Spring ball

[WildHorse]

What are the team's primary needs in spring practice?

I say:

1. Help Bartel solidify the QB position, and make the freshmen play unbelievable ball to take the job.
2. Solidify the offensive and defensive lines.
3. Re-tooling the secondary.

[MustangKurt20]

I agree w/ you that solidifying Bartel as the obvious starter needs to be our primary objective going into spring practice. Its going to be difficult to really gauge him since Meeks and Phillips won't arrive until two a days but we need to see more consistency from Bartel in the spring. Also, I think our inefficiencies in the secondary were obvious last year. We simply didn't tackle and didn't cover. I know we were young but we've used that excuse enough.

Kurt

[Higher Authority]

You couldn't be more right about the secondary. They played well below potential last year. They had their moments, but there were too many balls that were not contested, or tackles that were missed because of horrible angles. Hopefully that will improve this year - by a lot. With better secondary play, we would have won another game or two last year.

But for me, the biggest question is left tackle. I'm hearing Chris Urbanus, but has anyone seen him play? How strong or mobile is he?

How big is Urbanus now? He was listed at 6-5, 260 at the beginning of the year. If "Otto" is right that Don Iremeia-Stansbury has added 20 pounds since the end of the year to his 6-foot-2 frame, I hope Urbanus has added 30-plus, since he should have been in the weight room every day since late August. 6-5, 290 would look pretty good to me.

[Charleston Pony]

Iremia-Stansbury was quoted last year, after moving to the DE spot, as saying he intended to gain 20 lbs before next season. If he's done it this quickly, I hope he's not doing so at the expense of his speed/quickness.

[FloridaMustang]

Don is a stud.

[Pegasus]

Urbanus is at 305, and Stansbury is 245! And both have been monsters in the weight room!

[ClassOf81]

Urbanus is 6-5, 305? And Sterling Harris is 6-6, 300?
Talk about some bookend tackles! That's the start of an imposing line! Add Kieschnick, Reindl and whoever starts at right guard, and there is promise for a very good line.
Might be able to redshirt some of those freshman big fellas after all.

[MrMustang1965]

Which one will get the nickname "The Hulk"?

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"Winning ain't everything...but it's a lot more fun than the alternative!" S.M.U. SPIRIT: IT STARTS NOW!

[Guest]

What kind of footwork does this Urbanus guy have? That's crucial in a left tackle (with a right-handed QB).

[Pony Up]

I want to see what the linebacker group looks like.
Should we assume that the starters will be D.D. Lee in the middle, with D.D. Johnson and Brian Bischoff on the outside?