Tuesday (3/25) practice observations

[PonyPride]

It's all about consistency: Walk-on redshirt freshman wide receiver Simeon Thomas made one of the best catches of the day in the early moments of Tuesday's drills when he reached out and snared a Daniel Miller pass with one hand. But moments later, he dropped a pass that hit him right between the numbers...

Logan Turner continued to impress: In 7-on-7 skeleton drills, he repeatedly connected on deep out routes, which some quarterbacks say is the hardest pass in football to complete (Troy Aikman once said his ability to throw that pass is what got him to the Hall of Fame ... and no, I'm not saying Turner has Aikman's arm). Turner repeatedly threw with accuracy and the necessary velocity, putting the ball out wide enough that only his receiver had a chance to make the catch. Completing the pass requires arm strength, accuracy, a quick release and the ability to read defenses — all of which Turner appears able to do.

Long and short of it: While Turner showed impressive arm strength on the deep out routes, he also showed a good touch on short passes — specifically shovel passes. On one drill, Turner hit running backs Jessie Henderson and Chris Butler with crisp, accurate shovel passes that they fielded without breaking stride and raced upfield. In between, Zach Rhodes got hit as he let go, only to watch his shovel pass get picked off, and then missed his receiver altogether on the ensuing play.

To be fair, Rhodes had the best improvisational play of the day shortly thereafter: after taking the shotgun snap, he rolled to his left, shook two would-be tacklers, and then turned back to his right and fired a 20-yard pass down the middle. Emmanuel Sanders made a nice, juggling catch, and then felt the wrath of assistant coach Frank Gansz, who laid into the junior-to-be for swinging the ball around loosely.

Line up! First-team offensive line Tuesday: LT Kelvin Beachum, LG Sean Lobo, C Mitch Enright, RG Bryce Tennison, RT Tommy Poynter;
Second-team offensive line: LT Vincent Chase, LG Josh LeRibeus, C Andrew Robiskie, RG Kelly Turner, RT J.T. Brooks

Catching on: There are those who worry about Vincent Chase's move to tackle, and clearly he would have benefited from a move that allowed him more than one year to gain weight and master the intracacies of the position. But he's getting better every day. At tight end, he was a punishing blocker, and he seems to be getting more comfortable at tackle. He stood up to several bull rushes in skeleton team drills, and when speedy defensive end Youri Yenga tried to race around him, Chase stayed with him all the way, kept his balance solid with quick foot movement and easily held Yenga at bay with his long arms.

Football is a violent game ... most of the time: Safeties Seth Sloan and DeMikel Shankle had a chance to make a highlight-reel hit late in Tuesday's practice, when Emmanuel Sanders caught a pass over the middle with his back to the safeties, who were closing fast. Rather than blasting Sanders, Sloan and Shankle wrapped him up and laid him down on the ground ... gently.

[SMU21TCU10]

thanks for the post. i love reading them

[GeorgiaMustang]

How is the defense looking? Who looks best in the secondary, and how does our linebacker play look like it's shaping up?

[smupony]

Thanks again for doing this for us. We all really appreciate it.

[PonyPride]

Linebackers look totally different with Justin Smart in the midddle. He's huge and running well, and making a lot of the defensive calls. If he can get a handle on that, could he be in the middle for three seasons? Remains to be seen. Will Bonilla sat out Tuesday, although he didn't appear to be in great agony. Ryan Moczygemba and Pete Fleps looked pretty good.

In the secondary, the starting four (Rock Dennis, Tyler Jones, Bryan McCann and Derrius Bell) are extremely fast, and made a lot of plays Tuesday. McCann and Dennis, in particular, seemed to be on the receivers as the ball arrived, as if they had been in the offensive huddle and knew the plays before they were called.

[George S. Patton]

Any update on De'Von Bailey

[PonyPride]

De'Von looked pretty good. First thing you notice is that he looks so different physically — Vic Viloria calls it "re-packaging" his physique. Looks a lot leaner and stronger. He seems to be a step quicker and must be picking up the defense, because he's anticipating plays and attacking more confidently than he did last year (at least early last year). Had a nice interception Tuesday that he strolled in for a would-be touchdown.

[texas24821]

PONY PRIDE... from what you've seen at spring practice thus far... which one of the incoming freshman will give some of the players a run for the money? What position need to be improved for us to go bowling?

[White Helmet]

DB, Banjo

[Cheesesteak]

PonyPride - thank you for the practice report.

SMU MUSTANGS!

[PonyPride]

It's probably easier to speculate about which players won't have a chance to compete. We all know the heights, weights, 40-yard dash times, etc., but until they get here and start working in the new offense/defense, it's anyone's guess who will contribute right away. The skill-position guys likely will get a look, at least — quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, defensive backs. My guess is that the safest prediction would be that the offensive linemen won't play right away — most coaches say the OL is the toughest position for true freshmen to play. Even the guys who arrive at college already huge often need a year to pick up the blocking schemes, get used to his new linemates and adding physical maturity.

In other words, I have no idea any more than anyone else does. I'll go out on a limb and suggest that Odiari and McElroy have the best chances to play right away. Pretty daring, huh?

[ALEX LIFESON]

Pretty good bets with Odiari and McElroy.