Coach, QB react to Comet's injury

[PonyPride]

The injury that will keep senior wide receiver Chris Cunningham out of the 2002-03 season was a serious blow to the Mustangs' offense this season, a season in which the Ponies will be learning a new offense under a new coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Larry Edmondson and projected starting quarterback Tate Wallis recently visited with <A HREF="http://www.PonyFans.com" TARGET=_blank>www.PonyFans.com</A> to discuss the setback.

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"The injury Chris suffered is a real shame, because he's such a good player and a good person," Edmondson said. "He's worked so hard through the offseason and the spring and summer to get ready for this year, and we were counting on him to be a big part of the offense this year. It will change a little bit how we attack defenses. Chris definitely was one of the guys we wanted to get the ball to, and he's also a guy, as a senior, who the younger guys really look up to, they draw off him, they see how things need to be done. So things will change a little bit, there's no doubt about that."

Edmondson said, however, that Cunningham's injury will not alter the Ponies' offensive scheme.

"We're still going to stay balanced," he said. "We're going to have to put some different people in some formations that Chris was going to fill. How we attack a defense will be based on what the defense dictates, to a degree. We're still going to run the ball, and we're still going to pass. We'll draw a little more on the running back position and on the tight end position."

Edmondson said that means that senior tight end John Hampton, who already has established himself as one of the team's premier receiving targets in his first three seasons at SMU, could have an even bigger role in the offense this year.

"I hope so," Edmondson said. "John's a great tight end, and he's hungry. He kind of hit the wall in two-a-days here, but a lot of guys do. He's kind of breaking through that now, and he allows us to do a lot of different things with our tight ends. And with Billy Ford getting bigger this year, we've got two tight ends who can really run and who can catch the ball. With Comet out, we could go to more two-tight end sets, because John and Billy are so talented. And we'll throw the ball more to our running backs coming out of the backfield."

For Wallis, the loss of Cunningham hurt in numerous ways. Cunningham has more career receptions than any player on the SMU roster, and has shown repeatedly through his first three seasons a knack for finding a seam in defenses and for making the tough catch. That made him something of a security blanket for Wallis (and fellow redshirt quarterback Richard Bartel), who like the rest of the team is learning a new offense. And unlike many of their teammates, Wallis and Bartel have never played in a college game, so they are learning as they go.

"Of course I was looking forward to playing with Chris," Wallis said, "and maybe his injury hurts me more than it might an older quarterback, because I'm new. (Wallis was a redshirt tight end as a true freshman last season after leading Ennis High School to the state 4A championship as a quarterback in his senior high school season.)

"But all this does is give other guys an opportunity to step up and play. We have a lot of receivers on this team who can make plays, and with Chris out, it will give them a chance to make more plays. I'll miss having Chris out there, but I also have a lot of confidence in the guys who are still out there."

Wallis, like Edmondson, said Hampton should be a focal point of the Ponies' aerial game.

"I'm probably most comfortable so far with 'Hamp'," Wallis said. "He runs great routes, and I know that he'll make the catch every time. But we'll spread the ball around a lot, so people can't concentrate just on John.

"We're going to be balanced either way. With Chris going down, someone else has to step up. If we have to run the ball 90 percent of the time to win, I'm all for that. And if we have to throw the ball 90 percent of the time to get the win, I'm all for that, too. That's what we're all here for -- to win."

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NOTHING'S SETTLED YET
At the end of spring workouts, new head coach Phil Bennett said that if the season were to start then, Wallis was his choice to start at quarterback. Through preseason workouts, he has stuck with that analysis. But with the season-opener against Navy just a week away, Wallis said the competition for the starting quarterback position continues.

"I think we're pretty even," Wallis said. "Since Richard's been back from baseball (Bartel spent the summer pitching in the Cincinnati Reds' minor league system), he's played really well, and he's making all the throws in practice.

"I think there's a bad message out there that Richard and I have hard feelings toward each other, because we're competing for the same job. But actually Richard and I are really close. We both know that it's in the best interest of the team to have the best guy on the field, the guy who will give this team the best chance to win. So we're always helping each other. There's a Bible verse in Proverbs, that says something like 'man sharpens man, iron sharpens iron' -- that's what I try to keep in mind. The harder he works and the better he plays, the harder I have to work and the better I have to play. By working so hard, we're both going to be ready, and we're going to push each other to play better."

Wallis said the sense of competition takes a back seat to the quarterbacks' mutual desire for better performance on the field, to the point that the two signal-callers almost serve as extra coaches for each other.

"If he makes the wrong read, I tell him, and if I make the wrong read, he tells me," Wallis said. "We're both very competitive, but we can't be selfish. We're going to do whatever it takes to make this offense go and to help this team win."

Wallis declined to speculate on whether Bartel had fallen behind by being in Florida playing baseball over the summer while Wallis was in Dallas working out with his teammates, but he said he did benefit from the time he spent throwing with his teammates.

"I know that being here all summer helped me," said Wallis, like Bartel a former high school baseball star (at Ennis) who was drafted in the 37th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Yankees. "But as soon as he got here, he came up quick, and he's stayed strong through the practices. It's been a pretty even war so far."

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COMING TOGETHER
Edmondson admitted that the area of the offense that still needs the most polish is the offensive line, where the Ponies have tabbed two true freshmen -- Grant Eidson and Mike Benson -- as second-string guards.

"We still have a little way to go on the line, because we're really young there. We need to simplify things for the young receivers with Chris (Cunningham) out, but we really need to simplify things for the young guys on the line," Edmondson said. "It's not like you can grab another guy from another position and stick him in there (because of the size and strength required to play on the line). It's really tough to get in there on the line of scrimmage for a freshman."

[DallasDiehard]

Great story. Wallis sounds like he really has his head on straight, in terms of the quarterback competition and when talking about Comet. He sure sounds mature for a freshman QB.

[Hoofprint]

Terific story - the kind we expect from PonyFans.com.

Coach Edmondson sounds like a very honest coach. He doesn't seem prone to boring us with the traditional coach-speak (like Coach Rossley saying every week that "going to College Station this week is a real good chance to get our first SWC win" or Cavan saying "with Coach Kueck's offense, we're expecting to put up a ton of points." Jeez....)

And Tate sounds like a terrific young man. Here's hoping he plays as well as he interviews.

[In Tate We Trust]

Every quarterback I've ever heard has thought of a good pass-catching tight end as something of a safety valve, and I know Coach Bennett wants Hampton to be a big part of the passing game. So it's not surprising that Tate feels so comfortable with him.

Hampton will lead the team in receptions this year.