Rhett Lashlee reviews first day of SMU football fall camp, early returns on how the Mustangs look

what' you think of the first day of camp you know I thought our intentions were good it's it's just good to be out here it's uh it's it's good to be out first day trying to form our new team um helmets so but intentions were good you could tell we're in great shape we didn't have guys falling out and cramping up at the same time we're not in football shape you could tell we went 14 period somewhere around period eight or nine 10 kind of coming out of our break you could just tell guys were trying to fight through it but they were sluggish and that's normal that's that's what the first or four days and week of camps normally like so we got to play our way into football shape um you know we were sloppy in some things we had too many offsides too many fall starts um even though it's day one I thought defense was good they forced a lot of turnovers that was a positive um but hey it's it's day one like we just told him success is a long journey um you know we're looking for consistency of performance and but like I said I like their intentions today for day one what's it like starting a little early with that week Zero game getting out here about a week early yeah it's weird um being in a week left in July and we're practicing normally it's the last day of July or the first day of August and and normally I don't have to come straight from thsca and we're in team meeting that night but uh you know we'll see I mean I I know this we don't have to sit around waiting it's here we're getting to start building our team and um you know one thing that's kind of unique is we're going to get an extra week out of it before school starts um so we'll see how that goes but just means we have them a little bit longer focusing mainly on football after being limited some in the spring where do you think PR is in his development going into the fall yeah I mean he had a great summer um you could tell he was healthy all through the summer and I think he got stronger in the weight room I think coach Grizz would tell you and his teammates would tell you he had a really good summer um so I felt like his confidence was high coming into practice and his health is not an issue I don't think he worries about it we don't worry about it um you can tell today in some areas he was Rusty but I mean again he hasn't truly practiced since uh Navy week last year so it was good to get get him out there and U but I thought he he looked comfortable and you know it's nothing we're concerned about at all he's he's not limited at anything bodies in there on the offensive time is that some of your biggest position battles you have to decide on on the team yeah I think so I mean and again with with just helmets and shorts for the first two days it's it's hard it's hard to know in the Run game and the pass Pro and all that but uh but yeah I think these first couple weeks that's a big deal we feel like we have great talent in athleticism we have a lot of good depth um you know we'll get Logan parb back here in a few weeks but um he gives some of those guys opportunities on the inside and then on the outside for sure we got a long lot of length and athleticism at tackle but we got a lot of guys that we got to Jael you know moving jail to Center like just the thing about an o line is they got to be a unit and so our potential and our ceiling for this group is high but I think you know that's what this next month is for we got a lot of work to do to figure out who those five six eight guys are and then how well we can Jael as a unit R to your point about the offensive line and the def defensive line what's kind of the end game before you guys travel up to Areno in terms of setting a rotation do you want to have that set in like two weeks before you guys get up there or what's kind of the thinking in terms of your front five and then how you mix your seven or eight defensive line you know in a perfect world August 10th is two weeks for our first game that'll be our last kind of game like scrimmage situation that's that's physical anyways you'd love to come out of that knowing hey we're 15 practices in two weeks in and go we have a lot of those things decided at least for game one or narrow it down and know these guys are competing they're probably going to both play and kind of play their way through that thing at the same time you know if guys we proved it last year we played a lot of guys on both sides of the ball guys earn the right to play we'll play a lot of guys we're going to need to play a lot of guys this year um so we'd love to know two weeks out is a good number but if we don't know till a week out that's fine and I bet at some positions we go in the game saying hey we're going to play them both and and it may take one game two game three games to kind of settle itself and and that's okay um but yeah particularly to to the question before too I mean o line on offense and corner on defense are the areas that we need to let it shake out pretty quick the game is so situational now even with your with your defensive front to what extent has that shifted over the last couple of years in terms of just what your fronts will look like on a 36 or a 32 or something like that yeah I think Scott would probably tell you I mean third six or less most DCS they're going to stay fairly basic you know it's when people play a lot of man they're not going to get too exotic because especially in this day and age where we all go for it on fourth down a lot I mean you're susceptible to getting gutted on a run or whatever um but third and seven plus is when a lot of times you'll see sub packages come in and that's when a lot of the Exotic looks happen and so with guys like Elijah Roberts and Isaiah Smith and cam Robertson and now we got Jafar I Harvey and you know now we got two we got Omari and and Billy here too like we'll have some flexibility to also move some of those guys inside um and get creative the wide receiver room uh Preston called it the best in the conference yeah uh with those guys who did you see major steps forward from in the in the offseason maybe and now that that group is pretty much all returning how much has the competition level raised after last year was have just a lot of rotating well I think one thing is they feel good that if they compete and perform well they're going to play you know because we played a lot of guys last year a lot of people say that and we were able to do it uh at the same time if someone goes out and proves their head and shoulders above they'll play a little bit more you know and I think the thing is probably different this year um you know if you look at our top six guys five of those six are seniors they're this is it they don't have another year and you know it's just human nature last year they're probably wasn't that same urgency now it's like this is it one this is my last chance to play college football yes we're going to the ACC but those guys all have aspirations and I think all have ability to potentially play at the next level so there's a different level of urgency so so I think there's great competition I know why Preston said it he believes in his guys and we have the potential to be uh we had a good unit last year I'll sto short of saying great we dropped too many balls particularly I mean our bowl game's a great example and and some contested plays we made a lot of great plays two we have a lot of guys that have played a lot of snaps I think of the top six Jordan who's the youngest has played 600 and something snaps I think the next lowest is 800 so of those five seniors they've all played between 800 and 1500 snaps in their career um they've got the talent it's can they execute can they make contested catches can they have that consistency of performance if they can I do think we have the best unit in the league I don't think you had a 50 catch guy last year or 600 yard guy last year but a lot of guys over 400 yard do you expect it to be like that again this year I don't know I mean as was the first in my career you know I mean it's the first time I've had that many guys good enough to play where you feel like they're all started capable um we didn't you know we just kind of spread it around let it happen to not have a guy with 50 catches over 600 yards is unusual for us at the same time you know we had seven guys catch a pass or more in every game to your point a lot of guys had 25 30 35 40 catches 4 500 yards so I I think we're going to have a lot of guys play and do well um so I don't know we did win a championship but it would shock me if somebody doesn't crack 50 and get close to a th000 just the nature of how we play that' probably and I and I do think you know again I think if we if those guys who I think we good if they raise their level and closer to great I think you'll have a lot more guys finishing plays and making more catches speaking of urgency in ACC do you feel that out here that these guys understand that this season is going to be different than than previous ones for them in a good way I I don't feel like there's like this Cloud hanging over us and it's like oh man a lot these guys have confidence uh they have confidence from what we accomplished last year you know you accomplish confidence we did that um yeah we got a new challenge in front of us we haven't done anything yet it's a brand new team a lot of these guys are older guys whether they've been here the whole time or transferred in they've been on those stages so I think they're more just excited that we get to play you know that type of competition and compete with those guys and and see where we measure up um so in a good way yeah it feels different but not like everybody's kind of tight I think our guys are like they always been they're loose they're confident um we're going to find out where we stand we don't know but I like our guys and I'm excited to watch them get to compete with the schedule does it help you know a handful of Miami guys that have played in the ACC you other coaches have coached in the ACC bunch of other power conference guys does that help going into it that whether it's this conference or other conferences similar that there is that familiarity I don't think there's any question um you know majority of those guys that have transferred in here almost all came from either the ACC or power conferences so they've either played in those stages been in those stages with the atmospheres the physicality the week in week out of the grind and then the guys that we have that are older guys that have been here you know our quarterbacks the rodri Daniels the um Isaiah wobus like those guys that have always been are older they play I mean they've gone on the road and won in Fort Worth and they've played in Oklahoma and they played at Maryland and they you know they've done all those things so I I don't think I don't think they're going to have any kind of you know anxiousness about that I think they're excited and that's cool what what are your impressions of Andrew champley now that you've seen him move around out there yeah I mean I day one I'm not watching one guy so once I see the film I'll see I mean um he's big he's got length I mean you know when you start thinking the fact that we' moved Justin inside um which obviously he could be an excellent tackle but I think down the road he's he's going to be inside at the NFL level and I think he's got a chance to to be as good a center as there is in the country um he just hadn't done it but talent wise and intelligence wise so for to move him inside and still feel like you have three dudes who athletic Al could start anywhere in our league that's a plus between PJ and Andrew and and Savon and so now it's about again the consistency of performance but um for day one I I didn't notice anything I didn't like