Green Wave just picks up where it left off
March 27, 2008
Toledo pleased with opening spring practice
Thursday, March 27, 2008By Nakia Hogan
It didn’t take them long to realize that this spring practice could be much more productive than last year.
From the time the Tulane football players hit the field for the start of spring drills Wednesday afternoon, it was evident that they had been here before.
Running backs sprinted through drills. Defensive backs hustled to break up passes. Offensive linemen pushed hard to open lanes.
And they did this all without having to be told where and how to lineup. They already knew.
“We are already far ahead of where we were last year,” junior wide receiver Jeremy Williams said. “We all know what to do. We all know the plays. We all know how Coach wants practice to be run.”
Toledo put the Green Wave through a three-hour workout in shorts and helmets. The practice, which was crisp, was designed to pick up from where the team left off at the end of last season.
And Toledo was pleased with the effort, as the players appeared to have reported for drills in good shape. He also was satisfied with the lack of mental mistakes.
“The thing that’s pleasing is that it shows that they worked extremely hard in the offseason,” Toledo said. “We just took over from where we left off last fall, and that’s kind of a nice feeling for a coach.
“The veteran guys did a pretty good job. They kind of know what they are doing. And they moved around pretty well.”
The workouts are expected to get more intense as spring practice goes on. Tulane will hold another practice in helmets and shorts today before donning full pads Saturday. Toledo said the first scrimmage of spring drills is scheduled for April 5.
But for now, the Wave is happy with how things have started.
“Everybody came out with a drive like I haven’t seen in years here,” senior offensive tackle Troy Kropog said. “Everybody came out and gave it 100 percent physically and mentally. The fact of the matter is people came out, and they were ready to play. And they are ready to have a winning season.”
Perhaps the biggest adjustment for the Wave was going through practice without star running back Matt Forté, who has exhausted his eligibility and is expected to be selected in next month’s NFL draft.
Without Forté at running back, the quarterbacks handed off to young runners Andre Anderson and Andre Agers.
“It was kind of different not seeing Matt,” Williams said. “But it’s time to move on. He’s gone on to better things, so we’ve all got to move on and try to win games.”
His teammates agreed.
“Losing Matt was a huge loss, but I felt like we came into this spring with the right work ethic and attitude,” sophomore quarterback Kevin Moore said. “We went after it real hard with lifting and working seven-on-seven three times a week (during the offseason).
“We got into a pretty good rhythm before spring, and I feel like it showed a little. It showed that some of the work that we put in is going to pay off a little bit.”
WOUNDED WAVE: Three players missed practice with injuries. Reserve running back J.T. McDonald (hamstring) is day to day after injuring his leg while running sprints last week. Defensive end Adam Kwentua (back) was injured lifting weights and is day to day.
And fullback Jeremy McKinney (back) will miss spring drills while recovering from surgery after getting injured while lifting weights.
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