Tuesday practice notes

Post by **PonyPride** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 11:44 am

• Mike Loftis is the only placekicker in camp (Marcelo Sada has left the team) and is one of two punters - along with Matt Stone - hoping to replace the graduated Matt Szymanski. But with offensive and defensive players spread out all over the field in various position groups, there was little room for Loftis to kick. So, underscoring the idea that kicking is more about accuracy than it is about distance, Loftis started firing field goals from the 5-yard line ... and from outside boundary on the side of the field. At such a sharp angle, the space between the goalposts is tiny. That he made any was impressive, and he did sneak a few between the pipes.

• Same cast of characters sat out of practice Tuesday: Zach Line (back), Kyle Guinyard (knee), Chayse Joubert (knee), Margus Hunt (shoulder), Larry Centers, Jr. (hand). Also out: OL Ben Gottschalk (reason undisclosed). While the defensive linemen went through drills, Hunt went to the big foam dummies that defensive players use as mock blockers to practice pass rush moves. Whereas many defenders hit them hard enough to make them lean out of the way, Hunt used his good (right) arm to club them so hard the dummies pounded into the turf like falling trees.

• Even before he bulked up to anywhere near his current weight of 306, left tackle Kelvin Beachum, Jr., was identified as a potential all-conference player because of his footwork, balance and overall agility. Example: when the team broke into its special team drills, four players lined up as blockers in front of four coverage players. The blockers were instructed to obstruct the coverage players' progress by getting in front of them, even as the coverage players zig-zagged back and forth to break free and find open running lanes. Beachum, who often gets described as being "light on his feet" showed why he earns that description, sliding back and forth and keeping his balance through a solid base as he mirrored linebacker Robert Parker ... who is listed as being 83 pounds lighter.

• Blake McJunkin and Bryce Tennison each took snaps at center with the first-team offensive line. The rest of the first-team line remained the same: LT Beachum, LG Josh LeRibeus, RG Kelly Turner and RT J.T. Brooks.

• Running at left DE with the second-team defense: Beau Barnes.

• Monday's practice was marred by a few dropped passes by receivers, in part because overnight storms made the field (and eventually the footballs) a little slippery. Early in Tuesday's practice, the quarterbacks seemed a little off, but their accuracy improved as practice progressed.

• WRs Keenan Holman, Ryan Walker and Jeremy Johnson were singled out by WRs coach Jeff Reinebold after making several nice catches, but one of the nicest grabs of the day was turned in by Brad Haynes. QB J.J. McDermott fired a deep pass toward Haynes, who was streaking down the left sideline. Safety Justin Sorrell was sliding over to help cover on the play, and broke forward toward the ball, but Haynes turned 180 degrees so he was able to use his frame to shield the ball and muscle Sorrell away from the pass before making the grab on the sideline.

• Defensive play of the day was turned in by CB Kenneth Acker, who hung back before breaking on the ball, jumping in front of the WR to snatch an interception in the middle of the field.

• Runner-up defensive play of the day: McDermott fired another deep pass down the left sideline, this time toward WR Steve Nelson, but CB Chris Castro stayed with him, watched Nelson lift his hands toward the ball and whipped his head around in time to locate the ball and swat it away.

• At times last week, freshman QB Conner Preston looked like he was throwing 90-MPH fastballs on every play, as many freshmen do when they first arrive. But his nicest pass Tuesday, and maybe since he arrived, came late in Tuesday's practice, when he dropped back and dropped a nice touch pass over a linebacker (and between triple coverage) where WR Der'Rikk made an impressive diving catch.

Billy Joe · Post by **Billy Joe** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:56 pm

Only 1 field goal kicker? Who would kick if Loftis gets hurt? Is there a back-up plan of any kind?

mrydel · Post by **mrydel** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 1:45 pm

Is Padron practicing his leap and grab of high snaps from center?

Bergermeister · Post by **Bergermeister** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:21 pm

mrydel wrote:Is Padron practicing his leap and grab of high snaps from center?

Ugh.

Junior · Post by **Junior** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:36 pm

Billy Joe wrote:Only 1 field goal kicker? Who would kick if Loftis gets hurt? Is there a back-up plan of any kind?

I would imagine they are looking at options since sada seems to have been the backup. I don't think we need to worry at this point.

Stallion · Post by **Stallion** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 3:48 pm

just go steal a soccer player

reddevil · Post by **reddevil** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 4:21 pm

Billy Joe wrote:Only 1 field goal kicker? Who would kick if Loftis gets hurt? Is there a back-up plan of any kind?

Longoria maybe. He was a pretty impressive punter in HS.

ALEX LIFESON · Post by **ALEX LIFESON** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:15 pm

mrydel wrote:Is Padron practicing his leap and grab of high snaps from center?

We will have a new starter at center.

Junior · Post by **Junior** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:23 pm

reddevil wrote:
Billy Joe wrote:Only 1 field goal kicker? Who would kick if Loftis gets hurt? Is there a back-up plan of any kind?

Longoria maybe. He was a pretty impressive punter in HS.

in high school, our starting DE was also our kicker. also our goalkeeper on the soccer team, though.

mrflinnbob · Post by **mrflinnbob** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:11 pm

ALEX LIFESON wrote:
mrydel wrote:Is Padron practicing his leap and grab of high snaps from center?

We will have a new starter at center.

This is nice to read. After watching the Army game a few times , I was really concerned about this.

No Quarter · Post by **No Quarter** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:19 pm

Pony Pride mentioned that Barnes was second team DE. Has a spring practice depth chart been published? If not already available, I'm sure a lot of folks would like to see it.

DallasDiehard · Post by **DallasDiehard** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:27 pm

Stallion wrote:just go steal a soccer player

Uh ... the coach of the soccer team - the only SMU team (so far) to win a conference title this year and a team that reached the NCAA quarterfinals - might be inclined to object ... and with good reason.

reddevil wrote:
Billy Joe wrote:Only 1 field goal kicker? Who would kick if Loftis gets hurt? Is there a back-up plan of any kind?

Longoria maybe. He was a pretty impressive punter in HS.

Being a HS punter does not mean you can kick field goals.

GiddyUp · Post by **GiddyUp** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:32 pm

ALEX LIFESON wrote:
mrydel wrote:Is Padron practicing his leap and grab of high snaps from center?

We will have a new starter at center.

Hallelujah!!!

mrydel · Post by **mrydel** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:42 pm

I do not envy the center position. I personally think McJunkin has done an admirable job with the exception of long spurts of difficulty with the snap. He was pressed into duty early with Enright's injury and held up well. Just imagine having to concentrate on getting the ball to the QB, especially in the shotgun while at the same time preparing for a 300+ charging DL trying to run through you.

Again, with the exception of the snaps, which are a big, big, part of a successful offense, I do believe McJunkin has filled the role fairly well. But until we get better we will still see a lot of recruiting over rather than recruiting up. When we get to recruiting up we will have made it.

Junior · Post by **Junior** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:18 pm

Empirical evidence has shown that snapping the ball comes into play on most offensive plays.