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Tulane Secondary Leans on Experience and Versatility To Put Out Best Five
- Story by
- Tulane Secondary Leans on Experience and Versatility To Put Out Best Five
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
New Orleans, La. – The Tulane Green Wave seemed to work a little smarter and not harder on Day 11 of fall camp when it came to some guys who have seen plenty of reps.
Notably, strong safety Kevin Adams and right tackle Ryan Mickow were held out of practice – not due to injury, but to not overdo it with players who have seen enough minutes and snaps, per coach Will Hall .
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It's similar to a small play we saw on Saturday's scrimmage where free safety Jack Tchienchou lined up at slot or spear while safeties Chase Green and TJ Smith dropped back in a split safety set.
"How many more reps does [Jack Tchienchou] need at boundary safety in this defense?" Hall said. "You know what I mean? He knows that as good as we do as coaches. So moving him around to stress him, to help him learn everything, which he pretty much knows anyway, and allow those young guys to get reps there."
With the secondary having so many talented players, it'll be about getting the best five on the field in whatever combination.
That talent-heavy group also installed a bit of dime defense on Tuesday with a rotating group that included Macho Stevenson out there with the first set.
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Last season, there was a dip in experience at cornerback, and it didn't aid the quarterback competition along that well. The same thing happened in the previous competition back in 2024 until Micah Robinson and Johnathan Edwards were brought in from the transfer portal.
That hasn't been the case in this year's competition .
For a lot of the positional battles that have taken place throughout fall camp, that hasn't been the case at field corner as E'zaiah Shine has held it down with the ones across from a lot more experience in Anthony Rogers from Nicholls backed up by Stevenson from the Texas Tech Red Raiders .
Shine was thrown into the fire last season with no starting experience, and it showed at times.
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But nothing is more valuable than the game slowing down for guys in the secondary, and Shine really feels that next step in his game this season, adding that he really has an "itch" for the game that should be better for him to showcase this season with some command in his position.
"My first year starting against Northwestern, everything moved so fast for me, and I had a little butterflies," Shine admitted. "Now it really slowed down for me. I know the play, I know what everybody's doing on defense. I know down the distance. I'll say for myself, I really have an itch for the game. I anticipate what's going to happen at receiver. I know what route you're going to run before you do it."
Shine didn't speak with as much confidence and poise last season and his growth is palpable, both physically and mentally.
A good secondary is going to matter against a lot of teams on Tulane's schedule this season.
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It feels like things are trending in the right direction there with plays trickling from the top down, as corner Justin Agu made a great pick against Kadin Semonza on Monday with tight coverage on wide receiver Antwaun Parham.
In fact, a lot of the coverage has been pretty tight and that's showed off in some of the skill periods.
That area may really be a point of strength to look to on this Green Wave defense.
