Because of a conflict, I only saw about the last 15 minutes of practice Thursday after they rescheduled it from Friday, but I caught the last half-hour today (the maximum allowed when they work out at the Saints indoor facility).
Corey Dublin was taking reps with the first team at center today, In a perfect world, I believe that is the best solution to fill the void created by Junior Diaz' unexpected departure. Dublin is a good player, and I would expect him to be able to adjust. I did not think Hunter Knighton was starter quality last year, and Dominique Briggs had major snapping issues in the preseason. It would be easier to find a second guard than a center in my opinion, so I hope Dublin can get the job done at center, but his move there would create question marks at both guard spots. Hey, that's what spring practice is for--to experiment and find the best possible combination.
They were mixing and matching on the offensive line today. The first-team tackles were Keyshawn McLeod on the left side and John Leglue on the right side. With Dominique Briggs working as the second-team center for the portion of practice I saw, the guards were Devon Johnson, Brian Webb, Knighton and Cameron Jackel as they try to find which guys are capable of stepping up and contributing. It was the second straight practice where Johnson got reps with the first unit--he did it Thursday when Briggs worked as the first-team center. The backup tackles were Joey Claybrook on the left side and Tyler Johnson on the right side.
They are also experimenting with different combinations on defense. Believe it or not, but Stephon Lofton has made as many plays at cornerback when I've been watching as anyone. He has not done much of anything in his first four years at Tulane, but he made a terrific breakup over the middle in the two-minute drill, diving at the perfect time to knock the ball away. I don't know whether he is a legitimate candidate for the spot opposite Donnie Lewis, but it bears watching. He practiced with the second team today while Jaylon Monroe, the favorite for the job, worked with the first unit. Thakarius Keyes and Willie Langham got time at safety to fill a shortage there, but Fritz said he still considered them cornerbacks first.
The first-team defensive line was Robert Kennedy and Patrick Johnson at end, with Johnson playing that hybrid OLB/end role, and Cameron Sample and DeAndre Williams inside. The second-team line had true freshmen Jeffery Johnson and Davon Wright on the inside with Michael Scott and Peter Woullard outside. Scott got manhandled on a running play, allowing a big gain as he failed to get off a block.
The first-team linebackers were Zach Harris and Lawrence Graham. Behind them were KJ Vault and Marvin Moody.
The first-team nickelback was Tirise Barge, with Rod Teamer at free safety and P.J Hall at strong safety. Behind them were Keyes and Langham. I did not see Sean Harper practicing, so he may be hurt. Taris Shenall also did not practice. I will get an update on the injured players Monday. I did not catch who the backup nickelback was, but it might have been Will Harper, who I did not see practicing but who made some good plays earlier this week. He lined up at nickelback at the end of Thursday's practice.
Christian Daniels threw better than he had Wednesday or Thursday in the two-minute drill, but he still threw behind Charles Jones on one play when he was open. Jones and Kendall Ardoin got plenty of reps with the first unit. Tulane has run very little two-tight end formations under Fritz, but he always is looking for ways to get his better players on the field.
Daniels tried to connect with walk-on wideout Rocky Ferony deep, but he was not open.
Jonathan Banks hit Jaetavian Toles on a slant and Darius Bradwell on the outside in consecutive plays. He scrambled for a gain, which is easy to do when you know you are not allowed to be hit, before throwing incomplete deep in the end zone for Terren Encalade, who was well covered. He then hit Jabrill Clewis for a nice gain after scrambling to his right, connected with Encalade on a slant and threw the ball away on purpose, actually hitting the wall on the side of the practice field on the fly.
Fritz loves getting the opportunity to practice at the Saints facility.
'It's always good to have it out here," he said. "We appreciate the Saints allowing us to come out here. It's awesome. We had a good workout today. We got a lot of reps in and everybody got action. It's just repetition, repetition, repetition. I'm excited about it."
They have limited time after the practices out there because they are rushing to get on the buses back to campus, but I asked him a few more questions.
Stephon Lofton appears to be playing better than ever before. Do you feel that way?
"He knows what he's doing and is playing with more confidence and is pulling the trigger quicker. He needs to keep developing, but he's doing a much better job here. You're correct."
How tight is the competition for the spot opposite Donnie Lewis?
"Pretty tight. We've got some guys who can do it out there. We're a little short-handed at safety, so we're playing Thakarius Keyes and Willie Langham at some safety, but both of those guys are probably more suited for corner. And then we're going to have to have some freshmen come in and be able to play for us, too."
How is Christian Daniels developing?
"Pretty good. Every once in a while he gets swimming a little bit. We inserted a lot of stuff for the first seven practices and we're going to slow down a little bit, but he's getting better every day."
Corey Dublin was taking reps with the first team at center today, In a perfect world, I believe that is the best solution to fill the void created by Junior Diaz' unexpected departure. Dublin is a good player, and I would expect him to be able to adjust. I did not think Hunter Knighton was starter quality last year, and Dominique Briggs had major snapping issues in the preseason. It would be easier to find a second guard than a center in my opinion, so I hope Dublin can get the job done at center, but his move there would create question marks at both guard spots. Hey, that's what spring practice is for--to experiment and find the best possible combination.
They were mixing and matching on the offensive line today. The first-team tackles were Keyshawn McLeod on the left side and John Leglue on the right side. With Dominique Briggs working as the second-team center for the portion of practice I saw, the guards were Devon Johnson, Brian Webb, Knighton and Cameron Jackel as they try to find which guys are capable of stepping up and contributing. It was the second straight practice where Johnson got reps with the first unit--he did it Thursday when Briggs worked as the first-team center. The backup tackles were Joey Claybrook on the left side and Tyler Johnson on the right side.
They are also experimenting with different combinations on defense. Believe it or not, but Stephon Lofton has made as many plays at cornerback when I've been watching as anyone. He has not done much of anything in his first four years at Tulane, but he made a terrific breakup over the middle in the two-minute drill, diving at the perfect time to knock the ball away. I don't know whether he is a legitimate candidate for the spot opposite Donnie Lewis, but it bears watching. He practiced with the second team today while Jaylon Monroe, the favorite for the job, worked with the first unit. Thakarius Keyes and Willie Langham got time at safety to fill a shortage there, but Fritz said he still considered them cornerbacks first.
The first-team defensive line was Robert Kennedy and Patrick Johnson at end, with Johnson playing that hybrid OLB/end role, and Cameron Sample and DeAndre Williams inside. The second-team line had true freshmen Jeffery Johnson and Davon Wright on the inside with Michael Scott and Peter Woullard outside. Scott got manhandled on a running play, allowing a big gain as he failed to get off a block.
The first-team linebackers were Zach Harris and Lawrence Graham. Behind them were KJ Vault and Marvin Moody.
The first-team nickelback was Tirise Barge, with Rod Teamer at free safety and P.J Hall at strong safety. Behind them were Keyes and Langham. I did not see Sean Harper practicing, so he may be hurt. Taris Shenall also did not practice. I will get an update on the injured players Monday. I did not catch who the backup nickelback was, but it might have been Will Harper, who I did not see practicing but who made some good plays earlier this week. He lined up at nickelback at the end of Thursday's practice.
Christian Daniels threw better than he had Wednesday or Thursday in the two-minute drill, but he still threw behind Charles Jones on one play when he was open. Jones and Kendall Ardoin got plenty of reps with the first unit. Tulane has run very little two-tight end formations under Fritz, but he always is looking for ways to get his better players on the field.
Daniels tried to connect with walk-on wideout Rocky Ferony deep, but he was not open.
Jonathan Banks hit Jaetavian Toles on a slant and Darius Bradwell on the outside in consecutive plays. He scrambled for a gain, which is easy to do when you know you are not allowed to be hit, before throwing incomplete deep in the end zone for Terren Encalade, who was well covered. He then hit Jabrill Clewis for a nice gain after scrambling to his right, connected with Encalade on a slant and threw the ball away on purpose, actually hitting the wall on the side of the practice field on the fly.
Fritz loves getting the opportunity to practice at the Saints facility.
'It's always good to have it out here," he said. "We appreciate the Saints allowing us to come out here. It's awesome. We had a good workout today. We got a lot of reps in and everybody got action. It's just repetition, repetition, repetition. I'm excited about it."
They have limited time after the practices out there because they are rushing to get on the buses back to campus, but I asked him a few more questions.
Stephon Lofton appears to be playing better than ever before. Do you feel that way?
"He knows what he's doing and is playing with more confidence and is pulling the trigger quicker. He needs to keep developing, but he's doing a much better job here. You're correct."
How tight is the competition for the spot opposite Donnie Lewis?
"Pretty tight. We've got some guys who can do it out there. We're a little short-handed at safety, so we're playing Thakarius Keyes and Willie Langham at some safety, but both of those guys are probably more suited for corner. And then we're going to have to have some freshmen come in and be able to play for us, too."
How is Christian Daniels developing?
"Pretty good. Every once in a while he gets swimming a little bit. We inserted a lot of stuff for the first seven practices and we're going to slow down a little bit, but he's getting better every day."
