Thursday (4/26/12) practice notes

[PonyPride]

Notes from Thursday’s practice on the Pettus practice field:

• Coaches covet speed … on offense, defense and on special teams. The Ponies went through their normal punt coverage drill, in which four players race downfield toward a returner who was awaiting a "kick" from the Juggs machine. One player who stood out was LB Jonathan Yenga, who regularly led his group of tacklers downfield and wrapped up the return man with solid "tackles" … Then there was the case of walk-on WR A.J. Buffini, who stepped in as the return man on one such drill against a quartet of coverage players that included LB Rob Seals, DE Margus Hunt, C Taylor Lasecki and OT Taylor Reich. By the time the ball came down, Hunt was standing a couple of feet in front of him, arms spread wide, with the other three closing in fast. That Buffini allowed the ball to squirt through his arms is not what the coaches want, but it’s not hard to understand.

• WR Arrius Holleman has made a lot of plays in the passing game in the last couple of days. When the Mustangs went to team (11-on-11) drills, the first play from scrimmage was a deep pass down the sideline from QB Steve Kaiser to Holleman, who had gotten behind three DBs. On the next play, Kaiser went right back to Holleman, who used his height and long arms to reach out over a DB and snatch the ball at the highest possible point, a ball that the defensive player simply couldn’t reach.

• WR Darius Johnson continues to draw praise from head coach June Jones, who said Johnson "<a href=" viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61008 ">looks as good as any player I’ve ever coached</a>." Johnson was back to his old self Thursday, making a slew of acrobatic catches, including one when he reacted to a pass behind him from QB Conner Preston by twisting and diving back to snare the pass inches above the ground.

• If Johnson’s catch was the best of the day, the best pass of the day was turned in by QB Steve Kaiser, who dropped a soft pass over the outstretched arms of SS Ryan Smith and CB Kenneth Acker and into the arms of WR Jeremy Johnson, who got both feet inbounds in the back corner of the end zone.

• Making a catch in open space is one thing, but hanging on while absorbing a hard hit is another thing altogether. That’s exactly what WR Steve McCormack did when the team went to Red Zone drills, racing across the back of the end zone and making the catch just as he got drilled by CB J.R. Richardson.

• One-on-one drills between offensive linemen and pass-rushing defensive linemen always are entertaining. OT Taylor Reich again showed better mobility than he did last season, staying in front of DE Cameron Smith on a speed rush around the left end and then basically strangling DE Spencer Conley after he tried to get by Reich’s inside shoulder … G Christian Miller took down DE Zach Wood on an outside rush, although it looked as if Wood slipped a little on the play … Ashton Duhe has worked this spring at backup center after playing mostly guard on the scout team in 2011. He is in better shape this year after shedding weight over the offseason, but there is something for the sheer strength that comes with physical maturity, as was the case when NT Torlan Pittman simply powered his way past Duhe … Senior Blake McJunkin is playing a new position this spring, having moved to RG after playing center for his first four years, but that has not affected his effectiveness as a blocker. McJunkin went head-to-head with backup NT Gareth Riley-Ayers, and didn’t even move his feet while holding Riley-Ayers at bay.

[Junior]

does mcjunkin figure to be at RG when the season starts, or is this a tryout for him to see if he can play somewhere other than C?

[Stallion]

I have a feeling its to get Lasecki on the field-

[goldenstang]

I think they are just trying to get the five best players on the field.

[redpony]

glad to hear that Duhe has lost some weight and is in better shape.

[NomAnor]

Thanks for the updates

[ponyscott]

Good job PP.

[tristatecoog]

Is there a spring game, and if so, when is it?