Outlook
Ole Miss Head Coach Houston Nutt, having led the Rebels to back-to-back Cotton Bowl appearance in his first two seasons at the school, the first time the Rebels have participated in New Year’s Day bowl games in consecutive season in 50 years, finds himself in a different position heading into the 2011 season. Rather than celebrating another successful season, Rebel fans everywhere are left nursing their wounds and scratching their heads wondering what went wrong. Though it may be a bit premature that the head coach is on the “hot seat”, there is no doubt that life isn’t as easy in Oxford as it once was.
The Rebels finished the season with a record of 4-8, including a 1-7 record in conference play. One of the losses came in the season opener in Oxford again FCS (formerly Division 1-AA) foe Jacksonville State in what was a nationwide stunner. A second consecutive loss to Mississippi State, this time in front of a home crowd in Oxford, finished the season off.
Having lost significant players on both sides of the football, the 2011 Ole Miss Football team is going to have to rely on a stellar recruiting class to step in and make a significant impact early if the season is going to prove to be a successful one.
Offense
The Quarterbacks
Gone is Oregon transfer and former Heisman Trophy candidate Jeremiah Masoli, and the position is up for grabs. The Rebels appear to boast several capable bodies but there is only a handful of Division 1 experience between them.
Nathan Stanley, poised to be the starting quarterback last season prior to Masoli joining the team, has transferred out, leaving the quarterback position to be decided between:
Randall Mackey, a former Parade All-American recruit in High School and Junior College All-American at East Mississippi Community College;
Barry Brunetti, a four-star recruit out of Memphis University School who, in his senior season led the Owls to a perfect season including a shocking win in Batesville over South Panola. Brunetti signed with West Virginia and saw limited playing time with the Mountaineers as a backup before transferring to Ole Miss to be closer to home. He was granted a hardship waiver for immediate eligibility.
Zack Stoudt, a signee out of Iowa Western Community College, who began his college career at Louisville, before transferring to IWCC.
The favorites in this competition are Mackey and Brunetti, as each possesses the ability to extend plays and the mobility to evade pressure. Stoudt, meanwhile, is a traditional drop back passer.
The Running Backs
Ole Miss dodged a bullet when Running Back Brandon Bolden chose to return to school for his senior season, rather than test the waters of the NFL Draft. Bolden is a versatile playmaker for the Rebels, as he poses a threat to defense both carrying the ball as well as catching passes out of the backfield. Bolden is also a capable blocker. Bolden finished 2010 with 976 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns, as well as 344 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. Bolden was the team’s leading receiver with 32 catches.
Ole Miss also returns senior Enrique Davis, a powerful downhill type of runner who has not filled the expectations fans had when the Rebels signed him out of Hargrave Military Academy. Davis had 337 rushing yards and three touchdowns in 2010.
The wild card in the backfield is sophomore Jeff Scott. Scott burst onto the scene as a true freshman with 429 rushing yards and three scores, including an 83-yard romp against eventual national champion Auburn. Possessing the type of speed and agility that made former Rebel Dexter McCluster a fan favorite, Scott has Oxford buzzing and could be in line for a breakout season.
The Receivers
The Rebels lost their top receiver from 2010 in Markeith Summers but return junior Melvin Harris and redshirt sophomore Ja-Mes Logan.
Harris, a giant target at 6-foot-7 and possessing dangerous speed for his size, began to emerge as a deep threat for the Rebels last season, but has been plagued by inconsistency both on and off the field. Harris
finished with 408 yards on 30 catches with three touchdowns.
Logan emerged as a reliable target during the second half of the season and could play the possession receiver type of role the Rebels have been searching for since Shay Hodge graduated. Logan finished with 387 yards on 29 catches with two touchdowns.
The wide receiver position is one in which new faces will be particularly prevalent. The Rebels signed a star-studded group of freshmen at the position, and former dandy dozen Vincent Sanders will look to contribute following a redshirt.
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The Rebels also signed two other talented Mississippi prospects in Madison Central Tobias Singleton and Raleigh’s Donte Moncrief. Singleton has elite straight line speed and could develop into a downfield threat while Moncrief is a physically imposing target at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds with above average speed and very good hands.
The Rebels also boast experience at the tight end position as Ferbia Allen enters his senior season, his third season as a starter. The Rebels also signed Jamal Mosley out of Northwest MS Community College. Mosley played for the Rangers last season after signing with Oklahoma State out of High School. Mosley saw action at Oklahoma State as a freshman.
The Offensive Line
The success of the Ole Miss offense is going to rely largely on a big, experienced Offensive Line, which will have to created holes for the Rebels’ talented runners and provide protection in the pocket for what will be an inexperienced quarterback.
The Rebels appear to be in good hands with the return of senior Bradley Sowell at Left Tackle. The 6-foot-7, 315 pound Hernando product will be a third-year starter, having taken over for the Baltimore Ravens’ Michael Oher following the 2008 season. With a strong senior year, Sowell will have made an excellent case for himself in the eyes of NFL scouts.
The Right Tackle position returns junior Bobby Massie. A heavily recruited prospect out of Hargrave Military Academy, the 6-foot-6, 325 pound, Massie will also receive a look from NFL scouts if the 2011 season is a success.
Junior Center A.J. Hawkins returns for the Rebels as well at 6-foot-3, 313 pounds. Hawkins has played in 21 career games over two years.
A camp battle is underway to determine who will line up between Sowell and Hawkins at Left Guard. The two leading candidates for the Rebels are sophomore Patrick Junen (6-foot-6, 311) and Alex “Tank” Washington, a 6-foot-4, 356 pound senior. Junen appears to be the favorite early in camp.
At Right Tackle the Rebels boast their largest starter in junior Matt Hall at 6-foot-9 and 340 pounds. Hall sat out the 2010 season after transferring to Ole Miss from the University of Arkansas, where he played in 11 games in 2009, including the Liberty Bowl.
Defense
The Defensive Line
Perhaps the biggest question mark on the entire defense, and definitely the area where the most losses occurred, is defensive tackle.
At Defensive Tackle, the Rebels lost Jerrell Powe to the NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round, and Ted Laurent, Lawon Scott and Lamark Armour due to graduation. The only returning player at the position with game experience is senior Justin Smith.
The Rebels do have some talented prospects hoping to make an impact at the position in Byron Bennett and Carlton Martin, the former Dandy Dozen duo from Madison Central sat out with redshirts during 2010.
The Rebels also looked to ease the void by signing a pair of Junior College Defensive Tackles in Uriah Grant and Gilbert Pena. Grant is reportedly one of the top-three strongest players on the team at 6-foot-1, 280 pounds. Pena is 6-foot-2, 336 pounds.
At Defensive End, Ole Miss caught a break with the return of Senior Kentrell Lockett, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility due to medical hardship after suffering a season-ending ACL tear against Fresno State. If Lockett returns to pre-injury form, the Rebels will have one of the conference’s finest pass rush specialists.
Also returning is senior Wayne Dorsey, the 6-foot-6, 262 pounder will be counted on to fulfill his potential coming out of Mississippi Gulf Coast CC. Dorsey played in 12 games for the Rebels totaling only 12 tackles, but 4.0 tackles for a loss.
The Rebels return the majority of their depth from last season at the position as well in Gerald Rivers, Cameron Whigham, Jason Jones, and Carlos Thompson, who many hope will have a breakout sophomore campaign as he was very highly regarded coming out of high school.
The Linebackers
While the position looked like the strength of the defense heading into spring practice, it took a terrible blow when junior D.T. Shackelford was lost with an ACL tear. The undisputed leader of the defense, Shackelford accepted the 2011 Chucky Mullins Courage Award while on crutches.
The Rebels return junior Joel Kight, who has played in every game thus far in his career as a Rebel. Kight, who has 53 career tackles, is the elder statesman of the unit.
Sophomore Mike Marry returns as well, having played in ten games as a freshman.
Ole Miss will rely on newcomers at the position, especially C.J. Johnson. The Mississippi State commit turned Ole Miss signee is expected to factor in big to the playing rotation at Middle Linebacker. Johnson was considered the number two Inside Linebacker recruit in the nation by Rivals.com. Freshmen Ralph Williams, Keith Lewis and Serderius Bryant are expected to figure into the equation as well.
The Secondary
Both starting cornerbacks return for the Rebels in sophomore Charles Sawyer and senior Marcus Temple.
Sawyer finished his freshman season with 49 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Big things are expected for Sawyer in his career.Temple finished 2010 with 48 tackles and two tackles for a loss with two fumble recoveries.
The Rebels signed former Dandy Dozen Senquez Golson out of Pascagoula. Golson, who turned down big money from the Boston Red Sox as an eighth round pick in the MLB Draft, is expected to compete for early playing time at cornerback as well.
At Safety starter Damien Jackson returns for his senior season. Jackson finished 2010 second on the team with 68 tackles as well as one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Sophomore Brishen Mathews looks to build on a freshman season in which he played in all twelve games.
The Rebels also signed three junior college prospects in Co-Lin CC’s Wesley Pendleton, Ivan Nicholas out of ASA College in Brooklyn, NY, and Aaron Garbutt out of Fullerton CC in California, to aid in the secondary.
Special Teams
Kickoff specialist Andrew Ritter returns for his junior season. Ritter finished 2010 with 13 touchbacks, but also 4 kickoffs out of bounds.
Junior Bryson Rose returns and is expected to retain field goal and PAT duties. Rose was 16-18 on field goals with a long of 41 in 2010.
Junior Tyler Campbell returns after becoming the 2010 NCAA punting champion with an average of 46.37 yards per punt. Campbell had 19 punts of 50-plus yards with a long punt of 69 yards and 13 downed inside the 20. Campbell was named a third team All American by The Sporting News.
Return specialist Jesse Grandy transferred during the offseason to the University of Central Arkansas, leaving the positions open for grabs and with no shortage of suitors.
Potential replacements for Grandy are the following: wide receivers Philander Moore, Nick Brassell, Tobias Singleton, Korvic Neat, Collins Moore and Derrick Herman, running back Jeff Scott, and cornerback Senquez Golson.
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