First, a note about the spring game. With current forecasts calling for a 100 percent chance of rain on Saturday, there is a real chance the game will be moved to Friday, although nothing has been determined yet. I assume it would take place in the morning at the usual practice time since classes are in session.
Let's hope the forecast changes because this will be the only chance for fans to see the team in the spring, and not many would be able to make it on Friday morning.
Either way, Tulane will still have all 15 spring practices (remember when CJ bailed on a couple one year, saying they had gotten all the work they needed) because the regular practiced scheduled for Friday (practice No. 14) was moved up to tomorrow last night.
Today, I focused on the defense in an attempt to clear up some questions. They were mixing and matching a lot during the 11-on-11 work at the end of practice, but one player who stood out was Larry Bryant, who is being dual trained at nickelback and rush end/OLB. The coaches' excitement about him last preseason, when he got plenty of reps with the first-team D at rush end, did not turn into real production (nine tackles, one sack), but it is easy to see what they like about him. He's fast and he is sturdy (6-1, 205). Bryant is the second-team nickel behind Tirise Barge and a backup rush end, too. The trick is getting his athletic ability to translate to a specific position because he is a bit of a tweener.
"He's playing some nickel, he's playing some secondary, he's playing a little bit of some defensive end for us, too," Willie Fritz said. "He is so fast and explosive, we've got to find a spot for him on the field to get out there and play. He's got an opportunity to be a dominant kicking game player. He's shown flashes of being able to do that for us (blocked a punt in 2016 as a true freshman). We've got to get that out of him on defense, too."
I'd say nine of the 11 starting spots on defense are clear cut--Cam Sample and Robert Kennedy on the defensive line, Patrick Johnson at rush end, Zach Harris and Lawrence Graham at inside linebacker, Donnie Lewis at cornerback, Rod Teamer at free safety and P.J. Hall at strong safety. Jaylon Monroe has an edge on Thakarius Keyes at the other corner spot--Monroe actually practiced today at Donnie Lewis' boundary spot because Lewis was not there--but that competition is ongoing.
Nose guard is the closest competition, with Jeffery Johnson and DeAndre Williams the candidates. We all know what the coaches like about Johnson, but Williams has come on this spring after playing sparingly as a redshirt freshman.
"He's gotten quite a bit better," Fritz said. "That's one of the things you need to do a great job of. Recruiting is one piece of the puzzle. The other part is development of the guys when they get into your program. The good coaches really develop guys. They get better every week, every season, and I've seen that out of DeAndre."
Johnson has gotten more reps with the first-team unit, although they played with the first-team D at the same time for segments today. The experience Johnson is gaining this spring is invaluable. I feel like Williams has been more productive this spring, but that's understandable as Johnson makes the huge adjustment from high school to college one semester early.
"He's had growing pains, but he's a phenomenal kid," defensive line coach Kevin Peoples said. "He's a special human being. He has a lot of work to do, but he's talented enough to do and he has the work ethic to do it. He's adapted unbelievably. Both of those two kids--him and Davon Wright--are getting 15 practices under their belt, a semester under their belt and then will be here all summer, so hopefully they'll be more like redshirt freshmen than true freshmen in the fall. Without them being early graduates, it would be a real struggle to get those guys ready to play this year."
The other Johnson on the defensive line, true sophomore Patrick Johnson, has practiced with the first team at rush end from start to finish. He played in six games last fall, making six tackles, and should make a significant leap as a sophomore.
"Patrick's another one of those special kids to be able to come in and be able to play as a true freshman," Peoples said. "He's done a great job. He's a hard worker. It's night and day different from where he was six months ago."
With so many young guys on the defensive line--the two-deep features six underclassmen--Peoples admitted his group had to improve before the fall.
"It's going to be a work in progress throughout the summer," he said. "But the meeting room is great. The work ethic's good. We're not there yet, but I think we'll get there."
Peoples has one of the toughest coaching tasks since Williams is the third oldest guy in his meeting room behind Kennedy and backup senior end Peter Woullard.
It's like the mother who has to raise three or four kids by herself," Peoples said. "She has to go out and get a job and find a way to do it. There's no excuses. You've got to get it done. We're going to be tested, and to pass the test we're going to have to work our (butts) off."
The two Harpers, Will and Sean, have not done much in two years, but they are pushing for playing time this spring. Will Harper, who went from 20 tackles as a true freshman to zero last fall, is practicing primarily at nickelback, alternating with Bryant at No. 2. Sean Harper, who played in 10 games as a true freshman and only three last year (no tackles either season), is working at strong safety. Sean Harper made a nice play, today, blitzing and batting down a Jonathan Banks pass.
Another interesting case study is Chase Kuerschen, whose experiment at linebacker is over. He played second-team free safety today after being virtually invisible as he tried to adjust to linebacker. It is a significant comedown for a guy who made 60 tackles as a true freshman--the fourth highest total on the team--but he was the victim of the coaches' decision to get more speed on the field. Back at his more comfortable spot, it will be interesting to see what he does in preseason practice.
"He's a smart guy," Fritz said. "He'll do a good job back there for us."
Fritz feels good about the defense.
"We're going to play with some young guys," Fritz said. "We had a lot of young guys that played last year. I feel good about it. We have some big bodies that can really move up front. Our linebackers can really run. Secondary wise we just have to make sure we're putting people in the right spot. One of the things we try to do in the secondary is start our best five guys instead of pigeon holing a guy that he has to play corner or whatever. Let's move him on back and play him in a different spot and get the five best guys out there.
"Rod Teamer's had a great spring. P.J. Hall has had an outstanding spring. Some of the other guys have a real good practice and then the next day maybe they aren't quite as good. We've just got to get the consistency on it, but we have a lot of guys that can run on defense. If you have enough size with a bunch of guys who can run and play hard and be physical, you've got a chance to have a very good defense.
"Robert Kennedy's back to full speed, which he wasn't last year, and he's a really good player. We think Cam Sample has a chance to be an outstanding player in this league. Jeffery Johnson should be going to his prom in two weeks, but he's got the size and the mass and the quickness to be able to play up front. Patrick Johnson is having a great spring."
OTHER NOTES
--Michael Scott is playing inside linebacker rather than defensive end, or at least that's where he lined up today.
--Missing in action were Taris Shenall, KJ Vault and Chase Napoleon. I will ask about their status after tomorrow's practice, but I have not seen Shenall all week. I'll check to find out what the injuries are to Shenall and Vault and find out Napoleon's status tomorrow.
--The offense had more than its usual share of false starts today, and offensive coordinator Doug Ruse had had enough. When John Leglue jumped on one play, he screamed that it happened too many times, although a little more colorfully that that. A little later, Corey Dauphine moved early and was forced to go to the sideline, with Fritz yelling out, "Wave don't beat the Wave."
--Corey Dublin was at center in the 11-on-11 drill again today.
--Devin Glenn exploded through a hole and received a pat and a word of encouragement from Fritz as he returned to the huddle. Fritz likes what he has seen from Glenn this spring.
--Stephon Huderson is running with much more confidence than last fall, when he was hesitant.
--The defense did not allow any big pass plays in the 11-on-11 work.
Fritz' overall assessment of today:
"It went pretty good. During the season you always have that carrot at the end of every week. We've got one this week, the spring game. We just want to continue in an upward trajectory."
Let's hope the forecast changes because this will be the only chance for fans to see the team in the spring, and not many would be able to make it on Friday morning.
Either way, Tulane will still have all 15 spring practices (remember when CJ bailed on a couple one year, saying they had gotten all the work they needed) because the regular practiced scheduled for Friday (practice No. 14) was moved up to tomorrow last night.
Today, I focused on the defense in an attempt to clear up some questions. They were mixing and matching a lot during the 11-on-11 work at the end of practice, but one player who stood out was Larry Bryant, who is being dual trained at nickelback and rush end/OLB. The coaches' excitement about him last preseason, when he got plenty of reps with the first-team D at rush end, did not turn into real production (nine tackles, one sack), but it is easy to see what they like about him. He's fast and he is sturdy (6-1, 205). Bryant is the second-team nickel behind Tirise Barge and a backup rush end, too. The trick is getting his athletic ability to translate to a specific position because he is a bit of a tweener.
"He's playing some nickel, he's playing some secondary, he's playing a little bit of some defensive end for us, too," Willie Fritz said. "He is so fast and explosive, we've got to find a spot for him on the field to get out there and play. He's got an opportunity to be a dominant kicking game player. He's shown flashes of being able to do that for us (blocked a punt in 2016 as a true freshman). We've got to get that out of him on defense, too."
I'd say nine of the 11 starting spots on defense are clear cut--Cam Sample and Robert Kennedy on the defensive line, Patrick Johnson at rush end, Zach Harris and Lawrence Graham at inside linebacker, Donnie Lewis at cornerback, Rod Teamer at free safety and P.J. Hall at strong safety. Jaylon Monroe has an edge on Thakarius Keyes at the other corner spot--Monroe actually practiced today at Donnie Lewis' boundary spot because Lewis was not there--but that competition is ongoing.
Nose guard is the closest competition, with Jeffery Johnson and DeAndre Williams the candidates. We all know what the coaches like about Johnson, but Williams has come on this spring after playing sparingly as a redshirt freshman.
"He's gotten quite a bit better," Fritz said. "That's one of the things you need to do a great job of. Recruiting is one piece of the puzzle. The other part is development of the guys when they get into your program. The good coaches really develop guys. They get better every week, every season, and I've seen that out of DeAndre."
Johnson has gotten more reps with the first-team unit, although they played with the first-team D at the same time for segments today. The experience Johnson is gaining this spring is invaluable. I feel like Williams has been more productive this spring, but that's understandable as Johnson makes the huge adjustment from high school to college one semester early.
"He's had growing pains, but he's a phenomenal kid," defensive line coach Kevin Peoples said. "He's a special human being. He has a lot of work to do, but he's talented enough to do and he has the work ethic to do it. He's adapted unbelievably. Both of those two kids--him and Davon Wright--are getting 15 practices under their belt, a semester under their belt and then will be here all summer, so hopefully they'll be more like redshirt freshmen than true freshmen in the fall. Without them being early graduates, it would be a real struggle to get those guys ready to play this year."
The other Johnson on the defensive line, true sophomore Patrick Johnson, has practiced with the first team at rush end from start to finish. He played in six games last fall, making six tackles, and should make a significant leap as a sophomore.
"Patrick's another one of those special kids to be able to come in and be able to play as a true freshman," Peoples said. "He's done a great job. He's a hard worker. It's night and day different from where he was six months ago."
With so many young guys on the defensive line--the two-deep features six underclassmen--Peoples admitted his group had to improve before the fall.
"It's going to be a work in progress throughout the summer," he said. "But the meeting room is great. The work ethic's good. We're not there yet, but I think we'll get there."
Peoples has one of the toughest coaching tasks since Williams is the third oldest guy in his meeting room behind Kennedy and backup senior end Peter Woullard.
It's like the mother who has to raise three or four kids by herself," Peoples said. "She has to go out and get a job and find a way to do it. There's no excuses. You've got to get it done. We're going to be tested, and to pass the test we're going to have to work our (butts) off."
The two Harpers, Will and Sean, have not done much in two years, but they are pushing for playing time this spring. Will Harper, who went from 20 tackles as a true freshman to zero last fall, is practicing primarily at nickelback, alternating with Bryant at No. 2. Sean Harper, who played in 10 games as a true freshman and only three last year (no tackles either season), is working at strong safety. Sean Harper made a nice play, today, blitzing and batting down a Jonathan Banks pass.
Another interesting case study is Chase Kuerschen, whose experiment at linebacker is over. He played second-team free safety today after being virtually invisible as he tried to adjust to linebacker. It is a significant comedown for a guy who made 60 tackles as a true freshman--the fourth highest total on the team--but he was the victim of the coaches' decision to get more speed on the field. Back at his more comfortable spot, it will be interesting to see what he does in preseason practice.
"He's a smart guy," Fritz said. "He'll do a good job back there for us."
Fritz feels good about the defense.
"We're going to play with some young guys," Fritz said. "We had a lot of young guys that played last year. I feel good about it. We have some big bodies that can really move up front. Our linebackers can really run. Secondary wise we just have to make sure we're putting people in the right spot. One of the things we try to do in the secondary is start our best five guys instead of pigeon holing a guy that he has to play corner or whatever. Let's move him on back and play him in a different spot and get the five best guys out there.
"Rod Teamer's had a great spring. P.J. Hall has had an outstanding spring. Some of the other guys have a real good practice and then the next day maybe they aren't quite as good. We've just got to get the consistency on it, but we have a lot of guys that can run on defense. If you have enough size with a bunch of guys who can run and play hard and be physical, you've got a chance to have a very good defense.
"Robert Kennedy's back to full speed, which he wasn't last year, and he's a really good player. We think Cam Sample has a chance to be an outstanding player in this league. Jeffery Johnson should be going to his prom in two weeks, but he's got the size and the mass and the quickness to be able to play up front. Patrick Johnson is having a great spring."
OTHER NOTES
--Michael Scott is playing inside linebacker rather than defensive end, or at least that's where he lined up today.
--Missing in action were Taris Shenall, KJ Vault and Chase Napoleon. I will ask about their status after tomorrow's practice, but I have not seen Shenall all week. I'll check to find out what the injuries are to Shenall and Vault and find out Napoleon's status tomorrow.
--The offense had more than its usual share of false starts today, and offensive coordinator Doug Ruse had had enough. When John Leglue jumped on one play, he screamed that it happened too many times, although a little more colorfully that that. A little later, Corey Dauphine moved early and was forced to go to the sideline, with Fritz yelling out, "Wave don't beat the Wave."
--Corey Dublin was at center in the 11-on-11 drill again today.
--Devin Glenn exploded through a hole and received a pat and a word of encouragement from Fritz as he returned to the huddle. Fritz likes what he has seen from Glenn this spring.
--Stephon Huderson is running with much more confidence than last fall, when he was hesitant.
--The defense did not allow any big pass plays in the 11-on-11 work.
Fritz' overall assessment of today:
"It went pretty good. During the season you always have that carrot at the end of every week. We've got one this week, the spring game. We just want to continue in an upward trajectory."