Now here's a position that is much easier to judge in non-tackling practices From the 1-on-1 drills to the 7-on-7 work to the 11-on-11 competition, the receivers got plenty of work this spring, and one thing is certain: Tulane's receiving corps will be exponentially better next fall than it was in 2016, with four incoming freshmen and a juco transfer joining six returning wideouts, two tight ends and a hybrid tight end/wide receiver in Andrew Hicks, who missed spring drills while recovering from his second torn ACL.
Still, that leaves plenty of room for improvement because it was the worst position on the team, including the offensive line, in 2016. The second Teddy Veal announced he was transferring, I knew this group was in trouble. The coaches even reached out to Devon Breaux, who did not participate in spring drills while he concentrated on track, to make sure he returned to the team in the fall, and anyone who had watched his haphazard pattern running and concentration could have predicted his lack of impact--three catches, 38 yards. Former walk-on Larry Dace was the third most productive receiver with 15 catches for 169 yards. The talented but immature Trey Scott (and that goes for on and off the field) disappointed with two catches for 14 yards and left the program. A gaggle of freshman were given chances to produce right away even though none of them were ready, and Darnell Mooney, the least heralded of the group when they signed, stepped up with 24 receptions for 267 yards. Terren Encalade had a good year (36 catches, 500 yards) and was the only legitimate D1 receiver (a term Willie Fritz uses a lot) of the lot, although last year's freshmen class will get there soon.
Here is my take from the spring. The one disclaimer is blocking skills were not clear, and receivers don't get on the field for Fritz if they can't hold their own in that department.
Leaders of the pack: Encalade and Mooney
The hardworking Encalade, a slot receiver, was not content with his breakout season in 2016 and has worked to get better. While he does not do anything great, he does a lot of things well and is smooth. Barring injury, he is a near certainty to increase his reception total from last year and lead the team in receiving unless one of the incoming freshmen is out of this world.
Mooney is not as much of a sure thing. His development last year was super impressive because he did not show up until right before the start of training camp, but he he still has work to do. At his size (5-11, 175), opponents can disrupt him from his routes, and I got the impression the coaches wanted to see more improvement from him during the summer. He runs crisp routes on air and has good hands.
Biggest potential difference-maker: Jabril Clewis
Clewis, a junior college transfer, had a strong start to the spring but did not have a good spring game and was not even listed on top of the post-spring depth chart, backing up Jacob Robertson at split end. Clewis makes himself a big target, which is important on a team with uncertain quarterback play, but he does not get much separation on deep routes even though he was used in that role a ton during the spring. He also did not show me a whole lot on the fade routes they kept throwing him, so he definitely has room for improvement. If he produces in the fall like he did at times in the spring, Tulane will be helped immeasurably.
Most improved: Robertson
Robertson missed all of his freshman year after a preseason injury, so he started from scratch in the spring and got significant better with each practice. I still like Clewis' potential over his, but Robertson can be a steady contributor at X.
Biggest surprise: tight end Charles Jones.
It's unclear how often the tight ends will be involved in the passing game--that's not a Fritz specialty--but Tulane has a pair of pretty good ones in Jones and Kendall Ardoin, who caught four passes for 80 yards a year ago. Jones had some outstanding practices, making an incredible leaping catch in the corner of the end zone during one of them. That was the way he looked in the preseason of 2014 when he earned a starting role under CJ, but as Fritz pointed out, Jones needs to bring it every day rather than every once in a while. With teams cheating to stop the run, the tight ends can be weapons in Fritz' offense and Jones, who received a medical redshirt after missing almost all of 2016, is more polished than Ardoin. Throw in Andrew Hicks, whom the coaches are considering moving to tight end, and it might be a good idea to involve these guys in the passing game heavily.
Question marks: Devin Glenn and D.J. Owens
Glenn was very productive in the last week of the spring at flanker (Z), backing up Mooney. He probably caught more passes than any other receiver in that span. He also is an incredibly hard worker. The problem is his size (5-7, 160), which makes him a hard target to connect with and also makes him susceptible to physical corners. He also is not a natural receiver, coming in as a running back. That being said, Fritz says his toughness makes him a better blocker than his size would indicate.
Owens made some plays in the spring and is listed as the backup to Encalade in the slot. The coaches want him to be more consistent because his attention to detail wavers at times. I really have less of a read on him than the other guys, but he definitely has gotten better after making one catch in a year when he was forced into limited playing time and would have redshirted if there were more quality guys in front of in.
Unknown: Chris Johnson
I admit I was not as impressed with him last year as others --he played in 10 games, starting three, and had one catch for 18 yards--but too many people think too highly of him for me to trust my own opinion here. Johnson will be Tulane's fastest returning receiver if he recovers from a torn ACL in time for preseason practice, and Fritz anticipates him to be ready by then. Overall, this group does not have a ton of speed, so for that reason alone it is important that Johnson returns.
TAKEAWAY
This group still is not explosive enough, but it is likely that the worst of the returning scholarship receivers will be better than Dace, the No. 3 guy, was last year. Encalade can be an All-AAC contender if he gets enough opportunities. The pecking order behind him is uncertain, but if three of the other guys produce, Tulane will be competent at a spot it was incompetent a year ago. That is a huge difference.
Still, that leaves plenty of room for improvement because it was the worst position on the team, including the offensive line, in 2016. The second Teddy Veal announced he was transferring, I knew this group was in trouble. The coaches even reached out to Devon Breaux, who did not participate in spring drills while he concentrated on track, to make sure he returned to the team in the fall, and anyone who had watched his haphazard pattern running and concentration could have predicted his lack of impact--three catches, 38 yards. Former walk-on Larry Dace was the third most productive receiver with 15 catches for 169 yards. The talented but immature Trey Scott (and that goes for on and off the field) disappointed with two catches for 14 yards and left the program. A gaggle of freshman were given chances to produce right away even though none of them were ready, and Darnell Mooney, the least heralded of the group when they signed, stepped up with 24 receptions for 267 yards. Terren Encalade had a good year (36 catches, 500 yards) and was the only legitimate D1 receiver (a term Willie Fritz uses a lot) of the lot, although last year's freshmen class will get there soon.
Here is my take from the spring. The one disclaimer is blocking skills were not clear, and receivers don't get on the field for Fritz if they can't hold their own in that department.
Leaders of the pack: Encalade and Mooney
The hardworking Encalade, a slot receiver, was not content with his breakout season in 2016 and has worked to get better. While he does not do anything great, he does a lot of things well and is smooth. Barring injury, he is a near certainty to increase his reception total from last year and lead the team in receiving unless one of the incoming freshmen is out of this world.
Mooney is not as much of a sure thing. His development last year was super impressive because he did not show up until right before the start of training camp, but he he still has work to do. At his size (5-11, 175), opponents can disrupt him from his routes, and I got the impression the coaches wanted to see more improvement from him during the summer. He runs crisp routes on air and has good hands.
Biggest potential difference-maker: Jabril Clewis
Clewis, a junior college transfer, had a strong start to the spring but did not have a good spring game and was not even listed on top of the post-spring depth chart, backing up Jacob Robertson at split end. Clewis makes himself a big target, which is important on a team with uncertain quarterback play, but he does not get much separation on deep routes even though he was used in that role a ton during the spring. He also did not show me a whole lot on the fade routes they kept throwing him, so he definitely has room for improvement. If he produces in the fall like he did at times in the spring, Tulane will be helped immeasurably.
Most improved: Robertson
Robertson missed all of his freshman year after a preseason injury, so he started from scratch in the spring and got significant better with each practice. I still like Clewis' potential over his, but Robertson can be a steady contributor at X.
Biggest surprise: tight end Charles Jones.
It's unclear how often the tight ends will be involved in the passing game--that's not a Fritz specialty--but Tulane has a pair of pretty good ones in Jones and Kendall Ardoin, who caught four passes for 80 yards a year ago. Jones had some outstanding practices, making an incredible leaping catch in the corner of the end zone during one of them. That was the way he looked in the preseason of 2014 when he earned a starting role under CJ, but as Fritz pointed out, Jones needs to bring it every day rather than every once in a while. With teams cheating to stop the run, the tight ends can be weapons in Fritz' offense and Jones, who received a medical redshirt after missing almost all of 2016, is more polished than Ardoin. Throw in Andrew Hicks, whom the coaches are considering moving to tight end, and it might be a good idea to involve these guys in the passing game heavily.
Question marks: Devin Glenn and D.J. Owens
Glenn was very productive in the last week of the spring at flanker (Z), backing up Mooney. He probably caught more passes than any other receiver in that span. He also is an incredibly hard worker. The problem is his size (5-7, 160), which makes him a hard target to connect with and also makes him susceptible to physical corners. He also is not a natural receiver, coming in as a running back. That being said, Fritz says his toughness makes him a better blocker than his size would indicate.
Owens made some plays in the spring and is listed as the backup to Encalade in the slot. The coaches want him to be more consistent because his attention to detail wavers at times. I really have less of a read on him than the other guys, but he definitely has gotten better after making one catch in a year when he was forced into limited playing time and would have redshirted if there were more quality guys in front of in.
Unknown: Chris Johnson
I admit I was not as impressed with him last year as others --he played in 10 games, starting three, and had one catch for 18 yards--but too many people think too highly of him for me to trust my own opinion here. Johnson will be Tulane's fastest returning receiver if he recovers from a torn ACL in time for preseason practice, and Fritz anticipates him to be ready by then. Overall, this group does not have a ton of speed, so for that reason alone it is important that Johnson returns.
TAKEAWAY
This group still is not explosive enough, but it is likely that the worst of the returning scholarship receivers will be better than Dace, the No. 3 guy, was last year. Encalade can be an All-AAC contender if he gets enough opportunities. The pecking order behind him is uncertain, but if three of the other guys produce, Tulane will be competent at a spot it was incompetent a year ago. That is a huge difference.