Tulane Gets Healthy and Heated as Week 3 of Training Camp Rapidly Ramps Up

The Tulane Green Wave kicked off their third week of training camp with good news on the health front and quite a chippy fighting spirit.

The team got to about Saturday last week with not much outside of cramps but went through the second week of camp with some injuries on the offensive line. While Caleb Thomas played considerably well filling in at center, with starting experience at the role, Vincent Murphy was seen as key to aiding the quarterback competition.

Those waters muddied further when Rashad Green went down at tackle, and Josh Remetich was a bit banged up at guard. He played on Saturday, but Monday saw Murphy return to the fold, while Green participated in individual drill's in Tuesday's indoor walkthrough.

Ultimately, the health on the trenches can be the start and end of an offense. Coach Jon Sumrall has been open with reporters about injuries on the team, and accordingly, I went with his lack of concern about the long-term status of these guys. He designated both Green and Murphy to return sometime this week.

With a truncated week, treating this like a Thursday night schedule, Monday and Tuesday are important days for the Green Wave. Perhaps it’s the full gear, or the season opener drawing closer, but it brought out some serious competitive juices on the team.

Monday’s practice saw a few fights transpire during team reps. It was the first time I’ve seen them run sprints in a while – they all had the discipline to finish out the day strong thereafter. Nothing got out of control, and from the head coach’s perspective, it’s better to see than a bunch of guys falling asleep at the wheel 17 days out from Week 1.

“I like the enthusiasm,” Sumrall told reporters. “I'd much rather have to say, whoa, whoa, whoa, than giddy up. We got to be a little smarter with how we compete with each other, and recognize we all play for the same team. We all play for Tulane. We got to protect our team. But it was enthusiastic, and it was charged, and it was competitive. Coming off a Saturday scrimmage with yesterday's a day off, and a full gear day today – as the coach, you're worried about are they going to bring it? And they brought it. Now you got to give 'em how to bring it within the confines of the rules. But I like the energy for sure.”

Football is a violent sport where guys have to straight up launch themselves at players going full speed. It would be bizarre to not see that carry over to some aggression that comes out every so often.

After some lackluster spring camp days, I’m inclined to agree with the assessment. Thinking back to Sumrall’s core values of attitude, toughness, discipline, and love, some healthy fighting could frankly strengthen those pillars for the team.

They ended practice with a good team attitude. Their toughness showed in the competitive reps on Monday. The next few days will be a solid check on the discipline component, but nothing got out of control. That’s where the love comes in on this Tulane team.