PonyFans.com spring practice report (March 5, 2014)

[PonyPride]

The Mustangs completed their second spring workout on the Pettus practice field. Some observations:

• Kevin Pope took part in some running back drills while he and SMU await word on whether he will be granted another year of eligibility. Head coach June Jones said after practice that he hopes to have a verdict on Pope's future before the end of the school year; Pope said he is hopeful that an answer will be delivered within the next few weeks.

Jones said that if Pope receives another year of eligibility, he will play both running back and linebacker for the Mustangs in 2014. He said he has coached one other player who played both offense and defense, and it worked out well: Deion Sanders, Sr.

Pope said that if he gets the opportunity to play in 2014, he is not worried about playing on both offense and defense.

"Not at all," he said. "It's what I love to do. It's what I always did."

Filling multiple roles is nothing new for Pope, who rarely came off the field for Mount Enterprise (Texas) High School, where he played on offense, defense and special teams.

Pope's participation, which is allowable because he "still has time remaining in his five-year (NCAA eligibility) clock," is about two months removed from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. "It's getting better every day," Pope said. "I can't bench (press) yet, but I can do other things, like curls and shrugs."

Pope said that in their brief time working together, he has become impressed with new SMU RBs coach Steve Broussard.

"You can tell he's a good coach, just by listening to him," Pope said. "I know he was a hell of a player, too, but you can tell he's a great coach, too. He has good drive and intensity and passion for what he's doing. A lot of coaches use the same language when they talk to players. He can talk to us about his past experiences as a college player and as an NFL player. We're going to learn a lot from him."

• "It ain't bragging if you can do it." Cody Rademacher, the odds-on favorite to replace Chase Hover as the Mustangs' placekicker in 2014, may or may not be familiar with the famous (1934) quote from former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean, but it applied Wednesday morning. Rademacher asked what he needed to do in order to get mentioned in the PonyFans.com practice report. He asked if he could get mentioned if he hit a 50-yard field goal. I said OK, but added that I'd write it up if he missed, too. Rademacher teed it up … and drilled it perfectly between the goalposts, clearing the crossbar by maybe seven or eight yards. Nothing like backing up a prediction…

• Jones said he has been impressed with the return of QB Conner Preston from a circulatory issue that reduced his in-game impact in 2013 to signaling in plays from the sideline. Jones pointed out that even when Preston was sidelined, he still was in meetings and at practice, so it's not as if he forgot the offense. Besides, Jones said, "you can never have too many quarterbacks."

• Among those taking part in pre-practice punting: Derek Longoria, the SMU linebacker who also was a highly regarded high school punter. Rotating in with the other specialists, Longoria said he punted "about 20" times, the longest of which traveled "about 60" yards. He quickly pointed out, however, that his punts were inconsistent, in aim and the consistency of the spiral, although his "hang time was OK."

When he signed with SMU out of Brownwood High School, Longoria was hoping to earn double duty, as a linebacker and a punter. But offseason wrist surgery ended his freshman season before it started, and he went home for a semester as a greyshirt. Since his return, he has practiced and played with braces on his surgically repaired wrists. This spring, as doctors said at the time of the surgery, he is training without them.

"It feels good to be doing it again," Longoria said of punting. "I've been doing it since I played soccer when I was little. I played goalie, and had to learn how to kick the ball out of (the area in front of the goal). My dad was a punter, too. He was really good."

Longoria said that he hopes to be joined on the SMU roster by his brother, Jordan, a 23-year-old former Brownwood linebacker who now is a U.S. Marine stationed in Japan. "He wants to come here and play," Longoria said. "He's an inside linebacker, and he's an animal. He tried to play at Angelo State, but now he's in the Marines. He gets out in June, and he's going to decide then what to do — he's either going to come here or go work for my dad."

Derek Longoria said that Jordan is "really smart — he scored really high on the (Marines' aptitude) test. He said Jordan isn't as tall as he is, but is extremely strong, guessing that his brother weighs in the 235- or 240-pound range."

• WR Jeremiah Gaines is on the move, from the slot position he played in 2013 to the outside. He also has changed his physique, dropping to about 228 pounds. Gaines said he played last year at about 235, and at one point weighed as much as 241 pounds. The shift to playing on the perimeter, Gaines said, will not represent learning an entirely new position; as a star at Red Oak (Texas) High School, Gaines estimated he split out wide "about 40 percent" of the time.

[Hoofprint]

I didn't realize Pope's shoulder required surgery. He looked really good at the end of the season, even with the bad shoulder. Imagine how he would have looked if he had been healthy!

[Junior]

I'm all for bringing in a 23 year old Devil Dog to play ILB! 235-240 would be nice if he can move.

[Grant Carter]

I do not love the idea of putting Gaines outside. I wanted to see him as a bigger threat in the middle as opposed to the smaller guys we always play in the slot.

[hawaiistang14]

And what about Jabryce Taylor?

[PonyPride]

Taylor is not on the team.
Per privacy laws, no reason or comment given.

[LakeHighlandsPony]

JaBryce was the most exciting player on the team. This sucks!!

[ojaipony]

This is BS. He was one of the very few bright spots I saw coming back next year. He seemed like a model kid. WTF?!? Somebody find out.

[ojaipony]

Darius Joseph? Der'rik Thompson? They still on the team?

Good grief.

[PonyPride]

Darius Joseph? Der'rik Thompson? They still on the team?

Good grief.

Yes and yes.

[SFtoHilltop]

It's because he allegedly has been accused of sexual assault and lied to the coaches about it