Daily Archives: August 20, 2011

Preseason Week Two in Conference USA’s West Division

Posted on by
Reply

Houston – Zach McMillian, D.J. Hayden and Chevy Bennett have really started to stand out in the defensive backfield.  They’ve added to the depth and competition that the Houston coaches look for in their defensive backs…The running backs have failed to separate themselves, and while it looks like seniors Bryce Beall and Michael Hayes and junior Charles Sims has the edge over the youngsters, true freshman Daniel Spencer, Randall Hollimon, who has been here a year,and junior walk-on Braxton Welford, are not far behind…Neither of the offensive linemen who suffered injuries, sophomores Ty Cloud and Ralph Oragwu, will need surgery. Cloud suffered a knee injury in last Friday’s practice and Oragwu hurt his ankle in last Saturday’s scrimmage…One player that wasn’t as fortunate was reserve linebacker Philip Causey, who suffered an ACL and MCL tear in his knee and will be out for the year…UH received a $10 million donation towards its football stadium project, helping the Cougars move closer towards the total they need to break ground on a new football stadium. The donation takes UH’s stadium fundraising total over the $60 million mark, which puts them roughly three-quarters of the way to athletic director Mack Rhoades’ stated goal of $80-85 million needed to break ground on the stadium project. The total cost of the stadium was projected at $120 million.

Rice – Even though Driphus Jackson is getting reps with the second-team offense, Nick Fanuzzi remains the backup to Taylor McHargue…LT Jake Hicks remains out with calf injury but Coach Bailiff said it’s nothing serious and he will be back soon…WR Lovett Gibson, QB Driphus Jackson, CB Malcolm Hill, S Jaylon Finner and maybe DT Christian Covington could play as true freshmen…

SMU – Zach Line might have a big roll in special teams this year, whether it be as a kick returner or punt returner…SMU is looking for more people to purchase tickets for this season, as sales have been somewhat low, coming off of consecutive bowl games…The team has renovated its facilities, including a new team meeting room with stadium-style seating as well as renovated positional meeting rooms. Changes to the locker room included the creation of a new team lounge, as well as new lockers, updated graphic and audio/visual equipment.

Tulane – The running back position is going to be one of the, if not the, deepest positions on this year’s squad.  The Green Wave steps into 2011 with the conference’s second-leading rusher, Orleans Darkwa. Darkwa’s backup, senior Albert Williams, has taken most of the first-team snaps thus far in camp because Darkwa has an injured toe ligament in his left foot. Behind Darkwa and Williams are junior Stephen Barnett and sophomore Jamar Thomas, and freshmen Robert Kelley and Dante’ Butler. Coaches have said all will play…Starting nose tackle Chris Asumnu broke his hand in Monday morning’s practice. He was hit in the hand by a helmet and underwent surgery to repair the fracture Monday afternoon. He should be out about a week…Tulane freshman wide receiver Marc Edwards suffered a season-ending ACL injury at Wednesday’s practice…Tulane announced that the in-state match-up with Louisiana-Lafayette will resume. It will be a home-and-home football series beginning with Tulane visiting ULL in 2012 and the Ragin Cajuns coming to New Orleans in 2016.

Tulsa – John Flanders and Lowell Rose remain on top of the depth chart at cornerback, but continue to draw quality competition from backups.  Flanders is being challenged by Milton Howell and J.D. Ratliff, while Rose continues to be pushed by Justin Skillens. True freshmen like Michael Mudoh, Darrell Williams and Dwight Dobbins have grabbed coaches attention… Freshman receiver Gary Owens is making a favorable first impression.  With several of the veterans nursing bumps and bruises, the 5-foot-9, 178-pound speedster is getting his turns with the first-team offense…Joe King made the switch from the offensive line to defense tackle on Wednesday.

UTEP – The Miners continue to go through guards as James Robinson left on a cart with a sore knee during Friday’s practice and will be evaluated today. With Jerel Watkins out with an ankle injury, Paul Santillan took over on the first team.  Traun Roberson’s MRI is not back on his injured knee, but Coach Price is not optimistic and said surgery may be needed…Carson Meger, Tate Smith and Javia Hall are all vying to be the quarterback backup and none of the three has distanced themselves from each other…The true freshman most likely to play right away is receiver Malcom Trail.  The other possibility is center A.C. Patterson, as good snaps from other backup centers have been a problem.

Preseason Week Two in Conference USA’s East Division

Posted on by
Reply

East Carolina – DB Doug Mayo-Tapp and DE Ryan Mahoney were added to the 105-man roster … Mayo-Tapp replaces DB Desmond Lawrence, who left the team to focus on his Pirate track career, and Mahoney replaces OL Kenneth Freeman, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury…East Carolina senior quarterback Dominique Davis has been named to the Manning Award Watch.  This is the fourth watch list Davis has made heading into the 2011 campaign as he earned a place on the Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and College Football Performance Awards Quarterback Trophy charts…Junior college transfer John Lattimore, a defensive end, has arrived in camp and is expected to be cleared to participate later this week.

Marshall – True freshman Jermaine Holmes has been a beast so far at middle linebacker and coaches expect big things from him…Chris Royal has returned to Marshall, but as a student assistant coach. He played for the Herd between 2002-2005 and had been recently playing in the Arena League…True freshman Rakeem Cato gets more and more impressive as practice goes on.

Memphis – Billy Foster seems to have shown some good signs at the running back position. He will again have a dual role as a wide receiver…The paperwork required by the NCAA to determine if Alabama transfer Keiwone Malone can become eligible at the University of Memphis this fall likely will be sent to the NCAA by the end of the week.  Memphis is hoping to get him eligible this year and have him forgo the year he has to sit out because he has an ill relative and that is a loophole in the NCAA transfer rules…Jerrell Rhodes has been recovering from an ankle injury…Veteran receiver Marcus Rucker also sat out for the 11th straight day while rehabilitating from a knee injury sustained on the opening day of workouts. His status is day to day.

Southern Miss – The coaches have said that the offense has been dominated by their counterparts this fall camp…The receivers are looking good, especially true freshman Chris Briggs, who coaches feel can be a go-to receiver…Senior defensive tackle Terrance Pope rode a stationary bike for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery over the weekend, and freshman defensive tackle Michael Brinson and red-shirt junior cornerback Marcal Robinson chucked the green jersey and got back to work.

UAB – Backup running back Dontavious Jackson is looking good at practice and is part of a pack to be the main backup…Linebacker Greg Irvin has been making big plays so far this fall…Safety Chase Daniel continues to be limited by a sprained ankle suffered early in camp…Jonathan Perry, Joe Bento and Austin Brown are all in the mix for the backup quarterback job.

UCF – Tight end Adam Nissley has worked to become more of a receiving threat and so far during fall camp, it looks as if the Knights will be able to rely on him to be more of one…Coach George O’Leary is looking for linebacker Jonathan Davis as a playmaker.  So far, he has dropped him from first team to third team.  But Davis responded and has worked his way to the top of the depth chart once again…Senior Rob Calabrese, who was slotted as a starting wide receiver and third string quarterback, tore his ACL and is out for the season…Another quarterback, Louisville star DaMarcus Smith was declared ineligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse.  The loss of Calabrese and Smith leaves the Knights with two quarterbacks on their roster