Transcript from Tulane Football's 2015 Media Day
Aug 10, 2015 | Football
NEW ORLEANS - Following his team's sixth preseason practice, Tulane fourth-year head football coach Curtis Johnson took the podium to discuss the 2015 edition of the Green Wave football team during the annual Tulane Football Media Day on Monday at Yulman Stadium.
Fall practice will continue on Tuesday with the first of five two-a-day practice sessions. The Green Wave morning practice at 8 a.m. in Yulman Stadium is open to both the media and the public. Tulane will practice during the afternoon at the Saints Practice Facility, and that session will be closed to both the media and public.
Tulane will open the 2015 campaign against Duke at 8:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Yulman Stadium. The game will be broadcast nationally on the CBS Sports Network and on WMTI 106.1 FM.
Season tickets and season parking passes remain available for purchase.
A Pick 3 Mini Plan is also on sale. Fans can choose three home football games starting at $99. Westfeldt Terrace packages are also available for $125 with a $125 required donation to the Tulane Athletics Fund. For more ticket information, call (504) 861-WAVE or visit the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.
Opening Statement from Tulane Head Football Coach Curtis Johnson:
Thank you guys for coming. I'm just going to say one thing, it was hot this morning. My voice is gone this afternoon due to me yelling so many encouragements to the team, because the team looks so much better.
First of all, the quarterback is playing well. He is starting to understand and starting to do the things we're asking him to do. Tanner (Lee) is doing great and I just hope he continues. Devin (Powell) is also playing well, and I thought the last couple of practices, Glenn (Cuiellette) has shown a real grasp of what we're doing offensively.
I think our offensive line is going to be good. They're big guys, they're physical. They've been around the most. I am very pleased with Nathan Shienle and Chris Taylor. Arturo (Uzdavinis) is having a good camp also. Leeward Brown has been an eye opener. Colton Hanson is playing well also. Todd Jacquet and Kenneth Santa Marina have been pleasant surprises, along with (John) Leglue. Leeward (Brown) as a freshman is definitely ahead of the game.
We basically had all freshmen at the skilled positions last year. Our tight ends have been really good. Trey Scott is running around real well, so is Charles Jones and they are just doing a magnificent job, running, blocking and doing what they're asked.
The wide receivers (Teddy) Veal, (Devon) Breaux, and (Terren) Encalade have improved so much. Larry Dace is starting to play well too, so he's coming along. I would say the freshmen, (Rickey) Preston and (Andrew) Hicks are really impressive. Hicks was a quarterback in high school. I had no idea how well he could develop so quickly. He's big, he's physical, he reminds me of some of the guys I had at Miami. Carter Sheridan is doing a phenomenal job bringing the young wide receivers along. Sometimes I look up and they look like veterans.
Probably the strength of what we do is the running backs. I'm telling you, Lazedrick Thompson is a grown man. He's continuing to improve and I didn't think he could be much bigger and better. Dontrell (Hilliard) and Sherman (Badie) have been awesome. Josh Rounds is back and it's pleasing to see Rob Kelley's experience and knowledge in the backfield. We have this little kid from Warren Easton (Devin Glenn), we call him Jet. Once you see him play, you'll know why. He's Such an exciting young player to watch.
The defensive line with Tanzel (Smart), Royce (LeFrance), Sean Wilson and all those guys have been very good. Nico Marley and Jarrod Franklin have been outstanding, along with Eric Thomas, Darion Monroe, Perry Nickerson and Richard Allen. The defense is pretty well ahead. Special teams, I'm very confident in the punter and we have a three-man race for kicker between (Trevor) Simms, (Andrew) Dirocco and (Aaron Root).
Who are some guys that have stuck out and maybe jumped up in the depth chart?
If you look at the receiver position, (Teddy) Veal, and (Terren) Encalade, they're beginning to look like veterans. (Devon) Breaux has had a really good camp. I look at Donnie Lewis, who is one of the guys we moved around, and as a free safety, he's really playing well. The two freshman corners in (Dedrick) Shy and (Taris) Shenall, make plays every day. So this depth at the back end is something we're really going to need. (Todd) Jacquet is another guy that is playing well.
What's a reasonable expectation for this season?
I would be very disappointed if we didn't get to a bowl game. It's a tough schedule, but if you look at who we have with the athleticism, we just need to cut down on our mistakes. Also, we need to cut down on the silly penalties and understand the game plan a lot better.
Do you feel like there was an adjustment period in starting in The American last year?
We really felt good about playing in Conference USA and then you get to The American. You look at what Cincinnati had last year, they were just so much bigger than us. Memphis played so well together as a team. Last year, they thought Memphis was going to be last and they end up winning the thing and East Carolina was better than expected. You know what UCF is capable of doing and Houston will be better. I think we can accelerate this thing a little bit and beat some teams.
How much of a role will Tanner Lee's maturation help this season?
It was more my fault. I wasn't letting him do much. We were turning the ball over too much, some Tanner's fault, some not. I mean, some of the kids he's playing with were freshmen too and all of sudden they're playing in games on national television. Now this year, I think things have calmed down a lot more and the game has slowed down for those guys. If we can continue to grow and finish this camp off well, we'll beat some good teams.
Second year in this beautiful stadium on campus, what is your message to the fans?
You look at this field and it's nice and quaint. Look, some games were somewhat empty, but it was still loud. It's a great college atmosphere. The fans are right on top of you and there's tailgating nearby. You see the people and everyone is excited about it. We just need to play better and I think we will, but the atmosphere is great.
How much time have you spent on pass protection and blitz pick-up?
We're doing more and more of that every day. You asked me a year ago and I don't think the guys understood what blitz pick-up was. They were just playing football. They didn't even know the periods we were having practice in. They just thought we were going out there and running a bunch of plays. Now they understand and have a conscious effort. I think the offensive line is doing outstanding with the line calls. The one thing with Tanner that he couldn't do last year that he's doing now, he's identifying the blitz. He's doing a much better job identifying what's going on. He's hitting the backs and the check downs more. He's doing some things a starting quarterback should be doing.
Still have young players at the skilled positions, but do you think the one year of experience will help?
Definitely. They are practicing older. You look at what Teddy Veal is doing along with (Terren) Encalade and Charles Jones, Trey Scott, Dontrell Hilliard. They understand the game so much better. I can actually have a conversation about football with these young guys.
How has the landscape of recruiting changed for you? Do your guys remind you of other players?
I think the landscape has changed with what we're doing. The offensive line is bigger and better. Speed wise with these backs, they're similar to what Clinton Portis was. The tight end, Charles (Jones), reminds me of Bubba Franks. (Dontrell) Hilliard and Sherman (Badie) remind me of (Clinton) Portis. Lazedrick (Thompson) is Najeh Davenport. We don't have an Andre Johnson. (Terren) Encalade is Reggie Wayne in my mind when I see those guys. We took our fair share of lumps at Miami, going 5-6 in year one, then three years later we went on a streak where we didn't lose for several years. We're going to recruit to what we know.
Talk about how recruiting has had a heavy emphasis on being within a 50-mile radius of New Orleans.
I believe in these coaches and I believe in Louisiana high school football. I believe in what they're doing and I think they're coaching is outstanding. I could mention so many of them. My life has changed from the coaching down here because of when I came and got an Ed Reed or a Marshall Faulk and took them other places. I just want to concentrate on these guys and get them to stay home. I trust those coaches and what they're telling me.
How much potential do you feel the defense has?
I think they can be an outstanding defense. I like what Lionel Washington is doing. We're doing a couple different things than what we've done in the past. We feel like we can match the physicality a little bit more and be a bit more complicated in some areas. The corners are very important and we're trying to go out and get big, physical corners.
Is it frustrating that it's your fourth season and yet you still have a pretty young team?
No, not really. You look at the first year and I was trying to get a staff together while winning a playoff game for the Saints. We got some players like Monroe but then next year, we were better in recruiting, but still didn't have a lot of people see us. Then in the third year, we went to the bowl game and got more exposure and picked it up, and then last season, I saw our recruiting continue to grow. You got to understand where you've been and where you are. We can now bring kids to Yulman Stadium as well.
With 11 guys in NFL camps, how much did that help you selling the Tulane program?
A lot. We have coaches with NFL experience as well, such as Eric Price, Lionel Washington and Carter Sheridan. Now, because our relationship with those NFL guys, these kids are coming back and saying our practices are just like the NFL. We are preparing just like the NFL. Look at what Jordan Sullen did last night with Pittsburgh.
How tough is it going to be to open up against two ACC teams in Duke and Georgia Tech?
It's always tough. I'm a firm believer that you have to play those games against other good conferences and you have to win those games. We think we will match up well with both teams. Georgia Tech and these option teams are a little different and Tech has been going to bowl games forever. A year ago, Duke played Florida State for the ACC Championship, so that's the caliber of teams. One day we'll wake up and beat these teams and everyone will say Tulane has arrived. This is the groundwork for it right now and you have to play those teams. It's 11 v 11 and you got to win some of those.
