PonyFans.com practice report (March 21, 2015)

[PonyPride]

The SMU football team had its third practice of the Chad Morris era — and it looked like nothing that has been seen in recent years. Several in attendance estimated the number of fans at or around (maybe even above) 300. There were an estimated 75-80 recruits in attendance. Numerous incoming freshmen were on hand. So crowded was the event that a food truck parked outside the fence of the Pettus practice field.

• Morris is, if nothing else, a believer in getting multiple views of what's happening on the field. The video department now has three cameras looking down from the top of Ford Stadium, focused on different parts of the field. Several more hand-held cameras are carried around the field by members of the video staff. A small "drone" camera even hovers 10-12 feet above the field, offering what Morris said is something of a bird's-eye view of what the quarterback sees on a given play.

• Another aspect of making sure details get seen: when the team runs seven-on-seven or 11-on-11 drills, one of the guys from the equipment room runs around with an extra football tucked under one arm, ready to spot it for the next play. But when the whistle blows, ending a play, he uses his other arm to raise a brightly colored flag straight up over his head. The reason: between the fans at practice (get used to it) and the music that pumps throughout the workout, the whistle that is blown at the end of each play sometimes can not be heard on the video recordings. Raising the play allows coaches to watch film and see — even if they can't hear — when the whistle blows, so it can be determined which players run full-speed until the whistle and which don't.

• Lots of former players were in attendance. Recent SMU players who showed up included LB Pete Fleps, RB Bryce Lunday, LB Stephon Sanders, LB Cam Nwosu, DE Margus Hunt, OL Blake McJunkin, LB Cameron Rogers and LB Taylor Reed (yes, there were more, but I didn't get to see everyone).

• Incoming freshmen who were among those attending practice included OL Keaton Bates, DEs Michael and Delontae Scott, LB Mitchell Kaufman,TE Hunter Herndon, WRs Kevin Thomas, James Proché, Xavier Castille, Myron Gailliard and Alex Honey.

• Also among those watching: former Alabama head coach Gene Stallings.

• The days of minimal hitting, or no hitting, are a thing of the past. In the team's first day in pads, one of the earliest drills was the famed "Oklahoma drill," in which a ball carrier runs toward a defender in what amounts to a "best man wins" contest — if the ball carrier gets by, he wins, while the defender tries to bring him to the ground. Morris offered up a different version, though, in which the ball carrier had to get past three players — a defensive lineman, a linebacker and a defensive back. More often than not, the defense came out on top, if only because the first player or two at least slowed up the offensive player, but one offensive player who stood out was RB Darius Durall, who repeatedly made defenders miss.

• It has been noted that the coaching staff is young, and it shows in how active they are on the field. RBs coach Claude Mathis doesn't just tell the players how to block, he's on the field, showing them. OL coach Dustin Fry shows his linemen their position by getting in a crouch and stepping into the block, showing proper footwork and hand placement. WRs coach Justin Stepp barked instructions on route-running ... while he stood in as a DB, covering WRs in drills.

• One difference in the tempo is the pace in practice. Most coaches say something to the effect of "if you practice fast, you play fast," or something along those lines. For years, players would be told to move from one drill to the next "on the hop," meaning without walking. Players now run from one drill to the next. The difference is visible.

• Again, it's far too early to read anything into the fall depth chart after a few practices in which the coaches are just starting to get to really know their players. But some pieces are moving around: when the Mustangs went live (11 on 11), the first-team offensive line was LT Chauncey Briggs, LG Daniel McCarty, C Taylor Lasecki, RG Taylor Reich and RT Kris Weeks. The second unit consisted of LT Chewy Chamagua, LG Seaver Myers, C William Barns, RG Jerry Saena and RT Bo Antunovic.

• Prescott Line got the second snaps at RB.

• Once again, the first-team offense had Matt Davis at QB, RB K.C. Nlemchi and WRs Darius Durall, Jeremiah Gaines, Courtland Sutton and Ryheem Malone. Freshman Ben Hicks took the second round of snaps, and looked calm and poised. His arm is very strong: he snaps screen passes with little effort, and seems to fire deep passes of 40 or more yards almost with a flick of the wrist.

• Junior Daniel Chaparro and sophomore Jackson Koonce rotated in punt drills; Deion Sanders and Ryheem Malone took turns as the return man.

• When the defense broke off into seven-on-seven drills, with their own players standing in as mock offensive players, one player who was around the ball constantly was LB Anthony Rhone. In one stretch, he either made or assisted on about six straight tackles.

• The passing game will look entirely different in the fall, and not just because of the system Morris and his staff are implementing. Depending on the game situation, the Mustangs could roll out a group of receivers that includes some combination of 6-4 Courtland Sutton, 6-2 Jeremiah Gaines, 6-2 Kevin Thomas and 6-4 Alex Honey. The last coach to have a team with that many targets with that much size is Larry Brown.

• While the offense hustles through its drills — Morris said his goal is to match the 29 plays his former Clemson team ran in five minutes, while acknowledging that the Mustangs might be "somewhere around 18" at the moment — the defense also is learning to practice at a much faster pace. After preventing a catch in the flat by WR Courtland Sutton, CB J.R. Richardson got an earful from secondary coach Jess Loepp (from about 30 yards away). It wasn't that Richardson had done anything wrong — after all, he had just broken up the play — but Loepp wanted Richardson and the rest of the secondary to "get up faster" to regroup more quickly and be ready for the next play.

• When the team went to seven-on-seven drills, the defense fared well, often covering the receivers well enough that the QBs tucked the ball and took off upfield.

• Maybe the best defensive play in seven-on-seven drills came when Line drifted out to the right to catch a short pass in the flat. After making the reception, LB Kyran Mitchell closed in on him, punched the ball free, and then got around Line to pounce on the ball in the backfield.

• Players who are limited by injury spend their practice time in what new strength and conditioning coach Trumain Carroll calls "The Pit," in which they rotate working on their conditioning on stationary bikes, working their upper-body strength with a group of heavy ropes, working on core strength by slamming huge tires with sledge hammers, and building lower body strength by flipping the tires.

• For what it's worth, redshirt freshman LB Inoke Ngalo wore a different jersey number — 12 (instead of the 11 he wore in 2014) — in Saturday's practice.

• The Morris offense at Clemson used a lot of screen passes, which were instrumental in making stars (and high draft picks) out of receivers like DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins, each of whom had the ability to take a short screen pass and turn it into a long gain, sometimes a touchdown. They were effective in part, of course, because of their exceptional speed and open-field running ability, but they got to the open field because of exceptional blocking by their teammates. Not coincidentally, the SMU receivers are working very [deleted] their blocking this spring. At one point, Shelby Walker drove his man all the way off the side of the field, opening up a wide lane for the receiver to run through. Moments later, WR Darius Joseph and CB Ajee Montes locked horns for a good six seconds on a play, continuing long after the ball was far downfield. Ben Hicks fired a quick pass to Deion Sanders, who was able to turn upfield and gain long yardage, only because fellow WR A.J. Buffini came back and erased a DB who was chasing Sanders. Morris has said repeatedly that he and his staff are excited about the way the players are competing, knowing starting jobs are available. It shows.

• LB Nick Horton watched the end of practice without pads, with an ice pack strapped to his upper back. CB Horace Richardson also didn't finish the practice, watching with an ice pack on his hamstring.

• Sophomore Zelt Minor has been working inside at DT when the Mustangs go with four down-linemen, and looks good doing it. The roster lists him at 282 pounds (six pounds over his listed weight last season), and he looks somewhat natural playing inside, several times using a quick first step to sidestep a blocker and get into the backfield to make the tackle in 11-on-11 drills.

[ojaipony]

Thank you!!

[blackoutpony]

Hahahaha I like how in your 3rd to last bullet point, you couldn't put "hard" and "on" next to each other.

Your filters are pretty silly sometimes. I mean come on

But thanks for the report.

[Rebel10]

How did Braylon Hyder look? I understand that he has had a good off-season.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Excellent report. Thanks!

It sounds like these open practices are not to be missed.

[JasonB]

Hyder and Brown both missing from the report - injuries or just demoted to 3rd string?

[Mustangs35SMU]

This is making me too giddy. I can not wait to see what this staff can do over the next two or three years. What a great time to be a Mustang between basketball and football.

[PonyPride]

Hahahaha I like how in your 3rd to last bullet point, you couldn't put "hard" and "on" next to each other.

Your filters are pretty silly sometimes. I mean come on

But thanks for the report.

HA! Clearly I need to clean up my language ...

[RGV Pony]

Is Evan Brown injured?

[PonyPride]

Not sure. I saw him Saturday, but it was after practice. I'll find out.

[Rebel10]

Not sure. I saw him Saturday, but it was after practice. I'll find out.

I asked about Hyder, is he injured or something?

[JoeKidd]

Thanks as always for the great update PP. Can't wait to watch the Spring Game and see how the team has progressed by then.

[PonyPride]

Not sure. I saw him Saturday, but it was after practice. I'll find out.

I asked about Hyder, is he injured or something?

Sorry — not sure about him, either. I saw him a couple of days ago, but not at practice. I'll find that out, too.

[PonyPower]

I like the idea of Reich at guard. With his ankle injuries, the move might allow him to take advantage of his size in a more limited space.

[Hanging Chad]

Hope Horton and JR Richardson are OK. A rebuilding team needs all hands on deck.