Saturday (8/13/11) practice report

[PonyPride]

• The Mustangs gathered in Ford Stadium for practice Saturday under truly bizarre conditions. There was a grey covering in the sky, and water falling from above, making it less than eleventy billion degrees. Very strange.

• Despite the slippery conditions, the passing game was much sharper, as the drops that plagued the receivers in one of Friday's workouts did not reappear.

• Freshman Jared Williams once again ran as the team's second-string RB; meanwhile, fellow freshman K.C. Nlemchi sat out with a strained hip, an injury he said he suffered a couple of days ago when he was blocking a LB. Nlemchi has been watching for a few days, but said he hopes to rejoin the Ponies' workouts Monday.

• LB Cameron Rogers, DE Kevin Grenier and WR Bobby Waid sat out again. CB Richard Crawford sat out briefly with what he called a bruised patella tendon, but returned to drills shortly after getting checked out by the team's medical staff.

• Several players have commented about the improved play of the Mustangs' defense, especially in the secondary. A number DBs made impressive plays in coverage Saturday morning, including S Brett Haness, who dove to strip the ball from WR Darius Johnson, and S Justin Sorrell, who lunged forward to knock the ball out of the hands of WR Cole Beasley.

• Sorrell has made a lot of good plays this week, but freshman WR Darius Joseph got the upper hand Saturday. Freshman QB Conner Preston fired a short pass that Joseph and Sorrell seemed to catch simultaneously, but it was Joseph who ripped the ball out of Sorrell's hands and then snatched it out of the air.

• The notion that redshirt freshman WR Der'Rikk Thompson is nothing more than a pure sprinter does not appear to be accurate. Yes, he is young and working to refine his technique, but WRs coach Jeff Reinebold said Thompson is starting to "play faster," and it shows. Thompson has shown better hands during preseason camp than last season, or even in the spring, and is starting to show the ability to make more than just the routine catches that he made a year ago. In a simple skeleton (no defense) passing drill, he lined up on the left side, and after going about 15 yards upfield, looked over his right shoulder toward QB Kyle Padron, who saw a DB crowding Thompson's inside shoulder. Rather than throw toward Thompson's inside shoulder, and risk an interception, Padron lifted a high pass over Thompson's outside shoulder. Without breaking stride, Thompson went high in the air, twisted his body about 180 degrees in mid-air and pulled in the pass.

• Not all good plays were made by the offense, of course. In the 11-on-11 drills, WR Steve Nelson took a couple of steps and stopped to catch a quick screen pass. CB Rodney Hubert raced forward and got a hand on Nelson, who broke toward the sideline. But Hubert didn't relinquish his grip on Nelson's jersey, and yanked him down from behind with one hand.

• The nicest pass and catch of the day came from QB Kyle Padron and WR Arrius Holleman on a play that looked ordinary, but can be very hard to defend. Holleman ran a straight route down the right side of the field, with a DB stuck to his left hip. Padron fired the ball to Holleman's right (outside) shoulder, and when the big (6-3, 200) receiver turned for the ball, he shielded the defender with his body and extended his long arms to reach out and snatch it. When done correctly, there are few DBs who can do anything about a play like that.

• The team did some work on field goals. Mike Loftus went 5-for-6, with his only miss coming from 47 yards.

• Among those in attendance at Saturday's practice: former SMU WR John Biggins and former DE Wendell Washington.

[One Trick Pony]

#1 may see some playing time this year. Thanks for the report

[cutter]

sounds like the team is coming together nicely.
thanks.

[Alaric]

they looked pretty good yesterday. the improvement in athleticism from 2 years ago is incredible. thanks for the report.