Until today, I did not have time to transcribe several of my interviews in the first four days of practice. Here they are:
CHRIS HAMPTON
On First Wave of Defense jerseys for first-teamers on each day of preseason camp:
"That was my idea. We actually did that at McNeese State and I thought it was a good idea to create competition that the first unit means something when you are out there. The depth chart rotates daily. This is a business of what have you done for me lately, so I'm trying to get the guys to buy in and relish the grind of practicing every day and competing amongst themselves. Competition makes them better."
Jeffery Johnson an example of a presumed and almost certain first-teamer having to earn it in practice and not wearing the special jersey;
"Exactly right. Another guy had a little better practice yesterday (I'm not sure who was wearing the jersey), so he was 77. He may have practiced the best today, so tomorrow he may have that jersey on (he did not). That's how it going. We'll do it through camp. Once the season starts, we won't do it."
On Johnson being in transfer portal:
"It didn't last long. He realized that he should come back and finish his education here at Tulane and finish his senior season with his friends. That was one of those deals where maybe there was some outside influence. We can't control that, but we're glad to have him back. He's extremely valuable. He's a four-year starter. There's not a lot of big guys like him anywhere. He can move, he can play and he's had a great offseason, a tremendous spring. He's getting better and better every day during camp, so we're looking forward to seeing him play this year. He weighs about 295. He looks the best I've ever seen him. He's in tremendous shape."
On defense after three days of camp:
"I feel fine. I feel like we're improving each and every day. You strive for perfection and there are mistakes obviously, but we get to correct them. That's the beauty of fall camp and spring ball. We get to corredt the mistakes. We're trending the right way. We're not ready in any shape, form or fashion yet, but we're trending in the right direction."
On D.J. Douglas:
"He's a pretty good player. He's been coached. He knows what he's doing, he's tough, he competes, he has a great understanding of the game, natural instincts. He really loves football. We're glad to have him."
(I turned the recorder off and asked him about Rishi Rattan because I knew if he thought Rattan was not a viable competitor for playing time, he would not want to say that in front of Tulane's video. He said Rattan did have a chance to get in the mix while certainly not guaranteeing it, adding he had an awkward style but got the job done and made big plays in practice. In my view, it's still a long shot, but Rattan bears watching)
DORIAN WILLIAMS
On energy Chris Hampton brings:
"Coach Hampton brings a lot of energy. He is going to get on you when you mess up, but it's all out of love. He's a great coach. He'll run with you all the way to the ball because he's going to make sure we work. He says everybody is going to get better this fall camp."
On linebackers:
"It's great to have everybody back, and even the young kids coming in, it feels good to have everybody back. We know we are the head of the defense and have to keep every communicating and running to the ball. We have to be leaders on this team as far as special teams and defense."
On young guys who are standing out:
"Dev (Devean Deal; I did not catch him saying that until just now as I transcribe it, so Deal is playing linebacker after being listed as a tight end) is good. Corey Platt's an athlete. Mandel (Eugene) is a speedster. We're going to put weight on him and he's going to be good. Rishi (Rattan) is a walk-on DB and he balls at practice every day."
On communication to eliminate mistakes:
"We're big on film this year. We're changing a lot of like who has control of the communication. The DBs are calling coverages. The linebackers are going to handle it up front, and then just communicating with the guys on the back end to make sure we're on the same page. We have a lot of meetings together so you see what everybody has to do, not just what your position has to do."
On Oklahoma and Ole Miss early in season:
"We all view those as great opportunities to learn as a defense and learn what we need to improve on, and really those are the money games. If guys want to get drafted, those are the games where you come out and you show the scouts and fans what we are really made of. This is a great opportunity. We love it."
On NIL:
"I have a couple of opportunities with Wagyu Beef Bar company. That's what I do. There are a couple people who have reached out, and I feel like it's a great opportunity for all student-athletes to make the extra money, even to help out families because a lot of people were taking the financial aid they were getting and giving it back to people at home. I feel like it's a great opportunity to help them help themselves here and help the people at home."
DEVIN BRUMFIELD
"For me it was just getting closer to home. I now have a child, so that was the big thing for me. I chose Tulane because it was a place I I knew I wasn't going to be promised anything and I knew I would come to work. I'm now in a room full of guys who have proven themselves in Yulman, and I just want to be next and be a great part of that room. Being away from family for three years, there's nothing like playing in front of the people that love and support you your whole life. That's going to be the biggest thing for me is to impress my family back home."
On him (Covington) Tyjae Spears (Ponchatoula) and Iverson Celestine (Fontainbleau) all coming from the same North Shore high school football district:
"For me it's special. I'm older than those guys, so I was the first one out, but it shows the talent over there is being recognized, and to all be in the same place is special so we can go out and show what we can do on the North Shore."
Covington went 12-0 (before losing to Hahnville in quarterfinals of state playoffs) in his senior year:
"We all came in as freshmen. We knew what we had but didn't quite know, so we worked our butts off from freshman year and senior year it all came together. It was a special year for all of us and will be remembered at that school forever."
On practicing as hard as anyone Fritz has seen:
"For me it came from high school, that 12-0 team I played for in my senior year. Utah was really great at guys finishing. If you want to be the best, you've got to practice the best. Being here at Tulane, they've got guys working their butts off like Tyjae Spears and Cameron Carroll and now Iverson Celestine. If you take a day off, you are going to get passed up. We all want to be the best and are going to continue to work."
On Spears coming back from ACL tear:
"From the day Tyjae stepped back on the field at Football School (The team's term for the summer conditioning session), we knew he was special. We knew what he did before, and he's continuing every day to get better and he's proving he's the Tyjae Spears from before his injury. Like I tell him every day, be as confident as you can be and the sky's the limit. There's never a day you don't see Tyjae Spears giving a 100 percent."
On Chip Long:
"Coach Long is very serious, he's very particular and he loves the tempo and pushing us to be in a position to win. I love coach Long and hopefully we'll have a special year."
CHRIS HAMPTON
On First Wave of Defense jerseys for first-teamers on each day of preseason camp:
"That was my idea. We actually did that at McNeese State and I thought it was a good idea to create competition that the first unit means something when you are out there. The depth chart rotates daily. This is a business of what have you done for me lately, so I'm trying to get the guys to buy in and relish the grind of practicing every day and competing amongst themselves. Competition makes them better."
Jeffery Johnson an example of a presumed and almost certain first-teamer having to earn it in practice and not wearing the special jersey;
"Exactly right. Another guy had a little better practice yesterday (I'm not sure who was wearing the jersey), so he was 77. He may have practiced the best today, so tomorrow he may have that jersey on (he did not). That's how it going. We'll do it through camp. Once the season starts, we won't do it."
On Johnson being in transfer portal:
"It didn't last long. He realized that he should come back and finish his education here at Tulane and finish his senior season with his friends. That was one of those deals where maybe there was some outside influence. We can't control that, but we're glad to have him back. He's extremely valuable. He's a four-year starter. There's not a lot of big guys like him anywhere. He can move, he can play and he's had a great offseason, a tremendous spring. He's getting better and better every day during camp, so we're looking forward to seeing him play this year. He weighs about 295. He looks the best I've ever seen him. He's in tremendous shape."
On defense after three days of camp:
"I feel fine. I feel like we're improving each and every day. You strive for perfection and there are mistakes obviously, but we get to correct them. That's the beauty of fall camp and spring ball. We get to corredt the mistakes. We're trending the right way. We're not ready in any shape, form or fashion yet, but we're trending in the right direction."
On D.J. Douglas:
"He's a pretty good player. He's been coached. He knows what he's doing, he's tough, he competes, he has a great understanding of the game, natural instincts. He really loves football. We're glad to have him."
(I turned the recorder off and asked him about Rishi Rattan because I knew if he thought Rattan was not a viable competitor for playing time, he would not want to say that in front of Tulane's video. He said Rattan did have a chance to get in the mix while certainly not guaranteeing it, adding he had an awkward style but got the job done and made big plays in practice. In my view, it's still a long shot, but Rattan bears watching)
DORIAN WILLIAMS
On energy Chris Hampton brings:
"Coach Hampton brings a lot of energy. He is going to get on you when you mess up, but it's all out of love. He's a great coach. He'll run with you all the way to the ball because he's going to make sure we work. He says everybody is going to get better this fall camp."
On linebackers:
"It's great to have everybody back, and even the young kids coming in, it feels good to have everybody back. We know we are the head of the defense and have to keep every communicating and running to the ball. We have to be leaders on this team as far as special teams and defense."
On young guys who are standing out:
"Dev (Devean Deal; I did not catch him saying that until just now as I transcribe it, so Deal is playing linebacker after being listed as a tight end) is good. Corey Platt's an athlete. Mandel (Eugene) is a speedster. We're going to put weight on him and he's going to be good. Rishi (Rattan) is a walk-on DB and he balls at practice every day."
On communication to eliminate mistakes:
"We're big on film this year. We're changing a lot of like who has control of the communication. The DBs are calling coverages. The linebackers are going to handle it up front, and then just communicating with the guys on the back end to make sure we're on the same page. We have a lot of meetings together so you see what everybody has to do, not just what your position has to do."
On Oklahoma and Ole Miss early in season:
"We all view those as great opportunities to learn as a defense and learn what we need to improve on, and really those are the money games. If guys want to get drafted, those are the games where you come out and you show the scouts and fans what we are really made of. This is a great opportunity. We love it."
On NIL:
"I have a couple of opportunities with Wagyu Beef Bar company. That's what I do. There are a couple people who have reached out, and I feel like it's a great opportunity for all student-athletes to make the extra money, even to help out families because a lot of people were taking the financial aid they were getting and giving it back to people at home. I feel like it's a great opportunity to help them help themselves here and help the people at home."
DEVIN BRUMFIELD
"For me it was just getting closer to home. I now have a child, so that was the big thing for me. I chose Tulane because it was a place I I knew I wasn't going to be promised anything and I knew I would come to work. I'm now in a room full of guys who have proven themselves in Yulman, and I just want to be next and be a great part of that room. Being away from family for three years, there's nothing like playing in front of the people that love and support you your whole life. That's going to be the biggest thing for me is to impress my family back home."
On him (Covington) Tyjae Spears (Ponchatoula) and Iverson Celestine (Fontainbleau) all coming from the same North Shore high school football district:
"For me it's special. I'm older than those guys, so I was the first one out, but it shows the talent over there is being recognized, and to all be in the same place is special so we can go out and show what we can do on the North Shore."
Covington went 12-0 (before losing to Hahnville in quarterfinals of state playoffs) in his senior year:
"We all came in as freshmen. We knew what we had but didn't quite know, so we worked our butts off from freshman year and senior year it all came together. It was a special year for all of us and will be remembered at that school forever."
On practicing as hard as anyone Fritz has seen:
"For me it came from high school, that 12-0 team I played for in my senior year. Utah was really great at guys finishing. If you want to be the best, you've got to practice the best. Being here at Tulane, they've got guys working their butts off like Tyjae Spears and Cameron Carroll and now Iverson Celestine. If you take a day off, you are going to get passed up. We all want to be the best and are going to continue to work."
On Spears coming back from ACL tear:
"From the day Tyjae stepped back on the field at Football School (The team's term for the summer conditioning session), we knew he was special. We knew what he did before, and he's continuing every day to get better and he's proving he's the Tyjae Spears from before his injury. Like I tell him every day, be as confident as you can be and the sky's the limit. There's never a day you don't see Tyjae Spears giving a 100 percent."
On Chip Long:
"Coach Long is very serious, he's very particular and he loves the tempo and pushing us to be in a position to win. I love coach Long and hopefully we'll have a special year."
