Football Holds Double Session In Day 10 Of Preseason Practice
Aug 17, 2011 | Football
Aug. 17, 2011
Video Interview With Head Coach B.Toledo
Video Interview With Quarterback DJ Ponder
Video Interview With Defensive End M.Pierce, Jr.
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University football team was back in action on Wednesday as the Green Wave held their third two-a-day practice by splitting time downtown and on campus in Day 10 of preseason camp.
The Tulane team got the day started with a bang as the squad boarded busses and headed for the Louisiana Superdome for a full-contact, controlled scrimmage in the stadium it will be playing all six of its home games during the 2011 season. Following a break for lunch and some time in team meetings, the Green Wave returned to the Westfeldt Practice Facility in helmets, jerseys and shorts for a much slower paced, 14-period afternoon practice.
"We beat them up pretty good this morning," Tulane head coach Bob Toledo said. "Normally we go 18 periods in the afternoon with shells on. I went 14 periods with just helmets. One of the things we did was we tried to correct a lot of the mistakes we made in our scrimmage this morning that we saw.
"We haven't watched all of the film yet, we'll watch that tonight. But in the half of the film that we watched, there were some mistakes that we've got to get better at. It's one of those things were we try to add a few things on the field. We put in some scheduled plays that we normally do in the classroom, but we wanted to watch some of that film today. We took some time and slowly taught that on the field "
While the second practice of the day was slow paced by regular practice standards, the morning practice was anthing but as Toledo had his team run though the gamut of game-like scenarios ranging from special teams, driving the football, red-zone and goal line.
"We had 130-plus regular offensive and defensive plays and we did all of our kicking game live too - punts, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return, PAT/field goal - so we saw a lot of live action," Toledo said. "A lot of guys got an opportunity to see what they could do in a live scrimmage.
"Of course, the freshmen were really great. Their eyes get really big getting in the Dome and getting used to that turf. It's different. It's thick. A couple of guys were stumbling, so they have to get used to it. All in all, I thought there were a lot of good individual performances. We weren't trying to win a game today. We were just trying to get better."
The Green Wave had their highlight moments in all three phases of the game during the scrimmage, but perhaps the biggest surprise came from the crop of freshman talent. Tulane has just 12 seniors on its roster and features a combined 42 juniors and sophomores who have significant game experience.
The rookies, however, are the largest class on the team as the Wave sport 15 redshirt-freshmen and 28 student-athletes straight out of high school. Each of the healthy players had an opportunity to take the field on Wednesday morning and Toledo admitted that he was pleased with what he saw.
"A couple of those receivers - Justyn Shackelford, Xavier Rush, Marc Edwards, Brandon LeBeau - really made some nice catches," Toledo said. "You look at those running backs - Robert Kelley and Danté Butler - I tell you what, they're impressive. We're developing some really good quality depth at a couple of positions.
"Defensively, I like Matthew Bailey the linebacker/nickel back. He played really well. Sam Scofield had another interception at safety again today. Michael Pierce, Jr. is really a force at end. I like our young players. We've got some good, young players and they'll help give us that good, quality depth."
The Green Wave return to practice on Thursday, Aug. 18, with a full-pad session at 8:45 a.m. at the Westfeldt Facility. From there, Tulane will hold single practice on Friday morning before wrapping up the week with a two-a-day practice on Saturday. The Wave will open the final practice of the week in the Louisiana Superdome with a closed session donning helmets, shoulder pads and shorts before returning to campus for a full-pad scrimmage at Westfeldt. The afternoon practice is slated to begin at 3:30.
Tulane formally kicks off the 2011 season on Saturday, Sept. 3, when the Green Wave play host to Southeastern Louisiana at 2:30 p.m. in the Louisiana Superdome. Season and individual-game ticket sales are currently for sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. The Ticket Office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr., Center on Ben Weiner Drive, and tickets can be purchased in person, over the phone at 504-861-WAVE (9283) or via the Internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
