Wednesday practice notes
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:04 pmBrief report today, while juggling several projects.
• 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.
• 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.
• The majority of "returns" were handled by Wilkerson, Fields, cornerback Kenneth Acker and Richard Crawford.
• 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.
• 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."
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The majority of "returns" were handled by Wilkerson, Fields, cornerback Kenneth Acker and Richard Crawford.
• 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.
• 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."
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
