Ole Miss Media Day Notes

Aug. 7, 2002

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Ole Miss Media Day Transcript

HEAD COACH DAVID CUTCLIFFE:
* The 2002 season will mark David Cutcliffe's fourth year as head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. Cutcliffe is 23-13 (.639 winning percentage) with the Rebels since taking over the program prior to the 1998 Sanford Independence Bowl against Texas Tech.
* With a 7-4 mark last season, Cutcliffe joined Harry J. Mehre (1938-1945) as the only coaches in school history to win at least seven games in each of their first three years at Ole Miss.
* Ole Miss has made 22 TV appearances during Cutcliffe's first three full seasons at Ole Miss, including a school record eight in 2000.

STAFF CHANGES: Ole Miss welcomes two new full-time assistants to the coaching staff in 2002. Chuch Driesbach was named the Rebels' new defensive coordinator and linebacker coach in February of 2002, after serving as the defensive coordinator/inside linebacker coach at TCU in 2001. The Horned Frogs ranked 10th nationally against the run and 24th in total defense last season. This is Driesbach's second stint at Ole Miss. He coached the running backs and secondary in 1989, and coached the late Chucky Mullins ... Former Rebel center Matt Luke was hired as the new tight ends coach last spring, replacing Richard Bisaccia, who joined Jon Gruden's coaching staff with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Luke will also assist with the offensive line ... Fourth-year assistant Ron Middleton, who coached the tight ends his first three years in Oxford, will now coach the running backs and special teams.

CONSTRUCTION NEAR COMPLETION: The two-year construction project to bowl in the south end zone at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field is in its final stages and is scheduled to be ready for the Rebels' Aug. 31 season opener against Louisiana-Monroe. The construction will increase the stadium's capacity from 50,577 in 2000 to 60,580, making it the largest on-campus facility in the state of Mississippi.

IN THE POLLS: Ole Miss received 41 votes in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, ranking 15th among "Others Receiving Votes."

REBELS PICKED THIRD IN THE WEST: Ole Miss was picked to finish third in the SEC Western Division by a panel of media members at the annual SEC Media Days. The Rebels received seven first-place votes to win the West, and two votes to win the overall SEC title. The following shows the predicted order of finish for the SEC Eastern and Western Divisions from the SEC Media Days (first-place votes are listed in parenthesis):

Eastern Division

	School	Pts
1.	Tennessee (41)	136
2.	Georgia (19)	175
3.	Florida (19)	197
4.	South Carolina (3)	305
5.	Kentucky	428
6.	Vanderbilt	481

Western Division

	School	Pts
1.	LSU (43)	140
2.	Alabama (24)	203
3.	*Ole Miss (7)*	*291*
4.	Auburn (3)	311
5.	Arkansas (5)	330
6.	Mississippi State	447

SEC Champion: Tennessee (34), Florida (17), Georgia (16), LSU (4), Ole Miss (2), South Carolina (2), Alabama (1).

REBEL RAMBLINGS:
* Ole Miss enters the 2002 campaign looking to return to the bowl scene after having its streak of four consecutive bowl games snapped last season, despite a 7-4 record.
* Ole Miss has recorded five straight seven-win seasons, its longest such streak since having 12 consecutive years with at least seven wins from 1952-1963.
* The Rebels have 51 returning letterwinners from last season, including 17 starter (including specialists).
* Ole Miss redshirted 17 players last season from the 22-member signing class of 2001.
* 66 of Ole Miss' 105 players - or 62.9 percent - hail from the state of Mississippi.
* The Rebels were the least penalized team in the SEC during the 2001 season, averaging 42.3 penalty yards per game.

SCHEDULE NOTES
* The 12-game regular-season schedule will be the Rebels' first 1936, when Ole Miss went 5-5-2.
* Florida returns to the Rebels' schedule for the first time since 1995 when the Gators visit Oxford Oct. 5.
* Due to a quirk with the SEC's new scheduling format, Ole Miss will host Vanderbilt for the second straight year on Sept. 21, while the Rebels will make a repeat trip to LSU on Nov. 23.
* Ole Miss' Sept. 14 game at Texas Tech will mark the Rebels' first regular season game against a team currently in the Big 12 Conference since 1980 when they opened the season with Texas A&M in Jackson, Miss.
* The match-up with the Red Raiders will also mark the Rebels' first appearance on ABC since a 1994 game with Alabama.
* The Sept. 14 game with Texas Tech will be the first-ever regular season meeting between the two teams. The two schools have played twice previously in the 1986 and 1998 Independence Bowls, with the Rebels winning both, 20-17 and 35-18. The 1998 Independence Bowl was head coach David Cutcliffe's first game with the Rebels, as he was hired from his offensive coordinator post at Tennessee on Dec. 2 of that year.
* Ole Miss and Memphis will renew their Mid-South rivalry on Sept. 7 in Oxford after a two-year hiatus. The Rebels won the last meeting, 3-0, at the Liberty Bowl in 1999, and have won three straight in the series that they lead 41-8-2, including 15-1 in Oxford.
* The Aug. 31 meeting season and home opener with Louisiana-Monroe will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

REBELS BEST IN THE WEST: Heading into the 2002 season, Ole Miss has recorded more wins (22) and the best winning percentage (.629) than any other SEC Western Division school since head coach David Cutcliffe's first full season in 1999. Ole Miss is also the only SEC West school to have produced five straight seasons with at least seven wins. The following chart shows the overall standings (records include bowl games) of the SEC Western Division since 1999:

School	W-L	Pct.
*Ole Miss*	*22-13*	*.629*
Mississippi State	21-14	.600
Arkansas	21-15	.583
Auburn	21-15	.583
LSU	21-15	.583
Alabama	20-16	.556

GOETHIE TO WEAR CHUCKY MULLINS' NO. 38: Senior LB Lanier Goethie (Baxley, GA) was named this year's winner of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award in April, and as a result, will wear the late Mullins' No. 38 this season. He was No. 2 last season. Goethie played in all 11 games last season, including making 10 starts at middle linebacker, and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 85 (43 solo).

2002 CAPTAINS: Seniors center Ben Claxton (Dublin, Ga.), linebacker Lanier Goethie (Baxley, Ga.), linebacker Eddie Strong (Batesville, Miss.) and tight end Doug Zeigler (Wilmington, Ohio) have been selected as the four permanent team captains for the 2002 season.

JOHNSON AND JOHNSON COMPANY: Ole Miss has six players with the last name of Johnson on its roster, though, only two are related: offensive linemen Belton and Marcus from Coffeeville, Miss. The other four Johnsons are: Desmon, a senior cornerback from Okmulgee, Okla.; Kerry, a sophomore WR from Oxford, Miss.; Travis, a redshirt freshman defensive back from Shannon, Miss.; and Yahrek, a senior defensive lineman from Atlanta, Ga. Last season, Belton and Marcus started all 11 games for the Rebels on the offensive line, playing right next to each other. Belton, a senior, played right tackle, and Marcus, now a sophomore, played at right guard.

ALL-AMERICA SPRINGS: Two redshirt freshman enjoyed All-America springs for Ole Miss off the gridiron this past year. WR Taye Biddle (Decatur, Ala.) earned All-America honors in track as a member of the Rebels' 4x100-meter relay team that set an Ole Miss record by turning in a 39.57 at the NCAA Outdoor Champion-ships. QB Seth Smith (Jackson, Miss.) was the starting right fielder on the Rebel baseball team and garnered first team Freshman All-America accolades from Collegiate Baseball. Smith became the first Rebel since 1997 to hit over .400 for the season, turning in a .402 average and set school freshman records for batting average, hits (82), singles (67), total bases (107), RBI (52) and on-base average (.452). He was also named the SEC's Freshman of the Year and was a first team All-SEC selection. Biddle and Smith were two of five two-sport Rebels last year. Sophomore WR Bill Flowers (Pelham, Ala.) also ran track, and sophomore RB Chad Pilcher (West Monroe, La.) and redshirt freshman QB Micheal Spurlock (Indianola, Miss.) were members of the baseball team.

YOU'RE NOT SEEING DOUBLES: With 105 players on the roster, it's a certainty two players will have the same number, but it is rare to see the same number on both sides of the ball if you don't have a two-way player. However, this season, that may be the case for the Rebels as junior DB Von Hutchins (Natchez, Miss.) and junior RB Ronald McClendon (Ponchatoula, La.) will both be wearing number 5. Hutchins started all 11 games last season at either free or strong safety, and is listed as the No. 1 weakside safety entering fall drills. McClendon transferred to Ole Miss last January after a standout JUCO career at Butler County Community College and was rated by Rivals.com as the nation's No. 1 junior college prospect. He was also tabbed by The Sporting News as the preseason SEC Offensive Newcomer of the Year.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
* Ole Miss returns seven starters from last year's unit that set a school record with 391 points scored, shattering the previous mark of 329 set by the 1959 team.
* The Rebels scored 35 or more points in seven games, including topping the 40-point mark four times.
* Ole Miss was 11th nationally in scoring offense last season, averaging 35.6 points per game.
* Ole Miss' returnees accounted for 64.2 percent of its total scoring and 73.7 percent of its total offense last season. Junior QB Eli Manning (New Orleans, La.) totaled a school single-season record 2,957 yards of total offense, or 64.8 percent of the Rebels' total output.
* Junior WR Chris Collins (Gloster, Miss.) enters the season with more receptions (66) and the second-most receiving yards (860) of any player in school history after their sophomore season.

NOTING ELI:
* Was named to the Playboy preseason All-America team, and was a second team preseason All-America selection by Football Action.
* Named second team preseason All-SEC by The Birmingham News, The Sporting News, The Southeastern Post, and at SEC Media Days.
* Tabbed as the "Best Leader" in the SEC by The Birmingham News.
* Set or tied 17 school records last season in his first year as a starter.
* Finished in the top 25 nationally in 12 categories, including sixth in TD passes with 31.
* Engineered three, 4th-quarter come-from-behind wins against Alabama, LSU and Vanderbilt.
* Has thrown at least one TD pass in an Ole Miss record 12 consecutive games, dating back to the 2000 Music City Bowl.

SCHOOL RECORDS SET BY MANNING 2001
SINGLE GAME
* Consecutive passes completed - 18 vs. Murray State (9/1)
* Completion pct. (min. 30 att) - 80.6 (25x31) vs. Middle Tennessee (10/20)
* TD passes - 6 vs. Arkansas (11/3) to break his own record of 5 set against Murray State (9/1)

SEASON
* Passing Yards - 2,948
* Passing Attempts - 408
* Completions - 259
* TD Passes - 31
* Highest percentage of passes for TDs - 7.60
* Pass efficiency rating - 144.8
* Total Offense - 2,957
* Total offensive plays (rush + pass) - 442
* Total TDs responsible for - 31
* Most TD passes in a three-game span - 12 from 10/20-11/3 vs. Middle Tennessee, LSU and Arkansas

CAREER
* Consecutive games with a TD pass - 12 (2000 Music City Bowl-present)
* Consecutive 200-yard passing games - 11
* Consecutive 250-yard passing games - 6
* Career 250-yard passing games - 8 (ties Romaro Miller)

MANNING IN THE FINAL 2001 NATIONAL RANKINGS

Category	No.	Rank
TD Passes	31	6th
Completions Per Game	23.55	T6th
Points Responsible For	16.91 ppg	T8th
Passing Attempts Per Game	37.09	T9th
TD-to-INT ratio	3.44:1	T9th
Highest Pct. of TD Passes	7.60	12th
Passing Yards Per Game	268.00	13th
Completion Percentage	63.48	14th
Total Offense	268.82 ypg	17th
Lowest Pct. of Passes Int.	2.21	18th
Avg. Total Offensive Plays Per Game	40.18	20th
Passing Efficiency	144.84	20th

CLAXTON TABBED FIRST TEAM PRESEASON ALL-SEC: Senior center Ben Claxton (Dublin, Ga.) was named to the first team preseason All-SEC team at the SEC Media Days. In addition, he earned first team preseason All-SEC honors from Athlon, The Sporting News, Street & Smith's, The Southeastern Post, and Lindy's, as well as second team honors from The Birmingham News. Claxton is also a preseason second team All-America selection by Lindy's and a third-team pick by Athlon and Street & Smith's (see the 2002 Ole Miss PreSeason Honors in the box on the right).

HANDS OFF!: Since the 1999 season, Ole Miss has allowed the fewest sacks in the SEC with 33, 15 less than Georgia with 48. The Rebels have led the SEC in the fewest sacks allowed the last two seasons, yielding seven in 2000 and 10 in 2001. The following chart shows the top five teams for the fewest sacks allowed in the SEC since 1999:

	Team	1999	2000	2001	Total
1.	*Ole Miss*	16	7	10	33
2.	Georgia	21	12	15	48
3.	Arkansas	14	17	19	50
4.	LSU	25	12	19	56
5.	Florida	18	26	13	57

DEFENSIVE NOTES
* The Rebels return four of their top five leading tacklers from last season, including senior LB Eddie Strong (Batesville, Miss.), who led the squad in 2001 with 105 tackles.
* Strong was the first Rebel since Nate Wayne in 1996 to record over 100 stops in a season.

SPECIALTY NOTES
* Senior Jason Armstead (Moss Point, Miss.) ranked second in the SEC and ninth nationally in kickoff returns, averaging 27.6 yards per return.
* Ole Miss has returned at least one kickoff for a touchdown in each of the past three seasons. Deuce McAllister returned a kick 100 yards for a score on the game's opening kickoff against Arkansas on Nov. 6, 1999, Robert Williams went 97 yards for a score versus the Razorbacks on Nov. 4, 2000, and Armstead returned a kick 93 yards in last year's season opener against Murray State.

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