• At times during the 2013 season, SMU defensive coordinator Tom Mason openly admitted a measure of frustration with his unit. There was talent, but also inconsistency, as the Mustangs waded into the season with three new starters on the defensive line after the departure of Torlan Pittman, Margus Hunt and Kevin Grenier, and replacements for a trio of productive, experienced linebackers in Ja’Gared Davis, Taylor Reed and Cameron Rogers. Now, as the Mustangs are about halfway through the 2014 spring season, Mason faces a similar overhaul, as he is replacing a pair of linebackers in Randall Joyner and Kevin Pope (who, if he is granted an extra year of eligibility, is expected to play running back in the fall) and three starting defensive backs in cornerbacks Kenneth Acker and Chris Parks, as well as safety Jay Scott.

Rishaad Wimbley will move back to the defensive line in 2014 (photo by PonyFans.com).

The change in personnel notwithstanding, Mason said he is encouraged by what he has seen this spring on the practice field.

“I like where we’re at,” Mason said. “We still have a way to go, but I like the progress we’re making. We’re developing some good depth, and the front-line guys are a year better. We haven’t really scrimmaged, but I like where we’re at.”

A few players are working at new positions this spring, including former running back/slot receiver Colin Lagasse (now a safety), former offensive tackle Jerry Saena (nose tackle) and former running back Dylan Dickman (linebacker). Another, Rishaad Wimbley, has come full circle, returning to his original position — nose tackle — after spending time at running back and linebacker.

“He’s limited by his shoulder,” Mason said of Wimbley, who had surgery last fall to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. “But he’ll play for us on the line, he’ll contribute. When we moved him to running back, it made sense, because he’s such a good athlete and we wanted to try him at several positions. He lost a lot of weight to play running back and linebacker, but as he has matured, it’s harder for him to keep that weight off. He got down to about 250 or so when he played running back, and he still works really hard, but he has started to put that weight back on, and he has always been incredibly strong, so as he has gotten a little older and he has put some of that weight back on, it was clear we needed to move him to the defensive line.”

Mason said he would like Wimbley to report to the Mustangs’ preseason camp at “280, 285 pounds.” Wimbley said Tuesday morning that he now weighs 283.

The Mustangs are deep at nose tackle. Darrian Wright returns for his senior season as the presumed starter, but he and Wimbley are joined at the position by Nick Reed, Gareth Riley-Ayers, Saena and Spencer Hollie. In some situations, Andy McCleneghen also can slide inside. Because of the interior depth, Mason said Wimbley also will get to play some defensive end — another position at which the Ponies have considerable depth.

“He’ll play both (inside and outside) for us, and he’ll play,” Mason said. “We’ll have packages where we’ll use him. He’s very strong, and really fast for a bigger guy. He can contribute.”

• Mason said that while secondary coach Derrick Odum recovers from surgery to repair the Achilles tendon he tore Thursday, graduate assistants Derrius Bell and Dave Mauer will handle most of the individual drills with the defensive backs. Odum, Mason said, will still oversee the team portions of the workouts, but the GAs will work with the players in one-on-one situations.

• The graduation of Acker, Scott and Parks means the Mustangs lose 147 tackles and five of their 11 interceptions from a year ago. But Mason said he is encouraged by the play of several young defensive backs, including cornerbacks J’Marcus Rhodes and Jesse Montgomery, as well as safety A.J. Justice.

“(Rhodes) is really long and athletic, and the last few days, he has really stood out, making a lot of plays every day … and Jesse is the same way,” Mason said. “They’re both really tall, long-armed guys, very smart, real athletic. They’re what you look for in a corner. We had the coaches from Maryland in here, studying our defense. That’s pretty common, for schools to watch each other, and I know their defensive coordinator, Brian Stewart, from when he was with the (Dallas) Cowboys. He was watching Rhodes and Jesse, and he kept saying how we’re really linear and everyone can run. That’s what we have been trying to build — it takes some time, because everyone wants guys like that, but we have a lot of length and speed back there, which should let us do a lot of different things.

“A.J. is really coming along, too. He runs well, and I like his physicality — he’ll really hit you. There’s a normal progression for most players — ideally, you want to redshirt guys when you can, then they play on special teams and back up your starters for a year or two — and we have some guys who have played (Hayden Greenbauer, Shakiel Randolph, Darrion Richardson). But the way A.J. is coming along, he’s making enough plays that he really has a chance to challenge for playing time.”

Mason said he also is encouraged by the spring performance of cornerbacks Horace Richardson and J.R. Richardson, both of whom were limited a year ago while recovering from knee injuries.

“I like what they’re doing,” Mason said. “J.R. had a great interception (Monday), and Horace is batting down a lot of passes. I feel good about those guys.”

Defensive coordinator Tom Mason said he is encouraged by the emergence of several young players on the SMU defense (photo by SMU athletics).

• Mason also said he has been encouraged by what he has seen from several of the young defensive linemen, including defensive ends Zelt Minor, Justin Lawler and Mason Gentry. “Zelt and Justin look like they’re going to be good players — really good players. They both have the athletic ability, and now it’s just a matter of getting the reps in practice and really getting down what (defensive line coach) Bert (Hill) and the older guys are teaching them … and Mason, he hasn’t played a lot of football, but you can see he’s getting better and better every day.”

• The offseason ankle injury that cost Stephon Sanders his spring might end up helping Mason as he constructs the 2014 defense. Because Sanders is an interested observer only at practice, and with the departures of Joyner to graduation and probably Pope (to graduation or offense), Mason has been forced to shuffle his cards at linebacker, and said he has found some combinations he likes. Until Sanders returns, Derek Longoria has been working with the first-team defense on one side, with Robert Seals on the other, and with Jonathan Yenga and either Nick Horton or Caleb Tuiasosopo inside.

“I really like Horton — he can run, and he’s got a toughness to him,” Mason said. “‘Tui’ is a big, tough guy inside. He has lost a few pounds — I think he’s at about 245 now, and I’d like to see him get down to 235 or 240 — but he can run and he’s picking up the defense pretty fast. Yenga — we know we can move him around. He can play all over the place. So we could play him inside with Tui and move Nick to back up the Sam, or we can plug in a guy like Jackson Mitchell, who has really improved a lot.

“What hurts us is that class we signed a couple of years ago, with Lincoln Richard, Jarvis Pruitt and (Damien) Neroes. Pruitt’s at defensive end now, and he’s more comfortable there, but the other two guys aren’t here anymore. That’s life — it happens everywhere — but it just means we’re filling in some spots, so maybe instead of being two-deep with guys who we can call starters, maybe we’re one-and-a-half deep.”

• Wimbley said he is excited about his move back to the interior of the defensive line.

“I asked to go back,” said Wimbley, who played on the scout team’s defensive line last fall before his Nov. 18 shoulder surgery. “I feel comfortable in there, and I’m putting weight back on. They had me at outside linebacker, but getting bigger, it was better to go back to the d-line. So I’m bulking back up.”

To add weight, Wimbley has altered his diet, eating more red meat than he was when he slimmed down to play running back and linebacker, and he has started to get back in the weight room … although his lifts while working his way back to full health are not what they were when he came out of Forney High School as one of the top power lifters in Texas. At the time, he could bench press about 450 pounds, and once did 36 repetitions with 225 pounds … after a heavy chest workout.

“I just got back in there, but now, I did 225 five times,” he said, laughing, “… and I have never been more excited in the weight room.”

Wimbley said he is not put off by the apparent logjam at nose tackle.

“I don’t pay any attention to that,” he said. “I can only control what I can control. I’ll work hard to get back in shape and on the practice field, and we’ll see how everything works out.”

• Another candidate to play in the middle of the Mustangs’ defensive line, Saena said he “persuaded” head coach June Jones to give him a shot on defense.

“I have a defensive (mindset),” Saena said. “I like to go out and hit people. I didn’t want to look back on day and say I never tried.

“If I do this and it doesn’t work out, I’ll go wherever they ask. Coach Jones is a great coach, and I’ll respect his decision. If he wants me to play offensive tackle, I’ll do that, and I’ll work hard at it.”

Saena, who weighed about 260 pounds when he arrived on campus in July, now carries 325 pounds on his 6-foot-5-inch frame, and said he would like to be a “solid” 320 by the start of preseason workouts in August.

“I want to add a little more weight, but it has to be good weight,” Saena said. “I won’t be going home, so I’ll be here, working hard with (SMU strength and conditioning coach) Mel (de Laura). I’ll be in there with him, looking forward to the season, looking forward to Aug. 31 at Baylor.”

Interior linemen sometimes are described as being “wired a little differently” than their teammates, because much of their job involves tying up multiple offensive linemen who beat on them from all sides.

“I love being in the middle,” Saena said. “I’ll take on two, three guys — I don’t mind.

“Besides, most of the time it will be me giving out the beatings.”