Tulane Football Continues Fall Camp with Crisp Second Practice
Aug 9, 2008 | Football
Aug. 9, 2008
Complete Transcript Of Saturday's Media Day Press Conference
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane Green Wave football team had a very busy and productive second day of practice as the team donned the game uniforms for its annual picture day and then spent their lunchtime discussing the season during media day before hitting the practice field in the afternoon.
Under intermittent cloudy skies and a temperature of 90 degrees, the Green Wave took a very business-like approach during its 24-session period in helmets and shorts. For the second straight day, the team moved crisply from drill-to-drill and continued the implementation of formations on both sides of the ball. Tulane Coach Bob Toledo has said the first couple week of practice will be all about the team instead of its first opponent and the second-year coach was pleased with Saturday's efforts.
"We're trying to get better with every practice and today we added new formations both offensively and defensively," said Toledo. "We have an `installation' schedule every week where we install plays and defenses and then we try to run the plays against certain defenses and offensive formations. It's all teaching situations and learning right now."
The quarterback trio of sophomore Kevin Moore, redshirt freshman Joe Kemp and senior Scott Elliott were each effective during the passing drills and turned in a very consistent day as a group, which caught Toledo's eye.
"The quarterbacks have really matured and really answered the call. When it's time to go, they are ready. They had a good summer and are in good shape. They have much more knowledge of what they are doing and I thought they were extremely focused today," Toledo said.
Not to be outdone by the offense, the Green Wave's defensive unit came up with several nice plays. During a 7-on-7 drill, junior Travis Burks intercepted a pass from freshman quarterback D.J. Ponder over the middle, while seniors Evan Lee and Josh Lumar both came up with timely deflections during the same drill. The Wave defensive line was also effective with its pass rush in several drills vs. its offensive counterparts.
"I think our defense is doing a good job because they understand the tempo and we are not trying to beat up each other right now. We are trying to get lined up, execute the system and learn from our mistakes. It's not as physical as it will be when we get the pads on, but they are learning what to do each day and executing very well," Toledo said.
Tulane will not practice on Sunday, but returns to the Westfeldt Practice Facility for a 2:50 p.m. practice on Monday.
The Green Wave opens the 2008 season on Saturday, Sept. 6, against the University of Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Season tickets for the 2008 Tulane football season are now on sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. For more information on 2008 Tulane football tickets or tickets to any future Green Wave home athletic event, contact the Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.
Player Quotes following Saturday's Practice
Junior Travis Burks-
"We received our play books this past spring and we studied them hard over the summer, so we kind of got a jump on fall practice. We made a commitment over the summer and we call the play book, the `Bible' so we've been studying it hard and very day, and I think that's why we are doing well as a group through the first couple of days."
"I'm working on being more consistent in the run game. I feel like I do well against the pass, but there is always room for improvement. Coach (O'Neill) Gilbert is also my position coach, not just the defensive coordinator, so when we have questions about the defense we're getting our answers directly from him."
Sophomore Quarterback Kevin Moore-
"I think leadership develops with the experience I earned last year and I knew coming into this year I needed to take more of a leadership role. I enjoy it or I would not have signed up in sixth grade to play quarterback if I didn't think I could be a leader. I try to come out every day, provide some energy to try to get our season going in the right direction and our first two days have been very good."
"I'm a pretty loud person and I am the one who cuts up and keeps everyone loose, but when I step on the field I like to get things done and I feel like it's my job to make sure things are going as they should. We have a lot of great seniors on the offense like Michael Parenton and Troy Kropog to help lead us and I am just trying to do my part."
