TUESDAY PRACTICE notes

[PonyPride]

Again, a fairly calm session this morning. As June Jones predicted during Monday's press conference, it was basically a teaching session - no hitting, just work on technique and footwork and understanding assignments.

• One chance to make a first impression: A scout from the Miami Dolphins was in town to visit with SMU punter Thomas Morstead ... who, along with punter/holder Andrew Galloway, showed up sporting a new Mohawk haircut the two had given each other. They might be the only punters in the nation to sport that particular 'do, and that's an interesting approach to what amounts to a job interview, but presumably the Dolphins also will consider what he does on the field.

• No 'backing down: Coaches have said they want to be able to go three-deep at some positions this year, including at linebacker, where the rigors of the position dictate the need to rotate fresh players in and out of the lineup. In Tuesday's practice, the first-team linebackers were WLB Will Bonilla, MLB Justin Smart and SLB Jason Jackson. The second unit was SLB Pete Fleps, MLB Ryan Moczygemba and WLB Julian Herron. The third group was SLB Alex Odiari, MLB Victor Jones and WLB Chase Kennemer.

• Safety first! Bryce Hudman has not been at practice the last couple of days, and is not on the roster. The "starting" safeties Tuesday were Rock Dennis and Tyler Jones. The second pairing was De'Von Bailey and Chris Banjo.

• Not left out: One of the more closely-watched position battles this summer is at left tackle, where redshirt freshman Kelvin Beachum, Jr., and senior Vincent Chase are battling for the starting spot. Beachum worked with the first-team line Tuesday.

• Catching on: Much has been made throughout the spring and summer about how much stronger Emmanuel Sanders is and his exceptional overall conditioning. But not to be overlooked is what appears to be more polished receiving technique. Many young receivers sometimes focus so intently on making the catch that they slow down as the ball arrives, or at least interrupt their steps. Sanders not only snatches the ball away from his body and pulls it in tight, he makes his catches without the slightest glitch in his steps, maintaining his speed while making the reception and turning upfield.

• Getting to know you: Having quarterbacks who can throw the ball a mile and receivers fast enough to form a track team is not all a team needs to operate a functioning offense, especially in an offense like SMU's new Run-and-Shoot, which relies so heavily on players making the same reads and making the same adjustments according to what the defense does. For example, Bo Levi Mitchell took aim at Bryce Lunday streaking down the right side of the field, but Lunday broke off his route about 20 yards downfield ... against no defense. Somewhere along the line, there was a miscommunication, causing Mitchell's pass to sail over Lunday by 10 or 15 yards. In the best-case scenario, the ball falls incomplete or sails out of bounds. Worst case: a deep safety camps out under the ball and brings it back. A little while later, Braden Smith fired a quick pass out toward the sideline ... only to see intended receiver Zach Zimmerman already 10 yards downfield. Smith's fastball skipped off the ground behind Zimmerman and out of bounds, but if a cornerback had been pressing and read Smith's pass, he could have picked it off and walked to the end zone. The learning process is just beginning...

• On target: I don't have the patience or attention span to chart passes, but Justin Willis looked visibly more accurate Tuesday than he did Monday. Not sure what the issue was Monday - guys were running routes for him for the first time in the new offense, or maybe the moon didn't align properly with the stars, or ... who knows. He seemed far more confident/comfortable with his passes Tuesday, got rid of the ball more quickly and showed pretty good velocity, including on longer passes of about 25 yards or so.

• If at first you don't succeed... : Freshman B.J. Lee almost made a spectacular grab when he raced out into the flat on the left side of the field, turned around and saw the ball sailing high over his head. He got up enough to get his hands on the ball, but as he pulled it in, it fell to the ground. Undeterred, Lee ran a deep post pattern on the very next play and chased down a long pass that many would have deemed uncatchable. Say what you want about the 5-foot-5 Lee's height, but the man can really run.

• Secret weapon?: Take out the five quarterbacks (Willis, Logan Turner, Smith, Mitchell and Winston Gamso), and who has the strongest arm on the team? No contest: linebacker Michael Morse. The former walk-on quarterback was moved to linebacker in the spring, and when the linebackers ran drills in pass coverage, Morse was the quarterback, firing several fastballs through the hands of Odiari, Taylor Bon and Justin Smart ... who attributed his drop to the slipperyness (is that a word?) of his sweat-soaked gloves.

• Go get it: Several defensive backs and linebackers stayed after practice to work on ball-handling drills. In one drill, Bo Levi Mitchell stood about 15 yards away and fired passes well over the head of a charging defender, who was expected to break out of a flat sprint and spring up off the ground to make the snag. Two who made spectacular grabs of very high passes were defensive back Chris Banjo and ... Justin Smart. On the next drill, Mitchell fired passes at the players' feet. The best snag of a low pass was turned in by freshman cornerback Keith Robinson, who snagged one literally off the top of his shoe.

[SMU Hockey 2010]

Great stuff! Thanks again.


How'd the RBs look? Who's running with the first unit there?

[MrMustang1965]

Who needs the DMN when you've got pf.com? Great stuff guys! Keep up the fantastic work!

[Buddha]

Great stuff, as always.
Thanks for keeping PonyFans updated!

[Buddha]

Who needs the DMN when you've got pf.com?

NOBODY!

[SmooBoy]

And how many blades of grass were on the field?

Wow, great coverage as always!

[Stallion]

Keith Mitchell? Robinson?

[FroggieFever]

You guys sure are pretty damn lucky to have PP...all the free info he gives, and good info at that, most schools aren't privy.

[Harry0569]

I look forward to this everyday. Keep up the unbelievable work!

[RGV Pony]

Pride, you are certainly living the dream! I'm jealous. And grateful. Great work.

[Harry0569]

Great stuff! Thanks again.


How'd the RBs look? Who's running with the first unit there?

Piggy-backing this. Is Demyron comfortable with running the ball out of the shotgun? (dumb question was not thinking)

[MrMustang1965]

You guys sure are pretty damn lucky to have PP...all the free info he gives, and good info at that, most schools aren't privy.

Just one more way that SMU outshines that school over there in Cowtown.

[FroggieFever]

You guys sure are pretty damn lucky to have PP...all the free info he gives, and good info at that, most schools aren't privy.

Just one more way that SMU outshines that school over there in Cowtown.

Oh, I never said we didn't have our PP, too.

[KnuckleStang]

Yes PonyPride yes

[mrydel]

Great stuff! Thanks again.


How'd the RBs look? Who's running with the first unit there?

Piggy-backing this. Is Demyron comfortable with running the ball out of the shotgun?

This may not answer your question, but we have run the shotgun during his entire career.