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SMU running back K.C. Nlemchi had his right arm in a sling Saturday evening, the result of a shoulder injury suffered in the team's practice earlier in the day.

Nlemchi suffered what he called a "kind of separated shoulder" during practice, explaining that the arm popped out when he fell on it. Nlemchi said he will have to sit out of practice while he recovers, but said he hopes to be back in time for the Ponies' season opener at Baylor. Nlemchi, who has taken some snaps with the second-team offense, has added 10 pounds since he arrived as a freshman last year, raising his weight to about 225 pounds.

He said he was told the shoulder will need only rest to heal, and that surgery will not be required.

Crap. I'm looking forward to seeing him play.
Get better, KC.

KC heal well! He will be back..... love KC!

KC looks fantastic in practice so far. Hopefully he will be ready for the Baylor game.

He is absolutely ripped, looks like he spent every night in the gym in the offseason. He is running second string RB and even getting some looks in the slot in certain formations. Very strong, lots of speed.

Higher Authority wrote:Crap. I'm looking forward to seeing him play.
Get better, KC.

Double crap

I wish KC a full and speedy recovery.

Thanks for the report, PP, and feel better soon, KC.

So if he can't go against Baylor, Zach Line and Rishaad Wimbley will carry the load. Stay healthy, guys.

I thought the point of JJ's no-hitting philosophy was to limit injuries in pre-season. Is it just me, or have there been a higher number of folks injured this pre-season than usual?

RyanSMU98 wrote:I thought the point of JJ's no-hitting philosophy was to limit injuries in pre-season. Is it just me, or have there been a higher number of folks injured this pre-season than usual?

If we are having this many injuries, then baylor must be having

twice as many. I hope.

This is a misnomer. When you go to practice, the way Jones does things makes sense.

1) the first team offense and defense are split apart for most of the practice. Jones doesn't care what they do on the defensive end, they can do whatever they please. On the offensive end, it is all about reps. They run 7 v 7 which is not contact by nature or just run patterns with no defense. They want to get as many reps in as possible, it is about running and execution. They don't practice in full pads because they just want the kids to be able to run as many patterns and plays as humanly possible.

2) When the offense plays against the scout team, again, it is about blocking, WR reads, RB reads, and quarterback reads. That is what they are focusing on. They aren't interested in getting the scout team tackling practice. Additionally, tackling takes time - you have to wear full pads AND it slows plays down, so it takes away from the reps. Again, during this phase, the defense does whatever they want to do, so their contact is up to Mason.

3) When they play 11 v 11, again it is about reps. Both lines play physical and go full speed. They don't tackle the QB, but no school does that. They also don't want kids laying each other out, but other schools do that as well. If they aren't in full pads, they aren't going to tackle in this drill, but I have seen them do it occasionally. The 11 v 11 drill, except for the very beginning of camp when they are working on positioning and technique, tends to be pretty physical - corners bumping the WR, everyone is going at it.

I think the lack of hitting in practice is way overblown, from my personal observations. The R&S is a finesse offense that is focused on skill position players. If we played the triple option, the players would need to beat the crap out of each other and have a bunch of rudys on the scout team. But that is not what we run here.

So far, it usually seems by the 2nd or 3rd game of the season, the team is used to the speed and contact of an actual game.

BIGHORSE wrote:

RyanSMU98 wrote:I thought the point of JJ's no-hitting philosophy was to limit injuries in pre-season. Is it just me, or have there been a higher number of folks injured this pre-season than usual?

If we are having this many injuries, then baylor must be having

twice as many. I hope.

Amazingly we don't have anyone that right now wouldn't play in the SMU game...two weeks of practice left though.

Saturday was full contact for what I believe was 70 plays or so. One of the first and only full contact of the fall.