I may not have noticed Adin Huntington yesterday, but he was on full display today in Tulane's second practice of the preseason. Stocky like Darius Hodges (he is listed at 6-1, 280 and Hodges was listed at 6-2, 280), the ULM transfer (he was at Kent State before then) looks nothing like Hodges with his shirt off--all toned muscle--and he was tough to block in 11-on-11 drills. He lined up at defensive end rather than rush end and was constantly getting a push, although it comes with the caveat that they are not in full pads yet. You can tell right away, though, that he can be a much-needed force off the edge.
"When he was leaving Kent State and went to Monroe, I tried to get him and lost that recruiting battle somehow," Jon Sumrall said. "I didn't lose it this time. Playing against him last year when he was at Monroe, he is really powerful, really explosive, really quick, really strong. He's built. Like you see him with his shirt off, he doesn't have a whole lot of body fat on him. He's a really lean muscle-mass guy. He works extremely hard in the weight room, with his diet, his nutrition. He's as thoughtful and conscientious of what goes into his body as anybody I've ever been around. He reminds me a little of Javon Solomon, who we had last year (at Troy). Javon was a fifth-round pick. They are a little different. Adin is heavier and bigger. Javon was a little lighter, but he's a disruptor. He just flashes a lot and he causes havoc. He's working at the field end spot right now and has a chance to really create some negative plays and do some things that help our defense and our team."
Sumrall does not care about Huntington's lack of height.
"Everybody loves length, and length is great, but I don't care about height really," Sumrall said. "Height's not length. Length to me is arm length, and sometimes a shorter guy is harder for a tall tackle to punch on pass protection to get down on his level. He's already lost the center of gravity battle before the snap happened because the other guy is shorter. To get good contact on Adin in pass protection for a tackle can sometimes be challenging, but he's built, he's powerful, he's strong. The guys that maybe don't have the height are harder to get their hands on occasionally. You look at some (NFL) rushers in the past like Dwight Freeney or Robert Mathis that maybe weren't the 6-5 guys, Elvis Dumervil is another one that comes to mind, and then we had Javon last year. I've been around some six-footers that are really disruptive that have played at a high level. I think he can do it. He can cause problems for opponents."
They rotate the defensive linemen constantly and mix and match them, but Huntington was on a first unit that included Matthew Fobbs-White at rush end with Patrick Jenkins and Eric Hicks on the interior. I did not see Terrell Allen today and will check on that later this week. The second-team interior linemen were Elijah Champaigne and Adonis Friloux with Angelo Anderson at end and a combo platter at rush end, with Michael Lunz and Javon Carter getting reps. DeShaun Batiste got some second-team work at end, too, with Gerrod Henderson (outside) and Geordan Guidry (inside) getting third-team action. When Jenkins shifted outside for some reps, Parker Peterson played inside next to Hicks. They still have plenty to determine up front, but I already would be surprised if Huntington is not a surefire starter alongside Jenkins and Hicks with the other spot up for grabs.
The quarterback competition remained tight today. In fact, Kai Horton and Ty Thompson each threw a pick-six. Horton's came on the first play of the 11-on-11 session that ended practice, with Austin Peay transfer linebacker Sam Howard reading a toss over the middle and taking it to the end zone. Later, cornerback MIcah Robinson had a long interception return for a score against Thompson, who rebounded to toss a floater to Alex Bauman for a score in the red zone. Thompson is a terrific athlete, and that may make the difference in the competition. He hit Shaun Nicholas for a short score while rolling out. Horton combined for the play of the day with a perfect fade to Phat Watts in the corner of the end zone, beating freshman cornerback E'Zaiah Shine. Right before then, Bryce Bohanon had a rare drop as he tried to catch a pass while falling in the end zone. He was upset at himself, and Horton came over to pump him up and say he would make the play the next time.
Grubbs and Howard were the first-team linebackers at one point, but Sumrall believes he has four starter-quality guys with Dickson Agu and Chris Rodgers in addition to the first two. He also likes Makai Williams, so he does not see linebacker as a worrisome position despite Jesus Machado's absence due to injury.
In a one-on-one goal-line drill between the wideouts and the DBs, Dontae Fleming toasted Robinson with an inside move at the goal line, getting wide open for a touchdown. Bohanon beat safety Joshua Moore for a score. Moore is running with the second team at safety along with Kevin Adams.
I have not had much time to watch freshman quarterback Kellen Tasby, but he threw a perfect deep ball that freshman Zycarl Lewis dropped in a seven-on-seven drill. Thompson completed a deep ball to Mario Williams, who was bothered by cramps in the second half of practice. Cramps have been an issue, with wideout Sidney Mbanasor crippled by them Tuesday. Sumrall is very conscious of the heat. The team will take a cold-truck break at the midpoint every day. It happened at 9:05 today, with players walking out of the stadium to the adjacent 50-yard practice field and taking their helmets off before loading into two truck trailers (one for the offense and one for the defense) and having the doors closed behind them for 4 1/2 minutes. The temperature is in the 30s by the far end and a little less cool right next to the door. They exited the truck at 9:11, got their helmets and were back on the practice field by 9:13.
Tomorrow's practice will be at the Saints indoor facility and Thursday will be an off day. I will do interviews tomorrow but will not another full report until Friday.
"When he was leaving Kent State and went to Monroe, I tried to get him and lost that recruiting battle somehow," Jon Sumrall said. "I didn't lose it this time. Playing against him last year when he was at Monroe, he is really powerful, really explosive, really quick, really strong. He's built. Like you see him with his shirt off, he doesn't have a whole lot of body fat on him. He's a really lean muscle-mass guy. He works extremely hard in the weight room, with his diet, his nutrition. He's as thoughtful and conscientious of what goes into his body as anybody I've ever been around. He reminds me a little of Javon Solomon, who we had last year (at Troy). Javon was a fifth-round pick. They are a little different. Adin is heavier and bigger. Javon was a little lighter, but he's a disruptor. He just flashes a lot and he causes havoc. He's working at the field end spot right now and has a chance to really create some negative plays and do some things that help our defense and our team."
Sumrall does not care about Huntington's lack of height.
"Everybody loves length, and length is great, but I don't care about height really," Sumrall said. "Height's not length. Length to me is arm length, and sometimes a shorter guy is harder for a tall tackle to punch on pass protection to get down on his level. He's already lost the center of gravity battle before the snap happened because the other guy is shorter. To get good contact on Adin in pass protection for a tackle can sometimes be challenging, but he's built, he's powerful, he's strong. The guys that maybe don't have the height are harder to get their hands on occasionally. You look at some (NFL) rushers in the past like Dwight Freeney or Robert Mathis that maybe weren't the 6-5 guys, Elvis Dumervil is another one that comes to mind, and then we had Javon last year. I've been around some six-footers that are really disruptive that have played at a high level. I think he can do it. He can cause problems for opponents."
They rotate the defensive linemen constantly and mix and match them, but Huntington was on a first unit that included Matthew Fobbs-White at rush end with Patrick Jenkins and Eric Hicks on the interior. I did not see Terrell Allen today and will check on that later this week. The second-team interior linemen were Elijah Champaigne and Adonis Friloux with Angelo Anderson at end and a combo platter at rush end, with Michael Lunz and Javon Carter getting reps. DeShaun Batiste got some second-team work at end, too, with Gerrod Henderson (outside) and Geordan Guidry (inside) getting third-team action. When Jenkins shifted outside for some reps, Parker Peterson played inside next to Hicks. They still have plenty to determine up front, but I already would be surprised if Huntington is not a surefire starter alongside Jenkins and Hicks with the other spot up for grabs.
The quarterback competition remained tight today. In fact, Kai Horton and Ty Thompson each threw a pick-six. Horton's came on the first play of the 11-on-11 session that ended practice, with Austin Peay transfer linebacker Sam Howard reading a toss over the middle and taking it to the end zone. Later, cornerback MIcah Robinson had a long interception return for a score against Thompson, who rebounded to toss a floater to Alex Bauman for a score in the red zone. Thompson is a terrific athlete, and that may make the difference in the competition. He hit Shaun Nicholas for a short score while rolling out. Horton combined for the play of the day with a perfect fade to Phat Watts in the corner of the end zone, beating freshman cornerback E'Zaiah Shine. Right before then, Bryce Bohanon had a rare drop as he tried to catch a pass while falling in the end zone. He was upset at himself, and Horton came over to pump him up and say he would make the play the next time.
Grubbs and Howard were the first-team linebackers at one point, but Sumrall believes he has four starter-quality guys with Dickson Agu and Chris Rodgers in addition to the first two. He also likes Makai Williams, so he does not see linebacker as a worrisome position despite Jesus Machado's absence due to injury.
In a one-on-one goal-line drill between the wideouts and the DBs, Dontae Fleming toasted Robinson with an inside move at the goal line, getting wide open for a touchdown. Bohanon beat safety Joshua Moore for a score. Moore is running with the second team at safety along with Kevin Adams.
I have not had much time to watch freshman quarterback Kellen Tasby, but he threw a perfect deep ball that freshman Zycarl Lewis dropped in a seven-on-seven drill. Thompson completed a deep ball to Mario Williams, who was bothered by cramps in the second half of practice. Cramps have been an issue, with wideout Sidney Mbanasor crippled by them Tuesday. Sumrall is very conscious of the heat. The team will take a cold-truck break at the midpoint every day. It happened at 9:05 today, with players walking out of the stadium to the adjacent 50-yard practice field and taking their helmets off before loading into two truck trailers (one for the offense and one for the defense) and having the doors closed behind them for 4 1/2 minutes. The temperature is in the 30s by the far end and a little less cool right next to the door. They exited the truck at 9:11, got their helmets and were back on the practice field by 9:13.
Tomorrow's practice will be at the Saints indoor facility and Thursday will be an off day. I will do interviews tomorrow but will not another full report until Friday.
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