Tulane had 12 scholarship defensive backs on the roster for spring drills, although Kanyon Walker did not practice due to a hip injury that has sidelined him from almost the time he arrived a year ago and Chase Kuerschen was in and out due to a minor injury and Chris Joyce, who will be suspended for the first four games of the season as he finishes his year-long punishment for a PED, missed at least two of the five days.
If the 2020 season comes off, Tulane still has a few battles to settle in the secondary with several options. The coaches rotated players at nickelback looking for the right fit at a position that lost its top three performers from 2019 (Will Harper and Larry Bryant were seniors, and Tirise Barge entered the transfer portal). Redshirt freshman Kiland Harrison, who is very fast, made a push at cornerback. Larry Brooks looked good at strong safety, and it appears Kuerschen will be the starting free safety.
Here is a rundown of the three positions:
1) Nickelback
I liked KJ Vault's athletic ability in his early practices as a freshman, but he still has not found a position at Tulane. The coaches moved him to nickleback from linebacker last year, and although he is the only returner at that spot, his chance of starting is slim in my view. He was the fourth-team guy at nickel in 2019, making four tackles while playing in eight games, and he got lost in coverage a couple of times this spring, looking silly on a deep TD pass in the corner to Phat Watts in the final practice. Macon Clark, the backup free safety a year ago, spent plenty of time as the first-string nickel in the spring. His coverage skills as a sophomore were not as advanced as Brooks, but he is a physical player and could be more suited to being closer to the line of scrimmage.
The other guy who got a look at nickel was Willie Langham, who served as a backup cornerback last year and on paper appeared to be the likely choice to replace the departed Thakarius Keyes as a starter. I expect it come down to a Langham-Clark battle, with both playing, and maybe Vault being used as a a blitzer when he plays the position. It remains unclear what will happen, though. No one stood out, and Langham also got some reps with the first unit at cornerback.
2) Cornerback
Harrison introduced himself after redshirting last year, acquitting himself well as the primary No. 1 cornerback opposite the returning Jaylon Monroe. His youth is a concern, but he has the speed and coverage ability to be an outstanding player and did not make many mistakes in the abbreviated spring and should challenge FSU grad transfer Kyle Meyers in the fall. Meyers, who started eight games at FSU in 2018 but redshirted this year after playing four games, is the clear frontrunner and presumed starter, although he will have to prove himself in preseason practice.
Monroe could be an All-AAC caliber player, but the question with him always is mindset. He tends to get down on himself when he gets beaten and needs to continue working on his mentality. He is not physically imposing, so he needs to be very strong in coverage to get the most out of his ability and do a better job of high-pointing the ball in one-one-one coverage. His two interceptions and four break-ups were lower than I would have expected going into 2019.
Langham can slide back to cornerback full time if the coaches like the other options at nickelback. He had 19 tackles a year ago, a sack and a fumble return for a touchdown. With that year of experience under his belt, he will play a significant role somewhere. Joyce will be a factor when he returns, too, and Langham may be needed at cornerback until that point. The coaches were high on Joyce's ability before he got suspended last year. The other returning scholarship cornerback, redshirt freshman Levi Williams, worked with the second unit all spring.
My best bet is Monroe and Meyers as the starters in the fall, with Harrison as the top backup before Joyce returns.
3) Safety
Brooks, who finished with a team-high four interceptions in 2019, is ready to be an impact starter. He had interceptions against SMU and Southern Miss to close the season despite not starting either game and can be a complete safety--solid as a tackler and as a ball hawk.
The other spot is more questionable. Kuerschen gives Tulane a lot of good things--his 76 tackles were a team high and his one-on-one stop of Houston quarterback D'Eriq King inside the 5 near the end of regulation was the most important defensive play of the year for the Green Wave--but he is vulnerable in coverage. The question is whether his headiness and tackling ability are good enough to overcome his liability at free safety, and we do not have a definitive answer entering his senior year. An experiment at linebacker in the spring of 2018 did not work, so it is an interesting dilemma.
When Kuerschen missed time this spring due to injury, redshirt freshman Ton'Quez Ball worked with the first unit. I did not see enough of him to get a good idea of his readiness. Fellow redshirt freshman Tyler Judson, Brooks' backup, made a stronger impression on me. He looks like a future player. Clark cannot be ruled out, either, but I get the sense the coaches are going to go with Kuerschen at free safety, which is why Clark spent most of his time at nickel in the spring. They want to get their best players on the field.
Freshmen
Tulane signed three freshmen, and all of them are tall in the mold Willie Fritz wants with highly rated cornerback Kevaris Hall, cornerback Shi'Keem Laister and Reggie Neely, who played a lot of wide receiver in high school and whose athletic ability Fritz loves. I do not expect any of them to play big roles in 2020, but they'll get their shot in preseason drills.
If the 2020 season comes off, Tulane still has a few battles to settle in the secondary with several options. The coaches rotated players at nickelback looking for the right fit at a position that lost its top three performers from 2019 (Will Harper and Larry Bryant were seniors, and Tirise Barge entered the transfer portal). Redshirt freshman Kiland Harrison, who is very fast, made a push at cornerback. Larry Brooks looked good at strong safety, and it appears Kuerschen will be the starting free safety.
Here is a rundown of the three positions:
1) Nickelback
I liked KJ Vault's athletic ability in his early practices as a freshman, but he still has not found a position at Tulane. The coaches moved him to nickleback from linebacker last year, and although he is the only returner at that spot, his chance of starting is slim in my view. He was the fourth-team guy at nickel in 2019, making four tackles while playing in eight games, and he got lost in coverage a couple of times this spring, looking silly on a deep TD pass in the corner to Phat Watts in the final practice. Macon Clark, the backup free safety a year ago, spent plenty of time as the first-string nickel in the spring. His coverage skills as a sophomore were not as advanced as Brooks, but he is a physical player and could be more suited to being closer to the line of scrimmage.
The other guy who got a look at nickel was Willie Langham, who served as a backup cornerback last year and on paper appeared to be the likely choice to replace the departed Thakarius Keyes as a starter. I expect it come down to a Langham-Clark battle, with both playing, and maybe Vault being used as a a blitzer when he plays the position. It remains unclear what will happen, though. No one stood out, and Langham also got some reps with the first unit at cornerback.
2) Cornerback
Harrison introduced himself after redshirting last year, acquitting himself well as the primary No. 1 cornerback opposite the returning Jaylon Monroe. His youth is a concern, but he has the speed and coverage ability to be an outstanding player and did not make many mistakes in the abbreviated spring and should challenge FSU grad transfer Kyle Meyers in the fall. Meyers, who started eight games at FSU in 2018 but redshirted this year after playing four games, is the clear frontrunner and presumed starter, although he will have to prove himself in preseason practice.
Monroe could be an All-AAC caliber player, but the question with him always is mindset. He tends to get down on himself when he gets beaten and needs to continue working on his mentality. He is not physically imposing, so he needs to be very strong in coverage to get the most out of his ability and do a better job of high-pointing the ball in one-one-one coverage. His two interceptions and four break-ups were lower than I would have expected going into 2019.
Langham can slide back to cornerback full time if the coaches like the other options at nickelback. He had 19 tackles a year ago, a sack and a fumble return for a touchdown. With that year of experience under his belt, he will play a significant role somewhere. Joyce will be a factor when he returns, too, and Langham may be needed at cornerback until that point. The coaches were high on Joyce's ability before he got suspended last year. The other returning scholarship cornerback, redshirt freshman Levi Williams, worked with the second unit all spring.
My best bet is Monroe and Meyers as the starters in the fall, with Harrison as the top backup before Joyce returns.
3) Safety
Brooks, who finished with a team-high four interceptions in 2019, is ready to be an impact starter. He had interceptions against SMU and Southern Miss to close the season despite not starting either game and can be a complete safety--solid as a tackler and as a ball hawk.
The other spot is more questionable. Kuerschen gives Tulane a lot of good things--his 76 tackles were a team high and his one-on-one stop of Houston quarterback D'Eriq King inside the 5 near the end of regulation was the most important defensive play of the year for the Green Wave--but he is vulnerable in coverage. The question is whether his headiness and tackling ability are good enough to overcome his liability at free safety, and we do not have a definitive answer entering his senior year. An experiment at linebacker in the spring of 2018 did not work, so it is an interesting dilemma.
When Kuerschen missed time this spring due to injury, redshirt freshman Ton'Quez Ball worked with the first unit. I did not see enough of him to get a good idea of his readiness. Fellow redshirt freshman Tyler Judson, Brooks' backup, made a stronger impression on me. He looks like a future player. Clark cannot be ruled out, either, but I get the sense the coaches are going to go with Kuerschen at free safety, which is why Clark spent most of his time at nickel in the spring. They want to get their best players on the field.
Freshmen
Tulane signed three freshmen, and all of them are tall in the mold Willie Fritz wants with highly rated cornerback Kevaris Hall, cornerback Shi'Keem Laister and Reggie Neely, who played a lot of wide receiver in high school and whose athletic ability Fritz loves. I do not expect any of them to play big roles in 2020, but they'll get their shot in preseason drills.
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