Life intervened today so I have not been able to transcribe Fritz's 28-minute-plus question-and-answer session, but here are a few highlights before I post the transcription tomorrow, or at least half of it. I probably will divide it into two parts.
1) Fritz confirmed what Troy Dannen sent to Tulane fans in a letter recently, saying a new weight room would be completed by June 1. My take: It will be a big improvement but may not be good enough to make a difference in recruiting.
2) He is not in a hurry to replace Alex Atkins. With 21 signees already in the fold, the recruiting aspect is not forcing him to make a quick hire like it would have in the past before the early signing date came into being last year. Will Hall will have a lot of input in the hire.
3) The offense is going to be diversified in the passing game.
That was the focus of the story I wrote for The Advocate, and it is a vital change. Fritz said Tulane needed to be able to pass in obvious passing situations and when opponents were not keying on the run. Currently, it is based almost exclusively on having receivers beat one-one-one coverage with rudimentary concepts and not enough options.
4) Justin McMillan is the frontrunner at quarterback.
That appears obvious, but Fritz never had said it before. Hopefully McMillan will have a good offseason and good spring drills because he has the potential to be a major difference maker. They could not have a sophisticated pass offense with Jonathan Banks because he could not handle the concepts. McMillan can.
5) Spring practice will begin March 12 after spring break, with practices in the morning on Tuesday,. Thursday and Saturday.
I have a feeling they will go four times in the first three weeks to get the 15 practices in, but maybe they plan to have it over five weeks instead of the normal five. We'll see.
1) Fritz confirmed what Troy Dannen sent to Tulane fans in a letter recently, saying a new weight room would be completed by June 1. My take: It will be a big improvement but may not be good enough to make a difference in recruiting.
2) He is not in a hurry to replace Alex Atkins. With 21 signees already in the fold, the recruiting aspect is not forcing him to make a quick hire like it would have in the past before the early signing date came into being last year. Will Hall will have a lot of input in the hire.
3) The offense is going to be diversified in the passing game.
That was the focus of the story I wrote for The Advocate, and it is a vital change. Fritz said Tulane needed to be able to pass in obvious passing situations and when opponents were not keying on the run. Currently, it is based almost exclusively on having receivers beat one-one-one coverage with rudimentary concepts and not enough options.
4) Justin McMillan is the frontrunner at quarterback.
That appears obvious, but Fritz never had said it before. Hopefully McMillan will have a good offseason and good spring drills because he has the potential to be a major difference maker. They could not have a sophisticated pass offense with Jonathan Banks because he could not handle the concepts. McMillan can.
5) Spring practice will begin March 12 after spring break, with practices in the morning on Tuesday,. Thursday and Saturday.
I have a feeling they will go four times in the first three weeks to get the 15 practices in, but maybe they plan to have it over five weeks instead of the normal five. We'll see.
