Optional 07/08/14 workout notes

[PonyPride]

After most of the team went through some conditioning runs with the strength and conditioning staff, about 40 players — mostly QBs, WRs, RBs, DBs and LBs — stuck around for some seven-on-seven drills. As was the case with the first such workout in years past, much of the focus was spent on simply indoctrinating the new players to the simplest basics of the offensive and defensive schemes. Veteran players took the first snaps, and then spent much of the rest of the hour-long session showing freshmen where to line up, or explaining basic techniques and terminology.

• Six QBs — Neal Burcham, Garrett Krstich, Matt Davis, Kolney Cassel, Darrel Colbert and Jordan Severt — took snaps. None had an overwhelming edge in the number of snaps. Davis looked more comfortable than he did in passing drills a couple of weeks ago, finding his intended target a little more quickly. For someone who is just beginning to scratch the surface of what the offense is all about, Colbert seemed pretty accurate. (Note: Don't read too much into this, as this does not mean the other QBs did not look good. I was doing double duty, scribbling notes and taking pictures, and when looking through a camera, it's easy to miss details.)

• For a guy known as much for his running speed as for his arm, QB Matt Davis's arm looked awfully strong. Two weeks ago, he seemed hesitant while processing which WR would be where on each play; he looked more sure of himself Tuesday, stepping into his throws with more authority, and firing one strike about 65 yards to the back corner of the end zone to WR Shelby Walker. The ball sailed just out of the back of the end zone, but the arm strength was impressive.

• Linemen didn't take part in the seven-on-seven drills, but a couple stuck around to watch. One was NT Jerry Saena, who said he has lost weight, getting down to 320 (from a high of 330, after arriving last summer at 260). After switching over from the offensive line, Saena said the move the defensive line started to feel more natural during the team's spring workouts. He said he is "getting used to the 3-4 (defense)" … a system in which he played defensive end in high school. But now, he plays inside, and the defense is taught to be run at a high rate of speed, to counter the hurry-up offenses many teams now use. Saena said he is progressing through the learning curve. The process, he said, is made a little more difficult because in the current system, there is no huddle, an advantage he enjoyed in high school. Now, he and the rest of the defense have to make reads and adjustments based on what they see at the line of scrimmage.

• One of the consistently impressive players was WR Ced Lancaster, who regularly shook defenders and created space for himself to make receptions. Determining overall effectiveness in such a workout (players wear no pads, helmets, etc., and don't hit at all) can be difficult, but Lancaster's ability to get open was consistent, and he also made several catches in heavy traffic.

• Speaking of Lancaster, he looks substantially bigger than he did a year ago, although he said he only weighs eight or nine pounds more than he did a year ago at this time … now up to 172. He said he could carry a few more pounds — at his biggest, he said he got up to 176 — but he said he is comfortable at his current size.

• A bunch of freshmen were there Tuesday. (Note: I don't know all of the new guys yet, so this list might well be incomplete.) Those who I saw at the seven-on-seven workout, or walking before/after the session, included QB Darrel Colbert, QB Jordan Severt, WR Jordan Ingram, WR Shelby Walker, RB Darius Durall, S Courtland Sutton, LB Inoke Ngalo, OL Nick Natour, DB Will Jeanlys, DB Jordan Wyatt, OL Chad Pursley, LB Kyran Mitchell, RB Daniel Gresham, P Jackson Koonce and DE Michael Epley. Again, this does not mean others were not there. I just don't recognize them all yet.

• The next Randall Joyner? Maybe, maybe not — such comparisons are never fair to either party. But it's easy to see some parallels between Joyner and transfer LB Cam Nwosu. Neither is exceptionally tall — Nwosu is listed at 5-10, the same height listed for Joyner on last year's roster. Both are vocal players, too — even though he has just arrived and is just starting to learn the SMU defense, Nwosu can be heard pretty easily, either when playfully lobbing verbal barbs at the offense or when encouraging his defensive teammates. Most importantly, he seems to be around the ball a lot; in the passing drills I watched two weeks ago, he broke up four passes and made a great lunging interception off a deflection from fellow transfer LB Caleb Tuiasosopo. It was more of the same Tuesday, as Nwosu was around the ball all the time, tipping away at least a couple of passes. There also were several plays when a receiver made the catch, with Nwosu just a step or two away and closing quickly, ready to blast him if it were a full-pads practice or game.

• One unexpected sight: Kevin Pope at LB? Pope is expected to play RB in the fall, but after starting at LB, he stepped in on a few plays, just to show Ngalo where to line up, etc. No reason to believe his position status had changed at all.

[Big12Mustang]

Thanks for posting, PP. Interesting to hear Matt Davis and Arm in the same sentence. Would love it if he would start and have a breakout year. With a good QB at center, 8 or 9 wins don't seem impossible

[JoeKidd]

PP, thanks for sharing...helps get through the dog days of summer until football season is here. I like that so many incoming freshman are already on campus.

[StallionsModelT]

Thanks for the report. Good stuff.

[ojaipony]

Thanks, PP! Awesome as usual. Keep it comin'!

[Junior]

can't wait for the full squad to get together. thanks, PP.

[Pony4Life]

Absolutely love football season, and it's getting closer.
I wish the linemen were participating. I'm still eager to see what shakes out on the offensive line.