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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Football Team Reports To Campus
8/3/2007 | Football
Head coach Ed Orgeron displayed his excitement for the coming season in an interview session with the media as the returning players checked into the dormitory. Set to begin his third fall at the Rebel helm, Coach O commented on the benefits of the returnees having an increased knowledge of the program that he and the coaching staff have instilled.
“They know what to expect,” Orgeron said. “They’ve worked under our system for several years now. They had a tremendous summer. I think guys are here because they have accepted the program. They’ve bought in. I think you could see the way we started to play last year some games toward the end of the season that they understood what we expect.”
With the arrival of a new season often comes position changes and depth chart competition, and Orgeron discussed several of those topics on Friday.
In the quarterback competition between seniors Seth Adams and Brent Schaeffer, Orgeron said, “You go through a summer and there’s a lot of feelings going here and going there, but really the thing has to be won out on the field. Things in a lot of ways point toward Seth, but then you go out on the practice field and Brent looks like an All-American. So those things just have to play out.” Redshirt-freshman Michael Herrick is also expected to compete for the job.
Junior David Traxler moved from the interior offensive line to tight end during the spring, while redshirt freshman Markeith Summers has recently changed positions from safety back to the offensive side of the ball as a wide receiver.
“He (Traxler) can block, and he surprisingly caught the ball well (during the spring),” Orgeron said. “He made a commitment. He wanted to move to tight end, and I allowed that for him. Most of the players that ask me if they can move, I let them. I believe in opportunity. He lost a lot of weight, and he’s really worked hard.
“He (Summers) gives you height. In the spring, his vertical jump went up. He has good enough timing to where he can catch the ball, make yards after the catch. He’s a big target.”
Orgeron also updated the status of several newcomers.
“Johnny Brown is in. Lamar Brumfield arrived last night. Alex Washington is here. All the freshmen we expected to report are here, except Chris (Strong), and we haven’t heard anything today.”
Fall camp begins Saturday and will be highlighted by “Meet the Rebels Day” on Saturday, Aug. 18, where fans will get to meet players and coaches in person, while receiving autographs and promotional items from Rebel Sports Marketing.
Ole Miss opens the 2007 season with a 2:30 p.m. Sept. 1 contest at
