A few hours after a shortened practice early Wednesday at the Saints indoor facility, Tulane football coach Jon Sumrall scouted the downtown Sheraton for a space where he could conduct Thursday’s walkthrough.
It has been that kind of a week for the Green Wave, which has made several Hurricane Francine-induced adjustments to its normal schedule in preparation for Saturday’s game at 15th-ranked Oklahoma and spent its second consecutive night in the team hotel.
Monday was the last time Tulane practiced on campus at Yulman Stadium. Wednesday’s workout — the second of two straight off of Airline Highway— was shortened to an hour (including warm-up time) from the normal 90 minutes because the Saints moved up their morning practice in reaction to Francine’s impending arrival on the Louisiana coast.
“Ideally, you’d like to get everything you’d normally get, but if you are told you have from 7:45 to 8:45 to practice, then you pare it down to what’s most needed,” Sumrall said. “Look, we got enough work in to be sharp and be prepared.”
After riding out the storm at the team hotel while watching a movie together later Wednesday, the Wave did have its walkthrough on a floor of the Sheraton on Thursday morning before returning to campus in the early afternoon. Sumrall will run what he calls a run-through on Friday before the charter flight departs for Oklahoma.?
This is the second straight time Tulane’s preparation for Oklahoma has been affected by a hurricane. Ida forced the Wave to evacuate to Birmingham, Alabama, a week before its 2021 opener versus the Sooners for what turned out be a nearly monthlong stay. That game, which was scheduled for Yulman Stadium, was moved to Norman, Oklahoma.
Hot, hot, hot
The forecasted high temperature for Saturday’s game is 96, providing a contrast from the weather in New Orleans this week.
Tulane is used to steamy conditions — Sumrall labeled a Sept. 3 morning practice as the hottest since the start of preseason camp — but the brief respite could be a negative rather than a positive.
“That is maybe a slight concern, but the biggest thing is making sure our guys are hydrated and ready to go,” he said. “Hopefully it shouldn’t be too much of a factor.”
Model moment
Wide receiver Dontae Fleming’s blocking effort on tight end Alex Bauman’s 36-yard catch and run for a second-quarter touchdown against Kansas State did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff.
Fleming stoned a defensive back in the end zone for Bauman’s entire run down the sideline, never letting him even start to pursue Bauman as Tulane went ahead 14-3.
If Tulane had held on, Fleming would have been a talking point right after the game. Instead, the block became a Monday showcase in Sumrall’s weekly “setting the standard” reel.
“We showed it to the whole team and said, 'Hey, look, this is what team football looks like,' ” Sumrall said. “We made sure they recognized it doesn’t matter what position you play, you can do something outside your normal job description that is extra effort to help the team have success.”
Fleming, who had a rough opener against Southeastern Louisiana (one dropped touchdown pass, one muffed punt) after a tremendous camp, rebounded with four catches for 97 yards against Kansas State. The yardage total was three more than he had in all of 2023 after transferring from UL.
“Obviously Week 1 he didn’t have the performance he wanted, but I was very proud of his response,” Sumrall said. “I have a lot of faith in him and trust in him because of how he’s wired and cares.”
Lesson learned
When redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah was careless with the ball on a play during Tuesday’s practice, Sumrall said everyone screamed at him to put it away. His fumble that turned into a 60-yard scoop and score for Kansas State was the pivotal play in the Wave’s 31-24 loss to Kansas State, marring an otherwise outstanding performance.
Sumrall said he expects Mensah, who is ranked seventh nationally in passing efficiency, to learn quickly about ball security as he heads into his first road game against the nation's leader in forced turnovers (Oklahoma is tied with two other teams with eight).?
“The best thing about it is he’s been harder on himself than I could ever be on him,” Sumrall said. “That usually bodes well for being a good player when you care that much. He’s got to bounce back. He’s got to do some things better. We all do.”