.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Hold Third Preseason Scrimmage Wednesday
8/21/2003 | Football
Aug. 20, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss held its third scrimmage of the preseason with an 83-play, full-contact session inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field Wednesday afternoon. The scrimmage featured the Rebels' first and second units against the scout team.
The Ole Miss offense rolled up 165 yards rushing and the defense limited the scout team to -2 yards on 34 plays to highlight the afternoon.
Head coach David Cutcliffe said he and his staff would first have to review the tape of the scrimmage before making any major evaluations, however Cutcliffe said he was pleased with how the Rebels handled the game-like situation.
"It's hard to really evaluate this type of scrimmage until we see the tape," Cutcliffe said. "From it being a game-like situation, with people getting in and out on substitutions, I thought that was positive and we'll benefit from that.
"I thought particularly early, our defense flew around. I'd like to see our offense avoid turnovers and I think there is another level that we can execute at. Again, I don't want to say too much until I see the tape, because I may really like what I see on that."
Senior running backs Ronald McClendon and Tremaine Turner both had 42 yards rushing to lead the ground attack. McClendon carried four times, with a long of 16, and Turner carried five times, including scoring on a one-yard run.
Sophomore Vashon Pearson added 34 yards on the ground on four carries and redshirt freshman Jamal Pittman netted 20 yards on four attempts.
Senior quarterback Eli Manning connected on 10-of-14 passes for 127 yards and had scoring strikes of 15 yards to Eric Rice and 23 yards to Chris Collins.
"Eli did a good job, and as a senior we expect him to," Cutcliffe said. "I won't know how good we were out there today until we review the tape, but I did see a couple of things that we need to correct offensively."
Collins was the leading receiver with five catches for 76 yards.
Sophomore defensive back Kelvin Robinson led the defense with five stops, including three tackles-for-loss.
Redshirt freshman defensive back Bryan Brown intercepted a pass and returned it 40 yards. Brown also returned two kickoffs for 43 yards.
Senior defensive end Charlie Anderson recorded a sack for 10 yards.
Junior Jonathan Nichols hit a 36-yard field goal in his only attempt of the game, and converted on all three of his PAT tries.
The special teams also scored a touchdown as junior Kerry Johnson blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for the game's first score.
Ole Miss will continue preseason drills on Thursday as the Rebels prepare for their August 30 opener at Vanderbilt.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Ronald McClendon 4-42; Tremaine Turner 5-42-1
PASSING: Eli Manning 10-14-0-127-2
RECEIVING: Chris Collins 5-76-1
TACKLES: Kelvin Robinson (5-0) 5; Patrick Willis (3-0) 3; Mike Gibson (2-1) 3
SACKS: Charlie Anderson 1.0-10
