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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Begins Spring Practice This Weekend
2/24/2000 | Football
Feb. 24, 2000
OXFORD, Miss. - Coming off a Sanford Independence Bowl victory over Oklahoma last December and a final national ranking of No. 22, the Ole Miss Rebels will begin preparations for its first season of football in the 21st century this weekend when they hold their first two sessions of spring practice. The Rebel football squad will practice both Friday and Saturday.
Ole Miss will hold five of its 15 spring practice days before spring break, which runs from March 4-12. The Rebels then will have 10 practice days following the break, culminating in the Grove Bowl on Saturday, April 1 at 1:30 p.m. The 2000 Grove Bowl will be held at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field, and tickets are $10.
Second-year head coach David Cutcliffe will have 54 lettermen return for spring practice, including the entire offensive backfield which he sees as one of the team's strengths.
"Our offensive backfield returns intact and that will certainly be one of our primary strengths," said Cutcliffe, who has a record of 9-4 as the Rebel mentor. "I think Romaro (Miller) can be one of the most improved players in the Southeastern Conference after having played a year under our system. We also are looking for big things from our running back duo of Deuce (McAllister) and Joe (Gunn)."
The Gunn-McAllister tandem returns in 2000 after a banner season in 1999. The duo combined for 1,760 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns last year. While Gunn and McAllister did the ground work, Miller had another productive season through the air in 1999. Miller completed over 50 percent of his passes for 1,999 yards and 14 touchdowns.
While an experienced offensive backfield returns, Cutcliffe enters spring practice looking to fill some holes on the line and in the receiver corps. The Rebels will enter 2000 without All-SEC tackles Todd Wade and Tutan Reyes and All-SEC wide receiver Cory Peterson, who finished his career as one of the Rebels' best-ever at that position.
"Offensively, we have a good plan with our experienced backfield coming back, but we're certainly going to have to find some answers this spring," Cutcliffe said. "From an offensive standpoint, one of the areas we need to address is how we, as a team, can be more effective throwing the ball than we did in 1999. We've strengthened our receiving corps through recruiting. We also have to solidify our offensive line this spring."
As on offense, Cutcliffe is also looking for some answers on the defensive side of the ball during spring practice. Up front, All-America defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy is gone as is Comone Fisher. Linebacker Armegis Spearman, one of the Rebels' captains in 1999, has departed, as has cornerback Tim Strickland, who was named the Defensive MVP of the Sanford Independence Bowl.
"We have some holes to fill defensively," Cutcliffe said. "As a group, our defense returns some speed, and we have some returnees who have made plays for us in the past. However, we have a lot of youth and inexperience, and we're going to need great leadership from our experienced players who are returning. We're going to need a tough, physical spring to get ourselves ready for the fall."
The kicking game, which was a primary focus of last spring's practices, returns almost intact in 2000. All-SEC kicker Les Binkley, punter Reagan King and holder Ben Craddock return, but Cutcliffe and his staff will be searching for a long snapper during spring drills.
"The kicking game is back intact with the exception of our snapper," said Cutcliffe. "The first goal of our kicking game is to find a snapper or snappers. It is great to have both Les and Reagan back. I know they are going to work hard and maintain the intensity they have played with in the past."
In 1999, the Rebels posted an 8-4 record and won their third consecutive bowl game with a thrilling 27-25 victory over Oklahoma in the Sanford Independence Bowl. With its Independence Bowl appearance, Ole Miss-which also posted a third straight winning season-became the only SEC Western Division school to play in a bowl game the last three seasons.
