Tuesday's workout report

[PonyPride]

Finally made it out to Ford Stadium to check in on the Ponies' voluntary workouts. The team is split into different sessions throughout the day — presumably to work around summer school class schedules — but there were about 60 guys at the afternoon session, running in the ridiculous heat. (Those of you who live in Dallas know how hot it is. Chances are everyone else reading this has been to SMU, and knows how hot it gets. When I left — more than an hour after they were done — my car said it was 101 degrees. I think it was hotter.)

• Short and sweet: Didn't plan to go to the workout at all, but since I was in the building anyway, went out to check things out. Probably saw 20 minutes or so, so this is obviously a very brief report.

• On target: The QBs looked good. Bo Levi Mitchell, Braden Smith, J.J. McDermott and Kyle Padron — they all looked good. Considering his playing experience, Mitchell understandably looked most comfortable. He and Smith, and to a lesser degree McDermott, made some throws before the receivers even made their cuts. Padron looks like he has a strong arm, but clearly is thinking things through as he goes. That will accelerate with practice. All four looked pretty accurate.

• Leaner version: Mitchell looks leaner than last year. He said he showed up last summer at 213 pounds, and got down as low as 190 with the running he has done in the summer heat, but says he's now back up to 199.

• Active observers: Three OLs spent the time I was there on stationary bikes on the side of the field: Zach Boyd, Chris Atchison and Joey Fontana. Fontana said he was being cautious with a hamstring he pulled slightly the day before. Players paired off and ran sprints with a teammate dragging behind on a long band, and Fontana said he tweaked it a little while dragging teammate Ben Hughes. Fontana didn't look like he was very concerned about it, saying that he wanted to make sure it's healthy before preseason camp starts.

• Hot enough? There had to be some logical reason — turf burns, or something — but a few players were actually out there in long sleeves. Yes, it was probably some high-tech material that actually cools the players off, but it looked even hotter than the guys who had short sleeves or no shirt. If it was a few degrees over 100 outside, it was substantially hotter than that on the turf in Ford Stadium ... but there were guys like SS Rock Dennis, WR E.J. Drewery and LB Victor Jones, among others, sporting long sleeves. Nobody passed out, although I gave it some serious consideration.

• Catch of the Day: OK, I didn't see the whole workout, but during the time in which I was there, the best grab was turned in by WR Cole Loftin, who stumbled a little when he was bumped during a pass route, and still dove forward while falling to the ground to haul in a pass from Mitchell.

• As good as advertised? WR Chayse Joubert also looked good. Yes, it's optional summer workouts, the players aren't wearing pads and nobody is hitting each other, so it's hard to evaluate much. However, the reports during his recruitment of Joubert's 4.4 speed looked very believable as he raced past DBs on some routes, and he not only has good sprinting speed, he appears to have excellent acceleration, getting to top speed in just a few steps. In the limited drills I saw, he made a couple of very nice catches.

• Growing into his role: Remember that skinny kid who signed two years ago out of DeSoto? Gone. WR Terrance Wilkerson either is growing into his frame, or has taken up residence in the weight room. Chances are, it's some of both — either way, he looks a lot stronger than he did last season, and QB Bo Levi Mitchell cited Wilkerson as a teammate who has made enormous strides since this time last year.

• Challengers to the crown? Barring a major, unforeseen shift in circumstances, transfer Matt Szymanski is going to be the Mustangs' placekicker and punter in 2009. Freshman signee Mike Loftus is in town working out with his new teammates. While most of the Ponies went through seven-on-seven drills, Loftus was launching punts across the field. But several teammates joined him, including DT Evan Huahulu, RG Bryce Tennison and RB Zach Line. Suffice to say, Szymanski and Loftus have no need to feel threatened.

• Better them than me: The workout concluded with a drill that only can be described as torturous — the entire team lined up on the goal line, sprinted 25 yards, jogged the next 25, sprinted the third 25 and walked the last 25 ... and then turned around and did the same thing in the other direction. Several times. Leading the charge for most of the sprints was WR Emmanuel Sanders, sometimes by a comfortable margin. One player predicted a player — or perhaps players — would get sick. He was wrong.

[Pony4Life]

You got all of that out of watching 20 minutes of practice? Can't wait to see what you get if you watch a full one. Your reports are the best.

[Mustangsabu]

Outstanding report, PP. I am excited to hear that we have some more speed on the team and that the heat is not getting to the lads.

[indianmustang]

nice report,getting closer to season

[George S. Patton]

Solid report, Pride. Hope the players are staying hydrated as much as possible.

I just have a problem that only around 60 are out there. Doesn't our roster have 85 on it. 71% attendance rate isn't going to cut it with me. It needs to be better.

In college athletics, voluntary means you show up unless there is a personal or family emergency. We're not having these guys on scholarship to jack around in the summer.

It needs to pick up.

[PonyPride]

Solid report, Pride. Hope the players are staying hydrated as much as possible.

I just have a problem that only around 60 are out there. Doesn't our roster have 85 on it. 71% attendance rate isn't going to cut it with me. It needs to be better.

In college athletics, voluntary means you show up unless there is a personal or family emergency. We're not having these guys on scholarship to jack around in the summer.

It needs to pick up.

Relax. I probably should have said "at least 60" (it likely was a little over that, maybe 65), but beyond that, there are multiple sessions every day because some guys can't make it then because of summer classes, etc. From what I understand, the overall attendance, when combining all sessions, has been very good.

[George S. Patton]

Solid report, Pride. Hope the players are staying hydrated as much as possible.

I just have a problem that only around 60 are out there. Doesn't our roster have 85 on it. 71% attendance rate isn't going to cut it with me. It needs to be better.

In college athletics, voluntary means you show up unless there is a personal or family emergency. We're not having these guys on scholarship to jack around in the summer.

It needs to pick up.

Relax. I probably should have said "at least 60" (it likely was a little over that, maybe 65), but beyond that, there are multiple sessions every day because some guys can't make it then because of summer classes, etc. From what I understand, the overall attendance, when combining all sessions, has been very good.

Good. I forgot to mention the summer school as an acceptable reason to miss.

The commitment to change the fortunes of this program starts here. The little things matter.

[SMUFan]

Fear not, Georgie — I bet they even have water out there to keep the guys hydrated! Too many tragic stories in the news in recent years for anyone to take a chance.

[EastStang]

Let's make sure they make necessary grades during the summer and if needed their workout times might suffer. I don't want any ineligibles this year, or benchings for lack of class attendance. JJ is a stickler for guys going to class and I agree with him on that. Most of these guys will not end up in the NFL, CFL, etc., and they need to be prepared for life after football.

[KnuckleStang]

Thanks for the excellent report, Pride!