OK, it was a little more than that
... some observations:• By far the highlight of the night was watching head coach Rhett Lashlee squeeze in to a Baltimore Ravens jersey presented to him and signed by former SMU WR James Proché. (NFL jerseys, especially those for WRs and DBs and RBs, are made small enough to snugly fit a dachshund.) Toward the end of practice, when greeting former SMU RB Xavier Jones, Lashlee commented on the jersey, declaring "I can't breathe" ... but too his credit, he wore it for the duration of practice.
• In addition to Proché and Jones, other alumni in attendance included TE Kylen Granson, OL Beau Morris, TE Ryan Becker, QB Derek Green, LB Pat Nelson and DE/OLB Delontae Scott.
• The field was surrounded by recruits and their families.
• Current players who were in attendance but not taking part included RB Tre Siggers, LB JaQuondis Burns, S Roderick Roberson and OL Justin Osborne.
• In the limited actual (hitting) scrimmage session, one of the top defensive plays was turned in by LB Isaiah Kelley. RB Tyler Lavine ran left and, after picking up a few yards, started to head toward the turf. Kelley submarined underneath Lavine, blasting the ball free.
• Again, it was hard to read too much into much into the goings-on ... but it was hard to notice five dropped interceptions, at least three of which were quite catchable. LB Keke Burns — a converted WR — broke the drought with a snag along the left sideline.
• RB Brandon Epton caught a single pass in 2021, but made several nice catches out of the backfield. On one, he caught a short screen pass, froze S Bryan Massey with a quick head fake, and then beat Massey to the sideline before racing upfield. Considering Massey's outstanding speed, Epton's burst was notable.
• Assuming good health, WR Beau Corrales should be a handful for opposing DBs, especially those who lack ideal size. Corrales is listed at 6-3 and 210 pounds, jumps well, has long arms and rips the ball away on 50-50 balls.
• One player who stood out was DE Je'Lin Samuels, who is listed on the Mustangs' roster at 6-7 and 247 pounds — the same dimensions as those he carried on the fall roster, although he looks thicker/stronger. Two things: (1) when he closes in on the QB and gets his arms up, the passer tends to look elsewhere for a passing lane, and (2) Samuels can really run. On one play, he got locked up with RT Marcus Bryant, who had Samuels pinched in toward the middle of the field while the QB (Tanner Mordecai ... I think) sprinted toward the right sideline; Samuels eventually shook free from Bryant and sprinted toward the sideline — he didn't catch him, but closed ground so fast that the ball-carrier opted not to try to turn the corner, seeking the refuge of the sideline instead.
• Two candidates for the catch of the night:
— QB Preston Stone threw an intermediate pass down the right sideline toward WR Rashee Rice, who was run over near the sideline by CB Bryce McMorris. Rice's right arm was pinned to his side ... so he caught the ball left-handed as the official's flag came flying in.
— On the final play of the "scrimmage," Mordecai spun away from a pair of pass rushers before firing a strike over the middle to WR Jayleen Record, who made a twisting grab as he fell in the back of the end zone (and managing to avoid sliding into the base of the goalpost).
