Tulane held a closed practice at the Saints indoor facility this morning due to thunderstorms, so I did not get a chance to watch. I talked to Willie Fritz, Kevin Peoples and Jamiran James when they got back to the Wilson Center.
FRITZ
The Saints facility came to the rescue again, right?
"That's right. I doubt we would have gotten this one in. We had a good practice. We worked on punt block, the return game, kickoff return, kicked some field goals. It's always fun to kick out there because of the more narrow goal posts. We did a lot of open-field team stuff."
Who will be the holder this year?
"Right now Ryan Wright and Coby Neenan are competing for the job."
What is the plan for Saturday's practice?
"We are going to to some good on good, punt returns, kicks, kickoff returns, do some live field goals, versus field goal block and then we're going to do some red zone, pass skelly and then some open-field stuff. It will be about 42 plays."
PEOPLES
You are two deep across the board. How nice is it to be in that position?
"It's nice. We're still young. We don't have any seniors and obviously we want to make sure we're not being complacent. We have to keep pushing hard every day with the guys that are starters and the guys that are backing up right now so they become starters and try to create competition. "We can be really good."
Where are Carlos Hatcher and Juan Monjarres in their development?
"They are both working really hard. They both have some real pass rush ability and are trying to get more experience playing the run and when we do ask them to get in coverage. They've improved drastically and hopefully they can be in position to make more plays for us this coming year."
Jamiran James did not play last year after hurting his left hand. Where is he?
"Right now Twin (his nickname because he has a twin brother) is a backup nose. He's a real change of pace guy. Jeffery is a big, 320-pound guy. Twin is considerably lighter and has more quickness. We've got one guy that really be firm and solid against the run and another guy that has the ability to make some plays in the backfield and gives us a spark. He's doing a real nice job as well."
Alfred Thomas played some last year. What is his role?
"He is inside. He's going to be a very good player. He's really come along this spring as well. I'm happy with where he's at, but he has to keep going."
How do you envision the rotation?
"Jeffery, DeAndre and Cam (Sample0)all have a lot of experience, with Alfred pushing and Davon (Wright) pushing them and having different packages they'll start in. We like to look at five or six guys as starters in different position groups that we put out there. We're trying to get a place for all the guys to be able to use their talents. Really the leader of our defensive line is DeAndre. He really pushes guys and encourages and admonishes at times. He's a very good leader."
JAMIRAN JAMES
How frustrating was it last year to not get on the field because of your hand injury?
"It was frustrating. You just have to look at the bright side of it. It's just a chance to improve every day and get better as a team and be closer as a defensive line unit. I really got familiar with the blocks and the schemes that we're trying to do, so it was kind of like a blessing,"
How are you doing this spring?
"We are making steady improvement and just trying to get better every day."
Individually what do you need to work on?
"I need to work on my hands and my hips and just get better every day."
What is your best strength?
"I feel like my best strength is physicality. I love bringing my physical play to the game."
What exactly happened to your hand last year?
"I tore a ligament in my left hand. It's healthy now. I was making a tackle in one of the scrimmages, and one of our big running backs, Cam Carroll, it got jammed up on him in a preseason scrimmage during camp."
How do you like nose guard?
"I like it. I'm a physical player and this is a real physical position right over the ball. I really think it brings out my best contribution."
You have like nine defensive line who look ready to play. How is that going to work out?
"We all bring different stuff to the table and we all have different packages. We are all getting better every day."
Jeffery Johnson is in front of you. What are your thoughts about him?
"He is actually my roommate, too. I really love him. He's been working with me a lot. He just wants me to get better and improve. We don't look at it as being behind each other. We look at it as improving individually because we all bring different stuff to the table."
Coach Fritz single you out when he was talking about the spring game the other day, saying he wanted to see what you could do in a live situation.
"I'm really looking forward to it now that I'm back at 100 percent. I'm really looking forward to it to show my coaches."
How long did it take you to recover from the hand injury?
"It took a while. Playing D-line, you have to be able to get down on both hands in different stances, and I wasn't able to get down in a left-hand stance, so I had to build the muscle back up to be able to get down and switch my stance up. It took probably about six months for me to fully recover."
You had a great career at De La Salle. How much do you enjoy being able to play in your hometown?
"It is amazing. I just love my coaches. My coaches from high school are about five minutes down the street and they always come to practice. They are just telling me they want me to get better and are seeing me growing."
FRITZ
The Saints facility came to the rescue again, right?
"That's right. I doubt we would have gotten this one in. We had a good practice. We worked on punt block, the return game, kickoff return, kicked some field goals. It's always fun to kick out there because of the more narrow goal posts. We did a lot of open-field team stuff."
Who will be the holder this year?
"Right now Ryan Wright and Coby Neenan are competing for the job."
What is the plan for Saturday's practice?
"We are going to to some good on good, punt returns, kicks, kickoff returns, do some live field goals, versus field goal block and then we're going to do some red zone, pass skelly and then some open-field stuff. It will be about 42 plays."
PEOPLES
You are two deep across the board. How nice is it to be in that position?
"It's nice. We're still young. We don't have any seniors and obviously we want to make sure we're not being complacent. We have to keep pushing hard every day with the guys that are starters and the guys that are backing up right now so they become starters and try to create competition. "We can be really good."
Where are Carlos Hatcher and Juan Monjarres in their development?
"They are both working really hard. They both have some real pass rush ability and are trying to get more experience playing the run and when we do ask them to get in coverage. They've improved drastically and hopefully they can be in position to make more plays for us this coming year."
Jamiran James did not play last year after hurting his left hand. Where is he?
"Right now Twin (his nickname because he has a twin brother) is a backup nose. He's a real change of pace guy. Jeffery is a big, 320-pound guy. Twin is considerably lighter and has more quickness. We've got one guy that really be firm and solid against the run and another guy that has the ability to make some plays in the backfield and gives us a spark. He's doing a real nice job as well."
Alfred Thomas played some last year. What is his role?
"He is inside. He's going to be a very good player. He's really come along this spring as well. I'm happy with where he's at, but he has to keep going."
How do you envision the rotation?
"Jeffery, DeAndre and Cam (Sample0)all have a lot of experience, with Alfred pushing and Davon (Wright) pushing them and having different packages they'll start in. We like to look at five or six guys as starters in different position groups that we put out there. We're trying to get a place for all the guys to be able to use their talents. Really the leader of our defensive line is DeAndre. He really pushes guys and encourages and admonishes at times. He's a very good leader."
JAMIRAN JAMES
How frustrating was it last year to not get on the field because of your hand injury?
"It was frustrating. You just have to look at the bright side of it. It's just a chance to improve every day and get better as a team and be closer as a defensive line unit. I really got familiar with the blocks and the schemes that we're trying to do, so it was kind of like a blessing,"
How are you doing this spring?
"We are making steady improvement and just trying to get better every day."
Individually what do you need to work on?
"I need to work on my hands and my hips and just get better every day."
What is your best strength?
"I feel like my best strength is physicality. I love bringing my physical play to the game."
What exactly happened to your hand last year?
"I tore a ligament in my left hand. It's healthy now. I was making a tackle in one of the scrimmages, and one of our big running backs, Cam Carroll, it got jammed up on him in a preseason scrimmage during camp."
How do you like nose guard?
"I like it. I'm a physical player and this is a real physical position right over the ball. I really think it brings out my best contribution."
You have like nine defensive line who look ready to play. How is that going to work out?
"We all bring different stuff to the table and we all have different packages. We are all getting better every day."
Jeffery Johnson is in front of you. What are your thoughts about him?
"He is actually my roommate, too. I really love him. He's been working with me a lot. He just wants me to get better and improve. We don't look at it as being behind each other. We look at it as improving individually because we all bring different stuff to the table."
Coach Fritz single you out when he was talking about the spring game the other day, saying he wanted to see what you could do in a live situation.
"I'm really looking forward to it now that I'm back at 100 percent. I'm really looking forward to it to show my coaches."
How long did it take you to recover from the hand injury?
"It took a while. Playing D-line, you have to be able to get down on both hands in different stances, and I wasn't able to get down in a left-hand stance, so I had to build the muscle back up to be able to get down and switch my stance up. It took probably about six months for me to fully recover."
You had a great career at De La Salle. How much do you enjoy being able to play in your hometown?
"It is amazing. I just love my coaches. My coaches from high school are about five minutes down the street and they always come to practice. They are just telling me they want me to get better and are seeing me growing."