Notes from MONDAY morning's practice

[PonyPride]

• Among those in attendance: former SMU All-America DB Russell Carter.

• Darryl Fields seems to be getting more confident in his plays. His speed has been well-documented, but he's showing it more now, taking handoffs and short passes and breezing through the defense.

• Sterling Moore (toe) sat out. Cole Loftin also sat out and was limping on the sideline. No details yet on his knee.

• Much improved over last year: WR Marcus Holyfield. When he arrived a year ago, Holyfield was too skinny and appeared very unsure when running routes, etc., which is to be expected for someone who hadn't played football in a few years. Now he is visibly stronger, and several times Monday morning he used his size to shield the ball from would-be defenders and make catches. At one point, he got his shoulder down, drove into CB Jeremy Gray and whirled around to make a grab of a pass that was thrown out of bounds ... and kept both feet inbounds.

• He's not the biggest guy in the world, but cornerback Keith Robinson doesn't seem inclined to back down. On one play during skeleton passing drills, he got matched up against walk-on Jordan Miller, who has a considerable advantage in height and weight. But when the pass came in low, Miller and Robinson leaned into each other, and Robinson held his ground, fighting off Miller to make the interception.

• Sometimes it's the little things: on one play, safety Chris Banjo got inside position on Cole Beasley for a pass that was thrown on Banjo's inside shoulder. Easy interception, right? Not so — an explosive leaper, Beasley climbed the ladder and went up over Banjo (who also jumps well) to knock the ball away.

• Lots of players get to college with a lot of hype and never amount to anything at the next level, but talking about the improvement of wide receiver Jeremy Johnson is becoming almost a daily occurrence. It seems like each practice brings a display of some improvement: route-running, hands, balance while running after the catch, etc. Today, it was body control, as he made a pair of excellent catches along the sideline, including one on which he went up over cornerback Jeremy Gray, twisted his body around toward the sideline and made the grab, and still managed to get both feet inside the sideline.

• Maybe the most impressive part of practice was the accuracy shown by quarterbacks Kyle Padron and J.J. McDermott. Time after time, they threaded passes to their receivers in double- and triple-coverage, sometimes floating passes over the top and sometimes dialing up the fastball a little higher to thread the ball through the outstretched arms of defenders. Not every pass was caught, but both guys looked extraordinarily accurate.

[ALEX LIFESON]

Holyfield still has a way to go, but, I have to give hime credit, I'm shocked by the improvement he has made. The coaches are going to find it very difficult, to keep Jeremy Johnson off the field, that kid is just a natural playmaker. Pony Up Ya'll!

[Roach]

I agree with you — the reports of his progress are extremely encouraging.
Keep it up, Marcus.
Thanks, PP

[cutter]

thanks.
every practice report is filled with exciting, encouraging news.
love how this team is developing.