Tulane Coach Sees Improvement in Quarterback Room
The Tulane Green Wave kicked off their second week of training camp with situational, third-down football and a better start by both quarterbacks in competition.
Context is critical in reporting on camp days. There are a few minor injuries to the offensive line that impacted play today. Coach Jon Sumrall also emphasized the role of running backs blocking out of the backfield, which affected quarterback play in those third down drills.
Kai Horton showed off his connection with Yulkeith Brown on some passes, but some were broken up by a swarming defense. Ty Thompson missed some connections in individual drills, but I noticed he took more chances in the air today and looked more confident doing so. He continued his connection with Alex Bauman in the third down period. On some good runs, both had quick feet.
As I mentioned last week, the team is still installing the offense throughout a quarterback competition. You might expect practices to focus on figuring that out, but in three weeks, both the offense and defense must unite.
It’s difficult to evaluate a quarterback without the ability to run a full series. Last week, the body of work didn’t include their efforts on third down. In that period, they ran 3rd and 10, 8, 6, and 4, and the defense was able to disguise and change things at the line of scrimmage.
Sumrall acknowledged that during this period, the running backs allowed about 3-4 pressures, not the offensive line. Some weren’t picked up, and several snaps for all the quarterbacks were met with immediate pressure and, “somebody stepping on your toes if you don’t watch out.”
One of those injuries on the line is to Vincent Murphy, whom they expect to sit out for about a week, given their knowledge of what they have in him. Another promising comment from Sumrall was that it was nice to experiment with moving guys around on the line to see what they have—even if they screwed up at times and made it, “hard playing quarterback at times today.”
That stands in stark contrast to his remarks in the spring regarding their inability to fill a two-man depth chart at various positions, especially on the offensive line, where depth is crucial—as demonstrated today.
Center is the most important position in the quarterback competition. Caleb Thomas’ experience is crucial, but with Josh Remetich and Rashad Green both sitting out today—neither expected to linger—it’s difficult to ignore that a lot changed for the quarterbacks today.
That included the defense moving out of their base looks and, as Sumrall put it, playing some, “goofy, exotic things.” One of those was the first look at Dime, which resulted in an interception by Chris Rodgers at linebacker.
But Sumrall praised the work of both quarterbacks prior to that period—a departure from a slightly more critical assessment last week.
"I thought the first part of practice, both quarterbacks looked a lot better than they had, to be honest," Sumrall said after practice.
He also emphasized how the experience at cornerback changed the game for the competing quarterbacks. Sumrall has pointed out a lot of areas for improvement and necessary growth for both players. Today was a noticeable change in his assessment, which bodes well for the second week of Green Wave training camp.
MADDY HUDAK