Scrimmage Report

[Guest]

Ok, first I will give you the main stats.

Passing:

Josh McCown 8/18/1 63 yds and 2 TD’s
Kelan Luker 6/9/1 26 yds and 1 TD
David Page 4/10/1 54 yds and 1 TD


Rushing:

Keylon Kincade 11/55 yds
Trent Joeckel 2/53 yds with the long run of the day at 46 yds
Jason Pipkins 15/42 yds
Kris Briggs 9/22 yds


Receiving:

Trent Joeckel: 4/33/1TD
Billy Ford: 2/16/1TD
Chris Cunningham 2/18/1
Johnnie Freeman 2/15/1


Interceptions:

Rushbrook 1 for a touchdown
Brent Briggs 1
James Robinson 1


Fumble Recoveries:

James Robinson: 1

Let me start by saying the stadium looks awesome. It is a great place to watch and play a college football game. They still have a little work to be done, but from what I saw, it looks great! One little note, I looked at my watch at 6PM and the SMU sideline was in the shade. Forty-five minutes later, the visitor sidelines received some shade. Most SMU games start at 6, so not only will the opposing team have to walk up and down a flight of stairs to the locker room, but they will have to endure the blazing Texas sun for about a quarter and a half — while the Ponies are in the shade.

The offense seemed to struggle a little bit today. That is ok because it usually takes the offense a little while to come together…any offense. Defenses always look more impressive at first.

Kelan Luker was the most impressive of the three quarterbacks today, as far as stats go. McCown seemed to struggle a little bit but he also had a few passes dropped by receivers. McCown showed some excellent mobility as he tried to make something out of nothing on several plays — I think this is when McCown is the most dangerous. If any of you remember his in his second college game in his freshman season against Tulane, he jump-started the struggling offense by scrambling and making things happen. Although Luker’s stats may have been better, McCown still is the No. 1 quarterback. He brings much more to the offense that just a strong arm. He is a legitimate rushing threat. David Page appeared to struggle a little bit today, badly missing some of his targets.

Kris Briggs did not have that great a scrimmage. He rushed the ball only nine times for a total of 22 yards. He also got banged up a little bit reportedly a mild groin injury) toward the end of the scrimmage. Fortunately, it did not appear to be too serious. The most pleasant surprise of the day was the performance of true freshman running back Keylon Kincade. He rushed the ball incredibly well, considering he is a true freshman. He led the team in yards for the day with 55 on 11 rushes, although he did also cough up one fumble when he was stripped from behind. Kincade really hit the holes fast and hard, and made a bunch of defenders miss. I would imagine he will see the field this fall. Jason Pipkins also looked good. Pipkins he a really shifty back, using his speed to make people miss. He also showed some durability, absorbing vicious hits from Vic Viloria and company. It was Kris Briggs' hard running style that impressed me the most. He hits the holes the hardest of the backs, burying his head into defender’s shoulder pads. The loudest pops of the day were when Briggs would lock up with one of the linebackers. Freshman (wide receiver) Trent Joeckel had the long run of the day, 46 yards, on an end-around. The Mustangs ran that play several times to a couple of different receivers (including Cunningham and Freeman), but it was Joeckel that had the most success.

Joeckel also led the team in receiving, pulling in 4 passes for 33 yds and 1 touchdown. He really has a tremendous day. Former safety/linebacker Billy Ford seems to be adjusting well to his new position at U-back, grabbing two passes, one of which he took for a touchdown, and delivering some strong blocks, particularly for a player learning a new position. I think this is the best position for him. He is too good an athlete not to get on the field. John Hampton was relatively quiet today, not catching a single pass. Chris Cunningham pulled in two passes, one of which was in the end zone for a touchdown. Johnnie Freeman also caught two passed, for 15 yards and one touchdown. On the touchdown, he caught a swing pass in the left flank and weaved through the defense, reaching for the end zone as he was brought down. As he stretched the ball, Freeman got pounded by linebacker Devonric Johnson -- but he held on to the ball for the score. Freeman was a little wobbly getting up, saying he'd had the wind knocked out of him, and head coach Mike Cavan said later that Freeman was held out of the rest of the scrimmage with what he called a "mild" concussion. Freeman seems to be adjusting well to his new position. Cunningham agreed that Freeman — who Cavan said struggled in the spring reading deep passes — has come a long way in his effort to learn his new position (after playing running back a year ago.)

"We've worked really hard together all summer," Cunningham said. "Johnnie and I got together and worked hard, and he's made a lot of adjustments. He's been making great plays all week in practice, and I think he's really going to have a great year."

The Mustangs now boast a stable of talented receivers — including Cunningham, Cody Cardwell, Marcus Carter, Freeman, McDearman, Joeckel, Ryan Riddle — and they have Briggs providing a powerful running game and a number of talented tight ends. Cunningham said he doesn't think there will be any problem finding enough balls to go around to all the weapons in the SMU arsenal.

"We've got a lot of guys in this offense who can make plays," Cunningham said. "Josh (McCown) will do a good job of spreading the ball around. But it's all up to the other teams' defenses. We have enough players that we can take what the other team gives us."

The offensive line looked decent, and as expected, the five starters were:

Joey Slaten
Thornton Chandler
Rich Nichols
James McCarthy
Jeff Erxleben

Thornton Chandler has been another pleasant surprise. It appears he has the position once thought to belong to Kevin Gober. Sterling Harris did not have a good scrimmage at all. He got beat on numerous occasions. He does not seem to be aggressive enough. He struggles more with his pass blocking than run blocking. He appears to be a little slow, and defenders have been able to use their speed to get around him. McCarthy looked good until he jumped offsides, and then he was put in with the second team and Gober replaced him.

Cavan said that although Chandler is learning a new position — he played on the defensive line a year ago — he has been a very pleasant surprise for the Mustangs' coaching staff.

"We felt all along that Thornton Chandler could be an outstanding offensive lineman for us," Cavan said after the scrimmage. "When we recruited him out of Jacksonville, Fla., he played center and defensive line. He said he wanted to play on the defensive line, so we let him do that for a year. But where he can help this football team the most is on the offensive line.

"Thornton isn't as small as you all might think — he's up to about 275 now. But he doesn't look like it, because he's got incredibly long arms. If he's 6-foot-2, he may have the wingspan of (a player who's) 6-6 or 6-7. He's going to get bigger and stronger, and he's going to be a really good offensive lineman for us."

The defense really looked good today. Warrie Birdwell had a huge sack. The line seemed to be able to put constant pressure on the quarterback. Kevin Aldridge and Markus Pratt look awesome at defensive end — I think they are the strength of the defensive line. Second-string defensive end Trent Hrncir continued to play well. Look for him to see significant playing time this fall. Chris Post and Lute Croy looked consistent, as always. Chase Schavrda struggled a little bit today; but still could assume the starting role.

The linebackers looked very solid. Vic Viloria caused Kris Bri

[ALL4SMU]

PonyFanMan-

Thank you so much for the prompt scrimmage report. For those of us who do not live in the metroplex, it is almost impossible to get any coverage of SMU, especially before the season begins. Anyway, thanks for your help.

Anyway, enough kissing up. By the stats, it sounded like Josh did not play well at all. Is this true? And what happened to Kris Briggs. 9 rushes for 22 yards does not seem like a great day for him.

Who is the Trent Joeckel kid? Is he as good as you made him sound?

It sounds like Rushbrook had a hell of a scrimmage. I cannot believe that we may be having a freshman starting at DB.

[Guest]

Great report. I wish there were not so many negatives to report. I have high hopes for Sterling Harris, the way he can pancake people. Sounds like he may not be ready this year. Same with Marcus Carter, maybe now is the time to move him to dback. Also it sounds like the defense was able to put a lot of pressure on the backfield. I am guessing Briggs did not have much room to run against the first team defense. Special teams are a big concern. Waltershied has always been able to kickoff deep, what happened? I have confidence in Vadheim. The paper said J. Freeman had a concussion. Is that true and if so is it serious? Thanks for the info.

[Guest]

Stangster-

I can not say for certain regarding Johnnie Freeman. He got popped pretty hard, and then he immediately came off the field and put ice on his neck. If the Dallas Morning News reported it, chances are it is true. From what I saw, I would doubt its severity.


[This message has been edited by PonyPride (edited 08-20-2000).]

[PonyPride]

Cavan said Freeman had a concussion, but he did refer to it as "mild".

[SMUPonyFan]

First of all, thanks for the report so quickly. I liked seeing the stats, also.

One thing that statistics do not show is that Luker and Page were going against second and third string defenses. McCown faced the first string defense, probably the best defense in the WAC. We don't have a lot of depth in the secondary, and that is who Luker and Page went up against. I am not taking anything away from Luker and Page, I am trying to give Josh a little more credit. Stats can be blown out of proportion during scrimmages because second and third stringers are going against second and third stringers. I bet you that Kincade would not have done nearly as well against first string D. I am excited to see that we have freshman talent at RB.

I have faith in our offense, I think it will take them another week to get going. Hopefully, they will be ready for 9-2-2000. Sounds like the D is ready now!

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Go Red, Go Blue, Go Mustangs, S M U


[This message has been edited by SMUPonyFan (edited 08-20-2000).]