I basically missed the entire practice because I did not get informed that it had been moved up an hour. I did arrive in time for interviews and the post-practice sprints and also talked to Cairo Santos, who was in town and visiting today.
Some thoughts:
1) I question whether Jason Stewart or Braynon Edwards will ever be productive.
Granted, I have a thing about athletes who cannot get in shape, but that duo still is overweight. Stewart, entering his third year, and Edwards, entering his second year, could not run at all in the wind sprints after the first full pads practice. They had to be encouraged by teammates to try to job but basically just walked from one sideline to the other, too spent to run. That's a problem. If they don't have the discipline to get in shape, it's hard to see how they will have the discipline to turn into good players the coaches can trust.
CJ had a positive spin on it when I asked him.
"They made it through practice. It's the first time that these two kids, usually they are lying on the sideline (after a day like this one). This is going to be a recurring problem throughout. I think they'll grow up and as they get older they'll be fine."
Hope he's right.
2) I like to talk about how Tulane is loaded at running back, but CJ objected to my premise today when I asked him a question, and he had a point. At times in the second half of 2014, Dontrell Hilliard was the only healthy tailback while Sherman Badie and Lazedrick Thompson nursed ankle sprains, and the running game suffered. You can never have enough good running backs, and CJ believes Josh Rounds is a fourth. He was redshirted last year to give him two years of eligibility left and could be a significant factor in the fall even with the incoming freshmen at his position adding to the depth.
"Rounds is an outstanding player," CJ said. "We saw so many backs go down last year. He has speed through the hole, he can catch, he's a smart guy. He's going to help us out tremendously."
I liked Rounds in preseason practice last fall and was surprised when he ended up on the scout team and CJ said he was redshirting. With Tulane's lack of scholarship receivers, he can be very effective lining up in the slot or catching passes out of the backfield. I'm not sure I would give him the ball on carries more than once or twice a game because he's not as good as the top three there, but he can play a role as a third-down back for sure.
3) If I had to name the opening game starters right now, I bet I would come close to nailing all 22 barring injuries. It's pretty clear cut at most spots. On offense, its Tanner Lee and Sherman Badie in the backfield, Charles Jones at TE, Teddy Veal, Terren Encalade and Devon Breaux at wide receiver and Arturo Uzdavinis, Colton Hanson, Nathan Shienle, Chris Taylor and Kenneth Santa Marina on the offensive line. As a side note, when I was doing research on another topic today, I ran across a message board from last spring where people were raving about Junior Diaz and predicting him to be the sure starter at center. I don't claim to be an expert on offensive line play, but Diaz looked small to me the first time I saw him practice, so I'm surprised people were as high on him as they were.
On defense, my projected starters are Royce LaFrance and Ade Aruna at end (although LaFrance is no certainty to be eligible and Aruna still has to prove himself), Tanzel Smart and Sean Wllson at tackle (locks), Edward Williams and Nico Marley at linebacker, Jarrod Franklin at nickel back, Parry Nickerson and Richard Allen at CB and Darion Monroe and Leonard Davis at safety. Other than end, I don't see many possibilities where I could be wrong, although Davis scares me at safety. The coaches raved about his athletic ability before the season last year but it did not translate to production on the field.
I loved this quote from Monroe on Franklin:
"When he first got here his freshman year he didn't know anything. We used to call him scarecrow because we thought he didn't have a brain. Now he knows the defense like the back of his hand."
4) Breaux was not nearly as close to being a quality receiver last year as he or the coaches thought, and I think he realizes it now. Here's what he said about where he needs to improve:
"Things like having stronger hands, coming back to the ball, coming into the game with a positive mindset and just trying to get better throughout the whole game and minimize my mistakes. I need to not even think about last year. It's a new year. I just have to compete and get better every day."
5) Here is my interview with Franklin after the first day of spring practice. I never got the chance to transcribe it until today.
How is your knee?
"It feels very well. It's just like my other knee now. I can't feel the difference. The doctors just told me to carry out the knee brace the first year. I had surgery last year on March 14. I remember the date and I remember the exact play and I remember the exact time, all that."
What happened?
"It was a blitz pickup drill and it was Alec Macias, one of our running backs, and I was blitzing an inside gap, and I remember I engaged him and I tried to pull and rip. I had a very wide base, and I pulled a rip and pushed him right on top of my leg, so it was kind of my fault."
Did you tear three ligaments?
"I tore two ligaments. I tore my MCL, my ACL and I tore a piece of my meniscus off."
Did you feel ready to play by the end of the year?
"I actually felt pretty good. I started practicing in late November. Coming back and practicing was definitely fun."
You made a terrific interception on a pass for Breaux in the end zone. Take us through that play?
"It was a good route by Breaux. We all know Devon. He's a jumping guy. He likes to jump a lot, so I knew I had to keep my leverage on Devon, lean an delicate him and look for the ball."
What position are you playing?
"I'm use playing a lot of nickel position, the Sam position as well, so definitely perfecting those two positions. It is the exact same thing I did last spring. Playing the slot corner positions and also coming in at the outside linebacker positions."
Here's more from Monroe on Franklin:
"He's better (than he was before his injury. He got a lot of mental reps last year, and he's doing much better. The knee is not bothering him. He's trying to take the knee brace off, but they are not letting him yet. He's a high energy guy, and that's the guy we need. He's a tweener between a linebacker and a safety. He can do all of those things.
"He's a perfect nickel for our defense. He allows me to go back to the back end and make calls."
"He wasn't down (after the injury) because he's a happy kid. He said I'm going to get stronger and be back for next year. He had a smile on his face during his whole rehab."
ONE OTHER NOTE: Starting Monday, I will be able to watch almost the entire practices. I drop my kid off at school at 8 a.m. and can head to campus right after that.
Some thoughts:
1) I question whether Jason Stewart or Braynon Edwards will ever be productive.
Granted, I have a thing about athletes who cannot get in shape, but that duo still is overweight. Stewart, entering his third year, and Edwards, entering his second year, could not run at all in the wind sprints after the first full pads practice. They had to be encouraged by teammates to try to job but basically just walked from one sideline to the other, too spent to run. That's a problem. If they don't have the discipline to get in shape, it's hard to see how they will have the discipline to turn into good players the coaches can trust.
CJ had a positive spin on it when I asked him.
"They made it through practice. It's the first time that these two kids, usually they are lying on the sideline (after a day like this one). This is going to be a recurring problem throughout. I think they'll grow up and as they get older they'll be fine."
Hope he's right.
2) I like to talk about how Tulane is loaded at running back, but CJ objected to my premise today when I asked him a question, and he had a point. At times in the second half of 2014, Dontrell Hilliard was the only healthy tailback while Sherman Badie and Lazedrick Thompson nursed ankle sprains, and the running game suffered. You can never have enough good running backs, and CJ believes Josh Rounds is a fourth. He was redshirted last year to give him two years of eligibility left and could be a significant factor in the fall even with the incoming freshmen at his position adding to the depth.
"Rounds is an outstanding player," CJ said. "We saw so many backs go down last year. He has speed through the hole, he can catch, he's a smart guy. He's going to help us out tremendously."
I liked Rounds in preseason practice last fall and was surprised when he ended up on the scout team and CJ said he was redshirting. With Tulane's lack of scholarship receivers, he can be very effective lining up in the slot or catching passes out of the backfield. I'm not sure I would give him the ball on carries more than once or twice a game because he's not as good as the top three there, but he can play a role as a third-down back for sure.
3) If I had to name the opening game starters right now, I bet I would come close to nailing all 22 barring injuries. It's pretty clear cut at most spots. On offense, its Tanner Lee and Sherman Badie in the backfield, Charles Jones at TE, Teddy Veal, Terren Encalade and Devon Breaux at wide receiver and Arturo Uzdavinis, Colton Hanson, Nathan Shienle, Chris Taylor and Kenneth Santa Marina on the offensive line. As a side note, when I was doing research on another topic today, I ran across a message board from last spring where people were raving about Junior Diaz and predicting him to be the sure starter at center. I don't claim to be an expert on offensive line play, but Diaz looked small to me the first time I saw him practice, so I'm surprised people were as high on him as they were.
On defense, my projected starters are Royce LaFrance and Ade Aruna at end (although LaFrance is no certainty to be eligible and Aruna still has to prove himself), Tanzel Smart and Sean Wllson at tackle (locks), Edward Williams and Nico Marley at linebacker, Jarrod Franklin at nickel back, Parry Nickerson and Richard Allen at CB and Darion Monroe and Leonard Davis at safety. Other than end, I don't see many possibilities where I could be wrong, although Davis scares me at safety. The coaches raved about his athletic ability before the season last year but it did not translate to production on the field.
I loved this quote from Monroe on Franklin:
"When he first got here his freshman year he didn't know anything. We used to call him scarecrow because we thought he didn't have a brain. Now he knows the defense like the back of his hand."
4) Breaux was not nearly as close to being a quality receiver last year as he or the coaches thought, and I think he realizes it now. Here's what he said about where he needs to improve:
"Things like having stronger hands, coming back to the ball, coming into the game with a positive mindset and just trying to get better throughout the whole game and minimize my mistakes. I need to not even think about last year. It's a new year. I just have to compete and get better every day."
5) Here is my interview with Franklin after the first day of spring practice. I never got the chance to transcribe it until today.
How is your knee?
"It feels very well. It's just like my other knee now. I can't feel the difference. The doctors just told me to carry out the knee brace the first year. I had surgery last year on March 14. I remember the date and I remember the exact play and I remember the exact time, all that."
What happened?
"It was a blitz pickup drill and it was Alec Macias, one of our running backs, and I was blitzing an inside gap, and I remember I engaged him and I tried to pull and rip. I had a very wide base, and I pulled a rip and pushed him right on top of my leg, so it was kind of my fault."
Did you tear three ligaments?
"I tore two ligaments. I tore my MCL, my ACL and I tore a piece of my meniscus off."
Did you feel ready to play by the end of the year?
"I actually felt pretty good. I started practicing in late November. Coming back and practicing was definitely fun."
You made a terrific interception on a pass for Breaux in the end zone. Take us through that play?
"It was a good route by Breaux. We all know Devon. He's a jumping guy. He likes to jump a lot, so I knew I had to keep my leverage on Devon, lean an delicate him and look for the ball."
What position are you playing?
"I'm use playing a lot of nickel position, the Sam position as well, so definitely perfecting those two positions. It is the exact same thing I did last spring. Playing the slot corner positions and also coming in at the outside linebacker positions."
Here's more from Monroe on Franklin:
"He's better (than he was before his injury. He got a lot of mental reps last year, and he's doing much better. The knee is not bothering him. He's trying to take the knee brace off, but they are not letting him yet. He's a high energy guy, and that's the guy we need. He's a tweener between a linebacker and a safety. He can do all of those things.
"He's a perfect nickel for our defense. He allows me to go back to the back end and make calls."
"He wasn't down (after the injury) because he's a happy kid. He said I'm going to get stronger and be back for next year. He had a smile on his face during his whole rehab."
ONE OTHER NOTE: Starting Monday, I will be able to watch almost the entire practices. I drop my kid off at school at 8 a.m. and can head to campus right after that.