Head coach June Jones said senior receiver Ryan Walker has improved constantly in camp and could get more playing time in 2013 (photo by PonyFans.com).

• The defense once again got together for its drill in which two players go to the center of the ring of teammates and square off, either pinning an opponent on the ground or driving him out of the ring. One of the more impressive performances was turned in by walk-on LB Jackson Mitchell, who pinned LB Carlos Carroll, but three of the more interesting matchups ended up in stalemates: CBs J’Marcus Rhodes vs. Trey Washington, DEs Mason Gentry vs. Justin Lawler, and DBs Darrion Richardson vs. Jesse Montgomery — who recovered after Richardson got under his pads and started driving him backward to salvage a draw.

• QB Garrett Gilbert looked very accurate in seven-on-seven drills, especially when throwing on the run. While rolling out, he was able to fire deep passes and intermediate touch passes with impressive accuracy.

• WR Darius Joseph, who could be battling for a starting job, had an inconsistent day. He made several nice grabs and also dropped a few balls that were close enough that he got a hand on them. To be fair, he also made the nicest grab of the day, when he went up over two DBs to snag a pass of about 25 yards down the sideline from QB Neal Burcham.

• Mistakes happen to everyone, of course, but there’s something to be said for persistence. When Burcham and RB K.C. Nlemchi got their signals crossed on a handoff, Nlemchi didn’t give up on the play, locating and scooping the ball, getting to the edge of the line of scrimmage and then turning on the speed to split the defense on a 45-yard touchdown run.

• One of the more talked-about players in preseason camp is freshman WR JaBryce Taylor, who has made a lot of impressive catches and has shown good speed. What might not have been as well known is the fact that he apparently is pretty strong, too. On one play, he caught an otherwise ordinary screen pass from in the flat, where he was grabbed around the shoulders by LB Jarvis Pruitt. Rather than give up on the play, Taylor twisted his frame and headed upfield after shrugging off Pruitt — no small accomplishment considering that at a listed 6-3 and 252 pounds, Pruitt is an inch talled and 47 pounds heavier.

• S Daniel Roundtree got a look at backup OLB.

• Head coach June Jones said after practice that he and his staff usually spend the first couple of weeks of camp giving practice repetitions to younger players, to determine which can help the team going into the season, before shifting their opponent to the first opponent. This season, Jones said he expects the Mustangs to start focusing on their season-opening game against Texas Tech this Thursday. He said he and his staff have a pretty good idea which young players — either freshmen or backups in previous seasons — will be able to contribute this season.

• Jones said the deepest positions on the roster appear to be the defensive line, the linebackers and cornerback, where he has been impressed by a number of young players. He said that Ajee Montes, who sat out the 2012 season as a redshirt, and J.R. Richardson and Horace Richardson, each of whom sat out last season with a knee injury, have been particularly impressive.

• Jones said transfer RB Traylon Shead, who has sat out the last couple of practices with an unspecified injury, is feeling better and “could have practiced today, if we needed him to.” Jones said Shead likely will be held out another couple of days as a precaution. Shead “knows what we’re doing,” Jones said. “We’re just going to make sure he’s well.” Jones said that another reason for his willingness to give Shead extra rest is because it means more repetitions for redshirt freshman RB Prescott Line, who Jones said is having a strong camp.

• One player who has caught the attention of his head coach is senior WR Ryan Walker, who Jones said “just keeps getting better and better and better. (In) this camp, he really has stepped up a little. I expect he’ll get a lot of playing time this year.”