Good Sunday morning. Wanted to post a few links and also answer some questions that have been left in the comments section with another round of Mailbag.

First the links:

Prior to the preseason, I looked at five pressing questions facing the Falcons and took a stab at some answers. After 24 preseason practices, I feel like I’ve got some much better answers to the questions.

Also, here’s my notebook from today’s paper, which touches on a variety of topics.

Finally, check out this preview of the college football season by Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News. It’s a series of “Top 5s,” and a good read. On a personal note, Solomon cut his teeth – like I did – at The Montgomery Journal in Montgomery County, Md. (a paper that no longer exists). Solomon lists Air Force’s Troy Calhoun as a “Top 5 Under the Radar Coach.”

Mailbag time …

Q: I take from your post that (senior guard) Nick Charles is close to being ready?
A: Seems like it to me. He’s still in a red jersey, and he did not participate in any of Saturday’s scrimmage, instead working out with strength and conditioning coach Matt McGettigan. I don’t see him playing against Nicholls State, just so he can get all the way back (and Calhoun said he’s doubtful). But, like I said, if he absolutely had to play. I’m thinking he could.

Q: Throughout the summer practices, you’ve had concerns about the kicking game. How did it look today?
A: Well, first, I think punting will be a strength. Brandon Geyer has looked very good. I wouldn’t have too many concerns about kickoffs either. Place kicking? It looked decent on Saturday but still a bit inconsistent. I expect sophomore Erik Soderberg to be the starter, and he can really drill the ball on occasion. Plus, he played high school playoff games in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, so he’s been on a big stage.

But we’ll have to wait and see how he reacts to college pressure. Last season, field goals within 40 yards were just about automatic. Can’t say that this season. Yet.

Q: Are you hearing anything at all about (junior cornerback Reggie) Rembert? His suspension seems so mysterious. Any idea why they won’t just come out and say something?
A: I’ll answer the second question first: Because policy forbids it. I’ll quote from the story I wrote when I first found out about the suspension.

“Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Brett Ashworth said the academy could not elaborate on the infraction or the length of the suspension because that would indicate the rule Rembert broke and thus violate the federal privacy act.

Ashworth said Rembert, who will be a junior in the fall, was not facing any criminal charges. An unspecified violation of academy standards often has to do with an academic or military issue.”

It was the same thing with Ryan Harrison’s suspension a couple years ago – nobody could say how long he’d be out because that (according to the academy) would tip what rule he broke. But that always seemed silly to me because when someone is reinstated from suspension, we’ll have a pretty good timeline. Whatever.

As for what I’m hearing. Well, here’s what we know on the record: Calhoun has said several times that Rembert will play “a lot” this season. That tells me he clearly will play the majority of the games. And, considering I found out about the suspension last spring, I’d think that rules out a year or even three-quarters-of-a-year suspension. That makes me think, as has been suggested to me by some folks (who were just guessing), that it’s a six-month suspension. If that’s the case, it all depends on when the suspension officially started. Which I don’t know.

All I can do right now is give a best guess as to the opener. And as I noted in yesterday’s post, Rembert has been practicing lately with the second team. That tells me the coaches (who I’m sure know when he’s coming back) are preparing for the Nicholls State game as if he won’t be in the lineup.

Q: How did Darius Jones do during the scrimmage (Saturday)? Based on his high school highlights video, I suspect we will see a great deal of him as the season progresses, even though he is a freshman.
A: Meant to write about Jones yesterday in the blog. I was impressed with how a kid his size (listed at 5-foot-9, 160 pounds) dealt with the contact and the pounding he received. Jones took big licks but each time got right up and lined up for the next play.

He got crunched for losses on his first two carries (playing with the second offense against the first defense), but when he lined up with the first offense (against the second defense), he broke off a nice 11-yard run.

When I spoke to running backs coach Jemal Singleton last week, he said he’d prefer not to have to throw Jones into the fire much this season. But if there are injuries to guys ahead of him (Asher Clark, Savier Stephens, Jared Tew), we could see him quite a bit. And if he shows he can put up with the pounding in games, there’s no reason he won’t get some time here and there.

Q: Any idea when a new depth chart is coming out? Coach Calhoun has been keeping us in the dark?
A: Unlike last preseason, when Calhoun updated the depth chart a couple times, we haven’t gotten a new one since the start of practice. Until Monday. Calhoun told me last week that he’ll have an updated chart then, and I plan to post it here and on Gazette.com as soon as I can type it out.

I think I have a pretty good feel for who the starters will be (though it will be interesting to see how he lists Asher Clark – co-starter at QB? No. 2 QB? No. 1 TB? Some combination?). I’m more interested to see how he lists the backups.

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