I'm learning some of the many differences between Jon Sumrall and Willie Fritz as the year goes along, and today featured another one. Sumrall, like all of the coaches I covered at Florida, lambasted the team for having an "average" practice today. It very well might have been a bad day of practice, but Coaching 101 dictates that you rip your team at the first opportunity coming off a bye week when guys might be feeling comfortable, as is the case with Tulane following 45-10 and 71-20 conference blowout victories. There were rare occasions when Fritz criticized the intensity at practice, but he kept on such an even keel at all times that it certainly was not the norm.
The bottom line is Sumrall does not want his team to overlook Rice, which would be easy to do with Tulane being favored by 22 1/2 points. That's the third-largest spread in Tulane's favor for an AAC game, trailing only the 34 points vs. UConn in 2019 (won 49-7) and the 24 vs. Tulsa last year (won 24-22). This also is the 13th consecutive AAC game in which Tulane has been favored, dating back to Friday after Thanksgiving victory at Cincinnati in 2022 as a one-point underdog. This, after being favored only 19 times in the Wave's first eight years of AAC play. If there was ever an opportunity to develop a big head before it was justifiable, this is it, and Sumrall is making sure he nips that in the bud. Or at least that's my take.
What I noticed in practice today was Adin Huntington practicing full time at bandit, which makes sense. Gerrod Henderson and Kam Hamilton become an effective duo at end while Huntington was ailing the past two games, and if they want to get their best four on the field, Huntington needs to be at rush end. Terrell Allen, who started the opener at rush end before fading into the background, practiced at defensive tackle today. I see Huntington and Matthew Fobbs-White sharing time at rush end against Rice, with Shi'Keem Laister getting some snaps, too. Parker Peterson and Patrick Jenkins are the first-team tackles. with Adonis Friloux, Eric Hicks and Elijah Champaigne supplying depth.
This is a defense that should play better in the second half of the year than it did in the first, when it struggled for stretches against Kansas State and Oklahoma, played subpar against ULL and has continued to give up some huge runs while improving overall against South Florida and UAB. Guys have gotten comfortable playing with each other, and the coaches have learned who plays best where.
Sumrall said Caleb Ransaw, who missed a lot of the UAB game after going out with an injury, likely would play against Rice. Javion White performed very well in his absence.
SUMRALL
"Good to get back into the flow of a normal week. We gotta get prepared against a really well coached Rice team. They play extremely hard. I've got a lot of respect for how they play the game and how they operate. Today our practice to be quite honest with you was pretty average, so if we don't get better real fast, I was disappointed in our day, and I told our guys that just now. We better sharpen up real quick. If we're going to roll into this thing off the bye and think that you just get to win because you've won before, we're going to get embarrassed. With that we'll open up the questions. I'm in a great mood as y'all can tell."
On Mensah being top 10 nationally in passing efficiency:
"He's operating at a really high level and most of the year he's been that way. He's had some moments where he's got to grow and learn, but he's playing the position at a high level. The receivers have helped him. The O-line protections helped him, the backs have helped him, but he's doing some really good things. He's been really efficient in the throw game for the most part. He's protected the football. Hasn't put it in jeopardy a ton. He's got great anticipation and awareness and he needs to keep playing that way."
On what most disappointed with in practice:
"Theres a standard about our physicality and our effort and our toughness that I don't think was met today. The biggest killer in our sport is complacency. If you think you are ever going to have an average practice and an average week of preparation, you know what's going to happen--you are going to play a really average game. That was not our best Tuesday. It's on me. I'll own it. I told the guys I'm a part of it. It will get fixed tomorrow or it will be a lousy day for everybody because I'm not going to allow us to do it again."
On message going into this week:
"I showed our guys in Monday's team meeting the final score last year was 30-28. Like, it was a fight until the end. Our guys have to understand the opponent. I always talk about knowing yourself better than anything, but you also have to know the opponent. They are really well coached. They do great things schematically. I'm really impressed with how they operate. Their running back (Dean Connors) is a phenomenal player. He is the real deal. He leads them in rushing and receiving and catches. I think he's as good as any skill player we've played all year. The O-line is really solid. The quarterback understands what they're doing and where to go with the ball and sees things well. They've got quality receivers. The defense is big and physical. I see all the positives. I see a team I respect to a really high level. Our guys have to understand the task at hand is going to be a challenge. This is a really good team. It's about us, though, being our best, and if we're our best, we can live with whatever results come. But our guys do have to understand the task at hand and it's a real challenge. I've got to get their attention because today wasn't what it needs to be."
On curse of bye week compared to the importance of rest:
"Coaches, too. It's all of us. Human nature is you get a week off and you relax and you go home and everybody tells them how good we are because you've won a couple games in a row, and then I have to bring them back here and tell them, hey, we're really close to getting beat if you're not prepared. When you finally are playing at a level you feel better about, while there are some bumps and bruises you'd like to heal up, the flow of what you're doing you kind of like to keep that going, so yeah, my biggest concern's making sure that we are fully awake, fully attentive, fully ready to go for a game on Saturday, and we have to practice that way to be there."
On what makes Connors so effective:
"Hes so good in the run game. He's physical. He breaks tackles. He's got good speed. He's got good vision and balance. He catches the ball well out of the backfield. He competes at a high level. You can feel his competitive nature on tape. You just watch some plays he makes, some runs he makes. He kind of reminds me a little bit of Makhi (Hughes). They probably use him in the throw game more, but he is a physical running back. He plays the game the way it's meant to be played."
On health:
"We're fairly healthy. Alex Bauman I would say is questionable. He will for sure be back next week it looks like, but whether he's ready to go this week or not, to be seen. Ransaw didn't play a lot of the UAB game late. He should be available, but everybody's day to day. It's hard to know when you go through practice. We practice physical on Tuesday and Wednesday and sometimes things happen in practice. When you get to the middle part of the year, there's normal wear and tear, but at the same time we have to practice the right way to be prepared for the game. I tell the staff all the time I'm in to being smart tough, not dumb tough, so we''re not going to go out and do an 11-on-11 scrimmage any time this week, but we are going to practice with some physicality so we can play the game with physicality. You want to use the tool you have to sharpen the tool. We'll practice physical, and I think we're fairly healthy all things considered."
On Shazz Preston:
"He ran yesterday, ran today with the trainers. Look good. Hit 19 miles per hour with the GPs which is about five or six times yesterday. Hes about a 20 to 21 miles per hour guy, so 90ish percent speed wise. Tomorrow, if things went well today, he'll practice with some limited reps. He would take like 50 percent of what a normal workload would be roughly, and then he would potentially be available this week. We'll be smart about how we decide to prepare him, and it's hard on the offensive side because you find out a guy's ready for sure Wednesday or Thursday, well how much are you going to have in the plan for him versus how much needs to operate in the normal system, so there's not going to be any things that are maybe designed for him per se. If he is able to play, he would be on a rep count. It wouldn't be like 30 or 40 plays. It would be most of the teens. He's probably questionable for this week.I don't think he's doubtful. He has a shot, but tomorrow will be a big indicator, but he's trending positively."
The bottom line is Sumrall does not want his team to overlook Rice, which would be easy to do with Tulane being favored by 22 1/2 points. That's the third-largest spread in Tulane's favor for an AAC game, trailing only the 34 points vs. UConn in 2019 (won 49-7) and the 24 vs. Tulsa last year (won 24-22). This also is the 13th consecutive AAC game in which Tulane has been favored, dating back to Friday after Thanksgiving victory at Cincinnati in 2022 as a one-point underdog. This, after being favored only 19 times in the Wave's first eight years of AAC play. If there was ever an opportunity to develop a big head before it was justifiable, this is it, and Sumrall is making sure he nips that in the bud. Or at least that's my take.
What I noticed in practice today was Adin Huntington practicing full time at bandit, which makes sense. Gerrod Henderson and Kam Hamilton become an effective duo at end while Huntington was ailing the past two games, and if they want to get their best four on the field, Huntington needs to be at rush end. Terrell Allen, who started the opener at rush end before fading into the background, practiced at defensive tackle today. I see Huntington and Matthew Fobbs-White sharing time at rush end against Rice, with Shi'Keem Laister getting some snaps, too. Parker Peterson and Patrick Jenkins are the first-team tackles. with Adonis Friloux, Eric Hicks and Elijah Champaigne supplying depth.
This is a defense that should play better in the second half of the year than it did in the first, when it struggled for stretches against Kansas State and Oklahoma, played subpar against ULL and has continued to give up some huge runs while improving overall against South Florida and UAB. Guys have gotten comfortable playing with each other, and the coaches have learned who plays best where.
Sumrall said Caleb Ransaw, who missed a lot of the UAB game after going out with an injury, likely would play against Rice. Javion White performed very well in his absence.
SUMRALL
"Good to get back into the flow of a normal week. We gotta get prepared against a really well coached Rice team. They play extremely hard. I've got a lot of respect for how they play the game and how they operate. Today our practice to be quite honest with you was pretty average, so if we don't get better real fast, I was disappointed in our day, and I told our guys that just now. We better sharpen up real quick. If we're going to roll into this thing off the bye and think that you just get to win because you've won before, we're going to get embarrassed. With that we'll open up the questions. I'm in a great mood as y'all can tell."
On Mensah being top 10 nationally in passing efficiency:
"He's operating at a really high level and most of the year he's been that way. He's had some moments where he's got to grow and learn, but he's playing the position at a high level. The receivers have helped him. The O-line protections helped him, the backs have helped him, but he's doing some really good things. He's been really efficient in the throw game for the most part. He's protected the football. Hasn't put it in jeopardy a ton. He's got great anticipation and awareness and he needs to keep playing that way."
On what most disappointed with in practice:
"Theres a standard about our physicality and our effort and our toughness that I don't think was met today. The biggest killer in our sport is complacency. If you think you are ever going to have an average practice and an average week of preparation, you know what's going to happen--you are going to play a really average game. That was not our best Tuesday. It's on me. I'll own it. I told the guys I'm a part of it. It will get fixed tomorrow or it will be a lousy day for everybody because I'm not going to allow us to do it again."
On message going into this week:
"I showed our guys in Monday's team meeting the final score last year was 30-28. Like, it was a fight until the end. Our guys have to understand the opponent. I always talk about knowing yourself better than anything, but you also have to know the opponent. They are really well coached. They do great things schematically. I'm really impressed with how they operate. Their running back (Dean Connors) is a phenomenal player. He is the real deal. He leads them in rushing and receiving and catches. I think he's as good as any skill player we've played all year. The O-line is really solid. The quarterback understands what they're doing and where to go with the ball and sees things well. They've got quality receivers. The defense is big and physical. I see all the positives. I see a team I respect to a really high level. Our guys have to understand the task at hand is going to be a challenge. This is a really good team. It's about us, though, being our best, and if we're our best, we can live with whatever results come. But our guys do have to understand the task at hand and it's a real challenge. I've got to get their attention because today wasn't what it needs to be."
On curse of bye week compared to the importance of rest:
"Coaches, too. It's all of us. Human nature is you get a week off and you relax and you go home and everybody tells them how good we are because you've won a couple games in a row, and then I have to bring them back here and tell them, hey, we're really close to getting beat if you're not prepared. When you finally are playing at a level you feel better about, while there are some bumps and bruises you'd like to heal up, the flow of what you're doing you kind of like to keep that going, so yeah, my biggest concern's making sure that we are fully awake, fully attentive, fully ready to go for a game on Saturday, and we have to practice that way to be there."
On what makes Connors so effective:
"Hes so good in the run game. He's physical. He breaks tackles. He's got good speed. He's got good vision and balance. He catches the ball well out of the backfield. He competes at a high level. You can feel his competitive nature on tape. You just watch some plays he makes, some runs he makes. He kind of reminds me a little bit of Makhi (Hughes). They probably use him in the throw game more, but he is a physical running back. He plays the game the way it's meant to be played."
On health:
"We're fairly healthy. Alex Bauman I would say is questionable. He will for sure be back next week it looks like, but whether he's ready to go this week or not, to be seen. Ransaw didn't play a lot of the UAB game late. He should be available, but everybody's day to day. It's hard to know when you go through practice. We practice physical on Tuesday and Wednesday and sometimes things happen in practice. When you get to the middle part of the year, there's normal wear and tear, but at the same time we have to practice the right way to be prepared for the game. I tell the staff all the time I'm in to being smart tough, not dumb tough, so we''re not going to go out and do an 11-on-11 scrimmage any time this week, but we are going to practice with some physicality so we can play the game with physicality. You want to use the tool you have to sharpen the tool. We'll practice physical, and I think we're fairly healthy all things considered."
On Shazz Preston:
"He ran yesterday, ran today with the trainers. Look good. Hit 19 miles per hour with the GPs which is about five or six times yesterday. Hes about a 20 to 21 miles per hour guy, so 90ish percent speed wise. Tomorrow, if things went well today, he'll practice with some limited reps. He would take like 50 percent of what a normal workload would be roughly, and then he would potentially be available this week. We'll be smart about how we decide to prepare him, and it's hard on the offensive side because you find out a guy's ready for sure Wednesday or Thursday, well how much are you going to have in the plan for him versus how much needs to operate in the normal system, so there's not going to be any things that are maybe designed for him per se. If he is able to play, he would be on a rep count. It wouldn't be like 30 or 40 plays. It would be most of the teens. He's probably questionable for this week.I don't think he's doubtful. He has a shot, but tomorrow will be a big indicator, but he's trending positively."
