Fritz praises Ledford, Johnson on second day of Tulane spring football camp

Spring Prospectus | Spring Roster | Spring Schedule | Spring Spotlight – Jonathan Banks

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane football team held its second practice of the spring at Yulman Stadium on Wednesday morning with the goal of getting better on every snap.

Head coach Willie Fritz said the team does not have a specific spring mantra or philosophy, but instead works on improving itself at every available opportunity.

“It’s coaching every snap and getting a little bit better,” Fritz said. “Plays come down to inches and things like that. We’ve got to get better. We’re close right now, but we’ve got to get better individually and as a group.”

Fritz spoke highly of quarterback Dane Ledford and early enrollee defensive lineman Jeffery Johnson.

Ledford, who spent some time as a wide receiver in 2017, has moved back to quarterback full-time this year.

“He’s doing a great job for us,” Fritz said. “He’s very smart, he’s an excellent athlete and a 23-foot long jumper in high school. He’s got legit 4.5 / 4.6 speed. Just got to be a little more consistent with his throwing delivery.”

Johnson, meanwhile, made the two-hour trip from Brookhaven, Miss., this spring to join the Green Wave early. He has lost nearly 30 pounds this semester with the Green Wave and could see playing time early in his career as a true freshman.

“Sometimes you forget that he should be a senior in high school,” Fritz said. “But he’s got great strength, very good movement. It’s a huge advantage for him to be here now to see what college ball is all about. He’ll play for us this upcoming season for sure.”

Tulane’s spring practice continues Friday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. inside Yulman Stadium, and concludes Saturday, April 14 with the annual spring game at Yulman Stadium.

Tulane opens the 2018 season on Thursday, August 30 at home against Wake Forest.

For season ticket information, please call 504-861-WAVE (9283), log onto TulaneTix.com or visit the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

Download the official mobile app of Tulane Athletics. Now, you can stay in touch with the Green Wave anytime and anywhere on your Android or iOS mobile device.

Follow Tulane football on Twitter, Facebook and @GreenWaveFB on Snapchat. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and @TulaneAthletics on Snapchat.

– – – – –

Post Practice Interviews

Head coach Willie Fritz
On freshman defensive lineman Jeffery Johnson…

“We think Jeffery’s going to play for us as a true freshman. Sometimes you forget that he should be a senior in high school. But he’s got great strength and very good movement. It’s a huge advantage for him to be here now to see what college ball is all about. He’ll play for us this upcoming season for sure.”

On Johnson playing against fully grown players…

“It’s a challenge, but he’s got a lot of ability. There’s not many guys his size who can move like that. He’s got quick feet. It’s going to help him going through Spring Ball, the summer, and he’s going to be like a veteran. It doesn’t really matter to us if you’re a first-year freshman or a fifth-year senior. The best guy’s going to play.”

On Johnson’s potential…

“He’s got a lot. If you see him out there, he looks the part. You wouldn’t be able to pick him out as being a freshman. He’s going to be a great player here at Tulane. He really has that opportunity. He’s lost 20 pounds since he’s been here. He’s got stamina for a big guy. Most big guys don’t have stamina and can got hard for 8-9 plays in a row. But he has that ability.”

On quarterback Dane Ledford…

“He’s doing a great job for us. We such a line at quarterback last year that we wanted to play him someplace. Unfortunately, he got hurt, which may be a blessing in disguise. But he’s very smart, he’s an excellent athlete and a 23-foot long jumper in high school. He’s got legit 4.5 / 4.6 speed. Just got to be a little more consistent with his throwing delivery. Three plays in a row he’ll look really good throwing and then he’ll throw one out there that doesn’t look so good. So we’ve just got to keep giving him reps.”

On how preseason last year helped Ledford…

“It helped a bunch. The other part is the summer. It’s kind of preseason part one in the summer with these freshmen. We do a lot of football stuff – the NCAA allows us to do thing we just can’t have a football out there. They get a good knowledge of the offense. [Freshman quarterback] Christian [Daniels], we just inserted a bunch of stuff on Practice 2. He knew everything from Practice 1, but today he was swimming a little bit. He’ll pick it up. He’s a sharp kid.”

On limiting quarterback Jonathan Banks’ carries…

“He’s going to run some. One of the things I showed him the other day was that Deshawn Watson in his last season at Clemson had almost 200 carries, about 50-60 more than what Jonathan had last year. Same thing with [Jalen] Hurts over at Alabama. All these offenses the quarterbacks can run. What he’s just got to do is understand ‘first down, touchdown, get down.’ If there’s not more yards to get, get down. Don’t take a hit unnecessarily. Get out of bounds if you’re near the sideline. But, hey, if we’ve got to get a first down, get a first down. He’s a weapon. He’s 225-230, 6-2, he’s got good speed. He’s gonna run the ball anywhere from 5-15 times a game depending on how they play us. He’s really a weapon when he makes a definitive decision to scramble. We’re not going to touch him in practice, I know that. He won’t be taking any hits here this week.”

On general coaching points for the spring…

“Just everything. We don’t have a theme of the day or theme of the spring. It’s coaching every snap and getting a little bit better. I heard Donnie Lewis Jr., talking to somebody about getting a hundredth faster. Plays come down to inches and things like that. We’ve got to get better. We’re close right now, but we’ve got to get better individually and as a group.”

On safety Roderic Teamer Jr…

“He’s just a big, physical guy. He’s smart. We’ve got him at a new position right now, we’ve got to get him consistent because he’s a really good football player. When he’s on, he’s an all-conference-type guy when he’s hitting on all cylinders. We’ve got to get him doing that consistently, get him in the right spots and I think we’re doing that right now. We’re looking for a huge senior year out of him.”

Listen to the complete interview from HC Willie Fritz

Defensive Coordinator Jack Curtis

On consistency of working with Coach Fritz for a long time…

“The thing that comes to my mind first is how well you know each other and what you expect of each other on the field and the continuity of the offense and defense. When they do it over and over and over again, you see a lot of improvement. I think a big mistake in college football that a lot of people make is there’s so much turnover, so much turnover in coordinators that it’s hard to come in and learn a system. So when you’ve been together as long some of us have been together in this staff, it makes everything easier and you know what to expect from one another. [Offensive coordinator] Doug Ruse and myself are going into our 19th season together. That’s a long time.”

Listen to the complete interview from DC Jack Curtis

Freshman DL Jeffery Johnson

On the experience of being at Tulane…

“It’s been great. When everyone was recruiting me I just kind of got along with the coaches. On my visit at Tulane, I connected with the players. It felt like home, so I signed my letter of intent to come here. I fit in here, and I’ve been loving it ever since.”

Listen to the complete interview with Jeffery Johnson

Sophomore QB Dane Ledford

On his spring so far…

“I’m just coming out every day with positive energy, trying to get the best effort that I can. That’s all I can do, just come out and work as hard as I can and hope it’ll pay off.”

On being moved back to QB from WR…

“In high school I played a little bit of receiver, freshman and sophomore year, but the coaches know what’s best for me and best for the team. Wherever they place me is going to be the best place.

Listen to the complete interview from Dane Ledford

Senior S Roderic Teamer Jr.

On the competition in the secondary to replace Parry Nickerson…

“I love competition. That breeds greatness on our defense. We have a lot of young guys stepping up right now, coming in and learning multiple positions. That’s the biggest thing for our defense right now. The more versatile you are, the more valuable you are. That’s something the coaches have been putting emphasis on. We have guys learning safety and cornerback, and I’m trying to learn more myself. It’ll be great for us.”

Listen to the complete interview from Roderic Teamer Jr.

– – – – –

REMAINING SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Friday, March 16, 8:30 a.m.
Saturday, March 17, 8:30 a.m.
Monday, March 19, 8:30 a.m.
Wednesday, March 21, 8:30 a.m.
Friday, March 23, 8:30 a.m.
Monday, April 2, 3 p.m.

Tuesday, April 3 (Pro Day), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, April 4, 8:30 a.m.
Friday, April 6, 8:30 a.m.
Saturday, April 7, 8:30 a.m.
Monday, April 9, 8:30 a.m.
Wednesday, April 11, 8:30 a.m.
Friday, April 13, 8:30 a.m.

SPRING GAME
Date: Saturday, April 14
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Yulman Stadium