Thursday (8/11/11) practice report
Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:10 pm• Among those in attendance at Thursday's practice: former LB Will Bonilla.
• The Mustangs ran some mock (half speed) 11-on-11 drills. Blake McJunkin and Bryce Tennison have been rotating with the first-team offensive line at center, but Tennison took the first snaps. Of note was the different look on the second-team line: LT Josh Emshoff, LG Ben Hughes, C McJunkin, RG Bryan Collins, RT Ben Gottschalk.
• One player who consistently has made plays in camp is S Justin Sorrell. Thursday's workout marked the first time he didn't have an interception, but he again made several solid plays in pass coverage, including one early in practice when he chased WR Darius Johnson across the field and dove in front of him to knock away a pass from QB Conner Preston.
• A couple of plays later, Johnson returned the favor, catching a quick screen pass from Preston, before turning upfield and slipping free when Sorrell tried to tackle him.
• It can be hard for a freshman to get noticed when he comes in behind a guy who statistically was the best player at his position in the entire conference last year by a wide margin. Such is the case for RBs K.C. Nlemchi and Jared Williams, who join a crowded backfield that also includes veterans Zach Line, Bryce Lunday and Billy Dugal. But Nlemchi and Williams both have earned praise from teammates. Nlemchi has an excellent combination of size (6-1, 220) and speed, and Williams is a smaller, shiftier back who has pretty good hands as a receiver out of the backfield. On one play, Williams caught a screen pass, froze the oncoming DB with a quick stutter fake and then beat both the DB and a fast-charging LB to the sideline by enough of a margin to turn upfield at the last minute and racing untouched up the sideline.
• The first few days of practice were marked by pretty good hands by the receivers. That was not the case when the team broke into seven-on-seven drills, as several receivers had catchable passes thrown to them, only to watch them fall to the ground.
• One of the nicer defensive plays of the day came in seven-on-seven drills, when QB Steve Kaiser fired a deep pass down the right sideline to WR Ryan Walker, who was trailed on the play by CB Jeremy Gray. As Walker reached up for the ball, Gray threw a hand up in the air, too ... and knocked the ball away as the two players crumpled in a heap. An official could have called it one of two ways: if the official determined that Gray had made contact before the ball arrived, he could have ruled that it was pass interference, since Gray never whipped his head around to make a play on the ball. Or, of course, he also could have called nothing, and chalked up the play to Gray having a great sense of timing, a little luck, or both.
• Gray made another strong play a couple of plays later, and in a more traditional way. A screen pass headed toward WR Arrius Holleman, who had taken a couple of steps and stopped, was knocked away when Gray shot forward from his stance and dove to knock down the pass.
• For the third time in as many days, practice ended with live 11-on-11 drills. Early in the session, freshman LB Jonathan Yenga shot into the backfield, chased down RB Zach Line from behind and wrestled Conference USA's defending rushing champion to the ground after a gain of about two yards. It seemed like a minor play, but defensive coordinator Tom Mason loves LBs who can run, and it looks like Yenga is just that.
• One freshman who continues to make plays is CB J.R. Richardson. On one of the last plays of the day, QB Kyle Padron spotted WR Arrius Holleman running down the middle of the field on a deep post route. Padron fired a perfect pass toward Holleman, only to see Richardson close the gap and tip the pass away at the last second.
• The Mustangs ran some mock (half speed) 11-on-11 drills. Blake McJunkin and Bryce Tennison have been rotating with the first-team offensive line at center, but Tennison took the first snaps. Of note was the different look on the second-team line: LT Josh Emshoff, LG Ben Hughes, C McJunkin, RG Bryan Collins, RT Ben Gottschalk.
• One player who consistently has made plays in camp is S Justin Sorrell. Thursday's workout marked the first time he didn't have an interception, but he again made several solid plays in pass coverage, including one early in practice when he chased WR Darius Johnson across the field and dove in front of him to knock away a pass from QB Conner Preston.
• A couple of plays later, Johnson returned the favor, catching a quick screen pass from Preston, before turning upfield and slipping free when Sorrell tried to tackle him.
• It can be hard for a freshman to get noticed when he comes in behind a guy who statistically was the best player at his position in the entire conference last year by a wide margin. Such is the case for RBs K.C. Nlemchi and Jared Williams, who join a crowded backfield that also includes veterans Zach Line, Bryce Lunday and Billy Dugal. But Nlemchi and Williams both have earned praise from teammates. Nlemchi has an excellent combination of size (6-1, 220) and speed, and Williams is a smaller, shiftier back who has pretty good hands as a receiver out of the backfield. On one play, Williams caught a screen pass, froze the oncoming DB with a quick stutter fake and then beat both the DB and a fast-charging LB to the sideline by enough of a margin to turn upfield at the last minute and racing untouched up the sideline.
• The first few days of practice were marked by pretty good hands by the receivers. That was not the case when the team broke into seven-on-seven drills, as several receivers had catchable passes thrown to them, only to watch them fall to the ground.
• One of the nicer defensive plays of the day came in seven-on-seven drills, when QB Steve Kaiser fired a deep pass down the right sideline to WR Ryan Walker, who was trailed on the play by CB Jeremy Gray. As Walker reached up for the ball, Gray threw a hand up in the air, too ... and knocked the ball away as the two players crumpled in a heap. An official could have called it one of two ways: if the official determined that Gray had made contact before the ball arrived, he could have ruled that it was pass interference, since Gray never whipped his head around to make a play on the ball. Or, of course, he also could have called nothing, and chalked up the play to Gray having a great sense of timing, a little luck, or both.
• Gray made another strong play a couple of plays later, and in a more traditional way. A screen pass headed toward WR Arrius Holleman, who had taken a couple of steps and stopped, was knocked away when Gray shot forward from his stance and dove to knock down the pass.
• For the third time in as many days, practice ended with live 11-on-11 drills. Early in the session, freshman LB Jonathan Yenga shot into the backfield, chased down RB Zach Line from behind and wrestled Conference USA's defending rushing champion to the ground after a gain of about two yards. It seemed like a minor play, but defensive coordinator Tom Mason loves LBs who can run, and it looks like Yenga is just that.
• One freshman who continues to make plays is CB J.R. Richardson. On one of the last plays of the day, QB Kyle Padron spotted WR Arrius Holleman running down the middle of the field on a deep post route. Padron fired a perfect pass toward Holleman, only to see Richardson close the gap and tip the pass away at the last second.