Tuesday (8/23/11) practice report

[PonyPride]

• Great sight: WR Marcus Holyfield taking part in WR drills. Holyfield, who has been rehabbing since blowing out his ACL in the offseason, didn't take part in full 11-on-11 drills, but just seeing him run some routes with the WRs was encouraging.

• LB Taylor Reed left practice early with what head coach June Jones called "a sore foot." Jones said he didn't believe Reed's injury to be serious, and said that if the season opener against Texas A&M were today, Reed would play. WR Bobby Waid (shin splints) and S Brett Haness (neck sprain) were out.

• With Reed out, Kevin Pope took reps with the first-team defense.

• DE Kevin Grenier (shoulder) was back on the field, working with the defensive linemen.

• WRs coach Jeff Reinebold has said that the young WRs on the team have arrived with a higher level of technique than some freshman wideouts, thereby allowing him to address some of the more sophisticated techniques involved with playing the position. For example: when running skeleton (no defense) passing drills, he had the WRs run 10 yards and then turn across the middle, where they would receive passes from the QBs. A couple of the freshmen instinctively started to move a little further downfield as they met the pass, to gain an extra second to read the flight of the ball. Reinebold stopped the drill, insisting that the receivers meet the ball "downhill" — while running toward the QB during the crossing route — so as to reduce the chance of a defensive back jumping the route and knocking the ball down, or worse yet, making the interception.

• With freshman RB K.C. Nlemchi (hip flexor) still out, fellow freshman Jared Williams continued to get snaps with the second-team offense.

• Defensive play of the day: came on special teams, when CB Rodney Hubert fielded a kickoff and headed upfield. RB Zach Line was among those chasing him down, and when Line closed in, he ripped the ball out Hubert's hands and breezed into the end zone.

• The Mustangs had two kickers among their new walk-ons, but Mike Loftus went 4-for-4 on field goals, connecting from 20, 30, 40 and 55 yards.

[cutter]

cool.
thanks.

[SMU 86]

Tuesday 8-23-11 right PonyPride? Just goes to show even PP is human (I think).

[PonyPride]

Argh ... thanks for catching that.
Fixed.

[95mustang]

Great report! Thanks for keeping all of us out-of-towners in the know!

[Junior]

I'm concerned that Nlemchi has been out so long. He's missed essentially all practice sessions so far (or so it seems).

Will he be able to make a meaningful contribution this season? It seems that Jared Williams has made the most of the situation, though.

[RGV Pony]

I'm concerned that Nlemchi has been out so long. He's missed essentially all practice sessions so far (or so it seems).

Will he be able to make a meaningful contribution this season? It seems that Jared Williams has made the most of the situation, though.

I guess Williams and dugal then ?

[S....M....U]

Awesome. Great report. Preciate you.