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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Catch Me If You Can
9/19/2008 | Football
By Thomas McKee
OleMissSports.com INSIDER
In 2005, there was a 6-foot, 155-pound freshman named Burnell Wallace listed in the Ole Miss football media guide. That season, he appeared in 10 of the Rebels' contests, but exclusively on special teams.
Fast forward to 2008, and the name Burnell Wallace can no longer be found in the media guide. Listed instead is a 6-foot, 180-pound wide receiver named Mike Wallace.
Wallace not only decided midway through his freshman year that he wanted to be known by his middle name, Mike, but that he wanted to transform from a special teamer to one of the most talented wideouts in the Southeastern Conference - something that he established last season.
"When I came to Ole Miss, I was about 155 pounds," Wallace said. "Since then, I've gained about 30 pounds. I had to get stronger and better at running routes. I already had the speed to be an SEC receiver. I was always the fastest on my team growing up, so for the most part I've always had it.
"I just had to get better at everything else, and that's what I did."
As a senior at O. Perry Walker High School, the speedster originally signed with Oklahoma State as a member of the Cowboys' 2004 signing class, but never enrolled at the school. After taking a semester off, he arrived at Ole Miss in January of 2005.
During his freshman campaign, the New Orleans, La., native wasn't particularly high on the depth chart at the position he was listed, wide receiver.
However, not playing wasn't an option for the young Wallace, so he did everything he could just to get an opportunity to step on the field.
"I just didn't like sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else play, and I still don't," Wallace said. "I believed that I came here to work and to get better, so I tried to do that every day."
It didn't take long for Wallace's hard work to pay off, as he appeared in all but one of the Rebels' games during his true freshman season as a regular on special teams.
Things got even better for Wallace in 2006, as he started all 12 games at wide receiver for the Rebels after not playing a single snap at the position the year before.
That season, he led Ole Miss in catches (24) and receiving yards (410), to go along with two touchdown grabs.
Even though Wallace had become one of the Rebels' top receivers, he wasn't done working hard. He wanted to now establish himself as one of the best in the conference, and with the numbers he put up in 2007, he did just that.
Wallace finished the year leading the SEC in yards per catch (18.8) ranking ninth in receiving yards per game (59.7). He hauled in 38 passes for 716 yards and six touchdowns.
His personal numbers, as well as the Ole Miss receiving corps' numbers as a whole last season, have brought a new swagger to Wallace and the rest of his position teammates.
"It's just the way we carry ourselves, and the way our coach wants us to carry ourselves - with a bit of a swagger, that confidence," Wallace said. "We know what we come out to do and we never think we are bigger than the team. I continue to work hard, and the only reason we have that swagger is because we have to believe in ourselves.
"It's not that we're better than anyone else on the team, we just think we are the best receiving unit in the country."
Wallace, along with Shay Hodge and Dexter McCluster, are the leaders of the receiving unit, but it's the elder statesman who ultimately sets the stage for everyone else.
"I like that role," Wallace said of being the senior leader. "I like that Coach (Houston) Nutt even looks at me as being one of the leaders. All of the receivers look up to what I do. This is my last year so they respect what I have to say, and I just try to make things easier on the coaches. If I'm serious, they're going to be serious.
"I just work hard and when they mess up, I just try to help them."
There was a time during last year's offseason when Wallace was considering foregoing his senior season and making the jump to the National Football League. A lot of it had to do with the uncertainty surrounding Ole Miss' head coaching position.
Among the things holding Wallace back was his desire to go play in the postseason, something he didn't have an opportunity to do his first three years as a Rebel.
"Just wanting to go to a bowl game really brought me back," Wallace said. "I've never been to one. Even if I had made the jump, I feel like I would have still been missing something. I want to go to that bowl game that other teams go to. I have a lot of friends that go to LSU, and they're always telling me about the bowl games.
"I knew we had a good enough team (going into this season), and I felt that once we got the coaches in place we had a good chance of going to a bowl. I'm real happy that I stayed, and Coach Nutt had a lot to do with it."
OleMissSports.com INSIDER
In 2005, there was a 6-foot, 155-pound freshman named Burnell Wallace listed in the Ole Miss football media guide. That season, he appeared in 10 of the Rebels' contests, but exclusively on special teams.
Fast forward to 2008, and the name Burnell Wallace can no longer be found in the media guide. Listed instead is a 6-foot, 180-pound wide receiver named Mike Wallace.
Wallace not only decided midway through his freshman year that he wanted to be known by his middle name, Mike, but that he wanted to transform from a special teamer to one of the most talented wideouts in the Southeastern Conference - something that he established last season.
"When I came to Ole Miss, I was about 155 pounds," Wallace said. "Since then, I've gained about 30 pounds. I had to get stronger and better at running routes. I already had the speed to be an SEC receiver. I was always the fastest on my team growing up, so for the most part I've always had it.
"I just had to get better at everything else, and that's what I did."
As a senior at O. Perry Walker High School, the speedster originally signed with Oklahoma State as a member of the Cowboys' 2004 signing class, but never enrolled at the school. After taking a semester off, he arrived at Ole Miss in January of 2005.
During his freshman campaign, the New Orleans, La., native wasn't particularly high on the depth chart at the position he was listed, wide receiver.
However, not playing wasn't an option for the young Wallace, so he did everything he could just to get an opportunity to step on the field.
"I just didn't like sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else play, and I still don't," Wallace said. "I believed that I came here to work and to get better, so I tried to do that every day."
It didn't take long for Wallace's hard work to pay off, as he appeared in all but one of the Rebels' games during his true freshman season as a regular on special teams.
Things got even better for Wallace in 2006, as he started all 12 games at wide receiver for the Rebels after not playing a single snap at the position the year before.
That season, he led Ole Miss in catches (24) and receiving yards (410), to go along with two touchdown grabs.
Even though Wallace had become one of the Rebels' top receivers, he wasn't done working hard. He wanted to now establish himself as one of the best in the conference, and with the numbers he put up in 2007, he did just that.
Wallace finished the year leading the SEC in yards per catch (18.8) ranking ninth in receiving yards per game (59.7). He hauled in 38 passes for 716 yards and six touchdowns.
His personal numbers, as well as the Ole Miss receiving corps' numbers as a whole last season, have brought a new swagger to Wallace and the rest of his position teammates.
"It's just the way we carry ourselves, and the way our coach wants us to carry ourselves - with a bit of a swagger, that confidence," Wallace said. "We know what we come out to do and we never think we are bigger than the team. I continue to work hard, and the only reason we have that swagger is because we have to believe in ourselves.
"It's not that we're better than anyone else on the team, we just think we are the best receiving unit in the country."
Wallace, along with Shay Hodge and Dexter McCluster, are the leaders of the receiving unit, but it's the elder statesman who ultimately sets the stage for everyone else.
"I like that role," Wallace said of being the senior leader. "I like that Coach (Houston) Nutt even looks at me as being one of the leaders. All of the receivers look up to what I do. This is my last year so they respect what I have to say, and I just try to make things easier on the coaches. If I'm serious, they're going to be serious.
"I just work hard and when they mess up, I just try to help them."
There was a time during last year's offseason when Wallace was considering foregoing his senior season and making the jump to the National Football League. A lot of it had to do with the uncertainty surrounding Ole Miss' head coaching position.
Among the things holding Wallace back was his desire to go play in the postseason, something he didn't have an opportunity to do his first three years as a Rebel.
"Just wanting to go to a bowl game really brought me back," Wallace said. "I've never been to one. Even if I had made the jump, I feel like I would have still been missing something. I want to go to that bowl game that other teams go to. I have a lot of friends that go to LSU, and they're always telling me about the bowl games.
"I knew we had a good enough team (going into this season), and I felt that once we got the coaches in place we had a good chance of going to a bowl. I'm real happy that I stayed, and Coach Nutt had a lot to do with it."
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