Ponies complete first scrimmage

[PonyPride]

From the SMU athletic department:

Mustangs Wrap Up First Scrimmage
Several 'Stangs Impress

March 25, 2006

DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU football team completed its first scrimmage of the spring on Saturday, March 25, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. While the season is still months away, several Mustangs appeared to be in mid-season form.

As expected, running back DeMyron Martin had a strong showing, breaking off long runs while running past and over some defenders. Receivers Reynaldo Pellerin and Jay'Mond Cleveland made some spectacular grabs, while Columbus Givens and Emmanuel Sanders continue to improve.

The offensive line was impressive - as it has been all spring - and did a nice of protecting quarterbacks Justin Willis, Corey Slater and Eric Johnson. Each of the QBs made several nice throws and each seemed to be improving his consistency.

Defensively, Joe Sturdivant picked up where he left off last fall, intercepting an errant pass and making several stops. Linebackers Reggie Carrington, Wilton McCray, Damon Hurst and Tony Hawkins played well and Will Bonilla laid several tough hits.

Along the line, Justin Rogers and Adrian Haywood were active and effective, with linemates Cory Muse, Brandon Bonds, Chris Parham and Troy Therien each looking solid as well.

SMU's Spring Game is open to the public and is set for April 8 at 2 p.m. at Ford Stadium.

[PonyPride]

My thoughts from the scrimmage:

Best hands: Jay'Mond Cleveland. Early in the scrimmage, the QB (I forget which one) threw a screen pass behind Cleveland, who reached down and made a one-handed grab of the back end of the ball (as soon as he caught it, he got drilled, but it was a terrific catch). Two plays letter he went up over two defenders and pulled down a very high pass.

Best hit: Will Bonilla absolutely blew up Emmanuel Sanders (I think it was Sanders). Never saw Bonilla coming, and really paid the price.

QB race: I would guess Willis is the leader, followed closely by Slater. Hard to say at this point. Willis continues to show more arm strength than I thought he had.

Hardest SMU players to stop in 2006: DeMyron Martin and Adrian Haywood. Assuming he stays healthy, Martin is going to make some defenses look really bad, starting this season. Haywood looked a little tentative at the beginning of last year, and then we all saw him come on. He now looks much more comfortable in the defense, and looks leaner and quicker, despite his claim that he is actually a few pounds heavier.

Closest non-play: Brandon Bonds came around the right DE spot on some kind of a stunt, jumped up and tipped a pass and nearly picked it off.

Most elusive: Joe Sturdivant picked off a pass and returned it (until the whistle blew). Even after the whistle blew, as teammates went to congratulate him, he danced away from them like they were carrying Anthrax.

[PonyPride]

Another thought from the scrimmage: Thomas Morestead, who is expected to replace Ryan Mentzel, has a huge leg. He needs to improve his consistency, but when he gets ahold of one, he can absolutely launch the thing. He did shank a few, which is unsettling, but he also absolutely crushed a few. He's done that in practice, too.

[me@smu]

Great updates...keep them coming!

[that's great raplh]

thanks for the update...

[ccballer]

I saw Will's hit too. Reminded me of what he used to do in h-schoo... Starter potential for this season? thoughts...

[Otto]

I don't know about him being a "star" this season -- he still has to get bigger and stronger -- but he certainly is on his way into the LB rotation, which would have drawn jeers at this time a year ago.

[BleedingRed+Blue]

Was it Sanders that Bonilla drilled? I thought it might have been Cleveland .... (saw the 1 on the front of his jersey, anyway). I'm with you, Pride, I wanted to see Bonds make that pick. If I remember right, he was pretty close to midfield .... would have loved to see him take off for the end zone.

[JesuitPony]

Duke Hasson's Spring Football Blog (see http://smumustangs.cstv.com/sports/m-fo ... 06aab.html) talked about the coaching staff's emphasis on finishing every drill strong. This reminded me of Mark Richt, who during his first couple of years at Georgia instilled the "Finish the Drill" mentality in his young players. After a few years under Richt, the Dawgs ended up winning the SEC for the first time since pre-Spurrier. Does Bennett have a motto for each season? I always liked the Finish the Drill motto and think it's one this year's Mustang squad should adopt.