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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Nutt Honored By Mississippi Senate
2/18/2009 | Football
JACKSON, Miss. Ole Miss football coach Houston Nutt has been honored by state lawmakers for transforming the Rebels from a losing team to Cotton Bowl champions.
Nutt's appearance at the Capitol Wednesday drew a crowd in the Senate gallery, including teenagers who hung over the balcony rails to get a glimpse of him.
Nutt told lawmakers he saw a big problem when he arrived in Oxford last winter."We saw a group of young men walk in and they looked the part, they had the right height, the right weight, they could run," Nutt said. "But what we found out was there was a lot of individuals and a lot of selfishness. We convinced them that together we can do a lot."
Ole Miss wasn't on the radar at the start of the 2008 season, but by year's end the team was invited to the Cotton Bowl and beat Texas Tech, a team that had been ranked No. 1 in the polls earlier in the year.
"There's no question about it - coach Houston Nutt was the right man for the job at Ole Miss," said Sen. Gray Tollison, a Democrat from Oxford.
Last month's Cotton Bowl victory extended the Rebels' winning streak to six. They finished the season ranked No. 14 after starting out with little fanfare until surprise wins against powerhouses Florida and LSU.
Nutt said he really felt the team come together after a win at Arkansas, the school he left last year.
"When we went to Arkansas on the road in front of 72,000 in a very hostile environment, especially for me, there's nothing like getting a crowd quiet," Nutt said. "The pride started to build and there's nothing like it."
Nutt expects opponents to take the Rebels seriously next season.
"We'll be on the radar come this year," Nutt said. "You can't sneak into Florida and win because you're on the radar now. It will be a bit harder."
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix, who was also at the Capitol, said the team is in offseason workouts, waking at 5:30 a.m. a few times a week.
"We've got to whip them back into shape and get ready for spring practice," Nix said.
