Tulsa’s Montgomery Pleased with Progress of Hurricane

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team had its fourth practice and second in pads Sunday morning at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Tulsa will take Monday off from the practice field.

Tulsa Football Media Day is scheduled for Monday. Fans can watch Coach Montgomery's Press Conference live online at TulsaHurricane.com beginning at 11:30 a.m. (CT), and catch other behind-the-scenes action on Tulsa's social media outlets.

The Hurricane went through a 130-minute practice in shorts and shoulder pads.

"We had to battle through some things today. Some young guys had to get a lot of reps. We had some guys that got a little banged up here and there, nothing major. It's just things that happen when you start competing and our guys are competing right now. You've got to battle through that part of it," said Tulsa Head Coach Philip Montgomery. "I thought defensively we've been flying around and playing really well. I think our back seven, that was as quick as I've seen them in a long time. I'm really proud of what we're doing there."

After four days, Montgomery is pleased with where the offense is at this point in the preseason.

"I think the combination of guys we've got up front are really starting to come together. I like the moves we're making with them right now. I think our running backs have been really, really good. Dane (Evans) has made really good decisions until that last one right there at the end of that team (portion). But he's operating like a fifth-year guy and that's what we want," said Montgomery. "Receiver-wise is where we've got to get better. We've got guys coming off injuries that are just kind of still knocking the rust off. Most of them are just trying too hard, trying to make every play instead of just being smart and sitting down when they need to sit down. I love the progress that we're making, but we've still got a long way to go."

Montgomery has been as equally pleased with the Hurricane defensive unit.

"I like our length and our speed back there (in the secondary) and our aggressiveness. I think those guys have really been competing for the ball at the point of attack. There's not a lot of windows out there and they're opening and closing real quick, so it's good to see that. I think our linebackers have done a great job of expanding and working, and then sticking the run when they've got to. I thought our D-line played extremely well yesterday. Jerry U (Uwaezuoke) is really playing well. Hayden Carman is playing well, (and so is) Jeremy Smith. But, I think overall defensively we're leaps and bounds ahead of where we were last year at this time," said Montgomery.

Tulsa will be back on the practice field Tuesday morning.

Tulsa’s Montgomery Pleased with Progress of Hurricane

Players Mentioned

Hayden Carman

Jeremy Smith

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