West notebook: A tale of two scrimmages

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - It was a tale of two scrimmages for the West team on Wednesday.

The nine-play morning scrimmage was dominated by the West offense, but the 24-play afternoon scrimmage was completely taken over by the defense.

It appeared that Springdale (Ark.) quarterback Mitch Mustain was poised for a big day, as he was a perfect 4-for-4 in the morning scrimmage, including a touchdown pass to Orange (Texas) West Stark receiver Deon Beasley.

In all, Beasely had three receptions in the morning scrimmage and Irving (Texas) receiver Adron Tennell and Lemoore (Calif.) receiver David Ausberry had the other two grabs for the West team. Tennell's jump ball catch along the sidelines was by far the offensive play of the morning scrimmage.

However, in the afternoon scrimmage Mustain was only 1-of-5 and he also threw an interception. Grandview (Mo.) quarterback Josh Freeman didn't fair too well in the afternoon scrimmage either.

Freeman was 2-of-4 with an interception and he fumbled a snap that led to an Eddie Jones touchdown. The 6-foot-6, 230 pound Freeman did show good composure though, as he bounced back with 35 yard touchdown pass to Ausberry that ended up being the lone offensive highlight of the afternoon scrimmage.

OTHER WEDNESDAY SCRIMMAGE NOTES

***Waco (Texas) University cornerback Perrish Cox had a combined five pass break-ups in Wednesday afternoon's scrimmage and one-on-one work. The LSU commit has looked strong all three days in practice.

***Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) cornerback Devin Ross had two interceptions in Wednesday afternoon's scrimmage. Ross picked off balls from both Mustain and Freeman.

***Klein (Texas) Collins running back Michael Goodson had one of the lone sparks for the West offense this afternoon. Goodson showed his 10.5 speed by bouncing 25 yard run off the left side.

***Colton (Calif.) linebacker Allen Bradford showed why he's the No. 1 ranked player in the state of California by absolutely leveling Celina (Texas) tight end Adam James. This play had the West defense in an absolute frenzy.

***It appeared that Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman running back DeMarco Murray was about to bust a big run after he juked out Kilgore (Texas) defensive end Eddie Jones, but the 6-foot-3, 240 pound Texas commit was able to chop down Murray from the ground with one hand. Jones also had another tackle for loss and a recovered fumble for a touchdown in the scrimmage.

***Kahuku (Hawaii) defensive tackle Joseph Faifili continues his strong play. Faifili was involved in a handful of tackles for loss in Wednesday's scrimmages.

***Long Beach (Calif.) Poly wide receiver Terrence Austin took a screen pass for 30 yards in the afternoon scrimmage. Austin demonstrated great vision and cutback ability as he went side-to-side across the entire field.

AUSBERRY CLAIMS HE'S NOT A USC LOCK

For quite sometime wide receiver David Ausberry has been thought to be a USC lock or even a silent commitment to the Trojans.

When asked what his plans are for Saturday, Ausberry said he'll make an announcement, but by no means is he a USC lock.

"I'm going to pull a hat out on Saturday," Ausberry said. "Everybody says with me being from California I'm going to USC. But I wouldn't say that's fair, because I do have a lot of ties to Ohio State and Georgia.

"I'm going to just do what I'm going to do and pick the best school for me."

All week Ausberry has been compared to former SC wide receiver Mike Williams. Ausberry said the comparisons to Williams don't bother him one bit.

"It's good to be compared to somebody like that," Ausberry said. "But I can't be anybody but myself and that's how I am. I can't be anybody but David Ausberry."

JONES MISSES MORNING WORKOUT

There was some concern about the health of Eddie Jones because he missed the morning practice session on Wednesday.

However, Jones said he missed practice because he had to do an interview with San Antonio Living.

"I heard it was quiet without me out there this morning," Jones said. "I guess I better get back to business and get these guys back up."

Jones backed his words up before Wednesday afternoon's practice by helping the West defense take over the second scrimmage after the poor showing they had in the morning workout without him.

QUICK HITS

***Legendary high school coaches Herman Boone and Bill Yoast, whom the movie "Remember the Titans" is based on, spoke to the West team during their morning practice session.

***North Carolina, Texas A&M, Toledo and Oklahoma State were all in attendance at Wednesday's practices. Most of the teams are expected to be in town on Thursday and Friday.

***The West team conducted a two-a-day practice session on Wednesday and they'll have their final two-a-day practice on Thursday.