Wednesday (12/14/11) practice notes
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 4:51 pm
The Mustangs’ third pre-bowl practice was held Wednesday in a soggy, drizzly Ford Stadium, with many of the reps again going to young players. Some notes:
• Kicking a wet football is not the easiest thing to do. P Matt Stone looks pretty good in punt drills. Without getting into any higher math, it looks like he is averaging about 50-55 yards per punt (minus the 15 yards for the snap from the line of scrimmage for an average of 35-40). He did just crank one 68 yards, sending returner Kenneth Acker running backward to make a Willie Mays-style over-the-shoulder catch before running through the receivers working a drill at the other end of the field.
• Fielding punts and kickoffs seems to be a little tougher task.
• Defensive players doing the drill in which they get together in a big circle and two are selected to get into the middle. They line up facing each other, and at the "snap" they get locked in what looks like a wrestling hold, trying to drive each other backward. A couple of the best matchups included NTs Darrian Wright and Gareth Riley-Ayers, CBs Chayse Joubert and Chris Parks, and DEs Szymon Czerniak and Zach Wood, who lost a shoe in the process. Not sure if Wood slipped or something, but from the outside looking in, it kind of looked like Czerniak basically lifted him out of his shoe, at which point Wood lost traction and the matchup was over. (Very effective pass-rushing move.) This drill, as much as any, seems to get teammates fired up, encouraging (and picking on) players in their one-on-one matchups.
• In skeleton (no defense) passing drills, some of the receivers are having trouble hauling in slippery footballs. Of course, as soon as I wrote that, WR Ronnell Sims just made a very nice leaping, one-handed catch over his shoulder.
• In seven-on-seven drills, RB K.C. Nlemchi again showing pretty soft hands as a receiver out of the backfield.
• QB Conner Preston does have some heat on his fastball. Just threaded a nice pass between two defenders to hit WR Nyle Johnson on a post route.
• National Hockey League players always grow beards in the playoffs. Maybe it’s a postseason thing, because several SMU players - mostly offensive and defensive linemen - are sporting some serious facial hair. Many of them are upperclassmen, but not many can claim to have a thicker beard than C Taylor Lasecki … and he’s a true freshman.
• Great play in seven-on-seven passing drills. QB Steve Kaiser found WR Marcus Holyfield racing down the right sideline into the end zone, and seemed to have a clear touchdown (of about 45 yards), but CB Rodney Hubert stayed close and timed his leap perfectly, tipping the ball away from Holyfield at the last second. Hubert has good speed, and he’s a tall guy with long arms, and has earned some very positive reviews during the season for his performance with the scout team defense.
• While the skill-position players go through seven-on-seven drills on one half of the field, linebackers and linemen are going through pass rushing drills. One defensive player lines up against a full line of five offensive linemen, and at the snap (ladies and gentlemen … at quarterback … Bryce Tennison), the defensive player has to beat the man in front of him. The secret is out about the quickness and closing speed of LB Stephon Sanders, but others who show good burst and power include DE Cameron Smith, NT Darrian Wright, DE Zach Wood and LB Robert Seals, who looks faster every day.
• To be fair, not all of the young talent is on defense. OLs Taylor Reich and Kris Weeks also had some success keeping the pass rushers away from their "QB." Everyone knew about Reich’s size when he arrived last year, but he seems to have quick feet and good balance, which can not always be said about guys listed at 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds. He can stay in front of some pass rushers, and he clearly has increased his strength in his first year at SMU, stopping a couple of the pass rushers in their tracks once he got his paws on them.
• In kickoff (and kickoff coverage) drills, four coverage guys had to beat four blockers, but had to get up first - the coverage guys sat on the ground with their backs to the return man, and their blockers started out lying flat on their stomachs, so each player had to gather himself, get up and then beat the man in front of him. Best return in the drill was turned in by DB Michael Sparling, who started up the middle, headed left to avoid the oncoming rush, then reversed field shook a defender with a couple of fakes and beat everyone to the sideline before heading upfield.
• RBs coach Wes Suan worked with the offensive line and will coach the line in the Compass Bowl (he coached the offensive line for two seasons at Hawaii). Coaching the running backs: assistant coach Zach Line.
• Kicking a wet football is not the easiest thing to do. P Matt Stone looks pretty good in punt drills. Without getting into any higher math, it looks like he is averaging about 50-55 yards per punt (minus the 15 yards for the snap from the line of scrimmage for an average of 35-40). He did just crank one 68 yards, sending returner Kenneth Acker running backward to make a Willie Mays-style over-the-shoulder catch before running through the receivers working a drill at the other end of the field.
• Fielding punts and kickoffs seems to be a little tougher task.
• Defensive players doing the drill in which they get together in a big circle and two are selected to get into the middle. They line up facing each other, and at the "snap" they get locked in what looks like a wrestling hold, trying to drive each other backward. A couple of the best matchups included NTs Darrian Wright and Gareth Riley-Ayers, CBs Chayse Joubert and Chris Parks, and DEs Szymon Czerniak and Zach Wood, who lost a shoe in the process. Not sure if Wood slipped or something, but from the outside looking in, it kind of looked like Czerniak basically lifted him out of his shoe, at which point Wood lost traction and the matchup was over. (Very effective pass-rushing move.) This drill, as much as any, seems to get teammates fired up, encouraging (and picking on) players in their one-on-one matchups.
• In skeleton (no defense) passing drills, some of the receivers are having trouble hauling in slippery footballs. Of course, as soon as I wrote that, WR Ronnell Sims just made a very nice leaping, one-handed catch over his shoulder.
• In seven-on-seven drills, RB K.C. Nlemchi again showing pretty soft hands as a receiver out of the backfield.
• QB Conner Preston does have some heat on his fastball. Just threaded a nice pass between two defenders to hit WR Nyle Johnson on a post route.
• National Hockey League players always grow beards in the playoffs. Maybe it’s a postseason thing, because several SMU players - mostly offensive and defensive linemen - are sporting some serious facial hair. Many of them are upperclassmen, but not many can claim to have a thicker beard than C Taylor Lasecki … and he’s a true freshman.
• Great play in seven-on-seven passing drills. QB Steve Kaiser found WR Marcus Holyfield racing down the right sideline into the end zone, and seemed to have a clear touchdown (of about 45 yards), but CB Rodney Hubert stayed close and timed his leap perfectly, tipping the ball away from Holyfield at the last second. Hubert has good speed, and he’s a tall guy with long arms, and has earned some very positive reviews during the season for his performance with the scout team defense.
• While the skill-position players go through seven-on-seven drills on one half of the field, linebackers and linemen are going through pass rushing drills. One defensive player lines up against a full line of five offensive linemen, and at the snap (ladies and gentlemen … at quarterback … Bryce Tennison), the defensive player has to beat the man in front of him. The secret is out about the quickness and closing speed of LB Stephon Sanders, but others who show good burst and power include DE Cameron Smith, NT Darrian Wright, DE Zach Wood and LB Robert Seals, who looks faster every day.
• To be fair, not all of the young talent is on defense. OLs Taylor Reich and Kris Weeks also had some success keeping the pass rushers away from their "QB." Everyone knew about Reich’s size when he arrived last year, but he seems to have quick feet and good balance, which can not always be said about guys listed at 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds. He can stay in front of some pass rushers, and he clearly has increased his strength in his first year at SMU, stopping a couple of the pass rushers in their tracks once he got his paws on them.
• In kickoff (and kickoff coverage) drills, four coverage guys had to beat four blockers, but had to get up first - the coverage guys sat on the ground with their backs to the return man, and their blockers started out lying flat on their stomachs, so each player had to gather himself, get up and then beat the man in front of him. Best return in the drill was turned in by DB Michael Sparling, who started up the middle, headed left to avoid the oncoming rush, then reversed field shook a defender with a couple of fakes and beat everyone to the sideline before heading upfield.
• RBs coach Wes Suan worked with the offensive line and will coach the line in the Compass Bowl (he coached the offensive line for two seasons at Hawaii). Coaching the running backs: assistant coach Zach Line.
