Tulane practiced without quarterback Justin McMillan today because he was attending the funeral of his grandfather, who died unexpectedly last Wednesday as he prepared to travel from his home in Detroit.
Keon Howard took the first-team reps and Christian Daniels took the second-team reps today, but Tulane benefitted from being able to conduct a full practice Monday, something it never does after Saturday games, so McMillan will not be under-prepared as the Wave heads to Auburn. He returns tonight and will be at practice tomorrow.
Amare Jones has great hands, but he dropped a pass in the end zone from Daniels today. It was another very hot day, and that may be one of the reasons I have not noticed any difference in intensity this week than any other. The other reason, of course, is Willie Fritz wants his guys to be even keel all the time. He coaches with the same intensity every week and he expects them to practice the same way every week.
Freshman Trace Oldner has joined the list of backups not practicing due to injury. He and freshman safeties Ton'Quez Ball and Kanyon Walker watched practice without helmets.
They are continuing to experiment with different offensive line combinations as they look for the best group. Joey Claybrook received some reps at left tackle today, with Ben Knutson at right guard and Keyshawn McLeod at right tackle. The offensive line remains Tulane's biggest concern as it faces Auburn's big, talented defensive front, but at least the Wave has some options this season instead of having to stick with the same five regardless of the circumstances.
Willie Fritz said today he believes he has 20 defensive players he can trust. As I mentioned yesterday, that makes Tulane almost two deep across the board. Interestingly, for all the hype about the depth along the defensive front (some of it coming from me), they have more proven depth every where else on the defense than the line.
WILLIE FRITZ
How helpful was it to have that Monday practice with McMillan since he could not be here today?
"Oh, it was good. We got a couple days in. He's getting back tonight. It was an unfortunate circumstance. Life comes up unfortunately, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively."
What is your message to this team?
"We've got to do a better job of the Wave not beating the Wave. We just had way too many pre-snap penalties last week (six out of the 12). Going into this game we can't expect to get (the benefit of ) the flags. That's just the way it is, but we have to do a good job of not beating ourselves with a foolish turnover or penalty. We just have to play a little bit smarter. We were very aggressive last week but at times we weren't smart aggressiveness. Our guys know that. I think a lot of it was first-game jitters, too."
Gus Malzahn says he expects the biggest improvement in his team from the first to second game.
"Yeah, it's an old coaching adage. I said the same thing to our guys on Monday when we met, that we want to see the biggest improvement between week 1 to week 2 because we have a game under our belt now. We are going to play a better Auburn team and they are going to play a better Tulane team."
You complimented Gus Malzahn yesterday. Was it because of your interactions with him?
"No, I barely know him. They came over here and practiced a few years ago when they were at the Sugar Bowl and I talked to him for a minute. Some guys start on third base and think they hit a triple, and that's where they started. He had to go around the bases. I had to go around the bases. There are a lot of guys out there like that. I admire guys who have put in the work to get where they are."
How different is your team from the one that went to Oklahoma and Ohio State?
"We have better players. More talented. That's a big deal. The Xs and Os are very important, but the Jimmies and Joes are a lot more important. We've got better players."
How much will your depth on defense help?
"It will help a lot. We've got a bunch of guys that can play for us. We are going to have to roll them. It's still early in the year and guys are still getting used to playing. They'll go some pace, too. We didn't much pace last week. We'll see it this week."
When teams like yours play SEC programs, they tend to play close first halves and then the second half the depth starts taking affect. But you feel like you have the depth to prevent that?
"That's a big difference in our team right now. We've got more guys that can play at this level. We had a tough time years back where if you got a guy hurt, maybe the guy playing was outmanned. I think now we've got a bunch of guys. We have 20 guys who are capable of playing Division I football on defense. We've got quite a few guys on offense. I think Guerry put something out the other day that every guy that started for us last week had started a college game before (actually that was the projected starters; actual starters Amare Jones and Tyrick James started for the first time). That's 22 guys. That's pretty good."
CAM SAMPLE
How different is this team than the one that went up to Ohio State last year?
"Oh, we're much different. We have a lot of the same players coming back but they have another year under their belt. Everybody is more comfortable actually playing instead of thinking out there, so we're a much different team."
Do you have real belief you can win?
"You have to have that. It doesn't matter if you play FIU or Auburn. Football's football. You have to expect to win every week."
How much will your defensive depth come into play?
"That's a big help being able to keep guys fresh. Nobody is extra tired. You have a backup who's also fresh and capable of playing. It's just a big help that allows everybody to play to their top potential."
What will it take to win?
"Assignment football and doing what we do, getting off the field on third downs and causing turnovers and limiting turnovers on offense. Just the basics for every game."
Bo Nix started slowly last week but came on strong for Auburn. What are his biggest strengths?
"He's a dynamic athlete. He seems comfortable back there. We're just going to play our style of defense and get after him."
How impressed were you with your offense last week?
"It makes it way easier on the defense. I've seen what they could do in the fall camp so I already knew what they were capable of. You could see the potential and for it all to come together was a great thing."
DARNELL MOONEY
How different in the mindset going into the Auburn game than it was for the Ohio State game last year?
"We're more confident in ourselves than we were last year. We believe more in ourselves. That's mostly it."
How much are you looking forward to this opportunity?
"I'm really looking forward to it. To get to go against Auburn and go out there another Saturday with my boys and just able to go out there and execute again."
Everything you did offensively worked last week. How much does that help the confidence?
"It's extremely important. Coach Hall gives us the most confidence in the world just to go out there and execute. With him coming in every day being himself, it just gives us everything to work with and go out there and be ourselves."
You're from Alabama. Were you an Auburn fan?
"No I didn't. I didn't grow up an Alabama or an Auburn fan. I'm just living there. I lived about two-and-a-half hours from Auburn."
How much fun is it to into a stadium with the type of atmosphere of Jordan-Hare?
"It's very fun seeing how big it is. In the pregame I'll notice it, but during the game everything is the same old same old. I can't speak for other guys. I just know for myself, once the game starts, that (big-stadium atmosphere) clears."
Keon Howard took the first-team reps and Christian Daniels took the second-team reps today, but Tulane benefitted from being able to conduct a full practice Monday, something it never does after Saturday games, so McMillan will not be under-prepared as the Wave heads to Auburn. He returns tonight and will be at practice tomorrow.
Amare Jones has great hands, but he dropped a pass in the end zone from Daniels today. It was another very hot day, and that may be one of the reasons I have not noticed any difference in intensity this week than any other. The other reason, of course, is Willie Fritz wants his guys to be even keel all the time. He coaches with the same intensity every week and he expects them to practice the same way every week.
Freshman Trace Oldner has joined the list of backups not practicing due to injury. He and freshman safeties Ton'Quez Ball and Kanyon Walker watched practice without helmets.
They are continuing to experiment with different offensive line combinations as they look for the best group. Joey Claybrook received some reps at left tackle today, with Ben Knutson at right guard and Keyshawn McLeod at right tackle. The offensive line remains Tulane's biggest concern as it faces Auburn's big, talented defensive front, but at least the Wave has some options this season instead of having to stick with the same five regardless of the circumstances.
Willie Fritz said today he believes he has 20 defensive players he can trust. As I mentioned yesterday, that makes Tulane almost two deep across the board. Interestingly, for all the hype about the depth along the defensive front (some of it coming from me), they have more proven depth every where else on the defense than the line.
WILLIE FRITZ
How helpful was it to have that Monday practice with McMillan since he could not be here today?
"Oh, it was good. We got a couple days in. He's getting back tonight. It was an unfortunate circumstance. Life comes up unfortunately, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively."
What is your message to this team?
"We've got to do a better job of the Wave not beating the Wave. We just had way too many pre-snap penalties last week (six out of the 12). Going into this game we can't expect to get (the benefit of ) the flags. That's just the way it is, but we have to do a good job of not beating ourselves with a foolish turnover or penalty. We just have to play a little bit smarter. We were very aggressive last week but at times we weren't smart aggressiveness. Our guys know that. I think a lot of it was first-game jitters, too."
Gus Malzahn says he expects the biggest improvement in his team from the first to second game.
"Yeah, it's an old coaching adage. I said the same thing to our guys on Monday when we met, that we want to see the biggest improvement between week 1 to week 2 because we have a game under our belt now. We are going to play a better Auburn team and they are going to play a better Tulane team."
You complimented Gus Malzahn yesterday. Was it because of your interactions with him?
"No, I barely know him. They came over here and practiced a few years ago when they were at the Sugar Bowl and I talked to him for a minute. Some guys start on third base and think they hit a triple, and that's where they started. He had to go around the bases. I had to go around the bases. There are a lot of guys out there like that. I admire guys who have put in the work to get where they are."
How different is your team from the one that went to Oklahoma and Ohio State?
"We have better players. More talented. That's a big deal. The Xs and Os are very important, but the Jimmies and Joes are a lot more important. We've got better players."
How much will your depth on defense help?
"It will help a lot. We've got a bunch of guys that can play for us. We are going to have to roll them. It's still early in the year and guys are still getting used to playing. They'll go some pace, too. We didn't much pace last week. We'll see it this week."
When teams like yours play SEC programs, they tend to play close first halves and then the second half the depth starts taking affect. But you feel like you have the depth to prevent that?
"That's a big difference in our team right now. We've got more guys that can play at this level. We had a tough time years back where if you got a guy hurt, maybe the guy playing was outmanned. I think now we've got a bunch of guys. We have 20 guys who are capable of playing Division I football on defense. We've got quite a few guys on offense. I think Guerry put something out the other day that every guy that started for us last week had started a college game before (actually that was the projected starters; actual starters Amare Jones and Tyrick James started for the first time). That's 22 guys. That's pretty good."
CAM SAMPLE
How different is this team than the one that went up to Ohio State last year?
"Oh, we're much different. We have a lot of the same players coming back but they have another year under their belt. Everybody is more comfortable actually playing instead of thinking out there, so we're a much different team."
Do you have real belief you can win?
"You have to have that. It doesn't matter if you play FIU or Auburn. Football's football. You have to expect to win every week."
How much will your defensive depth come into play?
"That's a big help being able to keep guys fresh. Nobody is extra tired. You have a backup who's also fresh and capable of playing. It's just a big help that allows everybody to play to their top potential."
What will it take to win?
"Assignment football and doing what we do, getting off the field on third downs and causing turnovers and limiting turnovers on offense. Just the basics for every game."
Bo Nix started slowly last week but came on strong for Auburn. What are his biggest strengths?
"He's a dynamic athlete. He seems comfortable back there. We're just going to play our style of defense and get after him."
How impressed were you with your offense last week?
"It makes it way easier on the defense. I've seen what they could do in the fall camp so I already knew what they were capable of. You could see the potential and for it all to come together was a great thing."
DARNELL MOONEY
How different in the mindset going into the Auburn game than it was for the Ohio State game last year?
"We're more confident in ourselves than we were last year. We believe more in ourselves. That's mostly it."
How much are you looking forward to this opportunity?
"I'm really looking forward to it. To get to go against Auburn and go out there another Saturday with my boys and just able to go out there and execute again."
Everything you did offensively worked last week. How much does that help the confidence?
"It's extremely important. Coach Hall gives us the most confidence in the world just to go out there and execute. With him coming in every day being himself, it just gives us everything to work with and go out there and be ourselves."
You're from Alabama. Were you an Auburn fan?
"No I didn't. I didn't grow up an Alabama or an Auburn fan. I'm just living there. I lived about two-and-a-half hours from Auburn."
How much fun is it to into a stadium with the type of atmosphere of Jordan-Hare?
"It's very fun seeing how big it is. In the pregame I'll notice it, but during the game everything is the same old same old. I can't speak for other guys. I just know for myself, once the game starts, that (big-stadium atmosphere) clears."
