Green Wave Football Continues Preparation for 2018 Season
Aug 22, 2018 | Football
METAIRIE – Tulane football coach Willie Fritz has been a head coach for a very long time. Twenty-five years, to be exact.
But even after all that time, there are still things that can surprise him on a football field. That's why at the end of Thursday afternoon's practice at the New Orleans Saints Training Facility, the Green Wave practiced special situations like punting from their own end zone, Hail Marys, squib kicks and onside kicks.
Fritz hopes with some practice in these situations and others like them, Tulane will be prepared when the season begins in eight days.
"There's an infinite amount of situations that can occur in a football game," Fritz said. "You try to prepare your guys for every type of situation that could come up in the game. That way when you're on the sideline and you're trying to explain it, at least you've gone over it physically or at least you've talked about how we handle that type of situation."
After practice on Thursday, Fritz also spoke about the benefit of having transfers in the program. He noted that offensive lineman Noah Fisher – expected to contribute this season – transferred in from South Alabama with plenty of experience already under his belt.
"He's been through Division I games and practices," Fritz said. "[Transfers] bring a level of experience that you don't get very often. Sometimes high school guys come in and they're able to compete at a high level quickly. But most of the time the transfer guys have been there and done that before and they understand Division I football."
Defensive coordinator Jack Curtis also spoke to the media after Thursday's practice and touched on the Green Wave's running defense and defensive line. Curtis noted that due to a lack of depth at defensive line last year, the team had to switch to a 3-4 scheme out of necessity.
But now, with an extra year of experience in that system, Curtis is confident the run defense and defense as a whole will be improved in 2018.
"We've got a better understanding of what we're doing in the 3-4 defense," Curtis said. "We're playing with a lot of young guys, so you've got to get them playing hard, lined up. … We've cleaned up a lot, we've studied in the offseason and I think we'll be much-improved," Curtis said.
Tulane is back in Metairie for fall practice on Thursday. The team will be practicing in the morning at the New Orleans Saints Facility.
The Green Wave open the 2018 season on Thursday, August 30 at home against Wake Forest.
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