Slick Move: Fleming’s Interception Stokes SMU’s D On Monday

DALLAS – During 11-on-11 drills near the end of Monday’s practice, Patrick Fleming showed why he’s likely to wreak havoc from his outside linebacker position this fall. As Bo Levi Mitchell fired off a stiff pass to the right flat, the 6-4, 240 Fleming stretched up, stopped the ball cold in his mitts and raced slick as green owl excrement to the end zone as defensive players all over the field hooted and screamed.

Shortly after Fleming’s pick-six, senior cornerback Bryan McCann did it again from the other side – and more cheers erupted.

“Oh, man, we had a great time today,” Fleming said after the workout, the Mustangs’ eighth this spring. “I hope we can keep it rolling. That was the most fun practice we’ve had so far, defensively.”

Linebacker Patrick Fleming (right) pursues Bo Levi Mitchell during 11-on-11 drills on Monday. Coach June Jones watches from across the field.

Defensive coordinator Tom Mason certainly noticed the gusto in his charges’ demeanor. “I think a lot of it [is] they’re starting to understand what we want and they’re starting to understand the tempo that they’ve got to practice at to be successful on defense,” he said. “I kind of thought they’d be down, coming off a three-day weekend, but they came out enthused. And when Pat got that interception, it kind of sparked things out there and they got it rolling today.”

Fleming moves from defensive end to linebacker this year in SMU’s new 3-4 scheme.
“I feel like it’s been a pretty smooth transition,” he said. (Fleming played linebacker at Houston Cypress Creek High before moving to receiver.) “It’s a once-you-ride-a-bike kind of thing, I think. I’m still learning the position, though.”

Fleming came to SMU as a tight end and lettered as a true freshman in ’07, playing in nine games, tallying eight catches for 67 yards.

With the arrival of June Jones and the Run-and-Shoot last year, tight end vanished at SMU and Fleming moved to defensive end. There, he appeared in all twelve games, with one start, and showed an ability to disrupt things, get up field and make plays.

Mason said shifting the big, versatile Fleming to linebacker this year is a plus for all concerned. “It’s been a real good move, I think, for him and for us, defensively. It gives you that big outside linebacker that’s a dual threat. He can rush off the edge. He can also drop into coverage.”

“He reminds me a lot of a kid I had [at Fresno State] named Sam Williams, who’s playing for the Oakland Raiders – a big, tall, rangy kid, that’s real athletic.”

“The thing it does out of that 3-4 package is it gives us the ability to put him down in a three-point [stance] and also you can show a four-down-[linemen look] or a three-down. He can be kind of that hybrid guy everybody’s using in the 3-4 to get to a four-down- linemen-type thing.”

"Oh, man, we had a great time today," said Fleming after Monday's practice. "I hope we can keep it rolling."

Fleming looks forward to the fall. “I think, going into the season, we’re just trying to have a passionate outlook, a positive outlook, on the season and go in hoping to win every game. We’ll take one week at a time, man. We’re excited.”

“I’m really happy about how he’s progressed,” Mason said of Fleming. “His attitude’s great. I questioned whether he was going to tough enough to be a linebacker but there’s no question about it now. He’s fine.”

Notes:
*Though nearly 20 degrees warmer than last Monday’s workout, the overcast skies, a brisk wind and temps in the low-50s made for another chilly one at Ford Stadium. (Was this in June “Aloha” Jones’ contract?)
*Monday was not a great session for Mitchell, who had a handful of picks/near-picks. Said Jones, “I don’t think it was mental mistakes. He physically didn’t make good throws, on the things that happened today. But that happens. It’s the first day he’s, I think, thrown a pick since we’ve been out here [this spring.]”