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SMU head coach June Jones acknowledged over the offseason that receiver Brad Haynes might have been "underused" in 2009. In an offense in which the starting four receivers often play until they simply run out of gas, Haynes sometimes found himself on the outside looking in. That was until Jones added a tight end to his offense, and Haynes suddenly found a niche that got him on the field. Haynes now is one of the biggest receivers on the team, and while he is an able blocker and happy to do whatever is needed to get on the field — and for the Ponies to win — he wants to play a bigger role in the offense.

That should happen this season, as Haynes is now practicing in spring workouts at tight end, wide receiver and slot receiver. The versatility should afford Haynes (and fellow oversized tight end/receiver Patrick Fleming) more playing time, and should create mismatches for opposing defenses.

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thanks for the read

If I'm a defensive coordinator and I see my 5-9 cornerbacks lined up against Fleming and Haynes in the slot, I think I'd quit and take up a more calming occupation, like working on a bomb squad.

How can you not like this guy? He patiently waits his turn at the position he grew up playing, and in the meantime, he straps on a few more pounds so he can take on a brand-new role. Talk about a team-first guy...

Jones added a tight end role to the Run-and-Shoot last year in part to get Haynes on the field

So much for those who say Jones is a system guy that will not make adjustments for the talent he has.

Old habits are hard to break for these "older" coaches. Will be interesting to see if plans in the spring become reality in the fall. I thought this was one of the reasons that in most games, our offense seemed to wear out in the second half. Maybe it was little depth although it is hard to imagine depth that bad when you see guys limping around on the field at half speeed while healthy backups are on the sideline. Just have to assume the coaches know best although the success of Padron after not getting a chance even though the starting QBs play and the interceptions is knd of alarming! Still can't believe the old pro couldn't recognize how good Padron was and that so many dropped passes with Bo disappeared with the insertion of Padron and his touch pases. So much for the "rocket-arm infatuation" some coaches still have.

booyaa

smuuth wrote:Old habits are hard to break for these "older" coaches. Will be interesting to see if plans in the spring become reality in the fall. I thought this was one of the reasons that in most games, our offense seemed to wear out in the second half. Maybe it was little depth although it is hard to imagine depth that bad when you see guys limping around on the field at half speeed while healthy backups are on the sideline. Just have to assume the coaches know best although the success of Padron after not getting a chance even though the starting QBs play and the interceptions is knd of alarming! Still can't believe the old pro couldn't recognize how good Padron was and that so many dropped passes with Bo disappeared with the insertion of Padron and his touch pases. So much for the "rocket-arm infatuation" some coaches still have.

Not to be the apologist for the coaches, but they have said that Padron was becoming ready about the Houston game anyway and that they were planning to give him playing time soon, before the injury made that a necessity.