PonyFans.com practice report (8/7/14)

[PonyPride]

The Mustangs were on the Pettus practice field Thursday.

• S Hayden Greenbauer, whose 2013 season was cut short by a knee injury at Memphis, is back to 100 percent, although he is wearing a brace on his surgically repaired right knee. He looks like he's moving around well, both when going forward and when backpedaling, and changes direction pretty smoothly. He apparently is feeling good, too (he says so IN THIS INTERVIEW, enough so that the coaches have allowed him to add the extra duty of serving as scout-team quarterback against the backup defense.

• Beau Barnes is working with the LBs, and despite having played DE since arriving at SMU, he doesn't look lost. He looked smooth when rushing the passer (in not-live drills against a scout offense). He'll get more fluid in coverage, but he is agile and pretty quick for a big guy — part of the reason defensive coordinator Tom Mason is so high on him and his potential at linebacker.

• Speaking of Mason, he's in mid-season form: three practices in (really two-and-a-half — the first session Tuesday was cut short after 40 minutes because of lightning) and his voice is almost shot. A constant part of his instruction (since the day he joined the staff) is urging his players to create turnovers, and in seven-on-seven drills for the defense against scout-team offensive players, the message got through, as CB Ajee Montes and LB Kyran Mitchell each created turnovers by stripping the ball out of the arms of offensive players.

• Freshman QBs Darrel Colbert and Jordan Severt looked like they got rid of the ball more quickly. That is not to suggest anything about where they fit in the QB hierarchy, or even a statement about how much of the offense they have picked up. But after a few days of practice, when they have a play called and have seen it run, they are pulling the trigger more quickly.

• Mason and head coach June Jones have made no secret of their plan in recent years to get bigger in the secondary, bringing in tall DBs like Shakiel Randolph, Myles Crosby and Jesse Montgomery. Now add S Courtland Sutton to the mix. Listed at 6-3.5, Sutton not only is tall, but also is very athletic (he was a standout basketball player at Brenham high school) … and showed off those attributes in seven-on-seven defensive drills when he dropped into coverage and climbed the ladder to knock away a pair of high passes, getting his hand almost a full foot above the outstretched hands of the intended receivers.

• Jones said Wednesday that freshman Jackson Koonce will be given every chance to at least compete for the punting job, but LB Derek Longoria said Thursday that he hopes to remain in the mix, too. In limited work since he arrived, Longoria has been inconsistent with his punts, but when he gets ahold of one, he can generate exceptional distance and/or hang time.

• The team spent about 20 minutes on a kickoff return/kickoff return coverage drill. Among those fielding kickoffs against four oncoming tacklers (with no blockers — the return guys were on their own to find daylight) were CB Will Jeanlys, WRs Jordan Ingram and Aaron Stafford, and RB Darius Durall. Each had some success; Jeanlys ran particularly hard, at one point dragging all four tacklers for several yards, and Durall taking more would-be touchdowns back, once by splitting the oncoming tacklers and three times by sweeping around the edge.

• The Mustang with the least football experience is OT Bo Antunovic, whose practices in the spring were the first of his football career. So while he's not the youngest offensive lineman on the team, he does have the most to learn … and he is doing everything he can to play catch-up.

"In the spring, (offensive line) Coach (Wes) Suan teach me in the spring what to do, and then over the summer, I work on it every day by myself," Antunovic said Thursday. "Taking the right angles, what do with your hands, step-punches — this is all muscle memory. Even the most experienced players don't know everything, but they know more than I do now, so I work on that every day."

Due to NCAA regulations regarding summer workouts, Antunovic spent the summer getting his technique critiqued by his more experienced teammates, such as Kris Weeks, who started last season at right tackle.

"(Weeks) gives me lots of tips, because he knows how to play," Antunovic said. "I don't have the same knowledge he has, so he doesn't make the same mistakes I make. So I ask him for advice, to confirm that I'm doing things the right way. That's what practice is for — to practice, practice, practice."

Whether Antunovic plays, or how much he plays, has yet to be determined. Either way, however, he said he is feeling more comfortable in his new sport.

"It's getting better every day, but that doesn't really matter," he said. "The thing is you have to be able to adapt. I feel way more comfortable than I did in the spring. It's feeling more natural."

When he arrived at SMU, Antunovic said he was looking forward to the physical, combative side of the sport. While he has yet to play in an actual game, he said the practice sessions in the spring and this week have been every bit as fun as he had hoped they would be.

"It's fun — it's hard work, but it's fun," he said. "Every day is more interesting, because I'm learning so much. It's fun every day."

Antunovic, who said he now carries 290 pounds on his 6-6 frame, admits that the prospect of playing in a few weeks is both exciting and a little nerve-wracking, but said he is eager to prove he is up to the task if given the chance.

"Of course I want to play in game," he said. "The nature of the game is collisions — saying the nature is 'hitting people' sounds a little thuggish. I'm big enough to play, but it's not always about how big and strong you are. You don't have to hit hard if you have the right technique — look at martial artists. If you have the proper technique, you can win that battle even if you don't hit hard every time."

SMU head coach June Jones has raved about Antunovic's athletic ability and his football future, even suggesting that a future in the National Football League is not an unrealistic goal if Antunovic continues to do the things he is being taught. Despite his inexperience in the sport, Antunovic said he is energized by Jones' comments.

"I'm encouraged by his opinion," Antunovic said. "That's why I'm pushing myself every day … other than wanting to help the team and to win games. I hope the NFL is an option, and I hope they (NFL scouts) see that. But I have a lot to learn first. It's a process."

[Junior]

Don't we have enough QB's that need reps so that HG doesn't need to play scout team QB?

[Grant Carter]

Don't we have enough QB's that need reps so that HG doesn't need to play scout team QB?

I am sure they are getting reps with the real offense rather than the scout team.

[ojaipony]

I forgot all about Sutton. Yeah, it will be interesting to hear about his progress.

Thanks for the great updates as usual, PP!

[PonyPride]

Don't we have enough QB's that need reps so that HG doesn't need to play scout team QB?

Grant Carter is right — all of the QBs work with the offense in extended passing drills every day. In many of the drills, anywhere from four to six quarterbacks throw passes at the same time.

In defensive coordinator Tom Mason's defense drills, he rotates players in as mock offensive players all the time, and I assume the fact that Greenbauer was a high school quarterback is one of the reasons he gets some run at QB. (Troy Castle also takes some reps as mock/scout QB for the defense.)

[mrydel]

That was included in my duties after I got hurt. I coached the defensive redshirts running offensive plays against the first and second team defense. We were given a redshirt QB but the rest of the offense was made up if defensive players assuming offensive positions. Not Miley Cyrus offensive positions but football offensive positions.

[JoeKidd]

That was included in my duties after I got hurt. I coached the defensive redshirts running offensive plays against the first and second team defense. We were given a redshirt QB but the rest of the offense was made up if defensive players assuming offensive positions. Not Miley Cyrus offensive positions but football offensive positions.

Haha, bump.

[Junior]

Don't we have enough QB's that need reps so that HG doesn't need to play scout team QB?

Grant Carter is right — all of the QBs work with the offense in extended passing drills every day. In many of the drills, anywhere from four to six quarterbacks throw passes at the same time.

In defensive coordinator Tom Mason's defense drills, he rotates players in as mock offensive players all the time, and I assume the fact that Greenbauer was a high school quarterback is one of the reasons he gets some run at QB. (Troy Castle also takes some reps as mock/scout QB for the defense.)

thanks. Makes sense.