TEAM PREVIEW: Ole Miss Rebels [by JessN]

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Ole Miss Rebels: Team Overview
August 16, 2006
by Jess Nicholas

The Rebels went through plenty of growing pains in Ed Orgeron’s initial season, as did Orgeron himself. At times – such as against Alabama – Ole Miss looked like a physical, dangerous football team. Other times, such as against Vanderbilt, Wyoming and The Citadel, Ole Miss looked like a bottom-dweller. Unfortunately for the Rebels, 2006 is more likely to mirror 2005 than it is to be a watershed year of success. Ole Miss returns just 10 starters, and both lines of scrimmage were wiped clean of their biggest impact players by graduation. Ole Miss figures to be somewhat improved from 2006, but Rebel fans hoping for a quick turnaround under Orgeron would be advised to adjust their expectations.

Returning Offensive Starters: 3 (LT, LG, RT)
Returning Defensive Starters: 5 (RLB, MLB, LCB, SS, FS)
Returning Specialists: 2 (P, PK)

Projected Overall Record: 5-7 (UA, Ark, AU, LSU, Mizz, UK, UGA)
Projected SEC Record: 2-6 (UA, Ark, AU, LSU, UK, UGA)
Projected SEC West Record: 1-4 (UA, Ark, AU, LSU)

Ratings (Ex, Vg, Av, Fr, Pr)
Quarterbacks: Av
Running Backs: Av
Wide Receivers: Pr
Offensive Line: Fr

Defensive Line: Fr
Linebackers: Vg
Defensive Backs: Av
Special Teams: Fr

OFFENSE

Ole Miss will be vastly different on offense this year due mostly to the presence of QB Brent Schaeffer and RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, both transfers from other Division-IA programs. With Micheal Spurlock, Ethan Flatt and Robert Lane at the controls last year, Ole Miss was disjointed and by midseason, Orgeron had been forced to junk most of the West Coast offense he was trying to install. Schaeffer represents a landslide improvement over anyone Ole Miss had under center in 2005, and Green-Ellis should help the running game greatly. The West Coast is back, but with few able-bodied receivers and a suspect offensive line, there’s no telling how long it will last.


QUARTERBACKS
The rushing blast of carbon dioxide you might have felt coming from northern Mississippi was the collective breath of thousands of Ole Miss fans when Brent Schaeffer was finally declared eligible just before the start of fall camp. Schaeffer’s presence gives Ole Miss the closest thing to “the next Michael Vick” that has come into college football since the phrase was coined.

Schaeffer, mishandled badly at Tennessee by Philip Fulmer’s staff, will have sole control of the reins of this offense until he shows he can’t do it anymore. He racked up an insane amount of stats his last year in junior college, passing for 2,970 yards and 40 touchdowns and rushing for another 860 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s had experience in the SEC and should be successful if his offensive line can give him even a minor boost. He had also better stay healthy, because the depth situation behind him is borderline pitiful.

Seth Adams, Billy Tapp and Connor Wise ran the team in the spring, with Adams the best of that bunch. He’s a walk-on. Cliff Davis, a former Alabama signee under Mike Price who opted for professional baseball, might end up being the No, 2 guy when it’s all said and done. Regardless, he isn’t ready, and frankly, neither is Adams.


RUNNING BACKS
When Gerry DiNardo departed Indiana, so did the Hoosiers’ prized running back, the spectacularly-named BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who has already been the cause of misplaced hyphens in countless newspapers. Ole Miss had a pretty good returning starter as it was, Mico McSwain. McSwain ran for 612 yards on 124 carries (4.9 avg.) in 2005, but had only 3 touchdowns. He had moved to the position as an emergency solution after reporting as a defensive back, and it showed.

McSwain has tremendous speed, but few moves and questionable vision. Green-Ellis is not only meatier, he has far better instincts and is more durable between the tackles. From there, depth is questionable. Hiram White and converted quarterback Bruce Hall were the only other players on the roster coming out of spring, although signees Derrick Davis and Cordera Eason are expected to make noise. Ole Miss won’t line up regularly with a fullback, but when they do, Jason Cook is available and pretty good at it, but depth behind him is nil.


WIDE RECEIVERS
If you can name a single Ole Miss receiver without looking at a program, you’re better than even most Ole Miss fans. To gauge how bad things are at wideout, tight end Robert Lane – who didn’t switch from quarterback until the second half of the season – is still the leading returning receiver (17 catches, 213 yards, 12.5 avg., 1 TD). In fact, the top returning player who is actually a wide receiver is Carlos Suggs Jr., who had 1 catch for 0 yards in 2006.

No matter, Ole Miss plans on running three wide receivers more often than not. Suggs is expected to be one of the starters, with freshman Michael Hicks and senior Keith Houston the others. Mike Wallace and Marshay Green, the latter a tiny scatback of a receiver, provide most of the depth, along with signee Shay Hodge. Others in the mix include Markeith Summers and Kendrick Lewis. LaDerrick Vaughn might also see snaps. Behind Lane at tight end are a couple of players, Robert Hough and Lawrence Lilly, who have yet to live up to their promise. It figures to be rough going for the Rebels, at least early in the season.


OFFENSIVE LINE
Ole Miss returns three starters here, but the coaches are concerned. Only left tackle Michael Oher has any star power. Right tackle Darryl Harris and left guard Andrew Wicker are the other returning starters, but neither is considered particularly to be a strength. Thomas Eckers is the new center and Maurice Miller the new right guard. Miller, especially, is a big guy (350 pounds) but neither has experience. Junior college transfer Corey Actis figures to push Eckers and Miller both for playing time. Marcus Cohen and James McCoy both have experience coming off the bench but get schooled by above-average defensive linemen. David Traxler, the top reserve tackle, is probably the best of the reserves. Ole Miss finished 111th in total offense and 116th out of 117 teams in rushing offense last season, and this was and is a big reason why.


DEFENSE

Ole Miss was surprisingly good on defense last season, finishing ranked 27th in total defense for the year. Much of that success, however, came because of the players up front, and Ole Miss returns exactly zero starting defensive linemen from 2005. Veteran linebackers and defensive backs must give the new defensive line time to get comfortable. From a scheme standpoint, Ole Miss will continue to run a 4-3 base bet, with 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 looks occasionally.


DEFENSIVE LINE
No starters return from a unit that was very underrated in 2005, but it might not be a complete killer depending on what happens with two players new to the team, Hayward Howard and Jerrell Powe. Powe wasn’t expected to come close to qualifying, but he may have, and at 6’2” and 345 pounds, he would be an instant contributor if he gets through the Clearinghouse. Howard, a junior college transfer, checks in at 6’4”, 300 pounds and claimed a starting job in the spring alongside Jeremy Garrett, and undersized player who figures to back up Powe if Powe gets in.

The ends are the undersized Chris Bowers and the oversized Peria Jerry, who at 6’2” and 290 pounds might be better served playing tackle. There is some experience behind these players, namely tackle Brandon Jenkins and end Viciente DeLoach. The other reserve end coming out of spring was LeRon King, who weighs but 210 pounds. Marcus Tillman and Kentrell Lockett, a pair of signees, will fight with King for playing time off the bench. Unfortunately for the Rebels, only one other player on the roster, Trey Poole, even has close to the size needed to play tackle. Even if Powe is cleared, Ole Miss will be little more than one-deep along the line.


LINEBACKERS
Everyone already knows about middle linebacker Patrick Willis, perhaps the best at his position in the SEC. But few people give outside backers Gary Pack and Quentin Taylor the respect they deserve, consistently underrating this unit. Taylor is a prototypical SEC linebacker, while Pack has great coverage skills. Willis is good enough to affect entire game plans. If he stays healthy, Ole Miss will be tough in the middle.

Depth is an issue, however, with Robert Russell as the only player off the bench that has the combination of experience and desirable skills. Antonio Turner will be a good player with more snaps. Russell backs up Willis, while Turner looks like the guy at both outside positions. Brandon Thomas, Rogers Loche and Louisiana-Lafayette transfer Don Hargroder are also in the mix at the outside positions. Ole Miss signed only two linebackers in recruiting, Jonathan Cornell and Rory Johnson. But Johnson, like DT Jerrell Powe, finds himself awaiting Clearinghouse approval.


DEFENSIVE BACKS
Safety Charles Clark has developed into a fairly solid free safety, and Jamarca Sanford is a hard hitter at strong safety. Together with top reserve Bryan Brown, they form the nucleus of a secondary that isn’t great, but is better than average. How good this secondary really is depends on your opinion of cornerbacks Trumaine McBride and Nate Banks. McBride has four years of starting experience but still isn’t thought of as a top-flight cornerback. He gets burned too often and is too inconsistent. Banks is the lone new starter in this group.

Dustin Mouzon and Terrell Jackson are the backup corners, while Ole Miss is still searching for a backup at free safety. Redshirt freshman Gary Riggs has the size for the job. Signees Allen Walker and Jamal Harvey figure to get a lot of early playing time. Junior Kirt Finnell has a chance to play as well.


SPECIAL TEAMS
Ole Miss went from unbeatable to putrid in special teams in the course of one year after losing both the punter and placekicker to graduation after the 2004 season. In 2005, placekickers Will Moseley, Matt Hinkle and Robert Bass spent the whole season losing the job to each other. Moseley was 3-of-6 on field goals, Hinkle was 5-of-10 and Bass 2-of-4. That made it easy to figure their miss/make percentage but it didn’t offer the coaches much sleep. The job is still up for grabs.

Rob Park took the punter’s job from Moseley in the season’s fifth game and never relinquished it, although Moseley had a better yards-per-kick average. Park should keep the job this year. The return game is anyone’s guess; Ole Miss was dead last in kickoff returns and ranked only 71st in punt returns.