Practice (8/9/12) report

[PonyPride]

• One of the more entertaining drills in some practice sessions takes place when defensive players gather in a circle, and two players are chosen to go one-on-one, with the goal being simply to pin the opposing player on his back, or drive him out of the ring entirely. Among the more interesting matchups:
- When LBs Randall Joyner and Jarvis Pruitt squared off, Joyner initially drove Pruitt backward, but the freshman from Houston was able to get under Joyner and flip him in one smooth motion, planting Joyner on his back.
- DBs Rodney Hubert and Ajee Montes both are listed on the SMU roster as standing 5-feet-11-inches tall, although Hubert looks like he has grown since last year and appears to be a little taller than Montes. When they faced each other in the ring of teammates, Montes got leverage and knocked Hubert back on his heels, making it impossible for Hubert to recover as Montes drove him out of the ring.
- Not sure if LB Brandon Henderson ever wrestled, but he sure looked like it when he lifted fellow LB Derek Longoria off the ground before pinning him to the turf.

• WR Stephen Nelson was a sideline observer after hyperextending his left knee Wednesday. Nelson said he initially feared the injury was worse than it is, but already has ditched the crutches he was given Wednesday as a precaution and listed his condition as "day to day."

• The receivers continued their up-and-down week of practice. The group has had a couple of days on which they made most of the "expected" catches and some exceptional receptions, and has had two other days when they were plagued by repeated drops. Thursday was a microcosm of the week for the group: during skeleton (no defense) and seven-on-seven drills, numerous catchable passes fell incomplete. But when the offense and defense squared off in live "team" (11-on-11) drills, the receivers became much more reliable. Keenan Holman, Darius Johnson, Der'Rikk Thompson, Arrius Holleman, Gehrig Dieter and Cole Loftin were among those who made multiple catches, including several in heavy traffic. RB Zach Line also caught a number of passes out of the backfield, either short check-down passes over the line of scrimmage or screen passes out to the side.

•├é┬áSpeaking of running backs named "Line," PonyFans will be thrilled if freshman Prescott Line turns out to be as productive a player as his older brother. In addition to the similarities in appearance, Prescott also is showing he has a few of Zach's characteristics as a player, too. Through his first few practices, he has appeared to be an able and willing blocker - the most important trait in a running back who wants to play in head coach June Jones's offense. The former high school linebacker and wrestling champion also showed off some of his raw power during 11-on-11 drills when he took a hand-off and ran up the middle. He gained about 12 yards on the play, but was wearing DE Beau Barnes (who is about 255 pounds) and NT Spike Davis (282) around his neck for about the last eight yards.

• Once again, there was an NFL presence at practice - this time a scout from the New York Jets.

• SMU alumni continue to turn out to watch practice. Thursday's session included visits from former LB Youri Yenga and former DBs Bennie Thomas and Justin Sorrell.

[ponyscott]

Good job PP...thanks for being out there and reporting good stuff in these dog days of summer.

[ojaipony]

Thanks PP! One of the highlights of my day is coming on here and reading these reports.

Anything to report on KC Nlemchi in terms of how many reps he's getting/how he looks? Obviously Zach graduates this year, and I wonder who's the "heir apparent" who needs some touches/experience this year (Wimbley is a beast, but I don't see him being a featured back ... maybe I'm wrong).

[mustang1108]

I love the part about Prescott. I can't wait to watch him develop. I can only hope he can be productive like his brother Zach. I know this may be a dumb question, but has SMU had a set of brothers that both came to SMU and were also very productive? I know McIlhenny's were at SMU, but I never heard about how Lance's brother Lott was as a player.

[kull]

great!

[SMU 86]

PP, how is Stavion Lowe looking?

[BCS STANG]

You can tell he has the talent but he looks extremely out of shape. The kid is going to have to bust his [deleted] or he's not going to make it a quarter in Waco.

[Rebel10]

Lowe is kind of a Jones/Palcic experiment and I hope it works out. If not we can always somehow blame any loss on Adrian Klemm. LOL.

[Stallion]

WRs Gary and Anthony Smith were both brothers who started on some our best teams in 1980s-father and uncle of current Mustang Ryan Smith. In the 1970s Que and was it Ken Brittain both started in the Line. Most overrated brothers-anybody remember the Mangum or was it Haugum Brothers (Dean and ?) from Arvarada, Colorado who were both National Blue Chips in the 1980s. They were crazy as hell and I think both got thrown out of school within months of enrolling

[mrydel]

Que and Vic.

[PonyPride]

Nlemchi is taking third-team snaps behind Zach Line and Rishaad Wimbley. What percentage of snaps he's taking, I'm not sure. Line is taking the majority of snaps, but has been given ample rest (the coaches already know what he can do). In a couple of the live "team" drills, Wimbley has taken the first-team snaps, followed by Nlemchi, who looks more confident than last fall, although he is spinning through traffic more than he did last fall as a member of the scout team.

Lowe is a big guy, but he moves remarkably well for a guy who's in the 330 range (331, as of Wednesday). He seems to have decent acceleration when moving forward, and he looks like he moves side to side pretty well in drills. How that translates when people are hitting him and trying to get past him remains to be seen. He said Wednesdaythat if the Baylor game were tomorrow, he would be able to play, and that he would like to get his weight down to the 310-315 range by the end of the season.

[ojaipony]

Thanks, PP!

I would think KC would be the #2 and Rishaad would be used more as a blocker/short yardage type, but what do I know.

I wonder how Roundtree's looking and if we've gotten any closer to naming the second safety starter (assuming Ryan Smith starts at one). Watching the aTm highlights, Ryan Smith got run over quite a bit by Christine Michael. Of course, he runs a lot of guys over.

Thanks again!

[JasonB]

Jay Scott is the other starting safety until another player beats him out.

[Rebel10]

Nlemchi is taking third-team snaps behind Zach Line and Rishaad Wimbley. What percentage of snaps he's taking, I'm not sure. Line is taking the majority of snaps, but has been given ample rest (the coaches already know what he can do). In a couple of the live "team" drills, Wimbley has taken the first-team snaps, followed by Nlemchi, who looks more confident than last fall, although he is spinning through traffic more than he did last fall as a member of the scout team.

Lowe is a big guy, but he moves remarkably well for a guy who's in the 330 range (331, as of Wednesday). He seems to have decent acceleration when moving forward, and he looks like he moves side to side pretty well in drills. How that translates when people are hitting him and trying to get past him remains to be seen. He said Wednesdaythat if the Baylor game were tomorrow, he would be able to play, and that he would like to get his weight down to the 310-315 range by the end of the season.

Has Lowe been getting beat in practice a lot by the DE's?

[PonyPride]

I wouldn't say "a lot." He has been beaten some, as all linemen are, but it also is clear that his leg isn't 100 percent, and he wants to drop more weight. He said that if the Baylor game were today, he'd be ready to go, but the fact that it is still a few weeks away is a good thing. For a guy who is heavier than he would like and who is coming back from the hamstring pull, he actually moves pretty well. How much quicker or more powerful he'll be once his leg is fully healed remains to be seen.