I focused on the quarterbacks at practice today because Tulane was perilously thin behind starter Jonathan Banks entering spring drills, with true freshman Christian Daniels and quarterback-turned wide receiver-turned quarterback again Dane Ledford the only other scholarship options.
My first impression: Ledford is more impressive than I expected. He certainly has to improve before he is a viable option to help Tulane win games in case of a Banks injury, but the basic tools are there. He is the most likely guy to be the No. 2 QB because it is incredibly hard for a true freshman like Daniels to come out of lower-level high school football and be ready right away.
The initial concern with Ledford is if the coaches decided to move him away from quarterback, as they did early last year. he cannot be a big-time prospect. There's some merit to that--he was judged fourth best behind Banks, Johnathan Brantley and fellow true freshman Khalil McClain--but it was very early in his career.
In seven-on-seven drills today, Ledford was the most impressive of the three QBs. Each took turns having five reps in a row, with the ball at the defense's 40-yard line for each snap and Willie Fritz hollering out the down and distance to replicate. Ledford was on the money with a pass to Kevin LeDee, who still has skinny legs but is showing a knack for getting open this week, and to Darnell Mooney in his first segment.
Daniels struggled. His head clearly was spinning. He missed Brian Newman badly over the middle, throwing behind him. He led Jacob Robertson perfectly on an outside route, but he held on to the ball for so long before scrambling and hitting him, he would have been sacked for sure in a live drill. He held the ball too along again before hitting Terren Encalade and ended his segment by overthrowing walk-on Rocky Ferony deep.
When Banks got his turn, he hit Jabril Clewis on an out route but put a little too much air under the throw, which would have allowed a defender to possibly step in front of it or drill Clewis in a live drill.
He completed a pass to tight end Will Wallace on a short out route, threw incomplete deep into the end zone for Mooney and had a miscommunication with Jaetavian Toles, throwing deep when Toles broke off his route.
Ledford returned for a second stint and hit Mooney on a quick out Encalade on a quick out and connected with Darius Bradwell on the sideline, all on third-and-6. Ledford was throwing quicker than Banks or Daniels, seeing what was there and firing. He finished his segment by finding Charles Jones along the sideline on second-and-7.
Daniels had one final throw, and he again held the ball tool long before throwing, allowing Patrick Johnson to knock it down after dropping into coverage.
I'd like to give more thorough coverage of the 11-on-11 drill that ended practice, but I had a conversation with the new sports information director that should bear fruit down the road. He set a policy of allowing reporters in for the last 30 minutes of practice, but I received permission to get their earlier and was explaining to him that the coaches knew I would not burn them. He was the football SID at Miami before coming to Tulane and is used to a much more restrictive environment, but our conversation was cordial. Unfortunately, it kept me from charting the 11-on-11 work.
Mooney had a good day, catching a a nice pass from Daniels on a slant and one from Banks on the sideline. Ledford did not appear to be as sharp in 11-on-11 work. He had a receiver open deep and threw his pass too high, allowing a defensive back to get there in time to break it up.
"He's doing a good job for us," Fritz said. "We had such a line at quarterback last year that we wanted to play him some place, and unfortunately he got hurt, which may end up being a blessing in disguise, but he's doing a really nice job. He's very smart and he's an excellent athlete. He was a 23-foot long jumper in high school and he's got legit 4.5, 4.6 speed. He's just to get a little more consistent with his throwing delivery. Three plays in a row he'll look really good throwing, and then he'll throw one out there that doesn't quite so good, so we just have to keep getting him reps."
Going through the summer and preseason last year gave Ledford an edge on Daniels, who is seeing everything for the first time.
"We just inserted a bunch of stuff for practice No.2," Fritz said. "Christian knew everything from practice 1, but he was swimming a little bit today. He'll pick it up. He's a sharp kid."
As for Banks, he still needs to be more consistent as a thrower, but he has the complete package in what the staff is looking for. Although it will be hugely important to keep him healthy in the fall, Fritz says they will not tell him to stop running. Modern college offenses, and certainly the one Tulane has, rely on the quarterback to pick up yards with his feet. Fritz reiterated what he said to me Friday about the importance of Banks not taking unnecessary hits. I actually thought he was pretty good at getting down last year, and a few times I thought he went down a little earlier than necessary, but he definitely needs to protect his body when he can.
"All these offenses, the quarterback's going to run," Fritz said. "He just has to understand touchdown, first down, get down. When there's not more yards to get, get down. Get out of bounds on the sideline, but if he has to get the first down, get the first down. He's a weapon. He's 225, 230 and 6-2 with good speed. He's going to run the ball anywhere from five to 15 times a game depending on how they play us. He's really a weapon when he makes a definitive decision to scramble. He's really good when he does that. We're not going to touch him in practice, I know that, so he won't be taking any hits during the week."
Tulane's first-team offensive line had Dominique Briggs at center with the usual suspects surrounding him. Hunter Knighton was on the second team at center, with Tyler Johnson and Keyshawn McLeod both getting reps with the first unit at tackle opposite John Leglue.
Robertson tweaked something slightly and rode the exercise bike midway through practice but appeared to be fine.
Fritz' pet phrase during tackling drills definitely is "tackle through him, not to him." He said it repeatedly during a drill where they rolled a donut and players had to bring it down. He even admitted making a mistake in the way he taught it last year, urging them to do it slightly differently this time.
I will have more here tomorrow after conducting interviews with Fritz, Jeffery Johnson. Banks, Ledford and Rod Teamer in a group today.
The next practice is Friday morning.
My first impression: Ledford is more impressive than I expected. He certainly has to improve before he is a viable option to help Tulane win games in case of a Banks injury, but the basic tools are there. He is the most likely guy to be the No. 2 QB because it is incredibly hard for a true freshman like Daniels to come out of lower-level high school football and be ready right away.
The initial concern with Ledford is if the coaches decided to move him away from quarterback, as they did early last year. he cannot be a big-time prospect. There's some merit to that--he was judged fourth best behind Banks, Johnathan Brantley and fellow true freshman Khalil McClain--but it was very early in his career.
In seven-on-seven drills today, Ledford was the most impressive of the three QBs. Each took turns having five reps in a row, with the ball at the defense's 40-yard line for each snap and Willie Fritz hollering out the down and distance to replicate. Ledford was on the money with a pass to Kevin LeDee, who still has skinny legs but is showing a knack for getting open this week, and to Darnell Mooney in his first segment.
Daniels struggled. His head clearly was spinning. He missed Brian Newman badly over the middle, throwing behind him. He led Jacob Robertson perfectly on an outside route, but he held on to the ball for so long before scrambling and hitting him, he would have been sacked for sure in a live drill. He held the ball too along again before hitting Terren Encalade and ended his segment by overthrowing walk-on Rocky Ferony deep.
When Banks got his turn, he hit Jabril Clewis on an out route but put a little too much air under the throw, which would have allowed a defender to possibly step in front of it or drill Clewis in a live drill.
He completed a pass to tight end Will Wallace on a short out route, threw incomplete deep into the end zone for Mooney and had a miscommunication with Jaetavian Toles, throwing deep when Toles broke off his route.
Ledford returned for a second stint and hit Mooney on a quick out Encalade on a quick out and connected with Darius Bradwell on the sideline, all on third-and-6. Ledford was throwing quicker than Banks or Daniels, seeing what was there and firing. He finished his segment by finding Charles Jones along the sideline on second-and-7.
Daniels had one final throw, and he again held the ball tool long before throwing, allowing Patrick Johnson to knock it down after dropping into coverage.
I'd like to give more thorough coverage of the 11-on-11 drill that ended practice, but I had a conversation with the new sports information director that should bear fruit down the road. He set a policy of allowing reporters in for the last 30 minutes of practice, but I received permission to get their earlier and was explaining to him that the coaches knew I would not burn them. He was the football SID at Miami before coming to Tulane and is used to a much more restrictive environment, but our conversation was cordial. Unfortunately, it kept me from charting the 11-on-11 work.
Mooney had a good day, catching a a nice pass from Daniels on a slant and one from Banks on the sideline. Ledford did not appear to be as sharp in 11-on-11 work. He had a receiver open deep and threw his pass too high, allowing a defensive back to get there in time to break it up.
"He's doing a good job for us," Fritz said. "We had such a line at quarterback last year that we wanted to play him some place, and unfortunately he got hurt, which may end up being a blessing in disguise, but he's doing a really nice job. He's very smart and he's an excellent athlete. He was a 23-foot long jumper in high school and he's got legit 4.5, 4.6 speed. He's just to get a little more consistent with his throwing delivery. Three plays in a row he'll look really good throwing, and then he'll throw one out there that doesn't quite so good, so we just have to keep getting him reps."
Going through the summer and preseason last year gave Ledford an edge on Daniels, who is seeing everything for the first time.
"We just inserted a bunch of stuff for practice No.2," Fritz said. "Christian knew everything from practice 1, but he was swimming a little bit today. He'll pick it up. He's a sharp kid."
As for Banks, he still needs to be more consistent as a thrower, but he has the complete package in what the staff is looking for. Although it will be hugely important to keep him healthy in the fall, Fritz says they will not tell him to stop running. Modern college offenses, and certainly the one Tulane has, rely on the quarterback to pick up yards with his feet. Fritz reiterated what he said to me Friday about the importance of Banks not taking unnecessary hits. I actually thought he was pretty good at getting down last year, and a few times I thought he went down a little earlier than necessary, but he definitely needs to protect his body when he can.
"All these offenses, the quarterback's going to run," Fritz said. "He just has to understand touchdown, first down, get down. When there's not more yards to get, get down. Get out of bounds on the sideline, but if he has to get the first down, get the first down. He's a weapon. He's 225, 230 and 6-2 with good speed. He's going to run the ball anywhere from five to 15 times a game depending on how they play us. He's really a weapon when he makes a definitive decision to scramble. He's really good when he does that. We're not going to touch him in practice, I know that, so he won't be taking any hits during the week."
Tulane's first-team offensive line had Dominique Briggs at center with the usual suspects surrounding him. Hunter Knighton was on the second team at center, with Tyler Johnson and Keyshawn McLeod both getting reps with the first unit at tackle opposite John Leglue.
Robertson tweaked something slightly and rode the exercise bike midway through practice but appeared to be fine.
Fritz' pet phrase during tackling drills definitely is "tackle through him, not to him." He said it repeatedly during a drill where they rolled a donut and players had to bring it down. He even admitted making a mistake in the way he taught it last year, urging them to do it slightly differently this time.
I will have more here tomorrow after conducting interviews with Fritz, Jeffery Johnson. Banks, Ledford and Rod Teamer in a group today.
The next practice is Friday morning.
