Tulane Green Wave quarterback Michael Pratt (7) scrambles out of the pocket against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, La., Saturday, September 24, 2022.

Tulane Green Wave quarterback Michael Pratt (7) scrambles out of the pocket against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, La., Saturday, September 24, 2022.

Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt has practiced with the first-team offense all week, but coach Willie Fritz held off Thursday on naming him the starter for Saturday’s home game against East Carolina.

He said the decision hinged on a clean bill of health from the team’s medical staff Friday morning.

Pratt traveled with the team but did not play last Friday against Houston because of an unspecified shoulder injury that kept him out of practice all week. He threw with good zip against the scout-team defense near the end of Thursday’s workout.

If Pratt is ruled out, redshirt freshman Kai Horton will start and true freshman Carson Haggard will be the backup. Justin Ibieta, who replaced Pratt for the Houston game, exited with a more serious shoulder injury at the end of the first series and will not be available after not practicing at all this week.

If Tulane (4-1, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) beats East Carolina (3-2, 1-1), the Wave will be 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the league for the second time in four years.

Tulane’s defense is no longer perfect when it comes to penalties, but Fritz questioned the first mark-off of the season against Houston.

Backup nose guard Alfred Thomas was called for grabbing a face mask late in the first quarter Friday night, ending a remarkable string of 253 flag-free downs through five games. Technically, that is not quite accurate — Southern Miss declined an interference call against safety DJ Douglas on a long completion — but the defense’s ledger was spotless in terms of yards until Thomas’ transgression.

No offsides. No personal fouls. No holding or interference.

“We had a hand on the face mask for a split second,” Fritz said. “They called it, but I didn't see a tug or a pull or anything like that. They are going to call those for safety (reasons) I guess, but sometimes they don't.

"The (official) had some great eyes. It was on the nose guard, and the line judge from over here threw the flag.”

The defense was not penalized the rest of the way, running its season total to 321 plays with one accepted penalty. It is a veteran group with significant playing experience at almost every spot under second-year coordinator Chris Hampton.

“We're just playing very disciplined, and that's what you have to do,” Fritz said. “You just don't want to beat yourself. We talk all the time about the Wave don't beat the Wave. Let's make them beat us. We've done a very good job of that defensively this year.”

Fritz has a quote he associates with coaching legend Bill Parcells on the wall outside the coaches’ staff meeting room that reads, “Losers assemble in little groups and complain about the coaches and players in other little groups, but winners assemble as a team.”

He said he considers Parcells one of his heroes, and he finally got to talk to him about the origin of the quote last month. Mike Tannenbaum — a Tulane law school graduate, current NFL insider with ESPN, and former executive vice president of football operations with the Miami Dolphins — was visiting Fritz and called Parcells for him.

“”I got a chance to talk to him for five or 10 minutes,” Fritz said. “Good conversation. An interesting guy.”

The quote originated with New York Giants Hall of Fame defensive back Emlen Tunnell and was on a plaque in a meeting row at the Meadowlands, the Giants' facility when Parcells was named head coach in 1983. Parcells also referenced the quote at his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech in 2013.

“It was kind of strange,” Fritz said of his thought as Parcells gave him a detailed account. “This is Bill Parcells telling me a story. He went into a long dissertation about it.”

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