SATURDAY PRACTICE notes

[PonyPride]

• Laundry list: Several guys showed up in different numbers Saturday, but it appears I've been blaming the equipment staff unfairly of trying to confuse the masses (sorry, guys). Turns out some scout team receivers were adorned with jerseys bearing the numbers of key Rice receivers. William Webb wore No. 16, E.J. Drewery wore No. 3, Phillip Burley wore No. 12 and Bradley Haynes wore Jarett Dillard's No. 81.

• One hand is enough: One of the things that proves Aldrick Robinson is a receiver, as opposed to just a track guy in shoulder pads, is his ability to snatch the ball with his hands and pull it in, rather than waiting for the ball to hit him. Robinson got a little carried away showing off his hands -- or at least his hand -- when he raced downfield early in Saturday's session in pursuit of a long pass from Justin Willis. As Robinson ran down the left side of the field, Willis put the ball where only Robinson had a chance to reach it, throwing it over his outside shoulder. While still looking over his RIGHT shoulder, Robinson calmly raced under the ball, stuck his LEFT arm straight out to the side and made a one-handed catch he had no business reaching.

• Change of pace: It's one thing for a baseball pitcher to fire a few fastballs in a row and then take a few miles per hour off the heater to keep a batter off-balance. It's another thing altogether to do what Bo Levi Mitchell did ... again. For the second time in two days, Mitchell threw what amounted to a knuckleball. Twice in as many days, Mitchell has wound up to throw a short pass, and the ball appeared to float out of his hands, slowly turning end-over-end, with virtually no spin. Each time, running back Chris Butler somehow adjusted and made the reception.

• That's concentration: In what is becoming a daily occurrence, Cole Beasley again came up with one of the nicest grabs of the day. Mitchell fired a deep pass -- maybe 55 or 60 yards -- downfield, to about the 5-yard line. De-Von Bailey cut in and beat Beasley to the ball, only to watch the ball pop straight up in the air when he went for the interception. Beasley maintained his concentration, whirled around and snagged it, falling into the end zone.

• Follow-up: As if to make sure nobody thought the play was a fluke, he followed up with another really nice one a few plays later. Justin Willis found Beasley on a crossing route, but threw the ball slightly behind him. No matter -- Beasley just twisted his frame around in mid-air, reaching backward and snagging the ball with one hand and pulling it in.

• Special speed: Much has been made about redshirt freshman Julian Herron's wheels, and how he might be able to contribute to the defense. But Saturday indicated he might be able to contribute on special teams, as well. When Frank Gansz conducted his mid-practice coverage drills, Herron was in one of the first groups charging downfield. Freshman Bryce Lunday split the middle of the four-man coverage group and headed toward the sideline, where he intended to turn upfield. But Herron stayed with Lunday step-for-step, which is impressive, considering how fast Lunday is. Herron stayed with Lunday and steered him out of bounds.

• Big hitter: Kicker Kellis Cunningham has said he likes to fill in occasionally as a defensive back in skeleton drills, because he gets to hit people. He got a little over-zealous during special teams coverage drills, when he came downfield as Emmanuel Sanders was serving as the return man. Sanders headed toward the sideline, where he tried to hurdle Keith Robinson, who was slipping to the ground. As he took off, Sanders was run over by Cunningham, who looked momentarily nervous .... until Sanders popped up right away.

• Stop, thief! A new face showed up in the takeaway department: Chris Castro, who had a pair of interceptions. First he cut in front of Sanders on a deep crossing route to make a beautiful diving nterception, and then (after practice moved from the Pettus practice fields into Ford Stadium), he snatched another and took it back down the sideline.

• On the rebound: Dennis Rodman used to answer questions about his rebounding "theory" by saying he saw the ball, and went and got it. That appeared to be the approach when Cole Beasley went up in traffic (between Castro and Seth Sloan) to battle for a high pass from Braden Smith. The three reached the ball at about the same point, and popped it up in the air. Deyon McElroy arrived a second later, stretching out to make a diving interception inches off the ground.

• Drop of the day: Near the end of practice, Justin Willis fired a long pass downfield, hitting Terrance Wilkerson in stride. But as he cruised toward the end zone, Wilkerson somehow dropped the ball without being touched. Two DBs trailed a few yards behind, and calmly scooped up the ball and headed back upfield.

[ozfan]

Thanks PP been waiting for this.

[davidsmu94]

sounds like JW is looking sharper in practice?

[PonyPride]

Yeah, I'd say he has. I think we all can assume that the announcement about the quarterbacks rotation wasn't what he wanted to hear, of course, so maybe that affected his passes for a few days. He was gracious and professional and supportive of Mitchell and Smith when the announcement was made, and although I have seen him many times, I haven't felt the need to bug him about it. Whatever the reason, he looked visibly sharper Friday and Saturday.

[indianmustang]

even DMN mentioned willis getting more snaps,may be JJ wants to put him in rice game at some point.