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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Football Holds First Preseason Scrimmage Saturday
8/19/2000 | Football
Aug. 19, 2000
OXFORD, Miss. - Senior Romaro Miller and redshirt freshman Eli Manning both passed for over 100 yards in Ole Miss' first preseason football scrimmage in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday. Miller was 10-of-17 passing for 117 yards, and Manning connected on 13 of his 20 pass attempts for 141 yards.
Junior Joe Gunn led all rushers with 33 yards on only four carries, while junior Ross Barkley was the scimmage's top receiver with six catches for 71 yards. Sophomore running back Chico Chandler scored the scrimmage's lone touchdown, a one-yard plunge to end the fourth drive. Chandler gained 28 yards on eight carries.
"I thought our focus was good today," said Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe. "I saw some good plays on both sides of the ball, but today looked like a first scrimmage. I think this team will make a big jump between the first and second scrimmages, and I'm looking forward to seeing that. I was pleased with our intensity and focus, and I thought the play was crisp.
"I was impressed with our work. The speed of the game was good and very much game-like. Tempo is something you need plenty of work on. I think our effort was really good, but I'm interested in seeing the film of this scrimmage."
Several players were held out of Saturday's scrimmage because of injuries, including senior running back Deuce McAllister with a hamstring injury. Cutcliffe hopes to have everyone back soon since two-a-day practices are over.
"Hopefully, we can get back to full strength soon," said Cutcliffe. "It's been a surprise that we've has as many people hurt as we've had. One of the biggest things about our squad is getting people who aren't out here today back and get people who are out here back to 100 percent status. Coming out of two-a-days, we'll hope to get that done.
"Deuce is still day-to-day. Until I know that he's healthy, I'm not going to jeopardize carrying this hamstring injury over a long period of time. German (Bello) had his knee scoped yesterday, and his prognosis is good. We came out of the scrimmage well, and that was good to see."
In the scrimmage, the Rebel special teams made a strong showing. Binkley finished the scrimmage 5-of-6 on field goals, with a long of 46 yards. Redshirt freshman Lee Rogers was 2-of-3, and true freshman Jonathan Nichols was 2-of-2. Cutcliffe was also pleased with the Rebels' punting game in Saturday's scrimmage.
"Our field goal kicking has been good, but we need some more work in the whole operation," Cutcliffe said. "We need to protect a little better and be more consistent. The last part of scrimmage where we kicked field goals was pretty impressive. We have three players who can kick. I was disappointed for Les that he missed his first field goal, but he didn't miss another one after that.
"We got good work early in the punting game. I thought Reagan King hit the ball extremely well. In our punt returns, we didn't have Deuce, who will be number one returner. However, it's given us the chance work several people on punt returns."
The wide receivers and the defensive tackles also caught Cutcliffe's eye in the Saturday's scrimmage and recent practices heading into the scrimmage. Senior Grant Heard caught four passes for 39 yards, and junior Omar Rayford had four catches for 61 yards. True freshman Bill Flowers also had four receptions for 49 yards.
"Our young receivers have gotten better over the last few days," said Cutcliffe. "Seeing our receivers make some plays was impressive. They have looked impressive the last few days in practice, so it was good to see that come together.
"I've been pleased with Anthony Sims, and what he has done at defensive tackle. We knew that we would be working a lot of different people at defensive tackle, and Anthony is our most experience player back at that position. Anthony has consistently played well. That's an area where we've made some progress. We're going to play four or five people and rotate them at defensive tackle. There's no question that Anthony is a leader at that spot."
With two-a-day practices over, the Rebels will change to one-a-days beginning on Monday (Aug. 21), which is also the first day of classes for all Ole Miss students. Despite practicing only once a day now, Cutcliffe said he expects the team to continue making progress and make the most of its time on the field.
"We'll have the same tempo (as we did in two-a-days), and I expect it to improve," said Cutcliffe. "With one practice, one meeting and classes starting, we'll have to be efficient with our time on the field."
The Rebels open the 2000 season on Sept. 2 versus Tulane at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Game time is 11:35 a.m., and the contest will be televised by Jefferson-Pilot.
