Tulane had a short situational scrimmage at the end of practice Saturday at the Saints indoor facility, and the offense made a lot of big plays.
It had already started by the time I was admitted, but the first pass I saw was an overthrown sideline pass from Jonathan Banks to Darnell Mooney that was one of the few down moments for Banks. He took off on a long run shortly afterward, although take those with a grain of salt since quarterbacks are not allowed to be touched. He hit Stephon Huderson with a short pass that Huderson converted into a larger gain with a sweet move, then failed to connect with Mooney deep on a play in which Jaylon Monroe had good coverage. None of the cornerbacks vying for the open starting job has looked great, but Monroe has been a little better in my view than Thakarius Keyes, who had a rough time today.
Huderson looked outstanding, taking a play action fake and running a wheel route to haul in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Banks. He beat linebacker Zach Harris by a few yards, and Banks laid it in perfectly.
Next was Christian Daniels, who looked sharper than any time in the spring, replacing the wobblers he threw for most of the first three weeks with spirals. Spies told me he made a beautiful deep throw before I arrived, and after missing a receiver in the back of the end zone, he hooked up with Kevin LeDee on a textbook fade route in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, beating Keyes. LeDee almost ran out of room, but the referee signaled he got a foot in before running out the back of the end zone near a wall. I had not seen Daniels make a throw like that all spring.
I was talking to Tanzel Smart during Dane Ledford's first series and did not see what happened. Smart said he had not met Ndamukong Suh yet but was looking forward to all the newcomers the Los Angeles Rams have added in pursuit of the Super Bowl.
Banks was back out there when I started watching again, and he avoided pressure by scrambling toward the sideline before completing a short pass. He then threw incomplete when Keyes broke up the play, and his series was over.
Ledford went in and handed off to Devin Glenn for a short gain up the middle. He then threw for LeDee, who almost made a leaping catch with Monroe covering but could not bring it down. Corey Dauphine, back from his injury scare earlier in the week, carried for a short gain up the middle. Keyes then blitzed from his corner spot and tackled Andrew Zuckerman from behind in the backfield before he could get started. Zuckerman caught a pass on the next play and avoided a tackle by safety Sean Harper.
Banks went back in and bobbled a low snap from Dominique Briggs (and that's why I don't think Briggs should be the center; he had that problem last spring, too) before gathering himself and throwing a frozen rope to Terren Encalade deep down the sideline. It was a gorgeous bit of composure by Banks, who was sacked by Robert Kennedy (doubtful he actually would have gone down if he were live) on the next play before hitting Mooney on a quick out. On the next play, he found a streaking Encalade for a 35-yard touchdown down the sideline, again beating Keyes.
Ledford returned and hit tight end Will Wallace for a decent gain on Monroe before connecting with Rocky Ferony inside on back-to-back plays. He threw the ball away under pressure before trying to connect with Jaetavian Toles, who appeared to be open. Nope. Strong safety P.J. Hall, my feature guy for the Advocate in Sunday's paper, broke on the ball and swatted it to the ground, finishing off a strong day in which he also made a couple of nice tackles. Toles got creamed earlier after making a catch, but I did not see who hit him. It may have been Hall.
My takeways from the day: Banks is the real deal. He won't make the right throw on every play, but he is a playmaker with a lot of ability who will be much more confident now that he is playing a second year in an offensive system for the first time in his college career. Encalade is a weapon, and Mooney is a solid second option. The cornerback spot opposite Donnie Lewis is a concern, and I'm still not convinced Lewis will be the shutdown corner his teammates believe he will be, although he was fine today.
The rest is hard to judge. The offensive line appeared to play well, but let's see what happens next Saturday in the spring game. Losing Junior Diaz was a blow because, as Willie Fritz said after the practice. 99.9 percent of the snaps need to be perfect and that has not been the case without Diaz. Today, Briggs was the starting center, with Dublin back at left guard.
Of the defensive linemen, Robert Kennedy appeared to be the most active, but with quarterbacks not being hit, it's unclear who and who cannot finish the play.
De'Andre Williams was the first-team nose guard, with Jeffery Johnson and Davon Wright getting work on the second team. The rest of the cast remained the same on the first-team defense, with Monroe ahead of Keyes, athough Quentin Brown got some reps at linebacker with the first team, something I had not noticed before.
Will Harper appears to be the backup nickelback behind Tirise Barge. Marvin Moody and Michael Scott were the backup linebackers. Torri Singletary and Nick Kubiet got reps with the second-team defense along with Peter Woullard, who had missed the first three practices of the week with an injury.
I did not see KJ Vault or Chris Joyce, and Fritz said Wilie Langham, the third candidate at the open corner spot, missed the scrimmage. Jacob Robertson remains out with an injury, too. Darius Bradwell sat out, too. He was limping a bit with a leg injury while practicing Thursday. His absence created some opportunities for Glenn, who is a team favorite. Everyone wants to see him do well because he is such a hard worker, but I'm not sure he will stay at running back when the freshmen arrive in the fall and he has never become comfortable as a receiver.
Tanzel Smart, Dontrell Hilliard and Derrick Strozier were among those in attendance, along with some recruits I will list in a separate post.
I will have quotes from Fritz a little later.
It had already started by the time I was admitted, but the first pass I saw was an overthrown sideline pass from Jonathan Banks to Darnell Mooney that was one of the few down moments for Banks. He took off on a long run shortly afterward, although take those with a grain of salt since quarterbacks are not allowed to be touched. He hit Stephon Huderson with a short pass that Huderson converted into a larger gain with a sweet move, then failed to connect with Mooney deep on a play in which Jaylon Monroe had good coverage. None of the cornerbacks vying for the open starting job has looked great, but Monroe has been a little better in my view than Thakarius Keyes, who had a rough time today.
Huderson looked outstanding, taking a play action fake and running a wheel route to haul in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Banks. He beat linebacker Zach Harris by a few yards, and Banks laid it in perfectly.
Next was Christian Daniels, who looked sharper than any time in the spring, replacing the wobblers he threw for most of the first three weeks with spirals. Spies told me he made a beautiful deep throw before I arrived, and after missing a receiver in the back of the end zone, he hooked up with Kevin LeDee on a textbook fade route in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, beating Keyes. LeDee almost ran out of room, but the referee signaled he got a foot in before running out the back of the end zone near a wall. I had not seen Daniels make a throw like that all spring.
I was talking to Tanzel Smart during Dane Ledford's first series and did not see what happened. Smart said he had not met Ndamukong Suh yet but was looking forward to all the newcomers the Los Angeles Rams have added in pursuit of the Super Bowl.
Banks was back out there when I started watching again, and he avoided pressure by scrambling toward the sideline before completing a short pass. He then threw incomplete when Keyes broke up the play, and his series was over.
Ledford went in and handed off to Devin Glenn for a short gain up the middle. He then threw for LeDee, who almost made a leaping catch with Monroe covering but could not bring it down. Corey Dauphine, back from his injury scare earlier in the week, carried for a short gain up the middle. Keyes then blitzed from his corner spot and tackled Andrew Zuckerman from behind in the backfield before he could get started. Zuckerman caught a pass on the next play and avoided a tackle by safety Sean Harper.
Banks went back in and bobbled a low snap from Dominique Briggs (and that's why I don't think Briggs should be the center; he had that problem last spring, too) before gathering himself and throwing a frozen rope to Terren Encalade deep down the sideline. It was a gorgeous bit of composure by Banks, who was sacked by Robert Kennedy (doubtful he actually would have gone down if he were live) on the next play before hitting Mooney on a quick out. On the next play, he found a streaking Encalade for a 35-yard touchdown down the sideline, again beating Keyes.
Ledford returned and hit tight end Will Wallace for a decent gain on Monroe before connecting with Rocky Ferony inside on back-to-back plays. He threw the ball away under pressure before trying to connect with Jaetavian Toles, who appeared to be open. Nope. Strong safety P.J. Hall, my feature guy for the Advocate in Sunday's paper, broke on the ball and swatted it to the ground, finishing off a strong day in which he also made a couple of nice tackles. Toles got creamed earlier after making a catch, but I did not see who hit him. It may have been Hall.
My takeways from the day: Banks is the real deal. He won't make the right throw on every play, but he is a playmaker with a lot of ability who will be much more confident now that he is playing a second year in an offensive system for the first time in his college career. Encalade is a weapon, and Mooney is a solid second option. The cornerback spot opposite Donnie Lewis is a concern, and I'm still not convinced Lewis will be the shutdown corner his teammates believe he will be, although he was fine today.
The rest is hard to judge. The offensive line appeared to play well, but let's see what happens next Saturday in the spring game. Losing Junior Diaz was a blow because, as Willie Fritz said after the practice. 99.9 percent of the snaps need to be perfect and that has not been the case without Diaz. Today, Briggs was the starting center, with Dublin back at left guard.
Of the defensive linemen, Robert Kennedy appeared to be the most active, but with quarterbacks not being hit, it's unclear who and who cannot finish the play.
De'Andre Williams was the first-team nose guard, with Jeffery Johnson and Davon Wright getting work on the second team. The rest of the cast remained the same on the first-team defense, with Monroe ahead of Keyes, athough Quentin Brown got some reps at linebacker with the first team, something I had not noticed before.
Will Harper appears to be the backup nickelback behind Tirise Barge. Marvin Moody and Michael Scott were the backup linebackers. Torri Singletary and Nick Kubiet got reps with the second-team defense along with Peter Woullard, who had missed the first three practices of the week with an injury.
I did not see KJ Vault or Chris Joyce, and Fritz said Wilie Langham, the third candidate at the open corner spot, missed the scrimmage. Jacob Robertson remains out with an injury, too. Darius Bradwell sat out, too. He was limping a bit with a leg injury while practicing Thursday. His absence created some opportunities for Glenn, who is a team favorite. Everyone wants to see him do well because he is such a hard worker, but I'm not sure he will stay at running back when the freshmen arrive in the fall and he has never become comfortable as a receiver.
Tanzel Smart, Dontrell Hilliard and Derrick Strozier were among those in attendance, along with some recruits I will list in a separate post.
I will have quotes from Fritz a little later.