Friday (8/2) observations

[PonyPride]

As JasonB pointed out when he graciously filled in last week, media access to practice is minimal. We get to watch a few periods of practice, each of which is just a few minutes long, and of those, the first part is stretching.

A few things that stood out:

• QB Preston Stone looked good. If you're reading this it's because you're a PonyFan and you have seen him play, so I'll spare you the "he threw the ball" comments (although he did ... and threw it well). Two things jumped out at me: (1) he looks physically stronger, especially in his legs, and (2) based on the way he moved around, you wouldn't guess he's coming back from a serious injury. Take that with a grain of salt, as he never hit a top sprint, and obviously he wasn't trying to throw while wearing an opposing linebacker around his neck. But he looked light on his feet when on the move, seemed to change direction quickly, and planted his foot hard and really pushed off with his legs on longer throws.

Also, the offense ran a passing drill (against no defense) in which the quarterbacks threw intermediate routes to receivers; when each receiver ran one, the QBs switched to the other end of the field to do it again (since the receivers were doing running, anyway). On one turn between drills, Stone and QB Kevin Jennings raced from one end of the field to the other, and Stone looked fast and smooth, running almost step-for-step with Jennings. Again, you never would have guessed that he was injured last year. He has been medically cleared for a while, and he looks like he's physically on the right track.

• It's no secret that RB/athlete Brashard Smith is fast, and the reports are true: at one point in a live 11-on-11 drill, he ran to the outside where two defenders seemed to have good angles to get to him in the backfield, and he still beat them to the boundary and turned upfield for what would have been a long gain. But he is not a running back only willing to get out into open space. He also put his head down to run in between the tackles ... and when he got a little momentum going, he was able to move a couple of defenders.

• Much has been made of the fact that a lot of receivers — Jake Bailey, Romello Brinson, Key'Shawn Smith, Roderick Daniels, Moochie Dixon and Carter Campbell — are either seniors or graduate students this season, so young guys will need to contribute in order to take on bigger roles in the years ahead. Wide receiver is one of those positions where media and fans sometimes obsess about the measurables (height, weight, 40-yard dash times, etc.) ... and those things do matter. But while we all discuss a player's speed when he hits the gas, most never discuss the brakes — the importance of which was made clear by freshman WR Randy Reece. Twice within a couple of minutes, he was able to gain a step of separation from defenders, and twice he stopped on a dime, allowing the would-be tackler to sail past him as he turned upfield. Of course that doesn't declare his role in the receiver rotation, but the ability to make a catch and then lose a defender is incredibly valuable. Remember when people said Cole Beasley was too small and lacked the speed to play in college? No, I'm not saying Reece is Beasley 2.0 (Reece is a couple of inches taller, and maybe a step faster), but the too-small-too-slow Beasley did put together an excellent 11-year NFL career, in part because of his ability to hit the brakes and make defenders miss ... and often make them look silly in the process.

• True story: talked with a PonyFan friend about the upcoming season, and he mentioned transfer TE Matt Hibner, saying, "he's from Michigan, so you know he's a great blocker." (Hibner actually is from Burke, Va., but he did play for the Wolverines before transferring to SMU.) The assessment of Hibner's blocking might prove accurate — I didn't see him block anyone, but Michigan has a long history of elite offensive lines and tight ends who can steamroll opposing defenses — but it is clear Hibner is not a blocking-only tight end. The roster lists him at 6-5 and 251 pounds, but he looks lankier than that weight suggests. He also is an explosive leaper with long arms, and showed soft hands when pulling in a couple of passes that were slightly off target — one of which he tipped to himself. Keep in mind, offensive coordinator Casey Woods also is the tight ends coach, and he loves to get them involved in the offense as receiving threats, in addition to their blocking responsibilities. (Remember when SMU hung 77 points on Houston a couple of years ago? Woods was understandably thrilled with the victory and the points explosion, but he was absolutely giddy when he pointed out that Ben Redding and R.J. Maryland gave the Mustangs FIVE touchdowns by tight ends.) Woods and the rest of the coaches still are mixing and matching to see what combinations will work against which defenses, but it looks like Hibner gives another viable option, that depending on how creative Woods gets, could present some interesting challenges for opposing defenses.

• Remember when Stone Eby moved positions, first from defensive line to offensive line, and then to a hybrid tight end/fullback role? The coaches made comments about the punishment Stone might hand out as a blocker, and he did, and then he caught everyone's attention when he caught a touchdown pass last year at Oklahoma. Make no mistake: he is a big guy, but he has hands. Last year he made a few one-handed catches in practice, and it was no fluke: he did it again a couple of times Friday.

• It's one thing to be tall, and it's another to take advantage of height and size. WR Ashton Cozart, the redshirt freshman transfer from Oregon, is tied (with Joey Bruszer, Cooper Reed and Case Holleron) as the tallest wideout on the team, listed at 6-3 on the SMU roster. But Cozart also plays tall, going up in the air to grab passes at the highest possible point and using his big frame (he is listed at 195 pounds) to shield would-be defenders away from the pass.

[BUS]

Thank you for the information. Everyone I talk to is getting very excited.

Go Mustangs

[Thumper]

• QB Preston Stone looked good. If you're reading this it's because you're a PonyFan and you have seen him play, so I'll spare you the "he threw the ball" comments (although he did ... and threw it well). Two things jumped out at me: (1) he looks physically stronger, especially in his legs, and (2) based on the way he moved around, you wouldn't guess he's coming back from a serious injury. Take that with a grain of salt, as he never hit a top sprint, and obviously he wasn't trying to throw while wearing an opposing linebacker around his neck. But he looked light on his feet when on the move, seemed to change direction quickly, and planted his foot hard and really pushed off with his legs on longer throws.

Also, the offense ran a passing drill (against no defense) in which the quarterbacks threw intermediate routes to receivers; when each receiver ran one, the QBs switched to the other end of the field to do it again (since the receivers were doing running, anyway). On one turn between drills, Stone and QB Kevin Jennings raced from one end of the field to the other, and Stone looked fast and smooth, running almost step-for-step with Jennings. Again, you never would have guessed that he was injured last year. He has been medically cleared for a while, and he looks like he's physically on the right track.

I'm glad to see Stone is doing well after that injury, and so glad we have the luxury of 2 QBs who can really play.

I'd love to see Eby get another TD. Big guys in the end zone give any team a big lift.

[HubbaHubba]

Thanks for update. Great info!

[SMUguy]

That's encouraging about Hibner, and I'd forgotten about Reece. Hope he develops into a valuable player.

[PNW_Stang]

Great report. How is OL looking with Chamblee out?