COUGARS

Paul Wulff has held two conference calls already on this Tuesday, and he still has his coach's show yet to go. We have a summary of what he's had to say, so read on.
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• The Pac-10 call in the morning started with his thoughts on SMU and whether the Mustangs would continue to run the ball as often as they have. Wulff said yes and then later, after his local conference call was over, made clear why. He believes Zach Line is one heck of a running back. Line set a career high with 122 yards against UAB last week. ... Though a lot of teams play a spread offense, June Jones' run-and-shoot is unlike any other, Wulff said. The only comparison besides SMU is Hawaii, where Jones used to coach. ... Wulff believes SMU is much improved over last year as its faster overall. The Mustangs are more physical as well. ... Wulff doesn't feel there will be starting lineup changes – speaking of changes, he said Dan Spitz, serving a 9-game suspension due to failing a drug test, has been switched over to offensive tackle where, Wulff feels, he has a chance to be real good, possibly NFL good, down the road – though Mike Ledgerwood is back. ... C.J. Mizell came up in both calls, including one question asked if he would start this week. Wulff took pains to praise the freshman, especially for his improved practice presence and his ability to make plays. But he also pointed out Mizell made some huge mistakes Saturday, including blowing a coverage near the goal line that allowed a touchdown pass. So there are growing pains that will need to be worked out before Mizell is playing every down. ... I asked Wulff about SMU and got pretty much the same answer he gave on the Pac-10 call. ... I had a couple questions about kids who I'm writing about this week, Chima Nwachukwu and Hallston Higgins, two Texas products playing in their home state for the final time. ... Wulff said Kristoff Williams practiced yesterday and, if he can go some more this week, should debut at SMU. ... He then was asked about the FCS upsets the past couple weeks and Wulff went into a long dissertation on the abilities of those schools, when featuring veteran players, to play with or defeat, younger FBS schools.

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• That's it for now. I have to get out to practice, so we'll be back afterward. Until then ...

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