Tuesday (12/13/11) practice notes
Posted: 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.
• 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.