Tulsa Football Closes Out Spring Practice

Photo by: Brett Rojo

Tulsa Football Closes Out Spring Practice

4/7/2018 3:27:00 PM | Football

By: The University of Tulsa copyright

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS/RECAP

TULSA, Okla. –– The Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team closed out spring practice with a 111-play Spring Game Saturday afternoon at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Overcast skies gave way to sunshine, as the game time temperature was 30-degrees and remained in the 30's throughout the contest.

Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery was pleased with the final workout of the Hurricane spring season.

"I thought the guys approached the spring game the way you wanted them to. They didn't let the weather bother them. I think when we hit the field the temperature was 28, and wind chill was around 20, but the guys continued to work and play," said Montgomery. "I thought our energy level was good, and we saw some good things, and obviously some things we have to work on. I was pleased with our effort."
49104

The Tulsa offense produced seven scoring drives, while the Hurricane defense had a 30-yard interception returned for a touchdown by junior Cristian Williams.

Asked about what stood out most to him, Montgomery said "It's always hard to say when you're standing on the sideline watching it, until you look at tape. I thought we made some plays at the receiver spot, made some throw that I liked. I thought we ran the ball effectively. I love seeing our defense get a couple of turnovers in there, and three-and-outs."

"But, the energy part of it was the thing I was probably the most impressed with, from the sidelines, the way guys were working for each other, pushing and helping. We'll be able to be more technical after we watch the tape," added Montgomery.

Sophomore quarterback Luke Skipper led the offense to touchdowns on all four his possessions, while red-shirt freshman Seth Boomer had two of his three drives end in touchdowns. Skipper completed 9-of-15 passes for 88 yards and one TD, while Boomer completed 7-of-9 passes for 102 yards and one score.

Montgomery has been pleased with the progress of the Tulsa quarterbacks this spring, and that was evident today.

"I like the way we're progressing at the quarterback spot. We're not there yet. We still have work to do, but I think those guys are locked in about what I want them to do. We're moving the football better, our eyes are in the right spot, we're giving our guys opportunities to make plays. With some of the things we're doing defensively, I think it's really challenged our quarterbacks to be more accurate and more precise to what they're reading and seeing. Our receivers have gotten so much better from a route standpoint and when you put those things into play we have a chance to be pretty good," said Montgomery.

On the opening possession, Skipper led the offense on a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a Corey Taylor 5-yard run. Boomer threw 33 yards to fellow red-shirt freshman Sam Crawford Jr. for the offense's second score of the game, capping a 6-play, 67-yard drive.

Javon Thomas' 13-yard run capped off the third score, as his TD capped a 14-play, 81-yard drive led by Skipper.

Nathan Walker's 37-yard field goal capped a 10-play, 55-yard drive that was led by true freshman quarterback Davis Brin. After that drive, it was Williams' interception that he returned for Tulsa's defensive score of the game.

The final three scores came on Taylor's second TD run of the game as his 7-yard run capped an 8-play, 75-yard drive, led by Skipper, a 3-yard Ramadi Warren touchdown, which capped an 11-play, 85-yard drive with Boomer at the offensive controls, and a 31-yard pass from Skipper to Jarion Anderson, capping a 75-yard, 10-play drive.
49105

Shamari Brooks led all rushers with 96 yards on 10 carries, while Thomas had 59 yards on 7 carries with one TD and Taylor gained 58 yards and his two touchdowns on 10 carries. Anderson had a team-high 52 yards receiving on 2 receptions, while Keenen Johnson totaled 44 yards on a team-high 5 catches and Crawford totaled 41 yards on 2 receptions.

Defensively, the Hurricane was without six players, who started games last year, because of injury. Red-shirt freshman Daiquain Jackson had a team-high 9 tackles, while ends Myles Mouton and Trevis Gipson combined for 3 sacks for -13 yards. Junior Reggie Robinson also added an interception for the Hurricane defense.

As spring drills came to a close with the 15^th practice day today, Montgomery talked about his thoughts of where the Golden Hurricane team stands heading into the summer.

"I like the personality of our football team right now. I think our leadership has been really good all winter long. We have some guys that have really stepped up. To call a couple of those guys out, Willie Wright has done a magnificent job of that. Trevis Gipson, defensively, has done a great job of that. But there's been so many of them. I love that part of us," said Montgomery. "Right now, I feel that we have an intent about what we're doing. I think our team is very hungry to prove who they are and what they want to be."

Tulsa opens the season at home on Saturday, Sept. 1, against the Central Arkansas Bears. Special Season Ticket packages are still available for college football fans online at TulsaHurricane.com or by calling 918.631.GoTU.

Scoring Summary
O – Corey Taylor 5 run (Walker PAT) 10 plays, 75 yards (Skipper QB)
O – Sam Crawford 33 pass from Seth Boomer (Romo PAT) 6 plays, 67 yards (Boomer QB)
O – Javon Thomas 13 run (Lacey PAT) 14 plays, 81 yards (Skipper QB)
O – Nathan Walker 37 FG 10 plays, 55 yards (Brin QB)
D – Cristian Williams 30 INT
O – Corey Taylor 7 run (Romo PAT) 8 plays, 75 yards (Skipper QB)
O – Ramadi Warren 3 run (Lacey PAT) 11 plays, 85 yards (Boomer QB)
O – Jarion Anderson 31 pass from Luke Skipper (Walker PAT) 10 plays, 75 yards (Skipper QB)

Rushing
Shamari Brooks, 10 for 96 yards
Javon Thomas, 7 for 59 yards, 1 TD
Corey Taylor II, 10 for 58 yards, 2 TDs
Reed Martin, 5 for 36 yards
Ramadi Warren, 5 for 23 yards, 1 TD
Brandon Workman, 7 for 21 yards
Luke Skipper, 5 for 20 yards
Seth Boomer, 3 for 0 yards
Davis Brin, 1 for -2 yards
Zach Smith, 2 for -11 yards

Passing
Seth Boomer, 7-of-9 for 102 yards, 1 TD
Luke Skipper, 9-of-15 for 88 yards, 1 TD
Zach Smith, 7-of-15 for 59 yards, 1 INT
Davis Brin, 5-of-11 for 58 yards, 1 INT
Brandon Marquardt, 1-of-2 for 4 yards
Will Hefley, 0-of-0 (1 series)

Receiving
Jarion Anderson, 2 for 52, 1 TD
Keenen Johnson, 5 for 44 yards
Sam Crawford Jr., 2 for 41 yards, 1 TD
Cole Neph, 3 for 33 yards
Juancarlos Santana, 2 for 27 yards
Chris Minter, 2 for 25 yards
Jordan Brown, 2 for 21 yards
Justin Hobbs, 3 for 20 yards
Keylon Stokes, 2 for 18 yards
Cannon Montgomery, 3 for 11 yards
Andrew McKinnis, 1 for 10 yards
Shamari Brooks, 1 for 5 yards
Avery Gragg, 1 for 4 yards

Tackles
Daiquain Jackson, 9 tackles
Ryan McDaniel, 8 tackles, 2 PBU
Zaven Collins, 6 tackles
Marcus Mays, 6 tackles
Diamon Cannon, 6 tackles, 1 PBU
Robert Revels, 6 tackles, 1 TFL/-1 yds
Cristian Williams, 5 tackles, 1 INT
Yohance Burnett, 5 tackles, 1 PBU
Montray Norris, 5 tackles
Treyvon Reeves, 5 tackles
Jacob Pugh, 4 tackles
Reggie Robinson, 3 tackles, 3 PBU, 1 INT
Akayleb Evans, 3 tackles
Cooper Edmiston, 3 tackles
Deven Lamp, 3 tackles
Myles Mouton, 3 tackles, 2 sacks/-8 yds
Trevis Gipson, 3 tackles, 1 sack/-5 yds, 1 PBU
Allie Green, 2 tackles
Forrest Harrell, 2 tackles
Beau Wooden, 2 tackles, 1 TFL/-1 yds
Payton Prince, 2 tackles, 1 sack/-6 yds
Jajuan Blankenship, 2 tackles, 1 TFL/-1 yds
Sam Gottsch, 1 tackle, 3 PBU
Christian Bricker, 1 tackle
Tyarise Stevenson, 1 hurry