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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Team Conducts First Preseason Scrimmage
8/18/2004 | Football
Aug. 18, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss football team continued its 2004 preseason with a pair of practices on Wednesday. The "two-a-day" format began at 9:30 a.m. with a light workout in shells at the Ole Miss practice field.
The evening session got underway just before 5 p.m. with a situational scrimmage at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Several players -- both starters and reserves -- received playing time at the two-hour scrimmage, which took place under sunny skies and with a temperature of 85 degrees.
"We did some situation work early and then got into more of a game-like scrimmage," Ole Miss head football coach David Cutcliffe said. "We got some good work in the kicking game early and that was something we needed. I saw bright spots on both sides and I saw negatives on both sides. I'm not going to say too much until we take a good look at the (video) tape. We will be looking for energy, effort and then execution. The execution will eventually come, but, right now, we are really searching for that consistent energy and effort."
All four quarterbacks got in on the action Wednesday afternoon. Sophomore Ethan Flatt led the way, connecting on 11-of-18 attempts for 159 yards and two touchdowns. About midway through the scrimmage, Flatt fired a 46-yard strike to true freshman Mico McSwain for one of his scores. The other was a 21-yard toss to redshirt freshman Frank Clayton.
Redshirt freshman QB Robert Lane finished the afternoon 3-of-10 for 72 yards, which included a 61-yard TD pass to redshirt freshman Carlos Suggs. Redshirt junior Micheal Spurlock completed 7-of-22 attempts for 73 yards. He also recorded 52 rushing yards on nine carries.
"Micheal just needs to play," Cutcliffe added. "He is a playmaker, but has to be careful with the football. He needs to cut down on some of the mistakes, but we are working on that. He's an exciting player and these scrimmages are important for guys like him. We are going to continue to have these scrimmages so we can put him in a situation to play the game."
The preseason continues Thursday when Cutcliffe's squad hits the practice field at 3:45 p.m.
The Rebels open their 2004 regular-season slate Sept. 4 when Memphis invades Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for a 6 p.m. contest.
