Defensive end Zach Wood recently set a new SMU record in the power clean when he lifted 352 pounds (photo by SMU athletics).

The Mustangs gathered Saturday morning for the first preseason workout of the 2013 season.

• LB Stephon Sanders was excused from practice because of a death in his family.

• QB Conner Preston sat out practice because of what head coach June Jones said was a "circulation issue" in his chest. Jones said he does not anticipate Preston playing in 2013.

• Rodney Hubert, who moved from CB to WR during the spring, was back working out with the DBs again.

• Several players have changed jersey numbers, including DE Zach Wood (now wearing 90), S Daniel Roundtree (12), WR Kyle Guinyard (5), OL Christian Holloway (76), CB Rodney Hubert (15), DE Elie Nabushosi (7), LB Lincoln Richard (32) and CB Horace Richardson (9).

• PonyFans.com has offered updates recently about the offensive linemen's recent exploits in the weight room. but another team record — for all positions — fell recently when DE Zach Wood power cleaned 352 pounds. (The power clean is when the bar is lifted from the floor to the front of the lifter's shoulders in one smooth motion.)

• Senior Ben Gottschalk is working at left guard after starting in 2012 at left tackle. Transfer Thomas Ashcraft filled Gottschalk's former spot at left tackle.

• Freshman Jerry Saena, projected as an offensive tackle, worked at both guard and tackle. He said after practice that he is not being moved inside, explaining the move by saying, "we have to learn all of the offensive line positions."

• Walk-on WR/TE Jack Neuheisel is working at the "Y" receiver position, which is one of the inside (slot) positions. Neuheisel said he was considering SMU for academic reasons first, but said that his father, former Colorado/Washington/UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel, has known SMU head coach June Jones and new offensive assistant coach Hal Mumme for years. Rick Neuheisel never coached with Jones or Mumme, but did serve on coaches' committees with Mumme when he was at Washington and Mumme was the head coach at Kentucky.

• The move of sophomore Ronnell Sims from slot WR to RB was interrupted during the Ponies' first practice in pads during the spring when he injured his ankle, suffering a high ankle sprain, bone bruise and ligament strain that shelved him for the remainder of spring workouts and limited his summer workouts. Sims was back on the field Saturday, and said it was good to be back on the field with his teammates but admitted to some lingering tenderness in his ankle. "I haven't cut like that in a long time," he said. "It hurt some, but they said it was going to take a long time. I'm going to do what I can, and I made it through today. I just hate sitting out."

• In the past, it sometimes has been easy to pick out most of the freshmen, either because they are visibly smaller than their veteran teammates, or because they're notably out of shape. That's not the case this year. Everyone can get stronger, of course, but several freshmen, including WRs Jeremiah Gaines and JaBryce Taylor, DEs Mason Gentry and Zelt Minor and DBs Myles Crosby, J'Marcus Rhodes and Jesse Montgomery, among others, who already have legitimate college size, and a lot of the freshmen stayed right with their veteran teammates during post-practice conditioning runs.

• Senior Kenneth Acker, identified during the spring as a player who could slide over to slot WR and contribute on both offense and defense, worked exclusively with the defense Saturday.