2006 Ole Miss Football Season Outlook

Installing a new offensive scheme and getting the best players on the field at the same time highlighted Coach Ed Orgeron's second spring football practice at Ole Miss. For the most part, Orgeron was pleased with the outcome, both from a coaching standpoint and from the results he saw on the field as a number of players were moved to new positions to better utilize their talents.

Following last year's disappointing 3-8 season, Orgeron made some key changes in his staff with the addition of offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Dan Werner, associate head coach/offensive line coach Art Kehoe, tight ends coach Hugh Freeze and linebackers coach David Saunders. Werner and Kehoe came on board from Miami, Freeze claimed an on-the-field coaching assignment after serving on Orgeron's staff last year as Assistant Athletics Director for External Affairs and Saunders was the head coach at Millsaps College. Freeze is also serving as recruiting coordinator.

"I'm really pleased with the progress that Dan Werner made with the offense," Orgeron said. "He brought a lot of organization and a new offense that is really going to help us more in our two-back sets and in the power game. Our offensive line is more aggressive and playing with enthusiasm. Art Kehoe is a tremendous football coach and brings a lot of intensity to our staff.

"Hugh Freeze is also a tremendous coach and his work with the tight ends went really well this spring. We're looking for a lot of production out of the tight ends next season. David Saunders is going to be a great linebacker coach and he loves to be at Ole Miss and we love his enthusiasm."

Although the Rebels return 37 lettermen, including five starters on offense and five on defense, Orgeron's "etched in sand" philosophy when it comes to the depth chart remains, and a number of those returning starters were moved to new positions in the spring.

After last year's team struggled with offensive production, a number of those changes came in the offensive line. Sophomore Michael Oher, who started at right guard during his true freshman season in 2005, was moved to left tackle in the spring, and junior Darryl Harris, last year's starting center, emerged as the new starter at right tackle. Senior Andrew Wicker retained his left guard starting spot.

Junior Thomas Eckers, who started three games last season at left guard, is now listed as the starting center, but that spot may not be settled since junior college transfer Corey Actis worked with the ones and twos during spring drills. Sophomore David Traxler, who drew two starts at left guard a year ago, was switched to left tackle to back up Oher. Sophomore Maurice Miller and senior James McCoy remain in a battle for the right guard starting spot, with Miller listed No. 1 coming out of spring. Redshirt freshman Reid Neely, junior Marcus Cohen and sophomore Paul Hurd are also in the offensive line mix.

Starters in the offensive line who had to be replaced included tackles Bobby Harris and Tre' Stallings and tight end Jimmy Brooks.

Another change of note on offense was junior Robert Lane's move from quarterback to tight end. Lane played a number of different offensive positions last season and started the Wyoming game at quarterback and the Kentucky and Mississippi State games at fullback.

"Robert Lane is going to be a tremendous football player for us," Orgeron said. "He's tough, he's competitive, he can catch the football and he can do something with it after he catches it."

Although new to the position, Lane's emergence from the spring as the starting tight end came as no surprise, and Werner's offensive scheme used at Miami emphasizes the use of the tight end.

"Just look at the great tight ends they've had at Miami, including some first-round draft choices," Orgeron said. "We're going to throw the football to the tight ends this year and use all of the playmakers that we have on offense. Robert Lane is a playmaker."

With Lane still learning the position, the Rebels do return tight end experience in junior Robert Hough and senior Lawrence Lilly. Hough started four games at tight end last season and Lilly started three games in 2004. Junior college transfer Jason Hawkins enrolled in January and should get some spot duty behind the veterans. Redshirt freshman Ewan McCauley provides added depth at the position.

At tailback, the Rebels return sophomore Mico McSwain, who started last year and was the team's leading rusher. McSwain was having a productive spring, but missed the final two weeks with a chest injury.

The spring also offered an opportunity to take the wraps off junior BenJarvus Green-Ellis who sat out last year after transferring from Indiana where he rushed for 1,732 yards over two years and was one of the top running backs in the Big Ten Conference. Green-Ellis vaulted to the top of the depth chart by showing excellent ability to run both inside and outside.

"BenJarvus had a great spring and received our Most Improved Offensive Player Award," Orgeron said. "He's really a tough, hard-nosed tailback that we can count on every down. Mico gives you the flash you need, BenJarvus gives you the thunder. I think we have an excellent combination there, and we may be able to play Mico at the wide receiver spot."

Another player who could figure in the running back plans is junior college transfer Bruce Hall who was signed as a quarterback, but moved to running back during the early stages of spring drills. "Bruce Hall was a surprise this spring," Orgeron said. Junior Hiram White provides additional depth.

Sophomore Jason Cook returns as the starting fullback after missing the final half of last season with a broken arm, while several newcomers are in the mix during August practice.

After losing four veteran receivers (starters Taye Biddle and Mario Hill, plus Mike Espy and Matt Pierce), Ole Miss entered spring drills with junior Carlos Suggs being the only returning wide receiver to have caught a pass in a game, and that was only one reception for no yards. Rebuilding the wide receiver corps was a top priority, but the Rebels will head into preseason workouts still attempting to solidify the position.

Freshman Marshay Green, who joined the program in January as a running back, kick returner and punt returner, was moved to wide receiver and used his speed and catching ability to come out of spring drills as the No. 1 flanker. Sophomore Burnell Wallace ended spring as the No. 1 split end, with Suggs backing him up. Redshirt freshman Michael Hicks could also figure in the mix.

Senior Keith Houston is still relatively new to the wide receiver position, having switched from tight end late last season.

Orgeron, who put together a Top-10 recruiting class last February, is quick to point out that a number of incoming signees will figure big when it comes to rebuilding the wide receiver corps.

The Rebels used three different starting quarterbacks (Micheal Spurlock, Ethan Flatt and Robert Lane) last season, but that will not be the case in 2006 as Orgeron has already named junior college transfer Brent Schaeffer as the starter. Schaeffer, who started at Tennessee as a true freshman in 2004, passed for 2,970 yards and 40 touchdowns last year at College of the Sequoias.

Since Schaeffer was not enrolled at Ole Miss during the spring semester and missed spring drills, much time was spent on developing a second-team quarterback. Hall's switch to running back left redshirt freshman Billy Tapp and junior Seth Adams taking the majority of snaps, along with sophomore Connor Wise. Adams, a junior college walk-on transfer in January, quickly picked up the offense and forged his way to the top of the depth chart to earn the No. 2 spot behind Schaeffer as the team reported.

Defensively, Orgeron is in his second year as his own defensive coordinator, and a major challenge in the spring was to replace the entire starting front four of McKinley Boykin, Michael Bozeman, Corvelli Haynes and Jayme Mitchell.

Leading the defensive line charge in the spring was sophomore Peria Jerry, who was named the Most Improved Defensive Player. Jerry is another player who switched positions as he moved from tackle to end and got better every day, making a lot of plays in the backfield. "I think Peria is going to be a dominant force at the defensive end spot," Orgeron said. Sophomore Chris Bowers emerged as the other starter at defensive end.

Sophomore junior college transfer Hayward Howard, who joined the Rebels in January, came on strong during the second half of spring drills and will enter August as the starting tackle. Junior Brandon Jenkins, who was moved to nose tackle, is listed No. 1 at that position heading into fall workouts, but is available to play either spot. Junior Jeremy Garrett, who started two games a year ago, provides another quality player along the defensive line. Junior Viciente DeLoach and sophomore LeRon King are returning players who saw action last season, while sophomores Trey Poole and Reterio Brown are also back to provide depth.

One of the biggest returnees on defense is first team All-America linebacker Patrick Willis who opted not to enter the NFL draft early in order to return for his senior year. After leading the nation in solo tackles last year and ranking sixth in total tackles, Willis enters the 2006 season as one of the nation's top defensive players. Due to having surgery on his right foot during the off-season, Willis was held out of spring drills, but he is expected to be at full strength for what should be an outstanding senior campaign.

At linebacker, Willis and junior Garry Pack are returning starters, with the only loss to that corps being Kelvin Robinson at the "Will" spot. Sophomore Quentin Taylor took all of the "Will" linebacker snaps with the No. 1 unit in the spring and was listed as the starter heading into August workouts.

With Willis missing spring drills, it gave a number of youngsters the opportunity to gain valuable reps as one of the priorities was to identify his backup.

Sophomore Robert Russell is a returning player with some experience and played the spring at "Mike" linebacker. Russell could also figure in plans at the "Sam" linebacker spot. Sophomore Brandon Thomas played "Sam" in the spring and could also see action at the "Mike" position in the fall. Redshirt freshman Rogers Loche took the majority of second team snaps at middle linebacker, while sophomore Antonio Turner was moved from running back to linebacker and appears to have a future on defense.

Additional help and depth is being expected from freshmen signees when it comes to the defensive front and at linebacker.

Ole Miss returns three of four starters in the secondary, including senior cornerback Trumaine McBride, sophomore strong safety Jamarca Sanford and senior free safety Charles Clark, while having to replace Travis Johnson at the other corner.

Sanford missed spring drills due to surgery, and the Rebels took advantage of having a lot of returning experience at defensive back to develop some depth. "With Jamarca Sanford out, we got a lot of work out of senior Bryan Brown, who I thought had a really good spring," Orgeron said. "We missed Jamarca, because he's a hard hitter and an emotional leader."

Orgeron was also pleased with the play of junior Nate Banks, who emerged as a starting corner. "Nate had one of the best springs and really has turned into a lock-down cover corner," Orgeron said. Sophomores Dustin Mouzon and Terrell Jackson may play the nickel spot.

When it comes to special teams, Ole Miss has returned senior Will Moseley, junior Matt Hinkle, and redshirt freshman Justin Sparks in the place-kicker role, plus sophomore punter and holder Rob Park. The Rebels must replace long-snapper Sidney McLaurin, but the emergence of senior Andrew Wicker just might be the answer in replacing the reliable McLaurin.

Moseley was impressive in the spring on kickoffs, and becoming more consistent could make him a top-flight extra point and field goal kicker.

As for the return game, the Rebels are counting on a number of talented players, including, but not limited to, Marshay Green, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Mico McSwain, Nate Banks, Burnell Wallace, Trumaine McBride and Bryan Brown.

Orgeron came away from his second spring practice at Ole Miss feeling good about the direction of the program.

"I feel that there's fantastic chemistry going on within our staff," he said. "That's one of the most important things I wanted to get going. I'm able to coach the defense and recruit, and that's what I want to do. Dan coaches the offense. I just say `good job' every once in a while and I tell him if we're going for two and if we're going for it on fourth down. That's my job. I'm going to coach defense and I'm pleased with that."

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related News

Related Videos