Tulane had another two-hour practice Friday morning on day 3 of camp, remaining in shorts. Cameron Carroll, who will have a hard time moving up on the running back depth chart because of the quality of the players in front of him, sat out with a shoulder injury today and had wrapping on the shoulder. With Darius Bradwell, Corey Dauphine, Amare Jones, Stephon Huderson, Tyjae Spears and Ygenio Booker at the position, Carroll has his work cut out for him but will not get a chance to show his worth for the time being. When he walked back to the field after taking a bathroom break, Justin McMillan walked up to him and encouraged him and asked how he was doing.
At right offensive guard, Cameron Jackel was on the first team in 11-on-11 drills. Keyshawn McLeod occupied the spot on Wednesday, with Ben Knutson there on Thursday in a a tight three-way battle for a starting spot. The rest of the first-team offensive line appears set, with Tyler Johnson at left tackle, Corey Dublin at left guard, Christian Montano at center and Joey Claybrook at left tackle. It is too early to judge how effective this group will be --we will get a better picture when they put on full pads and have scrimmages--but Willie Fritz says he is comfortable with seven linemen as starter quality. He has not named which seven.
Freshman Sincere Haynesworth, a 3-star prospect from Texas, worked with the second team at center while Stephen Lewerenz shifted to left guard with that group. Nik Hogan was the left tackle, with Knutson the right guard and McLeod the right tackle as they experiment with different combinations.
The third-team line was walk-on Timothy Shafter at left tackle, Michael Remondet at left guard, Lewerenz at center, walk-on Ben Bratcher at right guard and Colby Orgeron at right tackle.
The depth chart on defense was pretty much the same as the first two days, although Chase Kuerschen told me he is playing free safety rather than strong safety and P.J. Hall is playing strong safety. I'll continue watching to see how that pans out, but Rod Teamer played strong safety last season while Hall was at free safety, and defensive coordinator Jack Curtis told me Wednesday they thought Kuerschen could do a lot of the things Teamer did. Phil Steele, who bases his depth charts on talking with coaches, has Kuerschen at free safety and Hall at strong safety.
Regardless, it looks like Kuerschen will be a starter on opening night, with youngsters Macon Clark and Larry Brooks getting playing time as well.
There were not many big plays in the 11-on-11 work but not many bad plays either. Justin McMillan improvised well on one down, rolling to his left to avoid pressure and hitting tight end Tyrick James for a first down. James has been getting most of the reps with the first unit and is more dynamic as a receiver than Will Wallace, his primary competition. A lot of the plays were runs today, and when they are not allowing full contact, it is hard to judge what is successful and what is not successful.
The wide receiver depth chart is shaking out like this: Darnell Mooney, Jalen McCleskey and Jaetavian Toles are the clear No. 1s. Jacob Robertson and Jorien Vallien are No 2s (part-time wideout and running back Booker was with them today). Freshmen Tyrek Presley and Jha'Quan Jackson and walk-on Ryan Thompson ran with the 3s. Kevin LeDee is practicing in position drills but did not get reps in 11 on 11. Sorrell Brown showed up today with a wrap on his right knee, the opposite of the one he tore last August. Yesterday Fritz said they hoped to get him in uniform by the third week of drills. Dane Ledford sat out today after getting hurt near the end of Thursday's workout, so Tulane remains thin at wideout with tons of questions behind the top three. Robertson made a first-down catch today, but juggled the ball before pinning it against his hip. A little later, he caught a short hitch and accelerated downfield. Of the non-starters, he has made the most plays in the first few days of camp. Jackson had a nice catch on a ball from Keon Howard.
Christian Daniels still does not put a lot of zip on his throws. The pecking order is pretty clear at QB.
When the third-team defense was on the field, end Juan Monjarres was part of the defensive line along with walk-ons Jeremiah Hernandez (De La Salle) and Dane Ziegler (Lakeshore High in Mandeville) and freshman Darius Hodges. The Wave has a lot of depth outside, but that's not a grouping Monjarres wants to be a part of. Davon Wright is the second-team end behind Cam Sample.
At right offensive guard, Cameron Jackel was on the first team in 11-on-11 drills. Keyshawn McLeod occupied the spot on Wednesday, with Ben Knutson there on Thursday in a a tight three-way battle for a starting spot. The rest of the first-team offensive line appears set, with Tyler Johnson at left tackle, Corey Dublin at left guard, Christian Montano at center and Joey Claybrook at left tackle. It is too early to judge how effective this group will be --we will get a better picture when they put on full pads and have scrimmages--but Willie Fritz says he is comfortable with seven linemen as starter quality. He has not named which seven.
Freshman Sincere Haynesworth, a 3-star prospect from Texas, worked with the second team at center while Stephen Lewerenz shifted to left guard with that group. Nik Hogan was the left tackle, with Knutson the right guard and McLeod the right tackle as they experiment with different combinations.
The third-team line was walk-on Timothy Shafter at left tackle, Michael Remondet at left guard, Lewerenz at center, walk-on Ben Bratcher at right guard and Colby Orgeron at right tackle.
The depth chart on defense was pretty much the same as the first two days, although Chase Kuerschen told me he is playing free safety rather than strong safety and P.J. Hall is playing strong safety. I'll continue watching to see how that pans out, but Rod Teamer played strong safety last season while Hall was at free safety, and defensive coordinator Jack Curtis told me Wednesday they thought Kuerschen could do a lot of the things Teamer did. Phil Steele, who bases his depth charts on talking with coaches, has Kuerschen at free safety and Hall at strong safety.
Regardless, it looks like Kuerschen will be a starter on opening night, with youngsters Macon Clark and Larry Brooks getting playing time as well.
There were not many big plays in the 11-on-11 work but not many bad plays either. Justin McMillan improvised well on one down, rolling to his left to avoid pressure and hitting tight end Tyrick James for a first down. James has been getting most of the reps with the first unit and is more dynamic as a receiver than Will Wallace, his primary competition. A lot of the plays were runs today, and when they are not allowing full contact, it is hard to judge what is successful and what is not successful.
The wide receiver depth chart is shaking out like this: Darnell Mooney, Jalen McCleskey and Jaetavian Toles are the clear No. 1s. Jacob Robertson and Jorien Vallien are No 2s (part-time wideout and running back Booker was with them today). Freshmen Tyrek Presley and Jha'Quan Jackson and walk-on Ryan Thompson ran with the 3s. Kevin LeDee is practicing in position drills but did not get reps in 11 on 11. Sorrell Brown showed up today with a wrap on his right knee, the opposite of the one he tore last August. Yesterday Fritz said they hoped to get him in uniform by the third week of drills. Dane Ledford sat out today after getting hurt near the end of Thursday's workout, so Tulane remains thin at wideout with tons of questions behind the top three. Robertson made a first-down catch today, but juggled the ball before pinning it against his hip. A little later, he caught a short hitch and accelerated downfield. Of the non-starters, he has made the most plays in the first few days of camp. Jackson had a nice catch on a ball from Keon Howard.
Christian Daniels still does not put a lot of zip on his throws. The pecking order is pretty clear at QB.
When the third-team defense was on the field, end Juan Monjarres was part of the defensive line along with walk-ons Jeremiah Hernandez (De La Salle) and Dane Ziegler (Lakeshore High in Mandeville) and freshman Darius Hodges. The Wave has a lot of depth outside, but that's not a grouping Monjarres wants to be a part of. Davon Wright is the second-team end behind Cam Sample.
