Sincere Haynesworth practiced today, so Tulane will not have to shift Corey Dublin to center when it plays Army on Saturday. The Green Wave will go with the same starters at the same spots as it had for East Carolina, with Joey Claybrook at LT, Dublin at LG, Haynesworth at C, Tim Shafter at RG and Ben Knutson at RT. The second-team line was Knutson at LT, Rashad Green at LG, Michael Remondet at C, Jaylen Miller at LG and Trey Tuggle at LT, although Dublin got some reps at center again today and definitely would replace Haynesworth if he had to leave.
Sorrell Brown was in uniform today, so this might be a week his knee lets him play. He has followed a pattern of two games on, two games off this year, so his availability would continue that pattern. Will Hall told me a month ago he considered Brown his best receiver in preseason practice.
I saw on another message board that someone labeled Army the worst 6-1 team of all time. Maybe that prediction is right, but I don't see it. Army played Cincinnati pretty even, predictably failing to move the ball much against one of the nation's best defenses but slowing down an offense that has hammered AAC opponents. The schedule since then has been incredibly weak, but that does not mean Army is bad. You can only play the team in front of you, and it appears to me Army is back to the level it was at in 2017 and 2018, when it whipped Navy both years and presented problems for almost everyone it played.
My head hurts figuring out Army's quarterback situation, though. Senior Christian Anderson started the first three games and pretty much went all the way, with sophomore Jemel Jones getting in during garbage time. Jones took over in the second quarter the following week against Abilene Christian and ran for more than 100 yards. Jones went the whole way against The Citadel but played poorly, throwing two picks in an ugly 14-9 victory. Since then, freshman Cade Ballard, whom Tulane looked at a bit in 2019, and junior Tyhler Tyler have shared the QB duties, with Ballard the better passer and Tyler the better runner. I presume those two will share the duties again on Saturday, sometimes both playing on the same series and sometimes alternating series. Ballard, the "passing" QB, is 2 of 4 for 106 yards and one TD. Tyler, the running QB, has 29 carries for 172 yards and a TD. I haven't found a reference to what happened to the first three quarterbacks, but a story on the win against UTSA mentioned Ballard had been the scout-team QB until the previous week and Tyler was the scout-team QB for all of 2019.
Jabari Laws, whom Phil Steele projected as Army's starting QB this year, has not played and apparently is injured. Essentially the guys playing now are the fourth- and fifth-string guys, although Ballard is 32-0 as a starter dating back to high school.
If Tulane's defense is disciplined and does not give up big pass plays, a problem in the past against the service academies, Army will have a hard time moving the ball.
Sorrell Brown was in uniform today, so this might be a week his knee lets him play. He has followed a pattern of two games on, two games off this year, so his availability would continue that pattern. Will Hall told me a month ago he considered Brown his best receiver in preseason practice.
I saw on another message board that someone labeled Army the worst 6-1 team of all time. Maybe that prediction is right, but I don't see it. Army played Cincinnati pretty even, predictably failing to move the ball much against one of the nation's best defenses but slowing down an offense that has hammered AAC opponents. The schedule since then has been incredibly weak, but that does not mean Army is bad. You can only play the team in front of you, and it appears to me Army is back to the level it was at in 2017 and 2018, when it whipped Navy both years and presented problems for almost everyone it played.
My head hurts figuring out Army's quarterback situation, though. Senior Christian Anderson started the first three games and pretty much went all the way, with sophomore Jemel Jones getting in during garbage time. Jones took over in the second quarter the following week against Abilene Christian and ran for more than 100 yards. Jones went the whole way against The Citadel but played poorly, throwing two picks in an ugly 14-9 victory. Since then, freshman Cade Ballard, whom Tulane looked at a bit in 2019, and junior Tyhler Tyler have shared the QB duties, with Ballard the better passer and Tyler the better runner. I presume those two will share the duties again on Saturday, sometimes both playing on the same series and sometimes alternating series. Ballard, the "passing" QB, is 2 of 4 for 106 yards and one TD. Tyler, the running QB, has 29 carries for 172 yards and a TD. I haven't found a reference to what happened to the first three quarterbacks, but a story on the win against UTSA mentioned Ballard had been the scout-team QB until the previous week and Tyler was the scout-team QB for all of 2019.
Jabari Laws, whom Phil Steele projected as Army's starting QB this year, has not played and apparently is injured. Essentially the guys playing now are the fourth- and fifth-string guys, although Ballard is 32-0 as a starter dating back to high school.
If Tulane's defense is disciplined and does not give up big pass plays, a problem in the past against the service academies, Army will have a hard time moving the ball.