Wednesday (4/18/12) practice notes

[PonyPride]

The Mustangs returned to Gerald J. Ford Stadium Wednesday for their third practice of the week. Some notes:

• RB Zach Line is a spectator this spring - as he has been in each of the last two springs, and he ended up leading Conference USA in each subsequent season - while recovering from foot surgery that ended his 2011 season early, but he has been moving around. He watches and offers advice to the other RBs in drills, and even has stepped in with the offense, either offering a token block or catching short swing passes out of the backfield (needless to say, nobody is hitting him). Haven’t seen him run hard yet, but at a jogging pace, he seems to be moving around well and shows no signs of lingering discomfort.

• With Line watching from the sideline, the Ponies’ lead RB is Rishaad Wimbley, who continues to be impressive. He has kept off the weight he dropped last year when he moved from NT to RB, and looks visibly leaner and stronger. The adjustment to his new position is progressing, as he clearly is accelerating more quickly and he is holding the ball higher on his chest this spring. The power is still there, despite his admission that his loss of bulk cost him a little strength in the weight room. When the Ponies went to full-contact drills, he regularly blasted through tacklers, sometimes more than one at a time, or dragged a defender with him for several yards.

• Overall, the passing game didn’t look particularly sharp Wednesday, as some passes were off-target and others were dropped again. Some worked well, such as the 40-yard strike QB Garrett Krstich threw down the right sideline to WR Jeremy Johnson, who beat two DBs for a touchdown. Conner Preston continues to show a strong arm, firing intermediate out routes that often find their target on the sideline.

• The defensive play of the day was turned in by DB Jeremy Gray. When Krstich threw to WR Ronnell Sims on a shallow crossing route, the ball bounced off Sims’s hands. Gray, who was shadowing Sims across the middle of the field, reacted quickly, twisting his body around and reaching up to snag the pass for an interception.

• More players turning in to fans: graduated offensive linemen J.T. Brooks and Kelly Turner showed up to watch and visit with their former teammates and coaches.

• OT Ben Gottschalk, who said Tuesday that he hoped to be cleared to return to the field Wednesday, was held out again. After practice, he said he is hoping to receive his clearance this afternoon.

• WR Arrius Holleman sat out practice for the second day in a row after the nose of the football hit his left hand hard in Monday’s practice. Holleman said he initially was concerned that he have reinjured the wrist he hurt during the 2011 season "because there was pain going through my wrist." Asked to rate his current pain level, Holleman said "about a 4" (on a scale of 1-10) before pointing out that the swelling has gone back down. "They don’t want me to be too active, so it doesn’t swell back up," he said. Holleman said he has no reason to believe he’ll miss extensive time, calling his status "day to day." The fireballer who threw the strike: WRs coach Jason Phillips.

[mrydel]

Not good when a receiver gets injured because a ball hit his hand.

[ojaipony]

Not good when a receiver gets injured because a ball hit his hand.

Freak things happen but, yeah, that's a little weak. I wonder if they do gripping / hand strengthening specific exercises.

[Buddha]

Not as rare as you might think. I played with an all-district WR who broke fingers on his hand catching passes. TWICE. Once in a game, and once in practice. He was never the same after the second one.

Get healthy, Ace.

[Junior]

Not as rare as you might think. I played with an all-district WR who broke fingers on his hand catching passes. TWICE. Once in a game, and once in practice. He was never the same after the second one.

Get healthy, Ace.

fingers i understand. but a wrist injury? sounds kinda strange.