Green Wave wraps up second week of spring football

Spring Prospectus | Spring Roster | Spring Schedule | Spring Spotlight

NEW ORLEANS – The Green Wave football team concluded its second week of Spring Practice at Yulman Stadium on Friday afternoon, hosting its final practice for a week.

With the players getting the next week off for Spring Break and not returning to practice until April 2, Head Coach Willie Fritz was pleased with what he has seen from the Green Wave so far.

“It’s gone well, it really has,” Fritz said. “We’re going to do some live plays on the 7th and the 14th other than the quarterback. That’ll be good for us. We need to do some of that stuff and see who’s really making plays out here and see who’s coming close.”

Fritz spoke about the competition for the center position in camp, noting the importance of flexibility at that position and how crucial it is to the offense.

“The guy who’s going to be our center is the guy who’s most accurate snapper,” Fritz said. “It’s just so important. You can’t get started without a good, accurate snap. Some days one guy is a little bit ahead of the other guy, but it’s a daily deal. You’ve got to be mentally, mentally tough to play center.”

Senior wide receiver Brian Newman also spoke to the media after practice. Newman, who made two catches late in the practice session including one diving catch, is returning to the field after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and his medial and lateral meniscus last August.

A walk-on, Newman hopes to make a big impact with the Green Wave during his final year of college football.

“It just feels good to just contribute to a team,” Newman said. “It’s pretty tough when I’m not even able to walk for half the season, just sitting down and watching the guys go out there and do their thing. So just to get out there, get into the groove and start working on my craft, it’s awesome.”

Tulane retakes the practice field on Monday, April 3 at 3 a.m. at Yulman Stadium. Spring camp concludes Saturday, April 14 with the annual spring game at Yulman Stadium.

The Green Wave open 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 spring practice overall so far…

“It’s gone well, it really has. We’re going to start getting a little bit more schematic and install with offense, defense and kicking game. We’ve got a lot of drills, we’ve inserted a lot of things. We’re going to do some live plays on the 7th and the 14th other than the quarterback. That’ll be good for us, we need to do some of that stuff and see who’s really making plays out here and see who’s coming close.”

On WR Brian Newman…

“I think he’s all the way back. He sure looks like it. He has been so diligent in his rehab. Nate Quebedeaux and the whole training staff has done an excellent job with him. It’s good to see a guy put in hard work be able to get back like that. He’s gonna play for us. He’s a very savvy football player.”

On QB Jonathan Banks…

“He knows the offense, he really does. What we’ve got to be able to do to open up the passing game a little more is run it effectively. Everybody’s gonna pack the box and then we’ve got a bunch of one-on-ones and he can take advantage of that. He’s a good football player.”

On playing without penalties…

“You’ve got to do a great job in practice of playing clean, practicing clean. You see these penalties out here and you kind of wonder how that’s going to be called in a game. You can’t let that effect you. We talk about ‘Wave Don’t Beat the Wave.’ Over 50 percent of penalties in the college game are pre-snap or post-play variety. We want to take care of those, and we can cut in half our penalties.”

On competition for the center position…

“It’s been going well. I tell those guys the guy who’s going to be our center is the guy who’s most accurate snapper. It’s just so important. You can’t get started without a good, accurate snap. Some days one guy is a little bit ahead of the other guy, but it’s a daily deal. You’ve got to be mentally, mentally tough to play center.”

Listen to the complete interview from HC Willie Fritz

WR Brian Newman

On his rehab process…

“I started the rehab the day after my surgery. I go in there 3-4 hours a day on top of workouts and practice, but the training staff here has been phenomenal with Nate [Quebedeaux] and Amy [McDonald] and all of them. I don’t think I’d be where I am now. I’m way ahead of schedule so it feels good to be out there.”

On knowing he could come back for spring…

“We set up a couple benchmarks and landmarks to hit month to month and even week to week. So once we got over Christmas break, it started to look like the horizon was shrinking and shrinking a little bit more. And basically a couple days before the first day of spring, it was like, ‘Okay, it’s go time.’”

On making big plays in spring practice…

“It just feels good to just contribute to a team. It’s pretty tough when I’m not even able to walk for half the season, just sitting down and watching the guys go out there and do their thing. So just to get out there, get into the groove and start working on my craft, it’s awesome.”

Listen to the complete interview from WR Brian Newman

– – – – –

REMAINING SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
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