about the last game and worked on corrections and things like that. Otherwise, we moved on."
Justin McMillan played a few series against Ohio State. Is there a plan or a package for him to get in the game on Friday?
"He's getting pretty close to having a good knowledge of our whole offense. We'll see how the game goes."
I checked on how many short weeks Fritz has had, and the total is eight since he became coach at Sam Houston State in 2010. He went 2-0 on Friday games there, winning a couple of FCS playoff games, and 1-0 on Thursday, beating Texas Southern. He went 2-1 on Thursdays at Georgia Southern, winning home games against Appalachian State and Troy and losing a road game against Appalachian State. He is 0-2 on Fridays at Tulane, losing to Memphis in each of the last two years.