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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Continue Spring with Saturday Scrimmage
3/31/2007 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss football team scrimmaged in a game-like atmosphere Saturday in continuing spring practice. Rebel head coach Ed Orgeron was pleased with his squad’s two-hour, midday workout.
“We had really good scrimmage today,” he said. “Today was treated like a game. We had our meetings this morning and paid attention to the details. Special teams had a really good day. We had some really good short yardage work. The first team got in about 65 plays on both sides. The defense started off fast. BenJarvus Green-Ellis had a couple of big runs. We had a couple of big throws.
“It was a very efficient scrimmage. We did not have a lot of turnovers or penalties. Our guys treated it like a gameday. It was a good day.”
Orgeron noted the success on the defensive side of the ball, particularly in pass coverage.”
“The defense did well,” said Orgeron. “We only gave up one deep ball against four or five that were thrown. That was very good.”
In the linebacking corps, sophomore Jonathan Cornell earned the praise of his coach for his strong play Saturday. The
“Jonathan Cornell had a good day,” Orgeron said. “He made some plays, got into the backfield, and did really well in short yardage situations. Jonathan is not as big as Patrick Willis, but we think he is going to get bigger. We wanted to find out if he could tackle guys like BenJarvus. We had a couple of big stops on third down and one.”
Offensively, Orgeron said the passing game showed progress, as the unit continues its productive spring.
“We were able to move the chains today with the short passing game,” he said. “The tight ends caught the ball well today. We missed a couple of balls, but obviously it wasn’t as bad as the days before.
“We feel like (the offense) has grown. We feel like the plays have a little more variety to them now. We have a few more formations now. We were able to move the ball and do what we think we can do.”
All the Rebel quarterbacks took snaps in Saturday’s scrimmage.
“Guys made some big plays today,” said Orgeron. “Brent Schaeffer had a big scramble for a first down. Seth Adams moved the ball very well. Michael Herrick had a good day. Jevan Snead threw a strike right down the middle for a touchdown.”
In addition, Orgeron saw improvement in special teams.
“Our kickoff team was better today. We had a big hit inside the 15,” he said. “Our return team was better today. That continues to be a strength with guys like Marshay Green. PAT’s looked good today. Joshua Shene looked good today. He was on the money. Justin Sparks made a couple of good plays.”
A 2006 first team Freshman All-America at place kicker, Shene is competing for kickoff duties this spring.
“Joshua is handling that right now, but we have a couple of guys that are going to come in the fall and we will see how well they come along,” Orgeron said. “It is more of a strategy thing. If we have a guy that can consistently kick it into the endzone, that’s fine. But if not, where can he place the ball in play and how well he can continue to put the ball in areas that can help us.”
The Rebels continue practice this week and conclude spring drills with the annual Grove Bowl Saturday at 1 p.m. at Vaught Hemingway Stadium. Tickets are $10 each and available by visiting the Ole Miss Ticket Office or calling 662-915-7167.
