Safety questions

[Silk]

The Morning News quoted Bennett (yesterday, I think) as saying Rico Harris -- who's starting in place of Alvin the Armpit -- has been so bad in practice that he got bumped down to the practice squad. But then it said he's also going to start against OSU.

WHY? If he's that bad, does he deserve to start? Has Leroy Price fallen that far in the coaches' eyes? I'd read that Price has a new attitude this year. He's early to practice, sits in the front row in meetings, works his tail off in the weightroom, etc. Why doesn't he play? He's one of the best athletes on the team, and if Rico is screwing up, as the coaches seem to think, I'd think Price would get a shot.

[JasonB]

According to the depth chart, Price is surprisingly not even listed as second string behind Harris...

[Vitale]

Then who's second string? A freshman (Harper maybe)?

[SMUFinns]

I also have the same concern about the defense. What's happened to Rushbrook ( new punt Man / Special teams )& T.J James RS-frosh ( Mr. football speed ).

[PonyTales]

What about Wesley Medlock? Isn't he the guy who announced when he arrived at SMU that he was going to join Charles Woodson as a DB winning the Heisman?

Also, what about Travis Hunt. The guy has lots of relatives who've played in the NFL, including current rookies Jabra Gaffney (Houston WR) and Lito Shepard (Philadelphia DB). With those bloodlines, let's get this kid on the field and see what he can do.

[kanucklehead]

I'd also like to know what's going on here. I think Leroy Price is one of the top 5 athletes on the team and he showed tremendous toughness when he played regularly. So, why isn't he playing? He has NFL size and speed, good hands and good football instincts, and is a force in run support. He started every game he was healthy as a redshirt freshman and was making 9-10 tackles a game at the end of the year. He was injured at the start of last year and then apparently was in the doghouse when he was well. I thought he would flourish under a new coach, but not so. Anybody know what's up?

[JasonB]

I don't know what is going on with the other guys. But Godfrey moved up this week in front of Price on the depth chart. Harris starting, Price behind them. Travis Hunt, I don't know if he is a free saftey or a strong saftey. But the free saftey mix is Moodley starting, with Harper as the backup. Bennett loves Harper. So Rushbrook was moved to corner. I don't know if that was done this year or last. But he and Medlock are the co-#5 corners, behind Garrett, Rutledge, Humphrey, and Orr. Those two guys will both play next year, when Orr and Garrett move on, and one could possibly move ahead of Orr this year. We don't run much dime, so Orr doesn't play much anyway, as I think Humphrey has moved up to the number 3 corner. Gilmore will be the number 5 corner next year.

My feeling about the secondary is that we are extremely deep and have a lot of skill there, but nobody is performing assignments very well in the game or in practice. hopefulyl Harris can come around because he has the size and speed to be a great saftey. That is why Bennett moved him to the scout team for a day and then kept him in the starting lineup.

[Casey]

Harris does have the perfect size and speed to be a great safety. Hope he gets his act together, in the coaches' eyes, at least.

I'd love to know what's going on with Price. He could be a terrific safety.

I'd always heard that Gilmore was getting ready to be a safety, and that he looked good enough (in high school before his injury and in practice this year) that he might even unseat one of the starters. Am I wrong about this?

[fbdad]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Casey:
<B>Harris does have the perfect size and speed to be a great safety. Hope he gets his act together, in the coaches' eyes, at least.

I'd love to know what's going on with Price. He could be a terrific safety.

I'd always heard that Gilmore was getting ready to be a safety, and that he looked good enough (in high school before his injury and in practice this year) that he might even unseat one of the starters. Am I wrong about this?</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm confused by Coach Bennets comments where his player selection is based on performance in practice.Someone stated that Harris had been put on the scout team for not playing well and then put in as starting SS in the OS game. His performance along with the rest of the secondary needs no comment.There is depth in the secondary. These other players need game exposure.There are many instances where players, for whatever reason, don't excell on the practice field but kick butt on game day.If you don't get rotations during practice, you don't get the necessary exposure to the new coaches.I think examples of that might be Price, Rushbrook, Godfrey, Medlock.....Lets hope that some of these players get exposure against Hawaii to bring the fire back into our defense.

[Pony4Life]

fbdad's right, I think. They need to play to show their skills and gain the confidence of coaches. And against Hawaii, they might all play. Bennett says Hawaii might throw the ball 40-50 times, if not more.

Incidentally, Bennett singled out freshman Rolando Humphrey as the only DB who performed really well against OkState. He said Humphrey "competed at the point of reception" better than the rest of the DBs. He's not going to take Jonas or KG out of the starting lineup, but he said when opponents use multiple-receiver sets - which Hawaii will do all day - Hump will be on the field. Bennett's really high on the kid.

If only he was 6'1" or 6'2".