Aug. 22 scrimmage observations, notes, etc.
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 3:46 amSome notes and observations from Saturday’s scrimmage, which marked the end of two-a-days for the Mustangs:
• Among the players sitting out while wearing yellow (“limitedâ€) or green (“outâ€) jerseys: OL Keyfer Roberts, TE Dylan Dickman, WR Darius Joseph, DL Zelt Minor, RB Darius Durall, TE Hunter Herndon, DL Zach Wood, WR A.J. Buffini … there were a few others, but those are the ones I saw up close. WR Cedric Lancaster had a light brace on his knee, but was in a normal red jersey.
• RB K.C. Nlemchi was roaming the sideline — without any crutches or brace after having surgery to repair the Achilles tendon he tore during spring drills. Nlemchi said he recently started light jogging, and that he is ahead of schedule on his recovery.
• QB Matt Davis didn’t play. He and head coach Chad Morris both said Davis was not hurt. Instead, it was more about resting him and protecting him from possible injury with the season opener against Baylor less than two weeks away. Davis speculated after practice that the decision might have been made “because I’m getting old.†Presumably, he was kidding. While he didn’t take part in drills on the field, he didn’t sit idly by, either. He held the play board up and also took his turn signaling plays in from the sideline, and often jumped into a group of offensive players getting ready to take the field for another possession, offering encouragement and specific advice.
• The quarterbacks took their first snaps in the following order: Darrel Colbert, Garrett Krstich, Ben Hicks, Jordan Tolbert and Connor Simpson, who is a 6-3, 207-pound sophomore from Los Angeles who transferred to SMU from Case Western Reserve. Colbert scored the day’s first touchdown on a long run when he kept the ball on a read option.
• Remember when Colbert was recruited, and there were those who speculated that he was quick but could be headed to another position because of a lack of arm strength? Saturday’s scrimmage suggested that is not the case. Not only did he throw strikes to teammates on short and intermediate passes, but he also fired a pair of deep balls that went about 55 yards in the air. No, they weren’t complete — on one, he overthrew WR Courtland Sutton, and the other (which he threw while running to escape a would-be sack) was knocked down in the end zone by LB Carlos Carroll — but his arm appears to be significantly stronger than advertised.
• In addition to his running and throwing ability, Colbert has the ability to keep his eyes focused downfield while running from would-be tacklers, and throws well on the run, including when running to his left. At one point in Saturday’s scrimmage, the right-handed Colbert eluded two pass rushers and raced toward the left sideline before hitting WR Arrius Holleman with a 35-yard strike.
• Transfer K Josh Hedlund and redshirt freshman Michael Armstrong took turns on kickoffs. Each reached the back of the end zone, although Hedlund appeared to have more altitude on his kicks.
• The Mustangs have three kickers with strong kicking legs. In addition to Hedlund and Armstrong, true freshman Josh Williams has a lot of power in his leg. He pulled a 56-yard field goal wide left, but the ball was more than halfway up the goalposts when it passed by.
• Several of the presumed starters played little, if at all. Davis and DT Zach Wood sat out entirely, while others — RB Prescott Line, TE Jeremiah Gaines, etc. — had lighter workloads than might be expected for key players.
• The offensive line included the same players — LT Chauncey Briggs, LG Daniel McCarty, C Taylor Lasecki, RG Evan Brown and RT Kris Weeks — that played together for much of the 2014 season, but they look like an entirely different unit, as OL coach Dustin Fry’s teaching and technique have the line working together more efficiently and communicating much better than last year.
• CB Horace Richardson got the first interception of the day when a receiver broke off his route, allowing Richardson to go for the ball uncontested. But he still had to race forward and reach down to just above the turf level to make the pick … and did just that.
• CBs Will Jeanlys and Ajee Montes also had interceptions.
• Among those watching the scrimmage: men’s basketball head coach Larry Brown and assistant coach Jerry Hobbie.
• One young player who has garnered a lot of attention during preseason camp — and Saturday — is WR Kevin Thomas. The former DeSoto star arrived on campus with a reputation as a polished blocker, but he appears to be more than that. Yes, he can block — well — but he also has made several impressive receptions during preseason camp, and during Saturday’s scrimmage, he had numerous catches and showed off his running ability after the catch. After catching a quick slant pass from QB Ben Hicks (with a DB draped all over him), Thomas fought for about 10 more yards before three defenders finally were able to wrestle him to the ground.
• The offense Morris brought with him from Clemson is based on a power game and includes a lot of short passes that are designed to get the ball to skill position players in open space. One such play resulted in the longest touchdown of the day, when QB Jordan Severt fired a quick screen pass to LB-turned-TE Mitch Kaufman, who tucked the ball and outran the defense for a long touchdown.
• Freshman RBs Braeden West and Xavier Jones both looked good. Neither is huge — West is listed at 5-10 and 170 pounds, while Jones is listed at 5-10 and 193 — but both have enough bulk to survive, especially if used as part of a rotation, as well as enough athleticism and speed. West showed a willingness to run between the tackles and the ability to bounce outside for long runs on the perimeter, which he did several times, while Jones quietly turned in one of the more impressive plays of the day when he slipped out of the backfield to catch a quick pass from Severt only to slip and fall … but managed to catch himself on one hand and pop back up, picking up several more yards before being tackled.
• Joining Line, Darius Durall, Jones and West in the running back rotation was Joseph Paden, a 5-9, 204-pound junior from Lancaster, Texas, by way of Cisco JC.
• Perhaps the best run after catch was turned in by WR Courtland Sutton, who ran an intermediate crossing route, hauling in a pass from Colbert and heading upfield. Sutton cut behind one defender, held off CB Kevin Johnson with his free arm and then outran the safety to the end zone, inspiring a loud, animated reaction from OC Joe Craddock.
• Among the players sitting out while wearing yellow (“limitedâ€) or green (“outâ€) jerseys: OL Keyfer Roberts, TE Dylan Dickman, WR Darius Joseph, DL Zelt Minor, RB Darius Durall, TE Hunter Herndon, DL Zach Wood, WR A.J. Buffini … there were a few others, but those are the ones I saw up close. WR Cedric Lancaster had a light brace on his knee, but was in a normal red jersey.
• RB K.C. Nlemchi was roaming the sideline — without any crutches or brace after having surgery to repair the Achilles tendon he tore during spring drills. Nlemchi said he recently started light jogging, and that he is ahead of schedule on his recovery.
• QB Matt Davis didn’t play. He and head coach Chad Morris both said Davis was not hurt. Instead, it was more about resting him and protecting him from possible injury with the season opener against Baylor less than two weeks away. Davis speculated after practice that the decision might have been made “because I’m getting old.†Presumably, he was kidding. While he didn’t take part in drills on the field, he didn’t sit idly by, either. He held the play board up and also took his turn signaling plays in from the sideline, and often jumped into a group of offensive players getting ready to take the field for another possession, offering encouragement and specific advice.
• The quarterbacks took their first snaps in the following order: Darrel Colbert, Garrett Krstich, Ben Hicks, Jordan Tolbert and Connor Simpson, who is a 6-3, 207-pound sophomore from Los Angeles who transferred to SMU from Case Western Reserve. Colbert scored the day’s first touchdown on a long run when he kept the ball on a read option.
• Remember when Colbert was recruited, and there were those who speculated that he was quick but could be headed to another position because of a lack of arm strength? Saturday’s scrimmage suggested that is not the case. Not only did he throw strikes to teammates on short and intermediate passes, but he also fired a pair of deep balls that went about 55 yards in the air. No, they weren’t complete — on one, he overthrew WR Courtland Sutton, and the other (which he threw while running to escape a would-be sack) was knocked down in the end zone by LB Carlos Carroll — but his arm appears to be significantly stronger than advertised.
• In addition to his running and throwing ability, Colbert has the ability to keep his eyes focused downfield while running from would-be tacklers, and throws well on the run, including when running to his left. At one point in Saturday’s scrimmage, the right-handed Colbert eluded two pass rushers and raced toward the left sideline before hitting WR Arrius Holleman with a 35-yard strike.
• Transfer K Josh Hedlund and redshirt freshman Michael Armstrong took turns on kickoffs. Each reached the back of the end zone, although Hedlund appeared to have more altitude on his kicks.
• The Mustangs have three kickers with strong kicking legs. In addition to Hedlund and Armstrong, true freshman Josh Williams has a lot of power in his leg. He pulled a 56-yard field goal wide left, but the ball was more than halfway up the goalposts when it passed by.
• Several of the presumed starters played little, if at all. Davis and DT Zach Wood sat out entirely, while others — RB Prescott Line, TE Jeremiah Gaines, etc. — had lighter workloads than might be expected for key players.
• The offensive line included the same players — LT Chauncey Briggs, LG Daniel McCarty, C Taylor Lasecki, RG Evan Brown and RT Kris Weeks — that played together for much of the 2014 season, but they look like an entirely different unit, as OL coach Dustin Fry’s teaching and technique have the line working together more efficiently and communicating much better than last year.
• CB Horace Richardson got the first interception of the day when a receiver broke off his route, allowing Richardson to go for the ball uncontested. But he still had to race forward and reach down to just above the turf level to make the pick … and did just that.
• CBs Will Jeanlys and Ajee Montes also had interceptions.
• Among those watching the scrimmage: men’s basketball head coach Larry Brown and assistant coach Jerry Hobbie.
• One young player who has garnered a lot of attention during preseason camp — and Saturday — is WR Kevin Thomas. The former DeSoto star arrived on campus with a reputation as a polished blocker, but he appears to be more than that. Yes, he can block — well — but he also has made several impressive receptions during preseason camp, and during Saturday’s scrimmage, he had numerous catches and showed off his running ability after the catch. After catching a quick slant pass from QB Ben Hicks (with a DB draped all over him), Thomas fought for about 10 more yards before three defenders finally were able to wrestle him to the ground.
• The offense Morris brought with him from Clemson is based on a power game and includes a lot of short passes that are designed to get the ball to skill position players in open space. One such play resulted in the longest touchdown of the day, when QB Jordan Severt fired a quick screen pass to LB-turned-TE Mitch Kaufman, who tucked the ball and outran the defense for a long touchdown.
• Freshman RBs Braeden West and Xavier Jones both looked good. Neither is huge — West is listed at 5-10 and 170 pounds, while Jones is listed at 5-10 and 193 — but both have enough bulk to survive, especially if used as part of a rotation, as well as enough athleticism and speed. West showed a willingness to run between the tackles and the ability to bounce outside for long runs on the perimeter, which he did several times, while Jones quietly turned in one of the more impressive plays of the day when he slipped out of the backfield to catch a quick pass from Severt only to slip and fall … but managed to catch himself on one hand and pop back up, picking up several more yards before being tackled.
• Joining Line, Darius Durall, Jones and West in the running back rotation was Joseph Paden, a 5-9, 204-pound junior from Lancaster, Texas, by way of Cisco JC.
• Perhaps the best run after catch was turned in by WR Courtland Sutton, who ran an intermediate crossing route, hauling in a pass from Colbert and heading upfield. Sutton cut behind one defender, held off CB Kevin Johnson with his free arm and then outran the safety to the end zone, inspiring a loud, animated reaction from OC Joe Craddock.
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