.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
2002 Ole Miss Spring Outlook
3/20/2002 | Football
March 20, 2002
The top priority for David Cutcliffe's fourth Ole Miss spring football practice is installing a new defensive system brought in by new defensive coordinator Chuck Driesbach.
"Going into spring practice, you always have to think players, not plays," Cutcliffe said. "We have a lot of things we need to do on both sides of the ball.
"It's obvious on defense that we have to defend the run better. We are going to have to pressure and attack quarterbacks better since we only had 13 sacks a year ago. With a conference as tough as this one (SEC) and the quarterbacks we see, we must put better pressure on the quarterback. We also have to find a couple of cover guys since we lost two corners who did the bulk of the playing for us in the secondary."
Cutcliffe, who has led Ole Miss to a 23-13 record and two bowl games in his first three years at the helm, has 53 lettermen returning, including seven starters on offense and seven on defense, from last year's team which finished 7-4. Twenty-three lettermen do not return.
Spring drills marked the return of three players who missed last season due to injuries - running back Tremaine Turner (neck), defensive back Wes Scott (lower back), and linebacker Ian Bass (knee).
However, the Rebels will be without the services of a number of key players this spring, including starting linebacker Lanier Goethie (foot surgery), defensive back Travis Blanchard (foot surgery), linebacker Johnny Ducking (ankle surgery), and offensive lineman German Bello (knee surgery), while defensive lineman Justin Blake, who missed last season with mononucleosis, is still unavailable for practice. Linebacker L.P. Spence, who had knee surgery, and defensive back Marcus Woodson, who had shoulder surgery, will be limited this spring. Quarterback Seth Smith will also be limited since he is playing baseball.
Defensively, Ole Miss must replace four starters - tackles Kenny Jackson and Anthony Sims and cornerbacks Syniker Taylor and Justin Coleman. Returning starters include ends Charlie Anderson and Cory Robinson, linebackers Eddie Strong, Goethie, and Spence, and defensive backs Matt Grier and Von Hutchins.
"Having to learn a new defensive system and getting Coach Driesbach's system installed is a priority," Cutcliffe said. "The thing we'll do is not be totally focused on scheme as much as getting our players to learn and understand what's expected of them at their position."
When it comes to defense, competition depth at almost every position exists, primarily because a number of returning players have played a lot of snaps. "For the last couple of years, we started a lot of different people at different places, and there is some good and bad in that," Cutcliffe said. "We have some competition and we have competition where the guys have played."
Some of that competition is quickly evident when looking at the Rebel defensive ends and tackles.
"We lost the two big guys inside (Sims and Jackson), but at the end position we return Charlie Anderson, Josh Cooper, Germaine Landrum and Cory Robinson. Inside we have Jesse Mitchell, Yahrek Johnson and Daniel Booth who have all played."
Cutcliffe is also excited about having three redshirt freshmen -- Jimmy Brooks, Michael Gibson and Michael Bozeman, plus sophomore McKinley Boykin -- providing additional competition up front.
One of the top returning areas on defense is at linebacker. Strong led the Rebels in tackles last season with105 after having missed the 2000 season with a foot injury. Goethie and Spence are expected to be at full strength by next fall.
"We also have some competition at the linebacker spot," Cutcliffe added, noting that 10 different linebackers have earned letters with the Rebels.
"Ryan Hamilton, Rob Robertson, Justin Wade, and Brian Lester have all seen extensive playing time. It will be good to get Ian Bass back out there and healthy. Ian has also started and played for us."
Replacing Taylor and Coleman at cornerback is a major priority this spring when it comes to the secondary. Seniors Desmon Johnson and Chris Knight are two veterans back at corner.
"Desmon has probably played more than anyone else at the corner position," Cutcliffe said. "We also have some new faces there that can compete. Tavarus Horne, who was redshirted a year ago after playing as a true freshman, could be a factor. Travis Johnson and Bryant Thomas could be as well. Wes Scott is returning after redshirting and he has a chance to get involved in our depth either as a safety or as a corner. We expect to find help out of that group.
"We need to get our play-makers on the field in the secondary," Cutcliffe said. "I'm interested in seeing our safeties get involved in the run game. That's where Matt Grier, Eric Oliver, Kelvin Robinson, Von Hutchins, Keith Houston and Jeremy Ruffin need to get involved. There are several guys that I am interested in seeing become physical football players and help us defend the run. It's unfortunate that two of our safeties, Marcus Woodson and Travis Blanchard, will miss spring practice due to injuries."
Offensive starters the Rebels must replace this spring include All-America left tackle Terrence Metcalf, running backs Joe Gunn and Charles Stackhouse, and wide receiver Jamie Armstrong. Metcalf anchored an offensive line which allowed the fewest quarterback sacks in the SEC (10) last season. Gunn ended his career ranked second on the Ole Miss career list for rushing yards with 2,749 and Stackhouse was considered one of the SEC's top blocking fullbacks. Armstrong ranked second on the team in receiving last year with 40 catches, which gave him 71 in his career.
Returning starters include quarterback Eli Manning, who set or tied 17 school records last year in his first season as a starter, wide receiver Chris Collins, who led the team with 54 receptions, tight end Doug Zeigler, tackle Belton Johnson, and guards Doug Buckles and Marcus Johnson.
"Offensively, I think depth and competition is once again the key," Cutcliffe said. "What I see in most positions, outside of offensive line and quarterback, is we have quite a few people competing for playing time who have already played a good bit for us. If you look at our wide receiving corps, there is competition among guys who have played. At tight end and running back, there is competition among guys who have played."
There are also some newcomers on offense who could have an impact. One is running back Ronald McClendon, rated by one national recruiting service as the nation's top junior college prospect, who enrolled in January. The Rebels also return a couple of redshirt freshmen at running back, plus three redshirt freshmen at wide receiver.
"What I am most interested in this spring is to see our young offensive lineman," Cutcliffe said. "Not only did we redshirt five freshmen, we also redshirted Justin Sawyer, who played tight end before we moved him to center, and he's back in the mix again. How those people respond will weigh heavily on what we think we're going to be as far as being successful coming out of spring practice.
"I want to see Tre' Stallings, Chris Spencer, Ryan Jones, Bobby Harris, and Tony Bonds, as well as Justin Sawyer, get a lot of snaps this spring. Those are six guys that we didn't have available a year ago who can impact our offensive line depth."
Claxton, as a returning all-conference performer, is expected to be the leader of the pack in the offensive line, while Belton Johnson is back for his third year as a starter up front. "Marcus Johnson and Doug Buckles are two young players who have shown great flashes and have a lot of starts under their belt," Cutcliffe added.
"At tight end, we feel great about having senior Doug Zeigler back. Bo Hartsfield is back along with Eric Rice, who redshirted a year ago. They will compete for playing time behind Doug. That's one of those positions where the people competing for playing time have already played extensively in ball games. Having guys who have played before doesn't just help you on offense and defense, but it also really helps in the kicking game. We should benefit from all of this."
Cutcliffe said Manning is going to be challenged to take his game to another level this spring.
"A lot of people don't realize how much more effective you can be after having 11 games as a starter under your belt," Cutcliffe said. "His knowledge of the offense improves, his decision making should be quicker, and he should help us at the line of scrimmage. There's a lot of things that he'll benefit from coming back as a veteran."
According to Cutcliffe, one of the real challenges is when you look behind Manning and realize the Rebels don't have anybody with any playing experience per se. Senior David Morris has one start in his career and has played sparingly in a few other games.
"David must continue to work hard and stay ready," Cutcliffe said. "He did a great job as a No. 2 man last year in making every day in practice his game. Micheal Spurlock is going to get the bulk of the third team work and get a lot of snaps since Seth Smith is involved in baseball. Seth will get some work, but Spurlock will have to accelerate his learning. He has to take advantage of the repetitions he'll get this spring.
"Quarterback is a position where you can't take for granted that you have all the answers. It's easy to get comfortable when you have an Eli Manning. If we should suffer the unfortunate loss of a starter like Eli, the biggest issue would be which direction our offense would go and how we would develop as an offensive football team."
With two veterans like seniors Toward Sanford and Robert Williams returning, Cutcliffe expects them to be the leaders at running back, which has all the makings of being an interesting position this spring.
"At tailback, you have a log jam," Cutcliffe said. "You start with Robert Williams. We have Tremaine Turner, who we redshirted a year ago. We hope Tremaine is healthy and ready to compete. Then you have Vashon Pearson and Ronald McLendon right there as well. That's solid competition.
"At fullback, we have Toward Sanford, Rick Razzano and Brandon Jacobs, who redshirted a year ago. Brandon is up to 230 or 235 pounds and looks like a different guy. I'm anxious to see how he responds. Turner can also play fullback for us as well as tailback. It will be interesting to see how his spring goes from a health standpoint."
At wide receiver, the Rebels return a lot of people that have caught a lot of balls, but Cutcliffe says it's going to be critical to get people in the right places.
"Chris Collins, Jason Armstead and Bill Flowers, in particular, caught a lot of balls and made big plays for us last year. Trey Fryfogle and Ross Barkley have played. The three redshirts -- Mike Espy, Ratavious Biddle and Mario Hill -- are all very talented young men. Kerry Johnson has made the move from the secondary to a more natural position for him. He is a tall and rangy kid who has great endurance and speed. I am anxious to see how he competes out there this spring."
When it comes to the kicking game, the Rebels return punter Cody Ridgeway, kickers Jonathan Nichols and Lee Rogers, and long-snapper A. J. Kiamie.
"The defense and kicking game go together," Cutcliffe said. "Cody is going to have some competition from Shae Orrell, who is a talented young man, and some others we are going to look at. I expect Cody to respond. He has a year under his belt and had a significant difference from the first half to the second half of the season."
Nichols ranked second to Gunn in scoring a year ago with 56 points, making 47 of 49 extra point attempts and three of six field goal attempts. "I want to see how Jonathan and Lee, plus some others, do in competing in the place-kicking and kickoff area," Cutcliffe said. "It's no secret we weren't as consistent as we would have liked to have been in place-kicking. After two years of having good, solid play and game winning kicks, we have to get back into that mode."
Cutcliffe believes the Rebels can excel in special teams play. "What I like is that we have people who can protect, cover, and block in the kicking game. We also have an outstanding return man in Jason Armstead coming back as a weapon. I think we have some others there who are potentially good." Armstead ranked second in the SEC a year ago in kickoff returns, averaging 27.6 yards on 19 returns.
