Tuesday (6/18/13) optional workout notes

[PonyPride]

Players have started gathering in the afternoon for optional workouts. (Barring the obvious — i.e. QB Garrett Gilbert taking snaps with the first team, there will be no mention of positions, formations, etc.) Somewhere around half the team was in attendance, as some are out of town during the first summer school session, visiting family, have scheduling conflicts, etc. Some observations:

• Just like in basketball, where a lot of forwards and centers harbor dreams of bringing the ball upcourt and shooting as point guards, a lot of defensive players in football like the idea of playing on offense and getting the ball thrown their way. To that end, defensive players like CB Chris Parks and LBs Randall Joyner and Brandon Henderson ran pass routes to help the quarterbacks warm up. He was only jogging half-speed, at best, but Joyner made the first highlight catch of the day when he got behind "DB" Jeremy Johnson and made a one-handed grab of a 25-yard pass from QB Garrett Krstich.

• While the skill position players are warming up on one end of the field, some defensive players are working on the other end. DEs Andy McCleneghen and Cameron Smith are practicing one-on-one pass-rushing drills; without talking to him, Smith doesn't appear to be bothered by the foot injury that shelved him for the 2012 season. Smith began light running in October and worked with his teammates some during the spring, and expects to be part of the defensive line rotation in the fall.

• Seven-on-seven: obviously no helmets, no pads, no hitting.

• Two players you didn't know have a strong throwing arm: DE Elie Nabushosi and WR Daijuan Stewart, each of whom threw a strike of 45-50 yards between plays.

• Stewart just made a nice diving catch of a pass from QB Neal Burcham despite having CB J.R. Richardson draped all over him.

• Stopping by for a visit: Dallas Cowboys LB Taylor Reed.

• Team (11 on 11) drills: Defensive coordinator Tom Mason has said since he arrived at SMU that big, fast linebackers are what make his defense successful. There was nothing unusual about Gilbert connecting with WR Jeremy Johnson on a quick screen pass. What was notable was the speed with which LB Robert Seals covered ground from the opposite side of the field in pursuit of Johnson. The Mustangs' leading receiver last year, Johnson downshifted a little while running down the sideline, but he's got a lot of speed, and Seals was closing ground.

• DE Beau Barnes, who sat out the Mustangs' spring drills after having shoulder surgery, is back out on the field with his teammates.

• Very nice play by CB Ty Law, who stayed with WR Der'Rikk Thompson before lunging in front of Thompson to knock down a short toss from QB Neal Burcham.

• When he got some spot duty last year, some people scrambled for their programs to figure out the identity of RB Luke Seeker, the walk-on from St. Mary's Catholic in Austin. Head coach June Jones said at the time that one thing he and the SMU coaches like about Seeker is how hard he practices, and it's true. It's mid-June, no coaches are watching, nobody is getting hit, and Seeker runs every play like his life depends on it.

• First INT of the day turned in by LB Brandon Henderson, who stepped in front of a receiver on crossing route and reached down to make the grab.

• Several of the offensive linemen, including Sam Rice, Chauncey Briggs, Ben Hughes and Kris Weeks, are moving a lot faster than they were last summer ... LB Lincoln Richard won every conditioning run among the linebackers, and it usually wasn't close. LB Randall Joyner pushed him a couple of times, but the reports about Richard's speed are not exaggerated … When it was the defensive backs' turn to run, almost every sprint was won by Jesse Montgomery, the only true freshman (that I recognized, at least) taking part in the workout.

[cutter]

cool. thanks.

[PonySnob]

Stavion Lowe???

[SMUguy]

Good news that Beau Barnes and Cameron Smith are back on the field with McClenehan and Elie, etc. We'll need a healthy rotation to take over at the defensive end spots.

[JoeKidd]

I believe we will be good at the LB spot for years to come and I like our talent at DB. If the DLine can step up we should see an overall improvement on defense from last year, even with losing as much talent as we did.

[ALEX LIFESON]

Stavion Lowe???

Bye bye.

[Harry0569]

Love these updates, thanks PP.

[Digetydog]

Does the BB team have similar workouts? If so, can we get reports?

[PonyPride]

No. Per NCAA rules, coaches are allowed to coach basketball sessions during the summer, so the sessions are not open to the public or media.

[RedRiverPony]

Every time I read about Ty Law, I think about the NFL player with the same name. Hopefully ours turns out to be a real player!

[friend10]

Great job on report. It would be asesome to get some of these each week so we can keep up with what players are doing to get ready for Tech.

[GRGB]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P_Hnsju154 luke

[SMU 86]

No. Per NCAA rules, coaches are allowed to coach basketball sessions during the summer, so the sessions are not open to the public or media.

So are you saying they have sessions but they are just not open to the media?