Wednesday practice report
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:40 am• NT Mike O'Guin suffered what appeared to be a significant knee injury Wednesday when rushing the quarterback during an 11-on-11 drill. O'Guin was carted off with an air cast on his left leg, but the severity of his injury is not yet known.
• With Kevin Pope working at linebacker and Billy Dugal running with the scout team offense, Darryl Fields and Bryce Lunday were the only RBs working in position drills with RBs coach Wes Suan.
• DE Taylor Thompson is out for the rest of spring drills after undergoing surgery to repair a slight tear in his labrum. The surgery is very similar to that performed on fellow DE Margus Hunt; both are expected to be fully healed in time for summer conditioning and preseason workouts in August. Szymon Czerniak worked at left DE in Thompson's place.
• Because of the lack of depth at defensive end and the glut of linebackers, freshman Forrest Hagar, who sat out the fall semester as a greyshirt, has been moved to defensive end, where he played in high school.
• Bryce Tennison and Blake McJunkin continued to rotate taking snaps at center with the first-team offense (with regular starters LT Kelvin Beachum, Jr., LG Josh LeRibeus, RG Kelly Turner and RT J.T. Brooks). The second-team line consisted of LT Josh Emshoff, LG Bryan Collins, C McJunkin/Tennison, RG Jordan Free and RT Christian Miller.
• Walk-on WR Steve McCormack was pulled out of drills when he felt a pull in his hamstring. He spent the rest of practice with an ice pack strapped to his leg. After practice, he said he felt the muscle pull, but didn't think it was torn. McCormack said he does not yet know whether he'll miss any practice time.
• The same cast of characters sat out practice today: RB Zach Line (back), WR Kyle Guinyard (knee), WR Chayse Joubert (knee), LB Randy McKinnon (awaiting NCAA approval for an extra year), DE Hunt (shoulder), SR Larry Centers, Jr. (hand) and now Thompson.
• It seems to be human nature that players enjoy getting the chance to play other positions, like basketball forwards and centers getting the chance to bring the ball upcourt, or pitchers getting a chance to pinch-run. During the Mustangs' special teams drills, Jordan Free fought through an obvious hold, scooped up a fumble and carried three players toward the goal line before getting tripped and dragged to the ground. Moments later, in the same drill, Blake McJunkin scooped up a fumble and scored.
• Wednesday marked the first time this spring that the players have hit each other in an 11-on-11 format. They still aren't working in full pads — players are in helmets and shoulder pads, but still wearing shorts — but the linemen, in particular, seemed to enjoy releasing a little aggression. There were no actual fights, but several players continued to push and shove after plays were over.
• For the second time in as many days, local players who signed national letters of intent in February to play in 2011 for the Mustangs visited while on spring break from their high schools. NT Rishaad Wimbley was at practice Tuesday, while OT Kris Weeks and DL Zach Wood visited Wednesday.
• One of the better defensive plays was turned in by LB (at least for now) Kevin Pope, who shadowed WR Cole Beasley over the middle and stripped the ball from him after Beasley made the catch. Defensive coordinator Tom Mason raved about Pope's ability to pick up the system in his first week with the SMU defense.
• Wednesday's practice included several visitors: Hartford Colonials (and former Hawaii assistant) coach Jerry Glanville, former Hawaii and Washington Redskins quarterback Colt Brennan and former Hawaii and Miami Dolphins WR Ryan Grice-Mullen.
• After practice, WR Aldrick Robinson (and Grice-Mullen) caught passes from Brennan. Paying close attention was a scout from the Philadelphia Eagles.
• With Kevin Pope working at linebacker and Billy Dugal running with the scout team offense, Darryl Fields and Bryce Lunday were the only RBs working in position drills with RBs coach Wes Suan.
• DE Taylor Thompson is out for the rest of spring drills after undergoing surgery to repair a slight tear in his labrum. The surgery is very similar to that performed on fellow DE Margus Hunt; both are expected to be fully healed in time for summer conditioning and preseason workouts in August. Szymon Czerniak worked at left DE in Thompson's place.
• Because of the lack of depth at defensive end and the glut of linebackers, freshman Forrest Hagar, who sat out the fall semester as a greyshirt, has been moved to defensive end, where he played in high school.
• Bryce Tennison and Blake McJunkin continued to rotate taking snaps at center with the first-team offense (with regular starters LT Kelvin Beachum, Jr., LG Josh LeRibeus, RG Kelly Turner and RT J.T. Brooks). The second-team line consisted of LT Josh Emshoff, LG Bryan Collins, C McJunkin/Tennison, RG Jordan Free and RT Christian Miller.
• Walk-on WR Steve McCormack was pulled out of drills when he felt a pull in his hamstring. He spent the rest of practice with an ice pack strapped to his leg. After practice, he said he felt the muscle pull, but didn't think it was torn. McCormack said he does not yet know whether he'll miss any practice time.
• The same cast of characters sat out practice today: RB Zach Line (back), WR Kyle Guinyard (knee), WR Chayse Joubert (knee), LB Randy McKinnon (awaiting NCAA approval for an extra year), DE Hunt (shoulder), SR Larry Centers, Jr. (hand) and now Thompson.
• It seems to be human nature that players enjoy getting the chance to play other positions, like basketball forwards and centers getting the chance to bring the ball upcourt, or pitchers getting a chance to pinch-run. During the Mustangs' special teams drills, Jordan Free fought through an obvious hold, scooped up a fumble and carried three players toward the goal line before getting tripped and dragged to the ground. Moments later, in the same drill, Blake McJunkin scooped up a fumble and scored.
• Wednesday marked the first time this spring that the players have hit each other in an 11-on-11 format. They still aren't working in full pads — players are in helmets and shoulder pads, but still wearing shorts — but the linemen, in particular, seemed to enjoy releasing a little aggression. There were no actual fights, but several players continued to push and shove after plays were over.
• For the second time in as many days, local players who signed national letters of intent in February to play in 2011 for the Mustangs visited while on spring break from their high schools. NT Rishaad Wimbley was at practice Tuesday, while OT Kris Weeks and DL Zach Wood visited Wednesday.
• One of the better defensive plays was turned in by LB (at least for now) Kevin Pope, who shadowed WR Cole Beasley over the middle and stripped the ball from him after Beasley made the catch. Defensive coordinator Tom Mason raved about Pope's ability to pick up the system in his first week with the SMU defense.
• Wednesday's practice included several visitors: Hartford Colonials (and former Hawaii assistant) coach Jerry Glanville, former Hawaii and Washington Redskins quarterback Colt Brennan and former Hawaii and Miami Dolphins WR Ryan Grice-Mullen.
• After practice, WR Aldrick Robinson (and Grice-Mullen) caught passes from Brennan. Paying close attention was a scout from the Philadelphia Eagles.
