Practice report - 8-18

[JasonB]

Hey everyone, first time I made it to practice this year.

The staff is super strict this year - press and notes allowed only once a week, and you can't write about injuries or formations or even the 2 deep. SO that stuff will be missing out of my report today...

- First point I want to make is about the physicality. We all know that JJ's practices weren't physical. CM talked about being more physical, and did occasionally, but for the most part toned it down to protect depth. Ran a lot of 7v7. Today was easily the most physical practice I have seen since Bennett was here. Linemen engaging at the line of scrimmage, runners taking defenders on, making tackles, actual hitting.
- Perhaps because of that, and perhaps for gamesmanship in case others were watching, a lot of players we might presume to be starters were held out at RB, CB, and DE. A ton of rotation on both lines and WR as well.
- Very physical in the running game. This is no longer about misdirection and pass-first. We are going to try and run the ball, and we want to be able to run the ball when the entire stadium knows we are going to run it. Matches what the coaches have been saying, ,and neat to see.
- The defense looks completely different from the past few years. Everyone is flying to the ball. If someone breaks free, the entire team chases them down. There were no running plays broken off for huge gains. The ones that got through were stopped after 15-20 yards. Not a lot of sloppy/missed tackles. Well organized, and well coached unit IMHO. They also showed a ton of looks, changing things up based on situation. It isn't a generic 4-3 or 4-2-5 or whatever. Really liked what I saw schematically, the fluidness, the hustle, and the lack of blown coverages or assignments even though backups were in there.
- Chad played what I call #FakeTempo. Fast to the line, no subs so the defense couldn't sub, but then slow it down and look to the sideline. This staff really mixes it up, and I have no idea what the "normal" tempo for them is, but when they want to go fast, they go much, much faster than CM ever did.
- They did a lot of situational stuff. Offense looked really strong in goal line and red zone. But full field, the defense made plays and stopped drives.
- QB: Hicks has really developed strong leadership skills. Most exciting for me is that the "high and wide" scud that would fly out from time to time on sideline routes was gone. I thought he looked strong for most of the practice, and was much more consistent with his accuracy. Really nice pass to Proche in the endzone in the redzone drill, and a nice fingertip catch by Proche. Also had a beautiful touch pass over the shoulder of Roberson 30 yards down the field.
- The backups probably aren't ready, but both of them looked good. Upshaw had some really nice runs. He also showed a nice arm for the first time. Usually, he puts touch passes out there and just kind of flings it, but this was the first time I saw him step into a throw and rifle it in to Page in a tight window. Nice play.
- Lots of quickness from Roberson, Sanders, and Proche.
- OL looked really, really good. As I mentioned before, some key players were held out of the scrimmage at DE. But when they went back into pass protection, it was smooth and well organized. Good pocket formation. They don't have that Josh L run-grater that is going to plow everyone over in the running game, but I they are much bigger and much better at the point of attack than before, and look great pass blocking. As coach mentioned, they are 10 deep. This was the first time I have seen SMU put out a third unit in a long time. And you don't hear coaches talking about developing swing guards, guard/centers, or swing tackles... another indication of the depth. Again, players were held out at DE, so take it with a grain of salt. I would say that most of the players we all know from last year might still be starting, but there is a ton of competition all along the line, because of the amount of depth that has been brought in and players stepping up.
Hughes is huge. Really great to see all around.
- DL didn't get a ton of pressure organically. But they weren't getting mushed at the line of scrimmage either. Mclaurink I thin is about to turn into something, I think. He has a really nice push. My overall read is that the OL is good, and the DL is good enough to hold their own. We will see if some of the players who were held out can generate more off the edge. The size difference from last year is noticeable. There is a lot of competition for starting spots.
- LB - Moore is as advertised. Involved in everything, always around the ball. Isn't huge, but big and strong enough to make plays inside, and fast enough to get outside. LB play overall is much improved over last year. Safeties aren't required to make a lot of plays in the running game. They hold their ground and are quick to the ball. Overall depth is a concern here, but we are better off than a year ago.
- CB - the players I would assume to be the starters were held out. That said, players who were starting last year are not this year. Much deeper group than in the past. I think we have 7 players at CB who can actually play... you might not want all of them to start in a perfect world, but the depth here is miles ahead of where we have been in the past.
- S has a ton of competition at both spots. Nobody has locked anything in at this point, IMHO. Last year, I think we were 2.5 deep at this position, with McQueen in the reserves but not quite ready, and people were hoping Rock stepped up. This year, we have 6 guys in the competition, and I think 5 of them would be considered at least solid starters in the AAC. Nelson, the GT, really popped out for me. He makes a ton of plays as a SS, lots of good instincts at the line of scrimmage in the running game and passing game. Broke through for a sack, couple of tackles behind the line.
- Overall, I would say the transfers are all legit, both JUCO and GT. There aren't any washouts. They are all going to be in the competition for starting spots. This isn't a hit-and-miss situation. They are all going to make the team better.

Coach Dykes said after practice that he thinks this team is going to be very competitive. I agree with that statement. We aren't going to see ole defense with this team or see us get gashed over and over again, which I think will be refreshing to watch. I don't think we have the huge WR (I think), or the NFL run blocking OL, NFL DE (I think), or unbelievable OLB. But we are very solid across the board, with all-conference players at S, CB, RB, and MLB. Should be entertaining to watch.

I think we will be good enough to physically beat the lesser teams, and good enough to hang with the others. TCU we were able to keep up with because of Quinn and Sutton, basically. It is going to be very interesting to watch us against TCU and Michigan because we lack those guys. Could be a case where we don't play them as close without the home run, even though we are a better team as a whole. But I think we will be very competitive in every game in conference. And we will beat UNT.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Great to hear we are hitting! I am starting to really believe this team will be better than most expect.

I also think we will hang with Michigan and TCU.

[ponyscott]

So good to have your views again, JasonB.....we appreciate the great insight.

[JasonB]

Great to hear we are hitting! I am starting to really believe this team will be better than most expect.

I also think we will hang with Michigan and TCU.

You know, it is really interesting... I think we are going to be way better at OL, LB, CB, S. And better or certainly no worse at QB and RB. Graduated a lot at DL, but I think we are fine.

So we might be improved all the way across the board.

That said - we sure relied on the big play a lot last year. Consistency has never been a huge strength with Hicks. That is the thing to watch on offense - can Hicks consistently hit passes on shorter routes to move the chains instead of relying on the big play from Sutton and Quinn.

If Hicks hits 59% of his passes without those big play guys, I'm not sure we will get enough offense against the better teams on the schedule. If his completion percentage jumps up to 63-65%, I think we are in good shape and will compete with the better teams.

Another note from the scrimmage today - Becker made a couple of nice plays in the passing game...

[leopold]

Hicks is probably going to get better coaching for his skill set from this staff, so there is real hope for continued improvement on his part. Same with the receivers.

We may have the best defensive secondary in the conference and Sanders gives a legitimate weapon at the return game. Getting a little more excited every day.

[HubbaHubba]

Hicks is probably going to get better coaching for his skill set from this staff, so there is real hope for continued improvement on his part. Same with the receivers.

We may have the best defensive secondary in the conference and Sanders gives a legitimate weapon at the return game. Getting a little more excited every day.

What's a return game?

[SMUstang07]

This is a fantastic recap. Thank you JasonB

[JoeKidd]

Thanks for the report JasonB....can't wait to see the product on the field. Can' make the NTSU game as I'll be out of town, but hoping to find it somehow on TV or the radio at the very least.

[SMU Pony Mom]

Thanks for the recap! Getting excited now - season almost here.

[Donnell88]

Great report, Jason. I always look forward to reading them. But, if I may, two years ago you described redshirt freshman Ben Hicks as a future 20/20 quarterback, ie, 20 touchdown passes & 20 interceptions. Last year, he was a 33/12 guy.

[JasonB]

Great report, Jason. I always look forward to reading them. But, if I may, two years ago you described redshirt freshman Ben Hicks as a future 20/20 quarterback, ie, 20 touchdown passes & 20 interceptions. Last year, he was a 33/12 guy.

I think I predicted what he would be that season if he played... but yeah, his accuracy was poor and his decision making was worse. Decision maker has improved with maturity. Accuracy improved a bit last year, but still missed a lot of throws. Had several "what the hell was that" passes that sailed away.

It was one practice, but he looked way more consistent from what I saw on Saturday. I didn't see any of those 10 yard outs where he tries to power the ball and it just sails away. Might be a mechanical thing - these coaches are really hands on and do a lot of different drills than they did before. Might also be a strength thing - with the Kaz system, he might have built more muscle and doesn't have to power through everything. When Hicks came in, he looks the part, but he didn't have the natural arm strength that you see from Brown, for example. Not saying his arm strength was poor or anything like that, it just wasn't a natural rocket. So he had to put extra behind it to get to the sidelines, and that decreases accuracy, especially when your fundamentals are fluid. It could be that he has built the strength that he doesn't need to force those throws as much, or he is more fundamentally solid.

Keep in mind that the 58% from last year was helped a lot by the bubble screens close to the line of scrimmage. He really relied on the big play over the course of the year. I think he will need to be in the 62-65% range for us to have a consistent offense this season.

It's kind of interesting looking at his splits from last year. Remarkably, he didn't have ANY 60% completion games! He was either around 50% or he was over 70%. When he was over 70%, SMU was 3-1 (only loss at Houston). He had a 59% game against Tulsa that we won, and the only games we won outside of that with low completion percentages were against lesser teams (SFA, UNT, Ark St).

What should give us hope are his numbers in conference games last year:
195 311 62.7 2447 22 6 148.3

I also think that even though he loses WR talent, with a better overall team around him I think you will see his numbers against good teams improve. This is a really telling split from last year:
vs. FBS Winning 8 314 171 54.5 2169 6.9 19 9 126.73 39.3 271.1
vs. FBS Non-Winning 4 139 96 69.1 1288 9.3 12 3 171.07 34.8 322.0

My take from those numbers is that against bad teams, were were able to survive on the OL and use Quinn and Sutton to rip teams apart. Against good teams, the OL wasn't good enough to allow the home run play to develop, and we struggled.

As a side note, we have a difficult schedule this year, but our schedule last year wasn't a cake walk either, and at least we get some of the more difficult games at home.