Friday (8/19/11) practice report
Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:00 pmREMINDER: SATURDAY'S WORKOUTS ARE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.
• S Brett Haness sat out Friday after a somewhat scary collision in Thursday's morning practice. Haness collided with WR Keenan Holman, with both falling awkwardly. Holman, who was hit in the hip, bounced back right away, but Haness left with what he called "a mild neck sprain and maybe a mild concussion." Haness pronounced himself day-to-day for his return.
• WR Bobby Waid sat out again. Turns out the ankle speculation was inaccurate — Waid said he has shin splints. He said he hopes to return to practice Saturday or Monday.
• WR Kyle Guinyard has missed the last couple of practices because his right hamstring — part of which doctors took to construct a new anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) for his right knee — "flared up." Guinyard said he hopes to be back in practice Monday.
• Backup WR Steve McCormack sat out after getting stitches in a cut on his hand.
• Among those in attendance at Friday's session was a scout from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• CB Chris Parks continues to take advantage of his height and speed, laying back a little in some situations and then racing forward several times to knock passes away with his outstanding reach.
• There aren't a lot of teams that ask their starting running back — especially a running back who won the conference rushing title the year before — to cover kickoffs, but that's exactly what RB Zach Line has done since he arrived at SMU, and there is no reason to believe he won't continue to fill that role for the Ponies. Line, who has shed a few pounds since last year, looks to be in excellent shape, and maybe a step quicker than he was a year ago. On one "kick" in special teams coach Frank Gansz, Jr.'s drills, freshman CB Michael Sparling headed upfield, split four defenders and bounced outside for what looked like an easy sprint to the end zone. Starting a good 10 yards behind him (about 50 yards away from the goal line), Line made up ground, catching up to Sparling at the goal line.
• Catch of the day: in a seven-on-seven passing drill, QB Kyle Padron fired a pass to WR Cole Beasley, aiming at Beasley's outside shoulder. The pass was a little high, but that didn't matter, as Beasley twisted around, showed off his exceptional leaping ability and snagged the back end of the ball ... and got both feet in bounds before he fell to the ground with the reception.
• Reaction of the day: QB J.J. McDermott tossed a quick screen pass to WR Nyle Johnson, only to watch it skip through Johnson's hands. No problem, though, as the ball bounced straight over Johnson to WR Darius Joseph, who plucked it out of the air and headed upfield.
• Persistence pays off: in the same 11-on-11 drills, QB Conner Preston rolled out to his right, looking for WR Ryan Walker on a crossing route. As he prepared to throw the ball, Walker got his feet tangled up with those of a defensive back and stumbled. Preston calmly held the ball for a second and fired anyway, completing the pass to Walker, who was seated on the ground.
• QB Steve Kaiser has looked much better in camp after missing much of last season because of illness. He looks physically bigger and has more velocity on his passes. On one such pass, he put a little too much on his fastball, leading WR Darius Joseph by one step too many, allowing S Jay Scott to make the interception.
• S Brett Haness sat out Friday after a somewhat scary collision in Thursday's morning practice. Haness collided with WR Keenan Holman, with both falling awkwardly. Holman, who was hit in the hip, bounced back right away, but Haness left with what he called "a mild neck sprain and maybe a mild concussion." Haness pronounced himself day-to-day for his return.
• WR Bobby Waid sat out again. Turns out the ankle speculation was inaccurate — Waid said he has shin splints. He said he hopes to return to practice Saturday or Monday.
• WR Kyle Guinyard has missed the last couple of practices because his right hamstring — part of which doctors took to construct a new anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) for his right knee — "flared up." Guinyard said he hopes to be back in practice Monday.
• Backup WR Steve McCormack sat out after getting stitches in a cut on his hand.
• Among those in attendance at Friday's session was a scout from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• CB Chris Parks continues to take advantage of his height and speed, laying back a little in some situations and then racing forward several times to knock passes away with his outstanding reach.
• There aren't a lot of teams that ask their starting running back — especially a running back who won the conference rushing title the year before — to cover kickoffs, but that's exactly what RB Zach Line has done since he arrived at SMU, and there is no reason to believe he won't continue to fill that role for the Ponies. Line, who has shed a few pounds since last year, looks to be in excellent shape, and maybe a step quicker than he was a year ago. On one "kick" in special teams coach Frank Gansz, Jr.'s drills, freshman CB Michael Sparling headed upfield, split four defenders and bounced outside for what looked like an easy sprint to the end zone. Starting a good 10 yards behind him (about 50 yards away from the goal line), Line made up ground, catching up to Sparling at the goal line.
• Catch of the day: in a seven-on-seven passing drill, QB Kyle Padron fired a pass to WR Cole Beasley, aiming at Beasley's outside shoulder. The pass was a little high, but that didn't matter, as Beasley twisted around, showed off his exceptional leaping ability and snagged the back end of the ball ... and got both feet in bounds before he fell to the ground with the reception.
• Reaction of the day: QB J.J. McDermott tossed a quick screen pass to WR Nyle Johnson, only to watch it skip through Johnson's hands. No problem, though, as the ball bounced straight over Johnson to WR Darius Joseph, who plucked it out of the air and headed upfield.
• Persistence pays off: in the same 11-on-11 drills, QB Conner Preston rolled out to his right, looking for WR Ryan Walker on a crossing route. As he prepared to throw the ball, Walker got his feet tangled up with those of a defensive back and stumbled. Preston calmly held the ball for a second and fired anyway, completing the pass to Walker, who was seated on the ground.
• QB Steve Kaiser has looked much better in camp after missing much of last season because of illness. He looks physically bigger and has more velocity on his passes. On one such pass, he put a little too much on his fastball, leading WR Darius Joseph by one step too many, allowing S Jay Scott to make the interception.