The Kyyote's Howl

Nick Lamaison talked about his shoulder before practice, and said that he had worked very hard himself, and with the training staff, and that it felt pretty good. The real test, he said, would be when he got out on the field and started throwing.

He said that he wasn’t really worried about contact, and, of course, he wouldn’t have any contact during practice.

“It’s all about the throwing. I’ll be able to take the hit, or the pain, or whatever. I’m just worried about the throwing. I’m not worried about it, but that’s what I need to test, is the throwing. That’s what I’ll focus on,” he said.

He has been throwing 25 yard passes all week, but there is a huge difference between throwing 25 yard passes, and throwing passes under pressure. There’s things like zip, touch, and timing. he was quick to point out that it was more a matter of putting zip on the ball than throwing it long. The pressure on the shoulder comes from the strain put on the joint when putting that zip on the ball.

He said that he felt like he would be ready for the Thursday night game against the Houston Cougars.

After practice, he once again talked about the Houston game.

“Definitely it’s a big game, because it’s a conference game. I’m going to work in the training room, make sure that my arm is as good as it can be. It’s a big game, and we all care about it, a lot.”

About his shoulder, he had this to say, “I felt good. I was thinking I might have had some trouble with some deeper passes, but I didn’t. As soon as I got into it, as my body started getting warm, more and more, I felt a lot better, and better, as practice went along.”

Coach Price had told him to go full go, and not to hold anything back, and get ready to play.

“I’ll be a little bit sore, tomorrow, or tonight, probably, but I’ll get that fixed up. One thing I’m glad to be back out here is since I haven’t been throwing for awhile, I’ve got to tighten up the timing a little with some of my guys, on my own level, kind of working around my shoulder, and things like that. But, as far as the first day, on Monday, I think it went really well.”

So, after the first day back he felt good, and he looked pretty good throwing the ball. Tomorrow, after his shoulder has a chance to see how it feels to have been put back under pressure, will probably be an even better test. But, he is a warrior, and you can bet that if his shoulder doesn’t fall off over night, he will be out there pushing as hard as he can to make sure that when the first snap comes from the Miners’ center, it will be to him.

Carson Meger is as cool as an air conditioned igloo, both on the field and off. On the field, he makes his reads, has an instinctive feel for when to move to avoid a rush and when to tuck it away and get what he can on the ground.

Off the field, he has the ability to say all of the right things-all of those things that savvy players have learned to say. But, he also talks naturally about football in the same, knowledgeable way. He says the right things without them coming out sounding canned or rehearsed. They sound natural. Just like him-natural.

In his first interview since getting his first real start (he started in the SMU game but was pulled after the first play, a punishment for the starting quarterback, Nick Lamaison, who had violated a team rule) Meger talked calmly about the experience, like it was something he had done a thousand times. As surprised and excited as everyone else was about his performance, many seemed to think Meger would be, and wanted to hear about it. But, he wasn’t surprised or excited about his performance. It was what he had always known. He smiled, he enjoyed others surprise and excitement, instead of them enjoying his. There was no indignation about their surprise. There was no desire to point out to them that they were surprised, but not him. There was no hint of triumph in proving doubters wrong. He’s way too cool for that kind of thing. He smiled, and enjoyed himself, but not at their expense or in a way they expected.

Carson Meger has a rare quality in an athlete at this level. He is one of the most competitive persons you will ever see, but he competes to win games. The game may be who can kick a punt that stops closest to the endzone without going in from the 50 yard line, or a football game. But, as much as he wants to win, and quite often does, he never loses the joy of playing a game. Win or lose. It’s just a game. Let’s play another.

When he was asked how it felt to finally get his first real start at the Division 1 level, the first sentence out of his mouth said it perfectly.

“It was fun,” he said. Then he went on, “Everybody comes to play, not to sit on the sidelines, so after waiting for my first two seasons and three games of this season, it was fun to finally strap up and get out and be in the huddle with the guys, and be out there with the team and run a whole game. So, it was a lot of fun. I had a whole lot of fun doing it.”

When asked if he expected to be the starter, this week, he handled it perfectly.

“You’ve got to prepare like you’re going to play, every week. I’m hoping I do, and if I do, I’ve got to make the most of it. If I don’t I’ve got to do my part from the sideline and be ready to play, if that comes to happen. But, we’ll just kind of have to see, and take it day by day, and see what happens.”

The reporter gave it another shot, from a slightly different angle, asking if expecting Nick Lamaison to start was maybe a misconception. Meger was too smart.

“I’m not sure. Like I said, we’ll have to take it day by day and see what happens,” he said, showing a little bit of a smile,”see how practice goes, and see where we go from today, and take today and roll tomorrow. Tomorrow might be a different answer, or it might be the same. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Asked if he felt like he had at least secured the number two spot, he again showed the same nimbleness that he uses to avoid on rushing defenders.

“With this team, and with football, as far as the quarterback situation, there’s a starter, and there’s everybody else. That’s just kind of how it is. Everybody’s got their own roll, and everybody’s got to take in that role, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve got a role toplay on this team, and I’m going to play it, whether it be number two, or number three, what ever the role is, I’ve got to take that in and play that every week, and just be prepared to play, no matter what the situation is.”

Another big positive from the South Florida game was the play of the offensive line. After struggling to create the push needed to get the running game going in the Miners’ first three games, against the powerful, ranked Bulls, it seemed to be able to push the South Florida defensive line around with an unexpected ease. I asked Meger to talk about his offensive line coming off of their performance against a tough Bulls team.

“They did good. That was a fast, pretty creative, defensive line. The defense as a whole, and especially the linebackers had a lot of speed. The O-line did a heck of a job protecting me all night. They did a good job.”

Any nerves going into the game, I asked.

“No, not really. I mean, you might think there are, but like I said, everbody out here has played before. Nobody comes into Division 1 just never playing the game. Everybody’s played the game before, so once you get in between the lines and start playing it doesn’t matter how many people are in the stands, where you’re playing, or what the situation is. You just kind of roll with it, and it feels good to be back in it., that kind of deal. It was fun. Anxiety, not nervousness.”

Speaking of people in the stands, playing for state championships in Texas means playing in front of big crowds, so I asked him what the numbers were like when he played in the championships.

“In high school, the biggest crowd I played in front of was 39-40 thousand. That kind of gets you prepared for this. Like I said, whether it 40 thousand or three people in the stands, once you get in between the lines you don’t really realize who’s watching or how many people are in the stands until you do something big, and then you hear how many people. But, between the whistles, between the lines, you don’t really know or care who’s in the stands.”

Not when you are playing a game, and just having fun.

Just some tidbits to start;

Walk-on kicker, Kevin Lopez, an El Paso kid, will be getting his degree in Business Administration in December. Good kid, nice to see him doing well in the classroom, too.

A scout from the New York Giants was making the rounds, and today he was in El Paso to watch our team’s practice. He wasn’t looking at anyone in particular, just browsing. At least that is what he told me. I don’t suppose he would be giving away that information, anyway.

Long snapper, Matt Camilli was snapping today, but he isn’t expected to play anytime soon.

Defensive End, Adam Ayala, was kind of easing around today. He wasn’t involved in the action.

The team is practicing without pads. CMP is trying to get them ready, without getting anyone hurt, getting dinged up players healthy, and trying to be able to go into Thursday’s game with lively legs.

James Nelson was back on the right tackle position of the offensive line today. That put the line back into their semi-normal positions.

Now, on to the information everyone wants to know. Who was taking the snaps at quarterback, and how did they look?

Most of the work was split in half going to Lamaison and Meger. At first it was with the running backs. Then, they moved into the passing game. Lamaison looked a little lacking in zip, it seemed to me, at first. But, having said that, he seemed to be hitting his receivers on both short and long passes. By the end of practice, he looked like he did before, as far as I could tell.

Meger looked like Meger. I have been singing his praises for a couple of years now. He scraps. He gets the ball to where it is supposed to be. He has an instinctive feel in the pocket. He looked good.

Lamaison was asked how he felt after practice, and he said he felt fine. He said he figured he might be a little sore after practice, but will get the ice and be taken care of by the trainers and feel fine. Tomorrow will probably be a better indication of how well he is back. He said he was told to practice hard, to see what he could do, not to hold back, as that would make it harder to measure how well he was.

I will have interviews with CMP, Lamaison, Meger, and others coming on line, soon. I’m just trying to get the rest of the pressconference uploaded, and then I will be uploading more interviews.

That’s all for today.

After a physical practice on Wednesday, which was designed to emphasize the need for the team to be more physical, to be able to run the ball into the endzone from inside the three yard line, the team was without pads on Thursday, putting the final touches on the game plan for Saturday’s game with SMU.

Coach Price was happy with the way practice went, and with the improved health of the team.

“Pretty good practice, for Thursday”.  He went on, “We’re healthier than we were going into last week’s game.  We have more, better players.  So, we had to make so tough decisions on the travel squad. That’s good, because that means we have more than 66 good guys.”

Is the team ready?

“Oh yeah.  Everything is ready to go,” said Coach Price.  “Game plan is good.  Today they didn’t make many mistakes, so that’s what I kind of look for.  When they’re still making mistakes on Thursday, then, we’ve got too much in, but, I think we’re O.K..”

Coach Patterson was also happy with the way his team looked in Thurday’s practice.

“They seemed real focused.  I think they’ve got a grasp of the game plan,” Coach Patterson said.

I talked with him about his explanation, weeks ago, about how much more flexibility the depth he was building with his defensive line was giving him, and the evidence of that in the Stony Brook game.  The defense was able to get much more pressure on the quarterback than it had been in the past.  There were times when the Miners had four defensive ends on the defensive line.

Coach Patterson said, “Yeah, well we’ll no more this time.  They’re more of a passing team, so I can do it more this Saturday.  I’m hoping it’s going to give us an advantage to be able to put our guys in different positions to give them their opportunities to rush the quarterback, and take advantage of their own individual skill sets.  It’s looked good in practice.  The test is Saturday, to see if I’m right.”

I said that the team was pressuring the Stony Brook quarterback, and that they would get a lot more opportunities to do the same against the passing attack of the Mustangs.

“No question.  No question.  You know, we had two sacks, but we hit him nine times.  But they’re not a drop back passing team.  I kept telling the kids on the sidelines that if we can get them in third and long, we’re going to have a big day.  So, just get them to third and long.  When we got in those situations it paid dividends.  It’s the same thing this week.  If we can get them in long yardage situations, I feel pretty comfortable that we can rush the quarterback with our four man rush,” he said.

He spoke about the speed at the defensive end position.

“You probably noticed on Saturday, that there were times when we had four defensive ends out there, just trying to get a speed, fast group out there, that has the ability to collapse the pocket, quickly, and make the quarterback feel the pressure .  People talk about pressure, they think just sacks.  But, pressure means that he gets the ball out too fast, the pass is too high, it’s too low, causing the picks to win the game.  That’s what I’m looking for,” he explained.

Of course, the Mustangs have a big, bruising running back, named Zach Line, and the Miners will have to find a way to stop him from being able to pick up big chunks of yards on the ground.

Coach Patterson said, “He’s a big, strong, physical back, and the key is to get him before he gets rolling.  If you can get him at the line of scrimmage, and hold him to one or two yards, then you are in good shape.  But, once he gets his shoulders upright, and he gets a head of steam, he’s a hard guy to bring down for those little DB’s.  So, that’s the key, to not let him get out in space.”

Bottom line, the team is pretty healthy, well prepared, and ready to go.  What we see on Saturday will probably be a much better indication of what this team is capable of doing this season.

I talked with Miners defensive back, DeShawn Grayson, yesterday.  I started by asking him to talk about the Stony Brook game.

It was pretty obvious that he would have just as soon I not have asked about that game.  But, Grayson is tough.  He’s a hitter.  He can take a hit, too.

He smiled just a little, looking away as I finished the question, gathered his thoughts, and answered, “Well, started off a little slow.  The offense was a little more difficult than expected.  But, in the second half, we made some adjustments and came out better.”

The adjustments at halftime definitely changed things.  Giving up just under 300 yards in the first half, the Miners defense cut that to 130 yards in the second half, and a mere 38 yards on the Stony Brook team’s final 4 possessions.

Speaking about this week’s game against SMU, a very different style of football, Grayson said this, “Yeah, it’s a lot different from Stony Brook but, it’s more of what we see, with our offense spread.  So, we’ve just got to focus, and really just lock it.”

He said it doesn’t matter to him at all which quarterback they put in.

Speaking about his own personal match up DeShawn had this to say, “I want to take on their best player.”

With the Mustangs’ Zach Line being such a powerful running back, and an equally potent passing attack, which does he think about stopping first, he was asked.

“I think stop the run first, myself,” he replied.

Asked if Line was a fullback or a tailback, Grayson grinned, and said, “I don’t know what he is, but we’ve got to stop him.”

Is it easier to play against a team you know, he was asked.

“Yeah.  It’s a lot more easier.  It gives guys like me, more, looking forward to it.  I know the guys.  I know them by name.  I ain’t going to say their names.  When I get out there I’m going to call them by their names.  Let ‘em know I’m here,” he said, smiling.

Is it a rivalry game?

“Yes.”

Is this the team you want to beat most in conference, or is it Houston?

“Definitely Houston”.

After some laughing, he continued, “We want to beat everybody but, me, personally, we’re going to go game by game, and keep it going”.

What about this opening game of conference play?

“This is the most important game, so far,” he said.

This is the only game that matters today, tomorrow, or Saturday.  No more, looking back at Stony Brook, or ahead to any other game than Saturday’s game against the Mustangs.  Questions will swirl around the team with a loss, and questions will vanish with a win.

First and foremost, most of the injured players will be returning to action for the SMU game.  Jerel Watkins, James Robinson, and Aubrey Alexius will play.  So will Royzell Smith, who was returning from surgery on both of his shoulders in the off-season, and had landed on his shoulder at the end of the  Stony Brook game.  These players will be back, perhaps in some cases, on a limited basis.  The one huge absence for the SMU game will be the big right offensive tackle, James Nelson.  He continues to work on getting back from the high ankle sprain he suffered in the Mock Game.

Along the lines of injured linemen, Coach Price praised James Martin, the offensive lineman from Mt. Sac that was on Nick Lamaison, and Mike Edwards team, before the three transferred to UTEP.

“James Martin, every time he takes a breath, he gets better.  He’s a big ol’ good looking kid.  He’s just fresh out of junior college.  That didn’t seem to bother Mike Edwards and Nick Lamaison, though,” said Coach.

On a positive note, and one that the Miners will need, Coach Price said that the team will be healthier going into this game than it was going into the Stony Brook game.

Coach Price is not thrilled about beginning conference play with the second game of the season.

“I’m not.  Not for this team.  Not for our team.  I think we need to get better.  We’re going to have to play at a high level.  No question about it.  They’re a veteran team.  We’re not,” a very serious Mike Price said.

He spoke about the challenge the SMU team presents.

“It’s a little bit easier coaching situation.  It’s not as an anxious feeling, because you know what to expect.  So, from a coaching standpoint, I feel more comfortable going into this game.  But, from a player’s standpoint, they know just how good those guys are.  So, our players know their players, and know how good they are.  So, it’s going to be a very, very, very big challenge for us,” said Coach.

He challenged the notion that SMU is a passing team, “No, no, you’ve got to stop the run against these guys.  You’ve got to stop Line.  He’s a big-time player.  He got over a hundred yards, the first half against Texas A&M, and they’re no slouch.”

Asked if he thought SMU would get a little more conservative starting McDermit Coach Price said, “No.  I don’t think so.  They’re going to do what they do.  If the defense gives them the run, they’ll run the ball.  If the defense gives them the pass, they’ll pass the ball.  Coach Jones is going to do what he does.  That’s the way it goes with him, you know.”

In Coach Price’s media luncheon, and again yesterday at practice, Coach Price mentioned that there are some players that the fans will be seeing more of.  I think there may be a message here.

“Jordan Leslie’s going to play more, and catch more passes.  Anthony McGhee is going to play more, and catch more passes.  You’ve seen what Nathan Jeffreys can do.  He’s a real good running back, and he hasn’t done anything, yet.”