by: Joey Mitchell
I’ve had the opportunity to see, hear or watch almost every Ole Miss football game that’s been played during my lifetime. This past Sunday after watching the Giants win another Super Bowl and Eli get his second Super Bowl MVP Award, one game came back to my mind just as clear as if it were yesterday.
I was 19 years old (same as Eli) and had traveled to Nashville with my brother and parents to watch Ole Miss play West Virginia in the 2000 Music City Bowl. The Rebels were coming off of a successful 7-4 season lead by Senior QB Romero Miller and RB Deuce McAllister. The Mountaineers were playing for their retiring Head Coach Don Nehlen and were not going to let him go out with a L.
I remember how cold it felt with the temperature in the 20’s and added on top of that the wind was blowing into the stadium off of the Cumberland River, to say it was cold was an understatement!
Ole Miss came out playing that cold and frigid as well. The Mountaineers raced out to a 35 to 9 halftime lead with the Rebels just mustering up 3 Les Binkley field goals. The third quarter started the same with West Virginia scoring 2 more TD’s including returning the half opening kick off 99 yards for the score. The Rebels were now down 49 to 9 and the game felt finished before it every really started. Ole Miss did score a touch down before the end of the quarter to make it 49 to 16 but all hope for a comeback of any kind was all but impossible…..or so it seemed.
As the 4th quarter started a new, red shirt freshman QB came into the game for the Rebels and for all those that were there that day we witnessed for the first time the beginning of greatness that would change Ole Miss and ultimately lead the New York Giants to at least two Super Bowl Championships.
Eli came into that game and started to do what he has done for the Giants all year, mount a comeback. He methodically picked apart the Mountaineers defense and gave every Ole Miss fan more and more hope with every throw. The comeback, however, fell just short that day but Eli finished the game 12 for 20 with 1 interception, 167 yards passing, 3 TD’s and a completed 2 pt conversion, in just the 4th quarter.
The final score that day was 49 to 38 but the future was brighter than ever and Eli would let no one down. Eli showed everyone that day just a glimpse of what was in store and maybe 2 Super Bowl MVP’s is still just a glimpse of whats in store for the rest of his career.
Question of the Week?
What is your greatest memory of Eli at Ole Miss?
by: Joey Mitchell
This past Wednesday the Ole Miss Football team added 17 new players on National Signing Day including 3 Under Armour All-Americans. The highlight of the class is with out a doubt top rated Defensive Lineman Channing Ward out of Aberdeen. The surprise of the day came from Defensive Back Trae Elston out of Oxford, AL. Trae, one of the Under Armour All-Americans, selected the Rebels over LSU and Oklahoma State live on ESPN.
As most signing days go there were a few that got away but overall this class is impressive when you consider all the surrounding factors. To put it in perspective the Rebels finished ranked 44 by rivals.com coming off of the 2 worst seasons in recent memory, a coaching change 6 weeks earlier and an Athletic Department in shambles.
Some of the signees who look to have immediate impact will be DE Channing ward, DT Issac Gross, QB Bo Wallace and a pair of RB’s in Jaylen Walton and I’tavius Mathers.
Question of the Week?
How do you see this class panning out?
By: John Harden
I’ve already touched on the December junior college signees in a past column, so we won’t be touching on those three. But Dan Mullen brought in a haul of new players on Wednesday to fill out the 2012 freshman class. You don’t need the list. Mississippi Scoreboard, hailstate.com, and the other various recruiting sites have already given you that. And many of them will tell you how every prospect was a homerun signing. But here’s some no-spin analysis from the Bulldog side of Mississippi Scoreboard.
Defensively, this is the best recruiting class Mississippi State has had since Jackie Sherrill was bringing in JUCO All Americans back in the late 90′s. Mullen brought in a pair of defensive tackles (Quay Evans and Nick James) who had scholarship offers around the conference and nation. These two guys have the measurables and the potential to be first team All-SEC performers before there time in Starkville is done. While nothing in recruiting is a certainty, the potential is there for the most destructive defensive tackle tandem in Bulldog history. When you add in Parade All American linebacker Richie Brown and cornerback Will Redmond, this class has the makings of a very special defense in the years to come. These are four guys Chris Wilson can build a championship caliber defense around.
It sounds like I’ve started a column to be filled with nothing but sunshine and lollipops, but I promised you no-spin. Offensively, I think this class was a step back from previous classes. The Bulldogs missed on their top two quarterback targets. Chad Voytik is headed to Pittsburgh, and Jeremy Liggins signed with LSU. Mississippi State had decided to forego another quarterback until Dylan Favre transferred to junior college, leaving State with only two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Mullen was forced to take a chance on Nick Schuessler and extend him his only BCS conference scholarship offer. I think the ceiling on Schuessler is being a serviceable backup quarterback, at least if you have visions of upper echelon SEC bowl games. Devon Desper looks like he’s got a chance to be a pretty competent SEC guard or center. Xavier Grindle appears to be a pretty solid tailback prospect as well. But beyond those two, there’s not much that jumps out at me. I’m sure some of the guys will develop into SEC level players, but it doesn’t look like a championship caliber offense, and Mullen will really need to hit the offense hard in the 2013 recruiting cycle if he wants to his program to be in position to take the next step.
There are always misses in recruiting. I already mentioned Voytik and Liggins. Highly touted defensive end, Channing Ward pledged his services to Hugh Freeze’s Titanic. He would have looked exceptional teaming up with Ward and James on the defensive line, and the biggest pain of the cycle was missing out on his talent. John Hevesy had his heart set on athletic offensive tackle Brandon Hill, but an offer from Alabama late in 2011 was too tempting for him to pass up. The top wide receiver on Dan Mullen’s board was Jason Croom, a prospect very similar to 2011 Bulldog signee Joe Morrow. However, Derek Dooley’s Volunteers won the recruiting battle for Croom.
I’ll close the piece with the guy who I view as the sleeper. He didn’t have a plethora of offers and committed to the Bulldogs early on in the process. But watch out for Quadry Antoine out of Belle Chasse, Louisiana. He has the makings of being a hard-hitting assassin at the safety position. Look for him to be a starter beginning in the 2013 season.
All in all the defensive class gets a solid A, and the offensive class gets a solid C. I look forward to seeing how they all look come preseason practice and see which of these guys might already be prepared to play a key role in the fate of the 2012 Bulldog football season.
Now that the 2012 Signing Day has come to an end, the clock for the 2012 Kickoff can begin.
According to Rivals.com, Mississippi State had the #30 overall class (#10 in the SEC) with 28 commitments while Ole Miss ranked #44 nationally (#12 in the SEC) with 17 commitments. Although Southern Miss didn’t crack the Top 50 ranked classes, they were able to sign 25 to this years class.
It can be speculated as to who had the best recruiting class but it all comes down to what happens on the field. Here is a quick recap of who each school signed.
Mississippi State
DE
Brandon, MS Brandon HS
6’5″
260
DB
Belle Chasse, LA Belle Chasse HS
6’1″
210
DE
Scooba, MS East Mississippi C.C.
6’6″
245
K
Vicksburg, MS Warren Central HS
6’3″
180
DE
River Ridge, LA John Curtis HS
6’5″
238
ATH
Florence, AL Florence HS
6’2″
210
WR
Jackson, MS Jim Hill HS
6’1″
166
LB
Long Beach, MS Long Beach HS
6’2″
223
DE
Marrero, LA Archbishop Shaw HS
6’5″
240
OL
Caledonia, MS Caledonia HS
6’6″
285
DB
Florence, AL Florence HS
6’1″
185
OL
Madison, MS Madison Central HS
6’4″
295
ATH
McComb, MS McComb HS
5’11″
198
DT
Morton, MS Morton HS
6’3″
295
RB
Columbia, MS East Marion HS
5’10″
190
OL
Perkinston, MS Gulf Coast C.C.
6’3″
305
ATH
Tampa, FL Alonso HS
5’9″
155
DT
Long Beach, MS Long Beach HS
6’5″
335
DE
Summit, MS North Pike HS
6’4″
240
DB
Clinton, MS Clinton HS
6’0″
180
ATH
Brooklyn, MS Forrest County HS
6’2″
185
ATH
Memphis, TN Memphis East HS
6’0″
179
WR
Columbus, GA Carver HS
6’2″
205
QB
Loganville, GA Grayson HS
6’4″
190
OL
Chatham, VA Hargrave Military Academy
6’6″
280
OL
Oroville, CA Butte C.C.
6’6″
300
TE
Leakesville, MS Greene County HS
6’4″
220
DT
Suwanee, GA North Gwinnett HS
6’2″
260
Ole Miss
OL
Clarksdale, MS Coahoma C.C.
6’6″
315
ATH
Senatobia, MS Senatobia HS
5’10″
179
OL
San Francisco, CA City College of San Francisco
6’7″
290
DB
Wesson, MS Copiah-Lincoln C.C.
5’11″
175
OL
Miami, FL Braddock HS
6’5″
277
WR
Auburn, AL Auburn HS
6’3″
175
DB
Oxford, AL Oxford HS
6’0″
183
DT
Batesville, MS South Panola HS
6’3″
270
ATH
Tyrone, GA Sandy Creek HS
5’9″
175
RB
Decatur, GA Columbia HS
5’10″
234
RB
Murfreesboro, TN Blackman HS
6’0″
195
OL
Memphis, TN Memphis University School
6’3″
285
DE
Batesville, MS South Panola HS
6’2″
210
QB
Scooba, MS East Mississippi C.C.
6’5″
215
RB
Memphis, TN Ridgeway HS
5’8″
164
DE
Aberdeen, MS Aberdeen HS
6’4″
250
DE
Trussville, AL Hewitt Trussville HS
6’5″
230
Southern Miss
WR
Poplarville, MS Poplarville HS
6’5″
205
QB
Petal, MS Petal HS
6’1″
205
OL
Tylertown, MS Tylertown HS
6’5″
285
RB
White Castle, LA White Castle HS
5’9″
180
OL
Louisburg, NC Louisburg C.C.
6’5″
275
DT
Atmore, AL Escambia County HS
6’3″
285
LB
Hattiesburg, MS North Forest HS
6’1″
215
OL
Gulfport, MS Harrison Central HS
6’3″
290
DE
Flowood, MS Northwest Rankin HS
6’6″
225
DT
Montgomery, AL Carver HS
6’2″
320
ATH
Prattville, AL Prattville HS
6’2″
207
LB
Vancleave, MS Vancleave HS
6’3″
220
DB
Fort Valley, GA Peach County HS
5’11″
175
LB
Hoover, AL Bessemer Academy
6’2″
220
LB
Santa Ana, CA Santa Ana C.C.
6’3″
235
WR
Decatur, GA Columbia HS
6’0″
190
DB
Birmingham, AL Briarwood Christian
5’11″
175
RB
Alexandria, LA Peabody HS
5’8″
192
QB
Atlanta, GA Mt Pisgah Christian
6’5″
200
TE
Pensacola, FL Escambia HS
6’4″
230
DB
Memphis, TN Whitehaven HS
5’10″
193
WR
Pearl, MS Pearl HS
6’4″
190
4.5
DB
McCalla, AL McAdory HS
6’0″
195
DE
Clarksdale, MS Coahoma C.C.
6’3″
255
DE
Ellisville, MS Jones County J.C.
6’3″
235
By: John Harden
Photo by: Hays Collins
Being upset in Oxford by the Ole Miss Rebel Black Bears, it was looking like the Bulldogs were headed for a season of turmoil on the road. And that trend showed no signs of turning around as State headed to the locker room trailing Vanderbilt by 11 at the half. But behind the stellar three-point shooting of Dee Bost, Jalen Steele, and Renardo Sidney in the second half, Mississippi State rallied to knock off the Commodores in overtime.
This was a win Stansbury’s squad really had to have following a pair of lackluster road performances in Fayetteville and Oxford. It will be a huge win come Selection Sunday. Road wins are worth 40% more than home wins in the RPI calculation. And this is a Vanderbilt squad who’ll most definitely be in the Top 50 of the RPI come season’s end. If Mississippi State finds themselves on the bubble at season’s end, this win could mean the difference in the NCAA’s vs. the NIT. And if they’re safely in the tournament, it will be a big help to their seeding in the bracket.
But what we saw in the second half really tells us the key statistic to watch for as the season progresses – three point shooting. In recent losses, and in the first half Saturday night, the Bulldogs have really struggled with field goal attempts from beyond the arc. The 10 of 29 they shot in Oxford just isn’t going to get it done. If Dee Bost and Jalen Steele can maintain a consistency and shoot threes at a 40% clip or better, this ball club is going to have a lot of success the rest of the way.
So far in the season, the way to defend the Bulldogs has been pretty straight forward. Play a 2-3 zone, provide quick double teaming help when Moultrie or Sidney get the ball in the post, and make State beat you by shooting it over the top of your defense. But if Bost and Steele can make teams pay for that strategy, the Bulldogs are going to be a tough, tough out come March.
by: Joey Mitchell
Photo by: Hays Collins
This past Wednesday the Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Team was finally able to do the one thing that had frustrated most Rebel teams the past three years, which was to beat State. That was the major victory over the Bulldogs in Oxford that day but there was also another small victory over the Bulldogs earlier in the day. This victory combined with the Basketball Teams win made it a Double Win Wednesday.
The Basketball Team was lead by an amazing performance on both sides of the ball from Reggie Buckner. Buckner set a new career high in points with 19 but kept the crowd rowdy and noisy with his high flying rebound and dunk and several massive blocks. Buckner wasn’t alone in the effort with Murphy Holloway, Jarvis Summers and Nick Williams all contributing to the victory.
The smaller victory that occurred earlier in the day was State having to take down their billboards across the state, with one being in Oxford, due to it being a recruiting violation. The NCAA rule 13.4.3.1 states that “The publication of advertising or promotional material, by or on behalf of a member institution, designed to solicit the enrollment of a prospective student-athlete is not permitted….” The one in Oxford was a direct message to Lafayette High School’s QB Jeremy Liggins, who by the way, was at the game Wednesday night in Ole Miss gear. The violation, though a small violation (NCAA will just frown on State) is still a violation and an embarrassment to Mississippi State.
Wednesday could serve as the turning point of States recent dominance and could be the day that many will point to. The victory also inspired several players and commits of the football team as they tweeted after the game remarks like “things are changing.”
Question of the Week?
Is the recent pattern of States dominance over the Rebels finally turning?