Tuesday (12/13/11) practice notes

Post by **PonyPride** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 6:11 pm

The Mustangs gathered inside Ford Stadium Tuesday for their second pre-Compass Bowl practice.

• Had a chance to talk with NT Torlan Pittman, who left the regular-season finale against Rice early with an injured left ankle.

"I was planting - I had all my weight on my left leg, my left foot - and one of their offensive linemen kind of clipped the side of my knee," Pittman said. "When he did, my ankle basically buckled twice, because I sprained the inside and the outside.

"It didn't swell up too much that day, but by the next morning, it did. Now, a few weeks later, it's still swollen. Not as much, but it is."

Pittman said the ankle is still tender, but he is not wearing a protective boot.

"It still bothers me some," he said. "I can't run. I tried to jog a little today, but couldn't. It's more in my Achilles (tendon) now."

Pittman was adamant, however, that he will be ready to play in the BBVA Compass Bowl Jan. 7.

"I'll definitely be ready by then," Pittman said. "It's definitely getting better. My goal is to be back when we get back to practice (Dec. 27) after Christmas."

• Once again, many of the snaps in practice went to young players, including in special teams drills.

• Pass of the day: in seven-on-seven drills, freshman QB Conner Preston rolled out to his left and fired a 50-yard strike from to WR Keenan Holman and just inches over the fingertips of the trailing DB. Holman made the catch in stride at the goal line and nearly raced up the tunnel toward the locker room.

• One player who looks good in 11-on-11 drills: RB K.C. Nlemchi. He accelerates quickly, shows good lateral quickness when he bounced off a linebacker, has soft hands when receiving passes out of the backfield, and even sat one linebacker down with a couple of head fakes after catching a screen pass.

• K Chase Hover just hit a pair of 40-yard field goals, and looked like he wasn't even trying. Very smooth swing of his leg, not very hard, and the ball cleared the bar by several yards. Not a completely perfect day, as a short field goal from the left hash mark clanged off the left upright.

• For the most part, the QBs looked pretty accurate. J.J. McDermott, Steve Kaiser and Conner Preston each connected on deep out routes (about 15 yards), a pattern that requires a strong arm and high level of accuracy, because the sideline acts as an extra defender and the DB often is close enough that he has time to jump the route and break up the play. For the record: no INTs the out routes.

Charleston Pony · Post by **Charleston Pony** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 6:14 pm

sure hope Niemchi is showing he can pass protect, because from all reports, he's an offensive weapon we could sure use next season

ponyte · Post by **ponyte** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 6:16 pm

Thanks for the update. Did the team look intense in its workouts or just going through the motions?

mrydel · Post by **mrydel** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 7:06 pm

Think Jones said they were letting the 2nd and 3rd teamers get some work for a few days so the coaches could see them work, and would concentrate on Pitt after the Christmas break. Doubt there is too much intensity.

ponyte · Post by **ponyte** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 7:39 pm

I was hoping the youngster would up the intensity. And the Vets would follow. Understand this isn't the core practice. Just hoping for signs that this game is being taken seriously.

Post by **PonyPride** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:26 pm

ponyte wrote:Thanks for the update. Did the team look intense in its workouts or just going through the motions?

From my point of view, there was legitimate intensity. Players ran hard, dove for passes, etc. Not only that, the players who weren't in drills seemed to be "involved." When the second- and third-team guys were running plays, the older guys/starters were actively encouraging other players, sometimes pulling a player aside to talk about things (which obviously I couldn't hear, but there were several instances when it looked like players were taking an active role teaching).

A couple of seniors apparently aren't ready to mail it in yet, either. DE Taylor Thompson stayed out on the field for about an extra half an hour, doing what looked like conditioning work - running, stretching, etc. WR Bradley Haynes also stayed about the same length of time, running routes and catching passes for an extra half hour from QB Steve Kaiser.

2ndandlong · Post by **2ndandlong** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:43 pm

Very reassuring. Appreciate the good report.

Go Mustangs!

ponyte · Post by **ponyte** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:19 pm

Thanks for the update. Sounds like they do take this game seriously. Great!

PonyPlayer4 · Post by **PonyPlayer4** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:10 am

I believe KC is the best of the trio of freshman running backs. June saw he had a capable work horse in Zach Line, and he did not want to waste a year on KC. He felt if he needed to, it was ok wasting a year on Williams and Wimbley. Once Zach leaves it would not surprise me if KC immediately jumps to the top of the depth chart.

smusic 00 · Post by **smusic 00** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:29 am

We have some serious depth at RB next year. I hope they all pick up the schemes and can be used to their strengths. Especially while Zach makes a run at the Doak Walker Award.

Hoss · Post by **Hoss** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:46 am

Zach Line
Billy Dugal
Jared Williams
Rishaad Williams
K.C. Nlemchi
Prescott Line

Time for full confession here: I remember when Shawnbrey McNeal left for the NFL, and I thought it would be a long time before we had a capable running back at SMU again.

Please pass the mustard for this big plate of crow!

Thanks for the reports, Pride.

Mexmustang · Post by **Mexmustang** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:21 am

Which coaches were missing from practice?