Tuesday (4/16/13) practice report

[PonyPride]

• As he promised Monday, RB K.C. Nlemchi (hamstring) returned to practice, albeit on a limited basis. In addition, NT Nick Reed (back muscle strain) has been back on the field with the defense.

• Those sitting out included WR Arrius Hollemon (hamstring), CB Ajee Montes (hamstring), QB Conner Preston (shoulder), LB Jonathan Yenga (knee), CB Horace Richardson (knee) and WR Kyle Guinyard, who has missed both practices this week after straining his left hip flexor in Thursday's practice. Missing practice didn't mean everyone was hobbling, though: in a footwork drill with a rope ladder on the ground, Yenga moved so quickly it would be hard to believe he ever had been hurt, and Richardson looked pretty smooth (and fast) in backpedal and change-of-direction drills.

• Passing drills (no defense) were up and down - in some stretches, receivers struggled with some passes that were a little high or out in front, but there also were stretches when they seemingly caught everything thrown anywhere near them. Probably the most consistent hands were those of WRs Keenan Holman and Stephen Nelson.

• In many of the passing drills, the Mustangs roll out four receivers and four quarterbacks throwing simultaneously. At one point Tuesday, receivers and defensive backs engaged in a series of one-on-one drills. WR Jeremy Johnson stood out, losing his defender on several deep passes.

• Although they compete with each other, offensive and defensive players can be supportive of each other. For example: in the same drill, WR Deion Sanders got behind S Hayden Greenbauer, whose size on the school's on-line roster (6-1, 210) makes him five inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than Sanders. The freshman wideout waited for a slightly underthrown pass, held Greenbauer at bay and made the catch before tumbling into the end zone. As they trotted back to the line of scrimmage, Greenbauer looked at me and said, "great catch - make sure you put that in your report." So here it is.

• Two candidates for the best catch of the day in the one-on-one drills:
- WR Stephen Nelson ran a fade to the back left corner of the end zone, leaped to grab a pass that appeared headed toward the brick wall, looked down and got both feet in bounds.
- WR A.J. Buffini ran a straight route down the right sideline and made the diving catch in the end zone with a cornerback draped all over him.

• One of the more entertaining drills of the day feature the linebackers and running backs going one-on-one in a goal-line drill (using the sideline as a mock goal line). RB Prescott Line didn't flinch while running through a defender on a couple of plays. The drill ended with defensive coordinator Tom Mason setting up a single play to decide the winning team, with RB Traylon Shead carrying the ball and LB Rishaad Wimbley defending. The two caused a major collision and wrestled for a couple of seconds, but Shead eventually got over the line ... meaning the defensive players all got to do a few push-ups.

[PSCA]

I stopped by today for the first time this spring towards the end of practice. What caught my eye was ....

(Editor's note: Sorry to intrude here, but the media has been asked not to report on changes in scheme, formation, personnel groupings, etc.) That's why we have been able to write that "So-and-So made a bunch of good catches today" without saying who is on the first team, second team, etc... And now, back to the original post....)

.... I can see Hal Mumme’s influence, can’t wait for fall to come around. Oh, and Mr Shead is a stud. He is going to be fun to watch. If he stays healthy, he is going to bring something to the running game we have not seen in some time.

Margus, Cameron Rogers and Kevin Grenier were there … got to talk to them briefly afterwards. Margus is pumped for the draft. As was reported, he is heading to Indy this week (tonight). He did not get into any specifics or teams, just looking forward to draft week. It was nice to see Rogers walking around. He said his ankle is healing well and rehabbing well. He is about 210 and looks good. Coaches are trying to encourage him to get back at playing weight and give it a shot … said his focus right now is healing 100% and completing his Masters. Kevin still looks the part, what a nice young man he is. He is completing his Engineering degree this fall and will be doing an internship in AZ this summer. SMU is very fortunate to have so many quality individuals playing sports … representing our schools … and going on to become successful Alumni. Not just these 3, but all of our graduating seniors … past ... present and future.

[malonish]

Shead and Line in a 2 back situation. That would please me

[PSCA]

Well I stepped right into that one …. Sorry, no malice intended. I thought I was just giving a fans point of view … but I understand. I saw some new and interesting things, and thus my excitement/intrigue for the fall.

[PonyPride]

No harm, no foul! I was told to treat it like Fight Club.

"What's the first rule of Fight Club? ...."

[PSCA]

Nobody talks about "Fight Club"...... amen

[Charleston Pony]

Shead and Line in a 2 back situation. That would please me

PonyExpress 2.0

[PSCA]

Shead .. KC would suit me as well. From reports, it sounds like Jared Williams is healthy and looking good too.

[malonish]

Shead .. KC would suit me as well. From reports, it sounds like Jared Williams is healthy and looking good too.

Heck, get them all some time in there against our elite OOC foe (MT State).

[knuckleup]

I like the shead line combo best.... Two big powerful runners

[TWALV33]

We have so much depth at runningback this year, why not put 2 on the field occasionally?

Line and Shead could interchange carries to keep the defense guessing, and both are big enough to do some blocking...Sounds like a winning combo.

Plus maybe it'll open up some passing opportunities and make it easier on our QB/WRs

[knuckleup]

So we have two parade all Americans playing in the backfield. Pinch me I must be dreaming. Look out big east or AAC or whatever