April 16, 2008

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The energy level was high and the intensity was even higher - perhaps too high for the taste of head coach Bob Toledo - as the Tulane University football team went full pads in Day 14 of Spring Practice Wednesday afternoon at the Westfeldt Practice Facility.

While the offense and defense took turns making highlight plays and the day was full of big hits and big plays, Toledo and his staff had to step in more than once to explain to the student-athletes that even though they were wearing full pads, Wednesday's session was not meant to be as hard hitting as it turned out to be.

"I like our enthusiasm, our attitude and our effort, but we have to understand how to practice against each other better," Tulane head coach Bob Toledo said. "We have to understand the tempo of practice. There are periods where we're in alignment and assignment, and they're tackling each other. That's not the drill. I was upset with a few guys today to be honest with you. They've got to learn how to practice together and protect each other, and yet practice hard."

Disappointment aside, it was another solid day for the Green Wave, who enter their second season under Toledo's direction. While several questions loom just three days before the Spring Game - as Toledo has yet to name a starting quarterback and the question of who will fill the very large shoes left by graduating senior Matt Forté at running back remains unanswered - there were several reasons to be excited following Wednesday's drills.

Following the usual position drills, Toledo let out a shrill from his whistle and yelled "sudden change," which simulates a turnover and gives the offense the ball at the defense's 25 yard line. The offense moved the ball eight yards on the first two plays, but the defense was assisted by a pair of false starts and a three-yard tackle for loss by senior linebacker Jordan Ellis to set up a fourth-and-15 scenario that saw sophomore quarterback Kevin Moore's pass to sophomore tight end Tyler Helm fall incomplete.

In the "thud" portion of practice - a scenario designed for the respective lines to go full contact but for the defense to only wrap up the opponent as opposed to full tackling - Toledo had the team run plays exclusively from their own 40 yard line. Moore completed 8of-10 passes, including sizeable gains to sophomore wideout Casey Robottom, junior Jeremy Williams and senior receiver Brian King.

The defense, meanwhile, was not without its highlights as defensive linemen Justin Adams and Cedric Wilson had good pressure, Ellis posted a handful of tackles, and senior safety Corey Sonnier had several big hits.

Following a brief offensive/defensive session, the team reconvened for a full-contact scrimmage in the second half of the day. Junior running back André Anderson ran for 39 yards on eight carries and sophomore fullbacks Jordan Stephany and Cody Blackwelder combined for another 34 on the ground.

Defensively, senior end Reggie Scott, redshirt-sophomore defensive back Alex Wacha and the combination of Adams and sophomore defensive end Cody Sparks all had tackles for loss.

"There was a lot of back and forth," Toledo said. "Good and bad things on both sides of the ball. I don't get overly concerned about spring practice because we're not game planning. We're trying to learn plays, learn defenses and look at players. I'm not concerned about who does what on offense or defense in spring. That doesn't excite me or bother me.

"I'm concerned about some depth. We don't have a lot of depth right now and we're trying to develop some players. We just don't have a lot of players. If we lose a few key players, it sets us way back. Hopefully, the freshmen coming in will give us that added depth and hopefully, it'll be some quality depth."

Season tickets for the 2008 Tulane football season are now on sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. Being a season ticket holder allows you to receive priority seating locations and lower prices than individual game ticket purchasers. Adult sideline seats are $180, while adult end zone seats are $90 and youth (under 18) end zone seats are just $72.

For more information on 2008 Tulane football tickets or tickets to any future Green Wave home athletic event, contact the Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.