Practice (8/11/12) report

[PonyPride]

• Players who sat out because of injuries and either watched or took part in conditioning drills only included OL Chuey Chamagua (hamstring), OG Jordan Free (back), RB Jared Williams (leg), DE Jarrett Spencer (hip), S A.J. Justice (wrist), QB Neal Burcham (arm), OG Ben Hughes (back) and WR Stephen Nelson (knee).

• Several players appeared lethargic or flat during the early portion of Saturday's practice. That doesn't mean a lack of fitness or effort, but many players - especially young players - hit a "wall" during preseason camp when their legs get tired and they have to force themselves through drills. Saturday was the second consecutive day when several players struggled early on, but picked up their speed and intensity by the time "team" (11-on-11) drills rolled around.

• The quarterbacks were a little "off" in the early stages of practice, including Garrett Gilbert. When he missed a few passes - whether high or low, or off to the side - he was visibly critical of his own performance ... after which his accuracy improved considerably, as he began connecting on short, medium and deep passes.

• Among those in attendance at practice: Gilbert's father, former NFL QB Gale Gilbert.

• Also roaming the field were former TE John Hampton and former LB Brian Bischoff. Hampton is the color analyst for the Mustang Radio Network, and Bischoff is joining the broadcast this year as the sideline reporter.

• Backup QB Conner Preston looked good, maybe as good as he has since he got to SMU. No, we don't have quantifiable stats to back that up, but he threw with visible confidence and his accuracy and velocity were better than they have been earlier in the week.

• WR Austin Fuller's role has not yet been clearly defined, but he appears to be the strongest and best blocker among the Mustang receivers.

• WR Bobby Waid ran with the second-team offense Saturday, to complete a backup quartet of receivers that could make up 80 percent of a nice intramural basketball team. OK, maybe not, but Waid (6-4), Gehrig Dieter (6-3), Darius Joseph (6-0) and Austin Fuller (6-2) don't exactly resemble the smaller, quick receivers normally associated with a June Jones-coached offense. If Larry Brown can share some plays for jump balls with his football counterparts, the Ponies have an interesting collection of targets for scoring passes in the red zone.

• RB Zach Line looks exceptional, and does not appear to suffering any lingering effects from the foot injury that ended his 2011 season prematurely and cost him the Ponies' entire spring workouts. Despite his prolific production in his first three seasons, he rarely gets credit for being a smooth runner, but he looks fast and smooth, seamlessly scraping off would-be tacklers without losing speed or balance.

• RB K.C. Nlemchi ran with the second-team offense and appears to be a visibly better blocker than he was a year ago.

• For the second straight day, freshman Sam Rice played left guard with the first-team offensive line, joining LT Ben Gottschalk, C Blake McJunkin, RG Bryan Collins and RT Stavion Lowe, who continues to work with the starters while he continues to recover from his strained hamstring and shed weight after more than a year away from football. The second-team line featured LT Kris Weeks, LG Ashton Duhe, C Taylor Lasecki, RG Christian Miller and RT Seaver Myers.

• Collins has looked very good in camp this week, and had the block of the day when he sealed off the defensive end and drove him in toward the middle of the field, opening a gaping lane for RB Zach Line.

• The left side of the offensive line doesn't feature a lot of experience, with Gottschalk (who has played a little since arriving at SMU) at left tackle and Rice apparently stepping in at guard. But during the 11-on-11 drills, they kept DE Margus Hunt out of the backfield and also kept LB Ja'Gared Davis away from Gilbert.

• Backup DE Beau Barnes looks vastly improved since last year. Not only does he look visibly stronger (he said recently that his weight is up to about 255 pounds), but he is very mobile, both when running forward and also laterally. On one play during team drills, RB Zach Line caught a screen pass on the right side, and Barnes showed off his wheels when he caught Line from his DE spot before Line reached the sideline.

• Redshirt freshman LB Rob Seals opened a few eyes last year as a member of the scout team because of his exceptional speed, and drew praise for his work over the offseason that has allowed him to bulk up to a listed weight of 230. This week, he appears to be much more comfortable with the second-team linebackers, reacting more instinctively to the plays in front of him.

• Hit of the day: in the early stages of the 11-on-11 drills, LB Cameron Rogers shot through a gap and cracked RB Zach Line, who ended up on his back (but bounced up right away).

• CB Kenneth Acker has looked exceptional this week, and seems to have begun a friendly rivalry with Gilbert. On one the first plays of the 11-on-11 drills, Acker ran step-for-step with WR Keenan Holman, gaining inside position and picking off Gilbert's pass, after which Acker was nice enough to make sure Gilbert knew the result of the play.

• CBs Chris Parks and Keith Robinson have been working with the second team, but one of the more impressive freshmen this week has been CB Ajee Montes, who might push for a spot with the second team. Montes has made a number of impressive catches during position drills, and clearly is not afraid to hit during team drills.

• When he signed with the Mustangs, all that was known about Parks was that he is a tall corner with long arms and good speed, but now he is starting to look like a more complete player. Not only has he gained considerable size and strength, but he is much smoother when changing directions and breaking on the ball once it's in the air.

• Who will start beside Ryan Smith at free safety remains to be seen, but holdover Jay Scott had a nice pass breakup when he read the play and shot in front of a receiver to knock the ball away, and freshman Shakiel Randolph had perhaps the best interception of the day when he made a similar read before shooting forward and using his athleticism and long frame to snare the ball before going out of bounds.

• Chase Hover appears likely to retain his job as the Ponies' kicker, and made field goals appear easy from 40 yards and in. DB Hayden Greenbauer appears likely to be the holder.

• CB Lazarri Middleton has left SMU.

Thanks to PonyFan JasonB for contributing to this report.

[Mustangsabu]

Lazari Middleton..... What's that all about?

[ALEX LIFESON]

I heard Seals is 238 now, and that kid is cat quick.

[ponyscott]

I like that KC was running with the 2nd team....Barnes looks alot bigger this year..and so does Seals...

[JasonB]

Barnes and Seals were both impressive with the second team D.

KC is just absolutely ripped.

I forget how quick Line is. Didn't see him in the first practice, but being out there today, he is just on a different level. That dude is a beast and looks ready to go.

Also, this was my first practice with scrimmaging this year, so I paid a lot of attention to the o-line (which is probably the biggest question mark this season). We need Lowe to get in shape, but really they are better than I thought they would be at this point. The Frosh is holding his own, and Collins looks really good at RG.

[SMU 86]

I think our D is going to really be solid.

[ojaipony]

KC needs touches to give Line rest so he's fresh late in important games. So glad to hear he's blocking well.

[SMU 86]

KC needs touches to give Line rest so he's fresh late in important games. So glad to hear he's blocking well.

Agree on that.

[ojaipony]

Thanks for the reporting, JasonB!

[GRGB]

Lazari Middleton..... What's that all about?

He was the transfer from NU

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml ... ID=3662223

http://www.cornnation.com/2011/8/23/238 ... ers-to-smu

Don't know why you sit out a year and then quit, if that's what happened.

[Stallion]

academic issues

[AusTxPony]

Well, it looks like after Week One of Fall Camp (according to reports from PP) that all is in hand except the Oline. Let's get these guys clicking in the next couple of weeks!

[SMU 86]

Well, it looks like after Week One of Fall Camp (according to reports from PP) that all is in hand except the Oline. Let's get these guys clicking in the next couple of weeks!

We have the best Oline coach that June has had since he has been here so we should be fine.

[ojaipony]

I'm more concerned about safety and the other DE (projected starters seem undersized with average talent) than the Oline. We are young at the Oline position but pretty deep (especially if Free and Hughes get healthy) and huge (two to three 6'6" 320+ pounders who look to have the potential for the best we've had in a long time ... Myers and Briggs specifically ... not to mention Rice and Walling).

[Stallion]

OLine is where most of the concern should be-especially in the non-conference