Tulane had another 90-minute practice this morning, and this one focused on the two-minute drills. While the offensive and defensive linemen practiced on the auxiliary field, Kai Horton and Ty Thompson each conducted a 7-on-7 drive, with Horton operating with the first team offense against the first-team defense and Thompson going with the 2s against the 2s and the offense just needing a field goal to win. Then they reversed it in 11-on-11 work and Thompson went with the 1s while Horton was with the 2s and they needed a touchdown to win.
Horton began his drive with a pass that Yulkeith Brown dropped. He then had a completion to Bryce Bohanon on the sideline for a first-down gain that stopped the clock. After throwing the ball away when no one was open, he missed Mario Williams in the middle of the field when Williams was well covered on a throw that almost caused a major collision. With the defense playing to prevent the offense from getting a field goal, Horton surprised them with a deep pass down the sideline with little arc to Dontae Fleming. When he released it, I thought it was going to sail over Fleming's head, but Fleming ran under it easily for a pretty touchdown.
The defense on that series had Johnathan Edwards and Rayshawn Pleasant at cornerback, Micah Robinson as an extra corner in the role of a safety, Bailey Despanie and I believe Jack Tchienchou (with a number change) at regular safety, Kaleb Ransaw and then No. 17 (not listed on the roster but probably Jayden Lewis) at nickelback and Chris Rodgers and then Dickson Agu at linebacker.
The offensive line was still missing Vincent Murphy, Josh Remetich and Rashad Green, although Remetich was in uniform and likely participated in work on the auxiliary field.
Ty Thompson's series started with a completion to Zycarl Lewis inbounds for a short gain, forcing the offense to call a timeout. Thompson then hit Sidney Mbanasor for what would have been a decen gain, but he dropped the ball. A pass to Khai Prean was broken up, but Prean caught a short pass for a first down on fourth down to keep the drive alive while the offense used another timeout. Thopson then threw slightly behind Reggie Brown near the sideline, and he could not hold on to the ball. The next play was a throwaway when no one was open, leading to another third down that was converted on a completion Garrett Mmahat, who got out of bounds with 15 seconds left. Mmahat was open on the next play on the exact same route that Fleming scored on, but he was not fast enough to catch a throw that was on the same trajectory and went over his head and into the end zone. With little time left, Thompson threw a frozen rope to on the inside to Lewis, who caught it falling down at the 6 for a big gain. Out of timeouts, the offense raced up to down the ball before the clock ran out, and Bobby Noel kicked a field goal (the regular kickers were not involved in this drill).
The offensive line for that series was, from left to right, Reese Baker, Elijah Baker, Gabe Fortson, Jayce Mitchell and Dominic Steward, who was replaced on the first unit at left tackle by Darion Reed.
The defense was Rishi Rattan and Jaheim Johnson at cornerback, Kevin Adams and Jalen Geiger at safety, Joshua Moore as a third safety, Tyler Grubbs at linebacker (not a demotion, they were just mixing and matching a bit) and Lu Tillery at nickelback.
For the 11-on-11 2-minute work, which started at the offense's 25, the defensive line on Thompson's possession was Michael Lunz at rush end, Kam Hamilton at tackle, Eric Hicks at nose tackle and Gerrod Henderson at end. The linebackers were Rodgers and Agu, with Ransaw at nickel,, Despanie and Tchienchou (I believe) at safety and Edwards and Pleasant at cornerback. Thompson started by hitting Mario Williams for a frist down over the middle. He then missed Williams deep in traffic, underthrew Fleming deep when he was not open and hit Alex Bauman for a first down on the sideline. He tried to hit Mbanasor deep, but Edwards broke it up. Yulkeith Brown then dropped another short pass--this was uncharacteristic of him in camp--and Hamilton tipped a pass at the line before Jon Sumrall whistled the series over.
Horton began with a short completion to Mmahat that forced the offense to call a timeout. A running play went nowhere (but since they were only in spider pads, it seemed like a waste anyway) and Horton throw wide of Bohanon on the sideline. That was it. The whistle blew and practice was over at 9:35. The defensive line for that series was Geordan Guidry, Deshaun Batiste and a number that did not align with the listed roster, with Terrell Allen off the edge. The nickelback was Tillery, with Grubbs and Howard at linebacker, Jaheim Johnson and Micah Robinson at cornerback and Geiger and Adams at safety.
"It was good," Sumrall said. "Two different situations. In the 7-on-7 we needed a field goal to win the game. In the 11-on-11 we needed a touchdown. Tomorrow we'll work a different situation. We'll work an end-to-first-half two-minute where we'll just take points. Obviously we'd like touchdown, but we're really into refining a lot of situational things. In 11-on-11, the pass rush showed up a little bit. The offense won both the 7-on-7 and the defense won both 11-on-11 and you added the rush. That changes the dynamic. It's a whole hell of a lot easier to play quarterback in 7 on 7. When the rush gets real and in your face, it gets a lot harder."
I still don't see much or any separation between the quarterbacks. Horton, who has underrated arm talent, looked slightly better than Thompson today, but tomorrow's scrimmage will be telling even though neither quarterback will go long. I have a feeling this will not be settled until the opener against Southeastern, and it appears increasingly likely, though not certain, that both will play in that game.
I've been hesitant to write it because I wrote it after a scrimmage last year, but Fleming has been the best receiver in camp. HIs teammates say he has been much more focused than in the past. There is absolutely no reason he can't be a huge factor this year, but he has to prove it in games. His first reception against South Alabama last year, when he got called for an offensive facemask, set the tone for an unfocused, nothing year.
The scrimmage, which is not open to the public, will start at 9 tomorrow and go to about 11, so it should be a hot one. Here is Sumrall on the format:
"I'd say it will be north of 50 plays and less than 80. Some of that's going to depend on how the drives go. We're going to open that up with a field goal period and a punt period and we're going to go to the ball on the minus-25 after a touchback on a kickoff. We'll play 8 to 10 plays with the ones, 8 to 10 plays with the 2s. Whether we get in the red zone or not, we'll create red zone if we don't. We'll also hit one block of plays coming out from the minus-2 or minus-1, and like I said, we'll also hit an end-of-half two-minute. Then a break there. We'l also do kickoff cover period and then at that point you'll see everybody at some point get some live scrimmage snaps, but before the kickoff cover period is when you'll see us be refined on trying to work some situational things with the main guys. The starters will probably get no more than 20 or so live snaps. When we go to the 2-minute period, it will be thud. I don't like going live in the 2-minute period. But we'll tackle the rest of the time probably."
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Horton began his drive with a pass that Yulkeith Brown dropped. He then had a completion to Bryce Bohanon on the sideline for a first-down gain that stopped the clock. After throwing the ball away when no one was open, he missed Mario Williams in the middle of the field when Williams was well covered on a throw that almost caused a major collision. With the defense playing to prevent the offense from getting a field goal, Horton surprised them with a deep pass down the sideline with little arc to Dontae Fleming. When he released it, I thought it was going to sail over Fleming's head, but Fleming ran under it easily for a pretty touchdown.
The defense on that series had Johnathan Edwards and Rayshawn Pleasant at cornerback, Micah Robinson as an extra corner in the role of a safety, Bailey Despanie and I believe Jack Tchienchou (with a number change) at regular safety, Kaleb Ransaw and then No. 17 (not listed on the roster but probably Jayden Lewis) at nickelback and Chris Rodgers and then Dickson Agu at linebacker.
The offensive line was still missing Vincent Murphy, Josh Remetich and Rashad Green, although Remetich was in uniform and likely participated in work on the auxiliary field.
Ty Thompson's series started with a completion to Zycarl Lewis inbounds for a short gain, forcing the offense to call a timeout. Thompson then hit Sidney Mbanasor for what would have been a decen gain, but he dropped the ball. A pass to Khai Prean was broken up, but Prean caught a short pass for a first down on fourth down to keep the drive alive while the offense used another timeout. Thopson then threw slightly behind Reggie Brown near the sideline, and he could not hold on to the ball. The next play was a throwaway when no one was open, leading to another third down that was converted on a completion Garrett Mmahat, who got out of bounds with 15 seconds left. Mmahat was open on the next play on the exact same route that Fleming scored on, but he was not fast enough to catch a throw that was on the same trajectory and went over his head and into the end zone. With little time left, Thompson threw a frozen rope to on the inside to Lewis, who caught it falling down at the 6 for a big gain. Out of timeouts, the offense raced up to down the ball before the clock ran out, and Bobby Noel kicked a field goal (the regular kickers were not involved in this drill).
The offensive line for that series was, from left to right, Reese Baker, Elijah Baker, Gabe Fortson, Jayce Mitchell and Dominic Steward, who was replaced on the first unit at left tackle by Darion Reed.
The defense was Rishi Rattan and Jaheim Johnson at cornerback, Kevin Adams and Jalen Geiger at safety, Joshua Moore as a third safety, Tyler Grubbs at linebacker (not a demotion, they were just mixing and matching a bit) and Lu Tillery at nickelback.
For the 11-on-11 2-minute work, which started at the offense's 25, the defensive line on Thompson's possession was Michael Lunz at rush end, Kam Hamilton at tackle, Eric Hicks at nose tackle and Gerrod Henderson at end. The linebackers were Rodgers and Agu, with Ransaw at nickel,, Despanie and Tchienchou (I believe) at safety and Edwards and Pleasant at cornerback. Thompson started by hitting Mario Williams for a frist down over the middle. He then missed Williams deep in traffic, underthrew Fleming deep when he was not open and hit Alex Bauman for a first down on the sideline. He tried to hit Mbanasor deep, but Edwards broke it up. Yulkeith Brown then dropped another short pass--this was uncharacteristic of him in camp--and Hamilton tipped a pass at the line before Jon Sumrall whistled the series over.
Horton began with a short completion to Mmahat that forced the offense to call a timeout. A running play went nowhere (but since they were only in spider pads, it seemed like a waste anyway) and Horton throw wide of Bohanon on the sideline. That was it. The whistle blew and practice was over at 9:35. The defensive line for that series was Geordan Guidry, Deshaun Batiste and a number that did not align with the listed roster, with Terrell Allen off the edge. The nickelback was Tillery, with Grubbs and Howard at linebacker, Jaheim Johnson and Micah Robinson at cornerback and Geiger and Adams at safety.
"It was good," Sumrall said. "Two different situations. In the 7-on-7 we needed a field goal to win the game. In the 11-on-11 we needed a touchdown. Tomorrow we'll work a different situation. We'll work an end-to-first-half two-minute where we'll just take points. Obviously we'd like touchdown, but we're really into refining a lot of situational things. In 11-on-11, the pass rush showed up a little bit. The offense won both the 7-on-7 and the defense won both 11-on-11 and you added the rush. That changes the dynamic. It's a whole hell of a lot easier to play quarterback in 7 on 7. When the rush gets real and in your face, it gets a lot harder."
I still don't see much or any separation between the quarterbacks. Horton, who has underrated arm talent, looked slightly better than Thompson today, but tomorrow's scrimmage will be telling even though neither quarterback will go long. I have a feeling this will not be settled until the opener against Southeastern, and it appears increasingly likely, though not certain, that both will play in that game.
I've been hesitant to write it because I wrote it after a scrimmage last year, but Fleming has been the best receiver in camp. HIs teammates say he has been much more focused than in the past. There is absolutely no reason he can't be a huge factor this year, but he has to prove it in games. His first reception against South Alabama last year, when he got called for an offensive facemask, set the tone for an unfocused, nothing year.
The scrimmage, which is not open to the public, will start at 9 tomorrow and go to about 11, so it should be a hot one. Here is Sumrall on the format:
"I'd say it will be north of 50 plays and less than 80. Some of that's going to depend on how the drives go. We're going to open that up with a field goal period and a punt period and we're going to go to the ball on the minus-25 after a touchback on a kickoff. We'll play 8 to 10 plays with the ones, 8 to 10 plays with the 2s. Whether we get in the red zone or not, we'll create red zone if we don't. We'll also hit one block of plays coming out from the minus-2 or minus-1, and like I said, we'll also hit an end-of-half two-minute. Then a break there. We'l also do kickoff cover period and then at that point you'll see everybody at some point get some live scrimmage snaps, but before the kickoff cover period is when you'll see us be refined on trying to work some situational things with the main guys. The starters will probably get no more than 20 or so live snaps. When we go to the 2-minute period, it will be thud. I don't like going live in the 2-minute period. But we'll tackle the rest of the time probably."
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