Wide receiver Aldrick Robinson laughed when asked what spring practices are like without Emmanuel Sanders around.
"It's quieter," he said.
Sanders, the leader of the SMU wide receivers in recent years, is getting ready for Thursday's Pro Day while his former teammates toil away at the Ponies' 7 a.m. practices.
But in addition to Sanders' unending on-field commentary — about a catch he had just made, about a pass a teammate dropped, about a change in the direction of the wind, etc. — the statistical numbers of arguably the most productive wide receiver in SMU history also are gone. Robinson said it is up to the remaining receivers to take up the considerable void left in Sanders' wake.
Robinson caught 47 passes in 2009 for 800 yards and five scores ... each of which marked a drop-off from his sophomore season, when he hauled in 59 passes for 1,047 yards and 11 scores. Robinson said the decline was due at least in part to a couple of injuries that nagged him throughout the season.
"Coming into the season, I didn't even know if I could play in the first game because of my (left) hamstring," he said. "Then, against UAB, I sprained my (left) ankle. I didn't do much at Washington State (two catches, 30 yards). I didn't even practice before the TCU game. I didn't know if I could play there, either."
Robinson said he didn't feel 100 percent healthy until the Ponies flew to Hawaii to face Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl.
"That's the first time all year I really felt right," he said. "I think I played OK."
Robinson said he has enjoyed working with new strength and conditioning coach Mel de Laura, whose program, in addition to building strength, is designed to deter sprains.
"We work for about two hours straight, and you can feel the burn," Robinson said. "I also work on my flexibility. It should help so I get less injuries," too. "Now I do things like ... deep massage therapy and laser treatments to break up scar tissue."
