No report yet because I have to cover the basketball game. Will put up one up later, but here are quotes from Fritz and Chip Long.
WILLIE FRITZ
"What a beautiful day today. Unbelievable. That might have been the nicest day we've had this whole year of practicing. What is it right now? 65 or something like that? Perfect. We had a good workout. We are going to start cutting back beginning tomorrow, but we've had quite a few practices. We're just excited to get up there and go and be able to play Tuesday. We're flying out on Monday. It's a pretty long flight, I think it's about 3 1/2 hours to get out there, and then we'll spend the night and play the game and turn around and fly back afterward. It's good preparation. The coaches have done a good job of working in the system and we will be ready for the game."
On clear excitement in practice about bowl game others might be less enthused about:'
"We just have good people in our program. We have good young men and our coaches have done a super job of recruiting student-athletes with character, and I've had very few problems. I'm proud of these guys. They like each other and I really enjoy being around these guys on a daily basis. I never really talk to them about it, but this is rare. This isn't how it is every place, so a credit to those guys and the 18 years they had before they got here."
On recruiting Kai Horton:
"We got in on him a little bit later. We have two excellent freshman quarterbacks here with Michael Pratt and Justin Ibieta. Those two guys are very good players and that might have scared some guys off. I think Kai Horton has won 30 straight games and has thrown 88 touchdown passes and six interceptions, something like that. That coach there does a tremendous job. I'm an old Texas guy. I recruited East Texas for years and years and years as an assistant coach and a head coach, and he does a phenomenal job. Yesterday while we were working, we had the game on, and they were playing Gilmer for the (4A) state championship. They fell behind 14-0 and ended up winning by a little bit, 70-14. Just a powerhouse program. Very much a college system, which a lot of high schools are. The days of running one personnel grouping and three or four formations and four running plays, those days are over. New Orleans is very well coached. Louisiana is well coached. Mississippi is well coached. Alabama is well coached. Georgia is well coached, and certainly Texas is well coached. It was really fun to watch him in a live game and see his interaction with his teammates on the sidelines. A buddy of mine was on the sideline. He does Laser Down, that deal we use on the sidelines, and he was there to promote that and he was giving me updates on the interaction with him on the sideline."
On why Horton was not recruited by more schools:
"A lot of it is no one could go out this year and no one could go out in the spring. That was a big part of it, not being able to go out in it. I don't care what position it is, but moreso with quarterback than any other position, you really want to see that guy live, and part of our recruiting process, one of my old quarterbacks, he's like one of my kids, he's the head coach at China Springs and they played them the week before. A kid named Brian Bell who was a four-year starter for me over at Sam Houston. We called him after they played them (Carthage won 52-14), and he gave us tremendous insight as well. That's somebody I trust giving me that information."
On Nevada's strengths:
"They are going to be a big-time test. This is a great club. They were competing for a conference championship there in the Mountain West. This is a team they've been building over the last few years. They have some excellent receivers and will take some shots against you down the field."
On challenge of game:
"It's great. You always want to test yourself as a coach and as a player. I have a lot of respect for that program. I've had some friends that coached at Nevada and they've had a great tradition of success there."
CHIP LONG
On whirlwind start:
"It's like you said. It's been a whirlwind. The kids have been awesome. Lucky for me I have a pretty good grasp of what I have to work with from watching most of the games and watching Will (Hall). Me and Will talk all the time, and the transition has been awesome. Coach Fritz has been great. The whole staff's been great. It's just me learning a new terminology going into the game, but the way Will would attack teams is quite similar to the way I would attack a team, so it's been good. For me it's just been able to get another spring ball, learning the kids, how they operate, how they work, being around the quarterbacks, so it's been invaluable for me in moving forward with the future of Tulane football."
Crash course on terminology:
"It's been different. It's good, though. We want the kids to go out there and play fast and be loose and not have to worry about a whole new genre of plays. It makes more sense for one person to learn it instead of 40, so that's what we're doing."
On change in terminology for spring ball:
"Just a little but. There will be some things the kids are good with that I can just learn. I did the same thing at Notre Dame, learn their terminology so we were able to start fast and not be slowed up by just minutia of what we're calling certain things. It just helps the kids on the first day of spring really activate and play fast."
On no healthy running backs:
"They've done a great job. They practice hard. They just stayed away from contact, but they've done a good job and had a great presence and put in the work they needed to work. We're just not going to the ground in tackle situations, so you can see them start to get healthy and start to get their quickness back and their confidence back, so that's been good to see. We'll need them."
On impression of personnel:
"It's good. You've got a good young quarterback. The O-line is a veteran group. The receivers are banged up but a good group. They are all young and they are all coming back, so it's exciting for me like I said to get another spring ball because who knows what the spring is going to be like with COVID still lingering. If that gets canceled, I've had two good weeks during the bowl prep."
On Pratt's attitude:
"It's great. What makes Mike so special is the way he affects everybody around him with positivity and excitement and is a great leader for being such a young player, and that's what is so exciting for me and just the growth he'll be able to have from season to season is really exciting for me."
On team's excitement about playing again:
"They are excited. They want to get to play. They are tired of practicing. They are ready to go get it on, and we're looking forward to going out there. It's supposed to be a beautiful day (a low of 24 and a high of 40 with wind at 14 miles per hour is the current forecast for the day), but that could change out West as we all know. But if you want to play at the next level, there's a lot of teams you gotta go to that play in worse weather than this, so guys are excited and ready to go compete."
On Pratt's skill set:
"The game comes easy to him. He has a greet release, great posture in the pocket, anticipation, really nice touch. He can just do some things you don't have to rep and overcoach. It kind of comes natural to him, the way he sees things and just the way he loves the game is real special. If he keeps that up, he'll have a fun future to watch play."
On Jha'Quan Jackson:
"I like the way Quan works. He's like Mike. He's a gym rat. He's always up in the office asking questions. You can move him all around, but he's a guy who likes to work and likes to play football. It's been exciting just to get to know him and what makes him tick and how good he wants to be."
On offensive line:
"It's been good. They have good leadership and a good mixture of veterans and youth in the group and there's some pretty good depth there, but that can obviously change fast. We thought we had a lot of depth in the running back group. It's a fun group to work with. They, as well as a lot of guys on the team, love to play ball, love to learn and it's important to them and they want to go out there and do a good job each and every day."
On getting to call plays again:
"Oh man, I can't wait. It's so much fun being back in the thick of it and having your pulse out there and seeing the guys execute your plan."
WILLIE FRITZ
"What a beautiful day today. Unbelievable. That might have been the nicest day we've had this whole year of practicing. What is it right now? 65 or something like that? Perfect. We had a good workout. We are going to start cutting back beginning tomorrow, but we've had quite a few practices. We're just excited to get up there and go and be able to play Tuesday. We're flying out on Monday. It's a pretty long flight, I think it's about 3 1/2 hours to get out there, and then we'll spend the night and play the game and turn around and fly back afterward. It's good preparation. The coaches have done a good job of working in the system and we will be ready for the game."
On clear excitement in practice about bowl game others might be less enthused about:'
"We just have good people in our program. We have good young men and our coaches have done a super job of recruiting student-athletes with character, and I've had very few problems. I'm proud of these guys. They like each other and I really enjoy being around these guys on a daily basis. I never really talk to them about it, but this is rare. This isn't how it is every place, so a credit to those guys and the 18 years they had before they got here."
On recruiting Kai Horton:
"We got in on him a little bit later. We have two excellent freshman quarterbacks here with Michael Pratt and Justin Ibieta. Those two guys are very good players and that might have scared some guys off. I think Kai Horton has won 30 straight games and has thrown 88 touchdown passes and six interceptions, something like that. That coach there does a tremendous job. I'm an old Texas guy. I recruited East Texas for years and years and years as an assistant coach and a head coach, and he does a phenomenal job. Yesterday while we were working, we had the game on, and they were playing Gilmer for the (4A) state championship. They fell behind 14-0 and ended up winning by a little bit, 70-14. Just a powerhouse program. Very much a college system, which a lot of high schools are. The days of running one personnel grouping and three or four formations and four running plays, those days are over. New Orleans is very well coached. Louisiana is well coached. Mississippi is well coached. Alabama is well coached. Georgia is well coached, and certainly Texas is well coached. It was really fun to watch him in a live game and see his interaction with his teammates on the sidelines. A buddy of mine was on the sideline. He does Laser Down, that deal we use on the sidelines, and he was there to promote that and he was giving me updates on the interaction with him on the sideline."
On why Horton was not recruited by more schools:
"A lot of it is no one could go out this year and no one could go out in the spring. That was a big part of it, not being able to go out in it. I don't care what position it is, but moreso with quarterback than any other position, you really want to see that guy live, and part of our recruiting process, one of my old quarterbacks, he's like one of my kids, he's the head coach at China Springs and they played them the week before. A kid named Brian Bell who was a four-year starter for me over at Sam Houston. We called him after they played them (Carthage won 52-14), and he gave us tremendous insight as well. That's somebody I trust giving me that information."
On Nevada's strengths:
"They are going to be a big-time test. This is a great club. They were competing for a conference championship there in the Mountain West. This is a team they've been building over the last few years. They have some excellent receivers and will take some shots against you down the field."
On challenge of game:
"It's great. You always want to test yourself as a coach and as a player. I have a lot of respect for that program. I've had some friends that coached at Nevada and they've had a great tradition of success there."
CHIP LONG
On whirlwind start:
"It's like you said. It's been a whirlwind. The kids have been awesome. Lucky for me I have a pretty good grasp of what I have to work with from watching most of the games and watching Will (Hall). Me and Will talk all the time, and the transition has been awesome. Coach Fritz has been great. The whole staff's been great. It's just me learning a new terminology going into the game, but the way Will would attack teams is quite similar to the way I would attack a team, so it's been good. For me it's just been able to get another spring ball, learning the kids, how they operate, how they work, being around the quarterbacks, so it's been invaluable for me in moving forward with the future of Tulane football."
Crash course on terminology:
"It's been different. It's good, though. We want the kids to go out there and play fast and be loose and not have to worry about a whole new genre of plays. It makes more sense for one person to learn it instead of 40, so that's what we're doing."
On change in terminology for spring ball:
"Just a little but. There will be some things the kids are good with that I can just learn. I did the same thing at Notre Dame, learn their terminology so we were able to start fast and not be slowed up by just minutia of what we're calling certain things. It just helps the kids on the first day of spring really activate and play fast."
On no healthy running backs:
"They've done a great job. They practice hard. They just stayed away from contact, but they've done a good job and had a great presence and put in the work they needed to work. We're just not going to the ground in tackle situations, so you can see them start to get healthy and start to get their quickness back and their confidence back, so that's been good to see. We'll need them."
On impression of personnel:
"It's good. You've got a good young quarterback. The O-line is a veteran group. The receivers are banged up but a good group. They are all young and they are all coming back, so it's exciting for me like I said to get another spring ball because who knows what the spring is going to be like with COVID still lingering. If that gets canceled, I've had two good weeks during the bowl prep."
On Pratt's attitude:
"It's great. What makes Mike so special is the way he affects everybody around him with positivity and excitement and is a great leader for being such a young player, and that's what is so exciting for me and just the growth he'll be able to have from season to season is really exciting for me."
On team's excitement about playing again:
"They are excited. They want to get to play. They are tired of practicing. They are ready to go get it on, and we're looking forward to going out there. It's supposed to be a beautiful day (a low of 24 and a high of 40 with wind at 14 miles per hour is the current forecast for the day), but that could change out West as we all know. But if you want to play at the next level, there's a lot of teams you gotta go to that play in worse weather than this, so guys are excited and ready to go compete."
On Pratt's skill set:
"The game comes easy to him. He has a greet release, great posture in the pocket, anticipation, really nice touch. He can just do some things you don't have to rep and overcoach. It kind of comes natural to him, the way he sees things and just the way he loves the game is real special. If he keeps that up, he'll have a fun future to watch play."
On Jha'Quan Jackson:
"I like the way Quan works. He's like Mike. He's a gym rat. He's always up in the office asking questions. You can move him all around, but he's a guy who likes to work and likes to play football. It's been exciting just to get to know him and what makes him tick and how good he wants to be."
On offensive line:
"It's been good. They have good leadership and a good mixture of veterans and youth in the group and there's some pretty good depth there, but that can obviously change fast. We thought we had a lot of depth in the running back group. It's a fun group to work with. They, as well as a lot of guys on the team, love to play ball, love to learn and it's important to them and they want to go out there and do a good job each and every day."
On getting to call plays again:
"Oh man, I can't wait. It's so much fun being back in the thick of it and having your pulse out there and seeing the guys execute your plan."
