Tulane concludes ninth practice of spring football

Tulane Football Concludes Practice Nine of Spring Ball
Green Wave returns to action on Thursday morning at Yulman Stadium

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University football team wrapped up its ninth practice of spring camp on Wednesday at Yulman Stadium under cloudy and cool conditions.

Following practice, head coach Willie Fritz and defensive coordinator Jack Curtis spoke to reporters during the Green Wave’s post-practice media session.

Curtis has been pleased with the effort on the defensive side of the ball through nine practices, but continued to stress the team’s importance of being faster in the secondary.

“I think our speed back there has got to improve,” Curtis said. “If you have someone that pops a run on you, we have to have erasers back there, who can make that open field tackle, so that an 8-10 yard play does not turn into a 40-50 yard gain. A big emphasis is getting more speed out there and better open field tackling and not giving up those long runs.”

Enter in junior P.J. Hall, who moves from corner to safety and the Green Wave figure to have another strong tackler and some additional speed at the safety position this fall.

“P.J. is probably our most versatile player back there – he’s a utility guy,” Curtis said. “P.J. can play corner, nickel, strong or free – he can play them all. He is extremely intelligent in our defense. He knows what everybody is doing. I think he has had an excellent spring and he is doing a real good job, so I’m real pleased with where he is right now.”

Curtis has also been pleased with the play of senior Roderic Teamer Jr., who enters his senior season with high expectations and 125 career tackles.

“He can play at a couple of positions as well, but I think he is feeling really at home at that free safety position,” Curtis said.

In addition, sophomore Tirise Barge has made an impression on Curtis this spring after coming on strong to close out the 2017 campaign – a year that saw him see action in all 12 games.

“Tirise loves football and he loves playing the game,” Curtis said. “He brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the field. He is one of our more physical tacklers. He got to play for us some last year, especially towards the end and showed us some good things. Now he is a lot more comfortable in understanding the scheme and he feels more confident in what he is doing.”

Tulane returns to practice at Yulman Stadium Thursday morning for its 10th practice of spring camp

The Green Wave open the 2018 season on Thursday, August 30 at home against Wake Forest.

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REMAINING SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 5, 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