Tulane Coach Sumrall Scouts Army Black Knights
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At his weekly media conference, Tulane football coach Jon Sumrall spoke about what to expect this weekend when the ground and grind Army Black Knights invade Yulman Stadium.
Top most in Sumrall's mind, is the discipline displayed by Army. "They just don't beat themselves. They are disciplined (on both sides of the ball)."
When asked to contrast that to what the Green Wave has shown, Sumrall said his players know they must improve on the number of mistakes they are making, especially when it comes to penalties. "If it was the same player every time, it would be different. We could just pull him out, but it's a different player almost every time. We have challenged our players, and they are responding. Today (Tuesday) was the best practice of the week."
The Army offense is like a tale of two games, when comparing them to last week's up-tempo, no-huddle, fast-paced East Carolina O.
"They (the Black Knights) are a slow tempo team," Sumrall said. "They like to dictate the flow of the game, so time of possession is key." Last week against Charlotte, Army had an almost two-to-one advantage in TOP over the 49ers. "We will need to score much better (then we did against East Carolina). Last week's field goal fest won't work."
Though the Army offense is dictated by the run, they can lull you to sleep, then hit the big shot. Black Knight quarterback Cale Hellums only threw four passes against Charlotte last week, completing two, but one was a 44-yarder to wideout Noah Short.
"Half their explosive plays are passes," Sumrall agreed.
But it's that Army run game that sets them apart. The Black Knights ran for 304-yards against Charlotte last week. Leading the way, QB Hellums, who topped 143-yards on 21-carries, and tallied two TDs. Army is averaging 282.7-yards per game on the ground, trailing only unbeaten Navy in that category.
In addition, Army is known for their special teams prowess. They've been successful on one of their two onside kick attempts, and aren't afraid to come after the ball on any kick.
"Army comes after every punt," Sumrall exuded. "We have to be dialed in, because they are the most aggressive team we'll see. The nice thing about Alec (Clark, Tulane's punter) is he's quick (in getting rid of the ball)."
"I have never been a part of an easy win against these types of teams," Sumrall pointed out.
Tulane and Army matchup Saturday morning at 11:00 at Yulman Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.