Practice Observations

[JasonB]

I was able to watch practice for the first time this year, and thought I would share some things. Forewarning - I spent the majority of my time watching the lines, specifically the defensive line. So things are going to be focused on that area. I didn't spend a lot of time with the secondary or WR groups.

- Overall, the first big impression is the physical nature of the team. Pre-covid, it was clear Sonny had stepped it up, and it was a commitment he made to Kevin Kane when he initially came on board that practices would be physical. Last year, things took a huge step back because of the pandemic. But things have really pushed forward now. The level of physical engagement is awesome. The running game session outdoors was really great to watch, and the goal line drills after the team moved inside were fantastic as well. I really enjoyed it and I think we are going to be much stronger on both sides of the lines this year, not only with the starters, but also depth.
- The second overall impression is the depth of athletes and speed at WR and corner. The overall speed on the team was great to see.
- At QB, I am excited about this group. All 3 can play. Mordeci looks the part. He has the arm strength, athleticism, enough height. Stone is what I would call a "gamer". There are times in drills where he looks like he struggles with an easy release, I noticed it on shorter routes. And his arm strength isn't on the same level as the others. He is shorter than the others. But when they go 11v11, he turns it up. Absolute gamer. Green is in the third spot right now, but he looks like a legit QB. Of all the group, he is the one who consistently gets the ball out on time, hitting Gaffney on a quick slant for a long TD. He also has the patience to go through progressions, let things clear, and then drop it off in the flat, similar to what Padron would do to McNeil several years ago. The other QBs aren't in that same rhythm. He just has a good feel for the game. First time since the DP where any of the three QBs could run out there, and SMU would have a chance to win. Very deep group.
- RB I didn't pay too much attention, but Bentley looks totally different from two years ago, and Siggers really looked great to me. McDaniel was a frosh last year, so don't hold this statement against him, but to me, Bentley + Siggers is a better combo than Bentley and TJ was at the start of last year. IMHO, the Siggers addition has upgraded the room. Bentley looks like a stud still, a Siggers is going to provide a combo of adding some physicality but also being able to break a long run.
- WR I didn't focus on this group. Wiggins had a nice long TD. And I mentioned the Goffney TD above. But Kerley to me looks explosive. He is a really important addition. There was a huge drop off last year when starters went down, but Kerley is legit, to me he is the next star WR. Roberson I didn't focus on the WR too much, but one thing I liked is they ran the group on a flat route one at a time, where they had to catch and accelerate, and his acceleration was fantastic, better than the others. So I think it is a sign he is on the way back.
- OL - They are playing around with the group. Getting different people experience at different positions. No surprises here. One thing I would say is that Hickman is definitely the "next man up" in the group. I'm not sure if he will start, but it is clear that if anything happens to a starter, they are going to move things around so that he can play center and get in the group. Osborne physically looks different. Last year, he was a big guy, didn't seem quite in shape, was obviously new trying to figure things out. He is a physical presence now, and I like his aggressiveness on blocks. IMHO, Osborne, Thomas, and Howerton all have a chance to be all-conference this year. Ike seems to shift between guard and tackle. He certainly passes the eye test, but makes technique mistakes. Robinson has such a massive frame that even at his listed weight he doesn't seem big. He passes the eye test as well. He is a little stiff out there, but I would expect that to loosen up with more time. When you look at the line last year, where in the first game we had a walkon (Ervin), a frosh (Ike), and a newbie (Osborne) trying to play RG, we are so far away from that it is silly. There are a couple of players who just aren't ready yet (Mossberg, M Smith). But this is a good group, with a lot more depth in the past, even though I think at some spots the second team isn't quite ready, which showed against the second and third string defensive line. When I watched individual drills, Erwin has actually come a long way, and I think is a piece of the depth puzzle. There were a couple of players held out of practice, which impacted rotation and the second OL struggled because of it. But overall I think we have 9 OL who can play at this level tomorrow if asked, maybe 11.
- Now the DL, which I spent a lot of time watching today. I think the DL is legit. They dominated today. As mentioned previously, there were a couple of players out on the OL, so take that into account. But in the running game drill outside and the goal line drills in the practice facility, the DL looked great. Williams is better than last year for sure. He looks ready to play. Chatman is just a beast. In 1v1, he blew players up several times. He has awesome leverage and is incredibly strong. Newman also just gets so low it is really hard to drive him off the ball. There were a couple of goal line situations where those three got to play with each other and they were absolutely dominant on the interior of the line. Aho has really nice athleticism, but you can tell he is still learning, still growing. He fights hard, and will do well on plays, but then there was a 1v1 drill where Thomas just absolutely dominated him. He can just lose a little technique, fall of balance, and get pushed around at times. Jones had a drill where he blew up Cobe Bryant. I think that with Levelston, Williams, Aho, Brown, Bell, Chatman, Newman, Jones, Loveless, you have a really nice group for those three positions. K Smith even looks like he might be able to play a role if you asked him to. My big takeaway with the DL is that I think we are going to dominate some of the lesser teams on the line, and really cause problems defensively for them.
- Separately, I want to point out Erin Smith. I'll admit straight away that seeing the number 94 on the DL always looks great. But that guy absolutely looks the part. He is stiff on his rush, because he rushes like you would expect an OL guy to rush the QB, with a lot of structure and minimal bend. But if that guy figures it out and loosens up, there is some potential there.
- At the Boundary LB position, Coxe, Paul, Wiley, Ndukwe are all solid players. Coxe looks like he accelerates off the line better than in the past, so I do think he has improved since we last saw him. They all have decent size. But I don't think we have that dominant player just yet. Nobody has developed into Delonte Scott. Nothing negative, just no dominant players at the position.
- That said, lets talk about the kids, Jayden Jones and Samuels. They both have really long frames, and a ton of athletic potential. If you remember D Scott when he first arrived to SMU, he was hesitant to engage physically at the line, because he just wasn't big enough. He wanted to try and play in space all the time, and it reduced his effectiveness. That is where those guys are at. You can see the potential for them to develop as they go along. We will see when they are ready to handle the physical nature of the position. But I don't think I would expect a lot out of them just yet, maybe some clear pass rush situations. Of course, we are only a week and a half into their college experience, so who knows how things play out the rest of the fall.
- Finally, lets talk a little about LB. Honestly, I think this will be the most improved position this season. The Oregon transfer isn't here yet. But there was something here that was really exciting to me during part of practice. 14. In the goalline session, he made plays. It was the old Richard Moore. He wasn't afraid of getting rolled up on. He was just exploding through the gaps in the line and making plays. At one point, he made three in a row. It was really great to see. IF (it was only one practice) we can get Moore back to his old self, that really changes this group. Hypothetically, Delano at field side LB with Moore and Oregon in the middle. Second group would be Burns field with Phillips and Hailey in the middle. Both of those groups can really, really run. SMU had one year of really great LB play when we had Nelson, Mitchell and Moore lined up a few years back, but the position group suffered prior to and after that group. And that group made plays, but wasn't great against the run. IF Moore plays like he did on Saturday (again, big IF), this group would be just as good, and the depth would be much better. The athleticism of that LB group combined with an improved secondary is going to be a nightmare for opposing teams. We just need to develop a D Scott to put pressure on the QB to allow us to take advantage of it.

[ALEX LIFESON]

The defense absolutely dominated the offensive line on the goal line drill's and Richard Moore was absolutely ferocious inside the box.

[Terry Webster]

Boy I hope all that comes to pass. If the defense can match the offense this year is going to be a lot of fun. Cant wait to see them up here in Cinci.

[Donnell88]

JasonB: Great stuff, as always. Thank you.

[PNW_Stang]

Thank you, Jasonb. Been hoping you’d drop a practice report! Lots of great information in there.

[PNW_Stang]

I know you said you didn’t pay much attention to the DBs, but I’m really interested in the safety group. Was Calloway starting SS? Who was playing FS?

We seem set at corner, with 4-5 guys that can play.

[PNW_Stang]

From what you saw, do you think Coxe is the starter at the boundary position?

[JasonB]

I know you said you didn’t pay much attention to the DBs, but I’m really interested in the safety group. Was Calloway starting SS? Who was playing FS?

We seem set at corner, with 4-5 guys that can play.

I think they are still trying to figure things out at safety. Calloway wasn't playing yesterday, no idea if there is an injury or some other reason. It seems like maybe they were giving a few players a rest or something, but that is just conjecture on my part.

Safety is such a mental position. We have all seen the significant growth of players who were forced to start early and matured into very good players - Banjo and Clemons come to mind.

IMHO, next week the coaches need to decide between Massey and McMorris who is flipping to FS, and that person is probably in the lead for FS.

At SS, Calloway is obviously the leader in the clubhouse. Nwo is in play there, and then it looked like they were playing around with Denbow and Cam back there as well. I would view the presence of Cam and Denbow as a combination of having depth at field LB/corner and the fact that a lot of frosh were thrown into the deep end at safety last season and the coaches want to make sure there is a level of experience there. We all know that Denbow can overrun plays and miss tackles, but then again, at least he is actually in a spot to make a play.

[JasonB]

From what you saw, do you think Coxe is the starter at the boundary position?

I didn't get to see Wiley. To me, Ndukwe can handle the physical aspects, but doesn't really have a lot of burst to be disruptive. Paul is the most explosive, but still looks skinny and is challenged with engaging players. I'll use D Scott again as a comparison. He hasn't filled into his body yet. When he gets caught up in line play, he isn't as effective. The two frosh are long and skinny, but have the same issues as Paul. Coxe is the guy who can handle the physical aspect of everything and also shows a bit of burst. He isn't the disruptive player that you really want to see at the position, but IMHO he is the leader in the clubhouse. Which will be solid, don't get me wrong. But for the defense to take the next step, you need Wiley, Paul, or one of the two frosh to add some strength to go along with that athletic potential.

Against ACU, looking at their website they will probably have one of the smaller lines we will face this season. And it might allow the athletic guys to go in and really make some things happen. But right now I think Coxe is your guy against top quality competition.

[DC-Pony]

JB, that is great stuff! Grateful for your time and talents observing and sharing all that.

Glad you focused on the areas that you did. Absolutely HUGE if the LBs take that much of a step forward.

I am developing a ton of optimism in our D. The only unit I wonder about is at Safety. Seems like we have good talent and potential. But it’s not clear to me who the consistently reliable play makers are at FS and SS. I’m getting the impression that one of our many very talented CBs could find there way to FS.

On the whole no glaring weaknesses on D like there were last year.

[HubbaHubba]

Did you see TJ on the field at this practice or were you just comparing to last year?

[dalpony]

TJ is out there but not in uniform

[JasonB]

Did you see TJ on the field at this practice or were you just comparing to last year?

I was comparing to last year. Nothing negative about TJ, but Siggers looks really good to me.

[AusTxPony]

JasonB, I especially love your analytical, non-emotional reports. Thanks again...

[Donnell88]

JasonB: I should've asked this earlier - how does this Sonny Dyke's team compare to Chad Morris' final- year team?