Defense Controls Early Part Of Wednesday's Football Scrimmage

Aug. 13, 2003

OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss defense took center stage in the early portion of the Rebels' 130-play scrimmage Wednesday afternoon at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Head coach David Cutcliffe took notice of the defense early, but was satisfied with the team's overall effort during the scrimmage.

"Our defense got off to a pretty fast start and finished well," Cutcliffe said. "It was nice to see our offense come back and make some plays. We didn't have a lot of sloppy play. We were hustling on and off the field. The substitution patterns were good. People that were supposed to be in the game were in the game. We knew what to do, and those were some positives.

"I was pleased with our energy and enthusiasm. We will see some things that we'll have to correct and we'll see some good things (from the tape). We got some extensive work in all areas. We got to look at a lot of people. This is a new practice format for us. It is a longer camp for us, so it's kind of hard to gauge where we are now."

One player the Rebel coaches has their eyes on was sophomore offensive guard Chris Spencer, who moved to center after Justin Sawyer suffered a strained MCL in his right knee in Tuesday's practice.

"It's tough to make that transition," said Cutcliffe. "Chris was working some there (at center), and we've known all along we would work him some there. He did a good job. You can't really tell how he did other than the negative things like a bad snap, which is obvious. We had one snap problem today. The consistency of the snap has to be there.

"A lot of calls are going to be happening to him mentally, so he is going to need every one of the practices and scrimmages to get ready. It's tough to make that transition, but he's a good athlete and I'm sure we're going to see some good things when we watch the tape."

With the team's focus on being more physical, the Rebels ran the ball more than usual in Wednesday's scrimmage. Sophomore Vashon Pearson was the top rusher in the scrimmage, carrying the ball 13 times for 76 yards. True freshman Alan Abrams added 41 yards on 10 rushes, while true freshman Dawan Woods had 34 yards on 7 carries. According to Cutcliffe, running the ball was the plan.

"We got enough runs (in the scrimmage)," Cutcliffe said. "One of the things we were going to do today is get some carries. We didn't do as much in the passing game as we normally would. We've got an emphasis on being physical, and we're trying to find out more about ourselves in the run game.

"I want both the offense and defense to get more physical. We've had a lot of inside live run work (during the preseason) where the offense has dominated, and we've had some work where the defense has dominated. Early on today, the defense dominated. Defensively, we've got to stop the big play. We can't afford to stop the opposition on a couple of downs and then give up a big play. That was something that was evident again today."

Junior Eric Oliver, redshirt freshman Andrew Wicker and senior Josh Cooper paced the Rebel defense with 5 tackles each. Oliver also returned a fumble 22 yards for a score. Wicker and Jayme Mitchell recorded 2 sacks apiece, while Travis Blanchard had 2 pass break-ups. Wes Scott had 4 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass break-up.

Offensively, senior quarterback Eli Manning led the passing attack, hitting on 9 of his 16 attempts for 99 yards and a touchdown. Manning's TD toss was a 30-yard strike to Bill Flowers. Sophomore Micheal Spurlock went 4-of-9 for 82 yards, while redshirt freshman Ethan Flatt was 7-of-8 for 53 yards and a score. Flatt's TD pass was a 9-yard connection with Mario Hill.

Senior Chris Collins led all receivers with 4 catches for 57 yards, and Hill had 3 receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown.

In the kicking game, junior Jonathan Nichols was perfect, hitting on all 12 of his field goal attempts. Cody Ridgeway had a 38.4 average on 7 punts, while Wesley Bryan punted 7 times for a 40.9 average.

The Rebels continue preseason drills Thursday. Ole Miss will hold "Meet The Rebels Day" Saturday, Aug. 16 at 1:00 p.m. (CT) in The Grove. The Rebels open their 2003 campaign Aug. 30 at Vanderbilt. Jefferson Pilot Sports will televise Ole Miss' season opener, with the kick-off slated for 11:30 a.m. (CT).

Statistical Leaders

Rushing - Vashon Pearson 13-76, Alan Abrams 10-41, Dawan Woods 7-34, Ronald McClendon 5-31
Passing - Eli Manning 16-9-0 99 yds. (TD), Micheal Spurlock 9-4-0 82 yds., Ethan Flatt 8-7-0 53 yds. (TD)
Receiving - Chris Collins 4-57, Mario Hill 3-34 (TD), Kennedy Griffin 2-42, Bill Flowers 2-40 (TD)
Punting - Wesley Bryan 7-40.9, Cody Ridgeway 7-38.4
Tackles - Eric Oliver 5, Andrew Wicker 5, Josh Cooper 5, Wes Scott 4, Patrick Willis 4, Iroko Ayodele 4, McKinley Boykin 4, Charlie Anderson 4, Tavarus Horne 4

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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