Wednesday practice notes

by **PonyPride** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:04 pm

Brief report today, while juggling several projects.

â€¢ The switch has been made: Darryl Fields wore a white jersey, signifying his (at least temporary) move to defense, where he will work as an outside linebacker, while Kevin Pope moved back to offense, taking snaps as the first-string running back. Linebacker Ja'Gared Davis said he was very impressed with Pope's two-week audition at linebacker. "I thought he did great," Davis said. "Looked like had been there all year. He could be really good." Davis declined to give an assessment of Fields's first day, but allowed his mind to wander to consider the possibility of Fields/Davis bookends at outside linebacker. The tandem, he said, would be as fast as any pair of linebackers at just about any school.

â€¢ Wide receiver Terrence Wilkerson looked terrific, making several catches on intermediate out routes and deep sideline patterns, and and breaking a couple of long "touchdowns" when returning the ball in new special teams coach Frank Gansz, Jr.'s four-on-one kick coverage drills.

â€¢ The majority of "returns" were handled by Wilkerson, Fields, cornerback Kenneth Acker and Richard Crawford.

â€¢ One other player who has been standing in as a return man (both in drills, where the play starts with the ball in his hand, and actually fielding punts): Ja'Gared Davis. The Mustangs' leader in quarterback sacks in 2010 with 9, Davis said he first stepped in "just to see if I could do it," but some of those at practice don't see it as that much of a joke. Defensive coordinator Tom Mason said he wouldn't mind seeing his starting WILL linebacker returning kicks, because after all, "you can get hurt walking to class, so whoever can do the best job, play him." Teammate Chris Banjo suggested that when Davis really runs at top speed, his top-end speed is as fast as any player at any position in Conference USA, with the possible exception of Houston wide receiver Tyron Carrier, who also is a sprinter on the C-USA champion track team.

â€¢ There were more incomplete passes Wednesday, but it's hard to pin many of them on the quarterbacks. Instead, there were several receivers who seemed to take their eyes off the ball, or merely had a case of "the drops."

â€¢ Practice was interrupted by a brief skirmish, after which all of the players had a little running to do in order to get their attention. Seemed to do the trick, as there were no more exchanges, either physical or verbal, between players, for the rest of practice.

â€¢ Catch of the day: When running a simple crossing route, wide receiver Keenan Holman reached down for a pass that was thrown slightly low. No problem: Holman flicked the ball up, reached out and flicked it again and calmly pulled it in ... with his left hand.

â€¢ Defensive play of the day: freshman quarterback Conner Preston threw an intermediate pass down the left sideline toward wide receiver Jeremy Johnson ... only to watch linebacker Taylor Reed jump the route and step in front of Johnson for the interception, which he returned for a score.

â€¢ Jeremy Johnson and Keenan Holman each appeared to strain a hamstring, as each left the field with an icepack wrapped to the back of a leg. No word on the severity of either.

by **Mitch McConnell** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:27 pm

Two observations:

1. I hope the Fields move to LB is permanent. If he's bought into the coaches selling him on it, I think he could be an outstanding performer there.

2. Just from the glimpses we had of Holman last year and what you read on him, it appears that this is a WR who really "gets it".

Pride,
Is Guinyard to the point where the staff thinks he could play in the fall or where do you think he's really at?

by **gostangs** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:42 pm

i hope we keep fields at RB we need a big/speed threat to compliment Line. we will need that this year for sure.

Moreland will have that outside spot as soon as he gets here.

by **mrydel** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:32 pm

Moreland is still very very young. Let's not rush him. If he is ready the coaches will know, but if he is even 17 years old, he just got there.

by **NickSMU17** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:38 pm

If fields can't get his pad level down, he is more suited to play lb...

I don't think that his blocking ability is what keeps him off of field. When u watch him run, he is just to upright to avoid injury, and I don't think Jj wants to risk that.

by **gostangs** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:12 pm

yeah - running upright would never work. Just ask Eric Dickerson

by **NickSMU17** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:24 pm

Only difference is Dickerson got his pad level down when he hit other players....

And he was bigger/faster/stronger than almost everyone he played against...that isn't the case anymore...

See brandon Jacobs,

by **SMU89** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:05 pm

NickSMU17 wrote:Only difference is Dickerson got his pad level down when he hit other players....

And he was bigger/faster/stronger than almost everyone he played against...that isn't the case anymore...

See brandon Jacobs,

And ED had a Trans A&M

by **PonyPride** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:51 pm

I should have included one other note: I asked about Ja'Gared Davis returning punts and kickoffs. Jones said he thought Davis "looked good, but he won't do it next season." Probably should have included that before, right? Sorry.

Mitch McConnell wrote:Pride,
Is Guinyard to the point where the staff thinks he could play in the fall or where do you think he's really at?

Not sure â€” he's not running full speed yet, although he seems to be getting there. He spends each practice with a trainer (often working out with Chayse Joubert). They have run pretty fast, but I haven't seen them doing any cutting of any kind â€” the closest was when he (and Joubert) ran across the field in wide, sweeping "S" patterns, I assume to start building strength for lateral movement.

by **PonyPatrol** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:52 am

Totally disagree with moving Fields to LB. I think Line is outstanding and should remain a terrific feature back, but with his running style, injuries are inevitable. Who else do we have to step in and pose a legit threat to the defense? I'd love to see Fields get 5-6 carries a game and remain ready in case Line goes down. He's a terrific natural runner and our depth at RB is currently more of a need than LB (17 on roster?). Reports about Pope's progression at the position sounded positive and he seems to posses the violent instinct required by a LB. A three deep of Line, Fields and Nlemchi is much more in lime with what a competitive team should be trotting out on offense.

by **Mitch McConnell** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:58 am

Personally, I want my best athletes on defense. And Fields is one of the best athletes on the team.

by **PonyPatrol** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:27 am

That logic is fun in theory, but our roster still has too many holes to afford that luxury. Once again, if Line goes down, what experienced RB do we have that scares a defense? Athletes on offense are fairly critical on a team predicated on scoring points in bunches. With the glut of incoming LBs in this year's freshman class, in addition to our current unit, there should be plenty of talent to man the position. If not, we've done a very poor job evaluating prospects.

by **Stallion** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:45 am

"Earl Campbell" to defense-keep "Eric Dickerson" at RB-just kiddin' June!

by **Mitch McConnell** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:05 am

I'm just speaking in generalities with nothing specific to the SMU roster.

That said, I hate June's offense anyway. You win with defense.

by **The PonyGrad** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:23 am

mrydel wrote:Moreland is still very very young. Let's not rush him. If he is ready the coaches will know, but if he is even 17 years old, he just got there.

If not "rush" then what?
:lol: