MEET THE PRESS: Fritz Previews Tulsa at Weekly News Conference

NEW ORLEANS - Listed below is the complete transcript from Green Wave football head coach Willie Fritz's weekly press conference leading up to Tulane's matchup vs. Tulsa on Saturday.

How was the mood at practice today?
"It was alright. Some guys were good, some guys were bad, but it's always that way. We have to get ready for Tulsa, they're a very physical team with a huge offensive line. They've been running the ball very well. Defensively, they have a different defense than we have played - a three man front and basically four safeties on the back end. They do a good job of disguising who is coming down and getting in the box and getting depth. It's a unique defense."

On Tulsa's schedule…
"Yeah, it's been a tough schedule. They've played some good teams without question. They played against both Ohio State and Oklahoma State well."

Do you feel like you're close?
"Yeah, last week I felt we played well, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. We missed a couple of key conversions that would've helped us out on offense. The punt block was a big play and that kind of hurt us on field position for the rest of the game. There were some opportunities to win and we did a good job of hanging on to the football offensively and I thought we tackled and stayed over the top for the most part. We didn't allow too many big plays defensively."

Darius Hodges hadn't played a ton going into this season, how do you feel he has progressed?
"We had some good players at those positions last year and he didn't get to play much, but he backed up and learned from them. He's a big guy and has movement and good pass rushing skills. I think he's picking the game up. He's never really played in a space like that before, sometimes in his position you have to play with space and he's having to do that. He's getting better every week."

How encouraging is it that you've got him around for a while?
"Yeah, we have a bunch of guys. Him, Angelo (Anderson), Armoni Dixon has done some things. I think Michael Lunz has a chance to be a really good player. Keith Cooper is another true freshman who is playing quite a bit for us, so we have a bunch of guys who are younger."

Ygenio Booker hasn't played the last couple games, is there a chance he'll be back this week?
"We're hoping so. He's banged up right now and getting better everyday. We're hoping he gets better for Saturday."

Michael Pratt seems tough, it seems like he gets up from those hard hits?
"Yeah, he is very competitive. We're a better team when he's playing. Touchdowns, first downs, getting down, we're working with him on all that. But he's a competitive guy. If there's six yards to get he's going to try and get six. Sometimes he may just get five, but he's learning."

You held UCF to 100 yards below it's previous season low, how encouraging is that?
"It was good, we've been wanting to play better and I think the last two weeks we have played better on defense. We have to continue that ascent."

MEET THE PRESS: Fritz Previews Tulsa at Weekly News Conference

Players Mentioned

Ygenio Booker

Armoni Dixon

Darius Hodges

Michael Lunz

Michael Pratt

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