Not much to report today from practice. Jonathan Banks and Justin McMillan split reps, with Banks going first just as he did in the week before the Cincinnati game, and Willie Fritz is not commenting publicly on his plans.
During practice, Fritz hollered out TEAM, then said Together Everyone Accomplishes More. The scoreboard had not rotating messages. This time it simply had #BeatSMU.
John Leglue, who got hurt late in the Cincinnati game, practiced today.
Banks threw an out pass to Jabril Clewis, but Clewis only got one hand on the ball after coming oiut of his break. He has been very disappointing this year, catching two passes.
They changed up the music today, staying away from the hip hop beats and going with lighter stuff.
I talked briefly with defensive coordinator Jack Curtis today. Here's what he said.
On SMU's offense:
"They are different depending on which quarterback they are using. Ben Hicks is not as good a runner as the freshman (William Brown). You'll probably see a little bit more passing game and the spread offense (with Hicks). They do it a a little bit with both, but Hicks is throwing the ball really well. They've got the good receivers. Fortunately they don't have the two they had last year (1,000-yard receivers Trey Quinn and Courtland Sutton), but they are still good throwing and completing the ball. We don't know what to expect at quarterback. They are playing them both. When they get into a true passing situation, Hicks comes in and tries to lead them. We're preparing for both."
On Cincinnati:
"They were good. They were big and physical on the O-line. Their back ran the ball hard. There were two missed tackles on the long run. It should have been a 3-yard gain, and then the quarterback hit us. There was a bust. Somebody was a spy on the quarterback and he followed somebody else. That was a bust. That's been our deal. We've been giving up too many big plays. We need to play fewer snaps and get more three-and-outs, although we did a decent job against Cincinnati. Of their 15 possessions, seven were three-and-outs. But play, play, play, bam, they'd hit one. We've got to be more consistent."
More on the long TD run by a back (Michael Warren) who had not had any long runs this year before then:
"He doesn't have the speed to do that, but he caught us in a zero deal and we missed two tackles. It was one of those deals. I thought our kids continued to play hard. That's a good sign. It's a sign that they believe in what we're doing."
On rebound in second half of season:
"It's a possibility, but we have to get this one and take one at a time. We have to get this one, then we have to go up there and get Tulsa. We can do it. We can still finish strong."
During practice, Fritz hollered out TEAM, then said Together Everyone Accomplishes More. The scoreboard had not rotating messages. This time it simply had #BeatSMU.
John Leglue, who got hurt late in the Cincinnati game, practiced today.
Banks threw an out pass to Jabril Clewis, but Clewis only got one hand on the ball after coming oiut of his break. He has been very disappointing this year, catching two passes.
They changed up the music today, staying away from the hip hop beats and going with lighter stuff.
I talked briefly with defensive coordinator Jack Curtis today. Here's what he said.
On SMU's offense:
"They are different depending on which quarterback they are using. Ben Hicks is not as good a runner as the freshman (William Brown). You'll probably see a little bit more passing game and the spread offense (with Hicks). They do it a a little bit with both, but Hicks is throwing the ball really well. They've got the good receivers. Fortunately they don't have the two they had last year (1,000-yard receivers Trey Quinn and Courtland Sutton), but they are still good throwing and completing the ball. We don't know what to expect at quarterback. They are playing them both. When they get into a true passing situation, Hicks comes in and tries to lead them. We're preparing for both."
On Cincinnati:
"They were good. They were big and physical on the O-line. Their back ran the ball hard. There were two missed tackles on the long run. It should have been a 3-yard gain, and then the quarterback hit us. There was a bust. Somebody was a spy on the quarterback and he followed somebody else. That was a bust. That's been our deal. We've been giving up too many big plays. We need to play fewer snaps and get more three-and-outs, although we did a decent job against Cincinnati. Of their 15 possessions, seven were three-and-outs. But play, play, play, bam, they'd hit one. We've got to be more consistent."
More on the long TD run by a back (Michael Warren) who had not had any long runs this year before then:
"He doesn't have the speed to do that, but he caught us in a zero deal and we missed two tackles. It was one of those deals. I thought our kids continued to play hard. That's a good sign. It's a sign that they believe in what we're doing."
On rebound in second half of season:
"It's a possibility, but we have to get this one and take one at a time. We have to get this one, then we have to go up there and get Tulsa. We can do it. We can still finish strong."