Tulane conducted its first spring practice today in wintry weather, which makes sense since technically it still is winter. It was windy and cold at Yulman Stadium this morning. I got there a little after 9:30 (I will be there earlier most days), and practice ended at 13:30.
Two scholarship players are gone.
One of them is offensive lineman John Washington, who never progressed after moving to that side of the ball two falls ago and drawing initial enthusiasm from Willie Fritz as a potential starter. He was never in the picture last fall.
The second one is defensive back Eric Lewis, a 2016 signee who committed to Curtis Johnson's staff and stayed in the fold when Fritz came aboard but also never was in the picture. He played against Grambling last year and never again.
Their departure leaves Tulane with 63 scholarship players and 17 walk-ons for spring practice. A kicker with the last name of Singer is gone, and there are three new walk-ons. Freshman offensive lineman Ben Bratcher of of Dallas J.J. Pearce High got reps at left guard. Redshirt freshman Avery Jenkins of Country Day got reps at defensive tackle. Freshman Sam Bruchhaus of Lake Charles St. Louis Catholic is listed as a linebacker.
There also are a few numerical changes. Donnie Lewis has gone from 21 to 1, Darnell Mooney has gone from 86 to 3, Chase Napoleon from 20 to 4, Quentin Brown from 14 to 13 and backup long snapper Austin Streaty from 93 to 56.
Of the true freshmen, Christian Daniels is 14, Jeffery Johnson is 77, Davon Wright is 78 and Chris Joyce is 21. Joyce did not practice today because he has a hamstring issue, but Fritz he hoped to have him back next week.
As for the practice, it was a typical first workout in shorts with plenty of enthusiasm and a number of mistakes. Fritz used his microphone a ton. When I walked into the stadium, he was praising a ball-carrier for opting not to switch hands with the ball after catching a pass, saying, "You don't know who's coming." Ball security always will be a Fritz staple. Later, he conducted a tackling drill with the defensive players starting on hands and knees and lunging forward to hit a pad in front of them.
"Tackle through the man, not to the man," Fritz yelled repeatedly into the microphone. "Right shoulder leverage, eyes up, on the whistle, left shoulder leverage, eyes up, on the whistle." Tackling technique is the other staple of a Fritz practice.
All of the quarterbacks worked on option pitches while the tackling drill was going on. Banks appeared comfortable in that role after not excelling there in the fall.
Hunter Knighton was the first-team center, getting the initial shot to replace the man he backed up in the fall, Junior Diaz, who transferred to Florida Atlantic as a grad student. Dominique Briggs took reps there, too, working with the second-team line of LT Joey Claybrook, Knighton at left guard, Cameron Jackel at right guard and Tyler Johnson at right tackle.
The first-team line was Keyshawn McLeod at left tackle, Corey Dublin at left guard, Knighton at center, Briggs at right guard and John Leglue at right tackle.
Dane Ledford and Terren Encalade hooked up for the play of the day on a deep ball down the sideline. Ledford, who had just missed a receiver on a sideline pattern, threw a strike to Encalade, who fell down where he caught it.
Robert Kennedy picked up a loose ball and took it the other way for a touchdown. He should be headed for a huge year as a senior.
Safety Will Harper, who has been seldom been heard from since enrolling in January of 2016. knocked down a pass by Banks at the line of scrimmage, drawing praise.
Kevin LeDee, who showed flashes last year but was too skinny to play as a true freshman, made a nice diving catch in traffic. He still is thin but should be better equipped to handle the pounding in college football.
Banks tried to connect with Jaetavian Toles near the sideline but misfired wide.
Daniels did not throw enough for me to get much of a read on him. Wednesday's practice should reveal more. He did drop one snap, scramble out of the pocket and stumble to the ground as he tried to run downfield, but that's typical of the first day for a true freshman.
When Johnson and Wright were out there at defensive tackle, they were flanked by ends Peter Woullard and Michael Scott on the second team. Johnson definitely could lose some weight, but he looked pretty good. He is listed at 6-2, 320--10 pounds lighter than Braynon Edwards--while Wright is listed at 6-1, 295.
The quarterbacks all had more success throwing with the wind than against the wind. As I stated earlier, it was really windy out there.
The first-team defense had Donnie Lewis and Jaylon Monroe at CB and Roderic Teamer and P.J. Hall at safety. I did not get a good look at the linebackers, but Chase Kuerschen was practicing there as Fritz said he would on Friday.
Other quick hitters:
Bryan Newman, a walk-on wide receiver who likely would have earned playing time last year before blowing out his knee, was in uniform. I did not expect to see him back until the fall.
Darius Bradwell is a beast. He is up to 6-1, 235 and will be a load to handle. He has not lost any of speed.
On the video screen and on the stands, they had the phrase: Tulane Green Wave, NOLA's College Football Team. Look for that to be a slogan this year.
Two scholarship players are gone.
One of them is offensive lineman John Washington, who never progressed after moving to that side of the ball two falls ago and drawing initial enthusiasm from Willie Fritz as a potential starter. He was never in the picture last fall.
The second one is defensive back Eric Lewis, a 2016 signee who committed to Curtis Johnson's staff and stayed in the fold when Fritz came aboard but also never was in the picture. He played against Grambling last year and never again.
Their departure leaves Tulane with 63 scholarship players and 17 walk-ons for spring practice. A kicker with the last name of Singer is gone, and there are three new walk-ons. Freshman offensive lineman Ben Bratcher of of Dallas J.J. Pearce High got reps at left guard. Redshirt freshman Avery Jenkins of Country Day got reps at defensive tackle. Freshman Sam Bruchhaus of Lake Charles St. Louis Catholic is listed as a linebacker.
There also are a few numerical changes. Donnie Lewis has gone from 21 to 1, Darnell Mooney has gone from 86 to 3, Chase Napoleon from 20 to 4, Quentin Brown from 14 to 13 and backup long snapper Austin Streaty from 93 to 56.
Of the true freshmen, Christian Daniels is 14, Jeffery Johnson is 77, Davon Wright is 78 and Chris Joyce is 21. Joyce did not practice today because he has a hamstring issue, but Fritz he hoped to have him back next week.
As for the practice, it was a typical first workout in shorts with plenty of enthusiasm and a number of mistakes. Fritz used his microphone a ton. When I walked into the stadium, he was praising a ball-carrier for opting not to switch hands with the ball after catching a pass, saying, "You don't know who's coming." Ball security always will be a Fritz staple. Later, he conducted a tackling drill with the defensive players starting on hands and knees and lunging forward to hit a pad in front of them.
"Tackle through the man, not to the man," Fritz yelled repeatedly into the microphone. "Right shoulder leverage, eyes up, on the whistle, left shoulder leverage, eyes up, on the whistle." Tackling technique is the other staple of a Fritz practice.
All of the quarterbacks worked on option pitches while the tackling drill was going on. Banks appeared comfortable in that role after not excelling there in the fall.
Hunter Knighton was the first-team center, getting the initial shot to replace the man he backed up in the fall, Junior Diaz, who transferred to Florida Atlantic as a grad student. Dominique Briggs took reps there, too, working with the second-team line of LT Joey Claybrook, Knighton at left guard, Cameron Jackel at right guard and Tyler Johnson at right tackle.
The first-team line was Keyshawn McLeod at left tackle, Corey Dublin at left guard, Knighton at center, Briggs at right guard and John Leglue at right tackle.
Dane Ledford and Terren Encalade hooked up for the play of the day on a deep ball down the sideline. Ledford, who had just missed a receiver on a sideline pattern, threw a strike to Encalade, who fell down where he caught it.
Robert Kennedy picked up a loose ball and took it the other way for a touchdown. He should be headed for a huge year as a senior.
Safety Will Harper, who has been seldom been heard from since enrolling in January of 2016. knocked down a pass by Banks at the line of scrimmage, drawing praise.
Kevin LeDee, who showed flashes last year but was too skinny to play as a true freshman, made a nice diving catch in traffic. He still is thin but should be better equipped to handle the pounding in college football.
Banks tried to connect with Jaetavian Toles near the sideline but misfired wide.
Daniels did not throw enough for me to get much of a read on him. Wednesday's practice should reveal more. He did drop one snap, scramble out of the pocket and stumble to the ground as he tried to run downfield, but that's typical of the first day for a true freshman.
When Johnson and Wright were out there at defensive tackle, they were flanked by ends Peter Woullard and Michael Scott on the second team. Johnson definitely could lose some weight, but he looked pretty good. He is listed at 6-2, 320--10 pounds lighter than Braynon Edwards--while Wright is listed at 6-1, 295.
The quarterbacks all had more success throwing with the wind than against the wind. As I stated earlier, it was really windy out there.
The first-team defense had Donnie Lewis and Jaylon Monroe at CB and Roderic Teamer and P.J. Hall at safety. I did not get a good look at the linebackers, but Chase Kuerschen was practicing there as Fritz said he would on Friday.
Other quick hitters:
Bryan Newman, a walk-on wide receiver who likely would have earned playing time last year before blowing out his knee, was in uniform. I did not expect to see him back until the fall.
Darius Bradwell is a beast. He is up to 6-1, 235 and will be a load to handle. He has not lost any of speed.
On the video screen and on the stands, they had the phrase: Tulane Green Wave, NOLA's College Football Team. Look for that to be a slogan this year.