.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Hold Situational Scrimmage On Wednesday
8/15/2001 | Football
Aug. 15, 2001
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss held its first scrimmage of the 2001 preseason Wednesday, as third-year head coach David Cutcliffe ran the Rebels through a situational scrimmage during the final hour of the morning's practice. The team later returned for a two-hour workout in the evening.
Cutcliffe was generally pleased with his team's performance during the scrimmage.
"The speed of the game changes when you go from practice to an actual game, and that's what you got to get a taste of," Cutcliffe said. "I can't really say much about any individuals until I look at the tape, but I thought there was some good things at times on both sides of the ball. It was competitive, and that's a plus."
The Rebel offense generated 211 yards in 56 plays, scoring a pair of touchdowns. Senior running back Joe Gunn scored on a 20-yard rush on his first carry of the day, and junior quarterback David Morris hooked up with redshirt freshman wide receiver Trey Fryfogle on a 15-yard pass for the other score.
Gunn led the way on the ground with 36 yards on five carries, as the offense netted 94 yards on 27 carries.
Ole Miss used four quarterbacks during the scrimmage, combining for 117 yards on 12-of-29 passing with one TD and no interceptions. Morris was 5-of-10 for 56 yards with a TD, while sophomore Eli Manning completed 5-of-11 for 23 yards. Freshman Seth Smith hit fellow freshman Taye Biddle for a 35-yard pickup as Smith finished 1-of-5, and fellow freshman Michael Spurlock was 1-of-3 for three yards.
"I thought Eli did some good things," Cutcliffe said. "He got a pretty heavy pass rush and it affected him a little, as it would with any quarterback. He needed that, though, and he'll learn from it."
Fryfogle, redshirt freshman tight end Bo Hartsfield and junior running back Toward Sanford caught two passes each. Fryfogle gained 28 yards on his two catches, while Hartsfield and Sanford each gained 13 yards.
Defensive backs Travis Blanchard and Marcus Woodson spearheaded the defense's effort. Blanchard recorded a game-high five hits, while Woodson recorded four tackles and had one pass break-up.
Two-a-days for Rebels will continue on Thursday, and Ole Miss will host the annual "Meet The Rebels Day" presented by Cellular One on Saturday at 1 p.m., in The Grove.
OLE MISS SCRIMMAGE INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Gunn 5-36-1, Jacobs 8-21, Sanford 3-14, Williams 4-12, Razzano 3-6, Manning 1-4, J. Claxton 1-3, Morris 1-3, Spurlock 1-(-5).
PASSING: Morris 10-5-0-56-1, Smith 5-1-0-35-0, Manning 11-5-0-23-0, Spurlock 1-3-0-3-0.
RECEIVING: Fryfogle 2-28-1, Hartsfield 2-13, Sanford 2-13, Biddle 1-35, Barkley 1-15, Williams 1-7, Rice 1-4, Myers 1-3, Gunn 1-(-1),
DEFENSIVE (UT-AT- TT): Blanchard 2-3- 5, Woodson 2-2- 4, Braddock 2-1- 3, Goethie 1-2- 3, Hutchins 2-1- 3, Mitchell 2-1- 3, Thomas 2-1- 3, Wade 1-2- 3, Cooper 2-0- 2, Hamilton 1-1- 2, K. Johnson 2-0- 2, Knight 1-1- 2, Oliver 1-1- 2, Roddy 0-2 -2, Berry 1-0- 1, Booth 1-0- 1, Coleman 1-0- 1, Gee 1-0- 1, Grier 1-0- 1, Jackson 1-0- 1, D. Johnson 1-0- 1, Landrum 1-0 -1, Robertson 0-1- 1, Sims 1-0- 1, Strong 1-0- 1,
