Tulane practiced at the Saints indoor facility today when an on-campus bubble sure would have been nice. It turns out the Wave could have practiced at Yulman Stadium, but last night's forecast indicated lightning in the area during the morning instead of the light rain with no lightning that actually happened.
Jon Sumrall, former Oklahoma receiver Mario Williams (2021) and DE Adin Huntington, who chose Tulane in a two-way battle with Oklahoma when he transferred from Louisiana-Monroe this summer, talked when the team got back to campus. I am not sure if there will be a media availability tomorrow with Francine approaching, and if there is, it probably will be just Sumrall. I already am working on getting an Engaging the Enemy. My flight to Oklahoma City leaves early Friday afternoon, which is supposed to be a beautiful day in New Orleans. Fingers crossed that nothing severe happens Wednesday or Thursday.
SUMRALL
"Just got back from practice. Getting ready for a lot of things weather related. Obviously a big game, full speed ahead. Didn't get much sleep last night and probably won't get much the next couple of nights. Trying to do as much as we can to help keep things going for our guys while being safe and being where they need to be and that sort of thing."
On plans for Wednesday:
"We were able to practice at the Saints today. Very grateful to those guys. We got a normal Tuesday practice in for the most part. Had to cut a few things just for time with travel over and travel back. Tonight we'll stay together as a team. We'll go to our team hotel the like we would the night before our home game. We'll do that the next couple of nights it looks like. Our team hotel has generators and those sort of things to keep things online for our guys hopefully. I've told them pack like you're going on a couple-days road trip, bring all your school supplies. We'll have some academic time tomorrow at the hotel and tonight, do our normal football activities as much as we can. Tomorrow's practice is going to be very dependent upon the timeline with the weather getting here. Practice isn't the No. 1 focus. Health and safety is, but we'd like to get into as much of a normal practice routine as we can, so if we can we'll try to find a location. We're working through logistics of could that be the Superdome or could that be the Saints or could it be here. I don't mind practicing in the rain. I would have practiced here today if I'd have known it was just going to rain, but yesterday the forecast had lightning at this time, so it changes. We'll try to go about an hour tomorrow if we can, which is a touch shorter than normal, but we'll trying to get something. I'm untrained meteorologist at this point in life. I think it looks like mid-dayish (for the effects of Francine to be felt heavily), so we'll try to make sure we're all in place a couple hours ahead of time."
On dealing with this before:
The first game here (as as assistant coach under Curtis Johnson in 2012) was Ike, so were in Birmingham (I heard some horror stories about the disorganized nature of that evacuation under CJ). This one's a little more unique because it's in the middle of a game week. We knew that one a little bit earlier. We knew there was the potential, but it really heightened yesterday. Normal evacuation is Birmingham, which we did that year. With the charter flight for the game (at Oklahoma), there were three or four different options talked through with our administration. I told them first and foremost healthy and safety and then what makes the most sense for the well-being of our team. As we kind of evaluated things, we felt like this was probably the best decision."
On Brett Venables' defense at Oklahoma:
"They're well coached. Brent does a great job with defense. The defensive staff's really good. They've got really good players. Good scheme and good players usually make for good football, and they're really well coached with great players. They're multiple. They keep you really guessing, keep you off balance, do a lot of different things schematically. They present a lot of challenges with what they do, and the guys they're doing it with make it even tougher. We've got our work cut out for us. People have not put up points on them this season (Houston had 12 and Temple had 3 despite Oklahoma's struggling on offense in both games)."
On Oklahoma forcing nation's best eight turnovers:
"They attack the ball carrier. They swarm. They run with great energy to the ball, and they've got guys that can make plays. They put you in a bind with what they do schematically. They put you in some pressure situations and they've gotten people into obvious pass, but they're really an attacking group. The multiplicity they present also presents problems for your offense, and playing there--this is game 3 in a row for them at home and it's a hostile environment. It's loud. I've had texts with other coaches in the league and I've texted with Chris Klieman, who we played this past week, and Chris texted this morning it's one of the loudest places you'll ever go. I've played most places in the SEC as a coach or a player, but I haven't been to Oklahoma, but by all accounts it's loud."
On message to Mensah about taking care of the ball with pass rush:
"One of his strengths is his poise and calmness and confidence in the pocket. He's got to know when the journey's over. Sometimes the show's over, just go down or get it out, and we learned the hard way on a couple of those. We had the grounding. That's a new thing for him. Everything's new for him, and then understanding hey, a 6-yard sack, while maybe not desired, is better than getting careless for the football and turning it over and giving them a touchdown. He's learning. Today at practice he had one that we were all screaming at him to hey, put the ball away. He's gonna get it. He's going to learn it. It's like being a kid and you touch a hot stove and you learn it's hot, don't touch it anymore. Hopefully he learns, hey, if I'm in traffic, put the ball away. I think he will. He's smart, he's conscientious and he's thoughtful, but there's a lot of lessons to be learned. A lot of positives, but there's some things he' needs to get better at and grow from, and I'm confident he will. I've liked his approach. The best thing about it is he's been harder on himself than I could ever be on him. That usually bodes well for being a good player when you care that much. He's gotta bounce back. He's gotta do some things better. We all do. The coaches do, too."
On having guys who played for Power 4 programs and are used to hostile environments:
"Yeah, maybe individuals have had that exposure. It's our first time as a team to handle that atmosphere, and there are a lot of individuals that haven't, so it's a new experience for everybody involved. We're a team that's never gone and done it together, and it's a place that's traditionally loud and hostile and hard to play in. We've got to be really poised with how we handle it. I think you can get over-excited about it, like you almost have to just ignore it to some degree. and control what's right in front of you. We worked today with the crowd noise in practice. I don't know if the offense could really communicate very well verbally, so we're making them have to work through some of that right now. It's a challenge for sure. It will be new for some our guys, and I don't care how many times you've been in those environments, there's still a challenge. Even as a coach, I'm like, all right, it's nice to be able to communicate at home, and when you go on the road in that kind of environment, it gets loud."
On Mario Williams having back-to-back 100-plus-yard receiving games:
"He's been extremely impactful. What, 10 catches and 250 yards (252) roughly is a pretty good two-game start. I've said this. He's worked incredibly hard. Watching him in our offseason training, I've got no doubt he's going to have the kind of success he's having because he brings it every day. He works his tail off, he's extremely competitive. The biggest thing for him as we move into this game is don't worry about the him-going-back-to-Oklahoma piece. That doesn't have any impact on you playing well. What helps you play well is do your job at a high level, focus on the details of what your job is and go execute and be the best you can be individually and help support your teammates. I'm excited for him to have that opportunity to go back to the place he started his career, but what gets you the results he's gotten, you can't focus on the logo of who we're playing. You just have to do your job to the best of your ability."
Jon Sumrall, former Oklahoma receiver Mario Williams (2021) and DE Adin Huntington, who chose Tulane in a two-way battle with Oklahoma when he transferred from Louisiana-Monroe this summer, talked when the team got back to campus. I am not sure if there will be a media availability tomorrow with Francine approaching, and if there is, it probably will be just Sumrall. I already am working on getting an Engaging the Enemy. My flight to Oklahoma City leaves early Friday afternoon, which is supposed to be a beautiful day in New Orleans. Fingers crossed that nothing severe happens Wednesday or Thursday.
SUMRALL
"Just got back from practice. Getting ready for a lot of things weather related. Obviously a big game, full speed ahead. Didn't get much sleep last night and probably won't get much the next couple of nights. Trying to do as much as we can to help keep things going for our guys while being safe and being where they need to be and that sort of thing."
On plans for Wednesday:
"We were able to practice at the Saints today. Very grateful to those guys. We got a normal Tuesday practice in for the most part. Had to cut a few things just for time with travel over and travel back. Tonight we'll stay together as a team. We'll go to our team hotel the like we would the night before our home game. We'll do that the next couple of nights it looks like. Our team hotel has generators and those sort of things to keep things online for our guys hopefully. I've told them pack like you're going on a couple-days road trip, bring all your school supplies. We'll have some academic time tomorrow at the hotel and tonight, do our normal football activities as much as we can. Tomorrow's practice is going to be very dependent upon the timeline with the weather getting here. Practice isn't the No. 1 focus. Health and safety is, but we'd like to get into as much of a normal practice routine as we can, so if we can we'll try to find a location. We're working through logistics of could that be the Superdome or could that be the Saints or could it be here. I don't mind practicing in the rain. I would have practiced here today if I'd have known it was just going to rain, but yesterday the forecast had lightning at this time, so it changes. We'll try to go about an hour tomorrow if we can, which is a touch shorter than normal, but we'll trying to get something. I'm untrained meteorologist at this point in life. I think it looks like mid-dayish (for the effects of Francine to be felt heavily), so we'll try to make sure we're all in place a couple hours ahead of time."
On dealing with this before:
The first game here (as as assistant coach under Curtis Johnson in 2012) was Ike, so were in Birmingham (I heard some horror stories about the disorganized nature of that evacuation under CJ). This one's a little more unique because it's in the middle of a game week. We knew that one a little bit earlier. We knew there was the potential, but it really heightened yesterday. Normal evacuation is Birmingham, which we did that year. With the charter flight for the game (at Oklahoma), there were three or four different options talked through with our administration. I told them first and foremost healthy and safety and then what makes the most sense for the well-being of our team. As we kind of evaluated things, we felt like this was probably the best decision."
On Brett Venables' defense at Oklahoma:
"They're well coached. Brent does a great job with defense. The defensive staff's really good. They've got really good players. Good scheme and good players usually make for good football, and they're really well coached with great players. They're multiple. They keep you really guessing, keep you off balance, do a lot of different things schematically. They present a lot of challenges with what they do, and the guys they're doing it with make it even tougher. We've got our work cut out for us. People have not put up points on them this season (Houston had 12 and Temple had 3 despite Oklahoma's struggling on offense in both games)."
On Oklahoma forcing nation's best eight turnovers:
"They attack the ball carrier. They swarm. They run with great energy to the ball, and they've got guys that can make plays. They put you in a bind with what they do schematically. They put you in some pressure situations and they've gotten people into obvious pass, but they're really an attacking group. The multiplicity they present also presents problems for your offense, and playing there--this is game 3 in a row for them at home and it's a hostile environment. It's loud. I've had texts with other coaches in the league and I've texted with Chris Klieman, who we played this past week, and Chris texted this morning it's one of the loudest places you'll ever go. I've played most places in the SEC as a coach or a player, but I haven't been to Oklahoma, but by all accounts it's loud."
On message to Mensah about taking care of the ball with pass rush:
"One of his strengths is his poise and calmness and confidence in the pocket. He's got to know when the journey's over. Sometimes the show's over, just go down or get it out, and we learned the hard way on a couple of those. We had the grounding. That's a new thing for him. Everything's new for him, and then understanding hey, a 6-yard sack, while maybe not desired, is better than getting careless for the football and turning it over and giving them a touchdown. He's learning. Today at practice he had one that we were all screaming at him to hey, put the ball away. He's gonna get it. He's going to learn it. It's like being a kid and you touch a hot stove and you learn it's hot, don't touch it anymore. Hopefully he learns, hey, if I'm in traffic, put the ball away. I think he will. He's smart, he's conscientious and he's thoughtful, but there's a lot of lessons to be learned. A lot of positives, but there's some things he' needs to get better at and grow from, and I'm confident he will. I've liked his approach. The best thing about it is he's been harder on himself than I could ever be on him. That usually bodes well for being a good player when you care that much. He's gotta bounce back. He's gotta do some things better. We all do. The coaches do, too."
On having guys who played for Power 4 programs and are used to hostile environments:
"Yeah, maybe individuals have had that exposure. It's our first time as a team to handle that atmosphere, and there are a lot of individuals that haven't, so it's a new experience for everybody involved. We're a team that's never gone and done it together, and it's a place that's traditionally loud and hostile and hard to play in. We've got to be really poised with how we handle it. I think you can get over-excited about it, like you almost have to just ignore it to some degree. and control what's right in front of you. We worked today with the crowd noise in practice. I don't know if the offense could really communicate very well verbally, so we're making them have to work through some of that right now. It's a challenge for sure. It will be new for some our guys, and I don't care how many times you've been in those environments, there's still a challenge. Even as a coach, I'm like, all right, it's nice to be able to communicate at home, and when you go on the road in that kind of environment, it gets loud."
On Mario Williams having back-to-back 100-plus-yard receiving games:
"He's been extremely impactful. What, 10 catches and 250 yards (252) roughly is a pretty good two-game start. I've said this. He's worked incredibly hard. Watching him in our offseason training, I've got no doubt he's going to have the kind of success he's having because he brings it every day. He works his tail off, he's extremely competitive. The biggest thing for him as we move into this game is don't worry about the him-going-back-to-Oklahoma piece. That doesn't have any impact on you playing well. What helps you play well is do your job at a high level, focus on the details of what your job is and go execute and be the best you can be individually and help support your teammates. I'm excited for him to have that opportunity to go back to the place he started his career, but what gets you the results he's gotten, you can't focus on the logo of who we're playing. You just have to do your job to the best of your ability."
