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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Preseason Report 08.13: Rebels Up The Tempo
8/14/2009 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss Rebel football team continued preseason work on Thursday on the practice fields adjacent to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium under cooler than normal temperatures.
Head coach Houston Nutt was pleased with the pace of the practice and credited his seniors for setting the example.
"I was really excited about how we worked today," said the Rebels' second-year coach. "I thought our guys came out here and followed our seniors. They pushed everybody and we really had good tempo throughout practice. The weather has been nice, which has helped, but the attitude has been better."
After the Rebel defense picked off several passes the first couple of days of camp, the Ole Miss offense responded today and protected the football.
"We made more plays on offense today," Nutt said. "We didn't throw an interception and that's good, because the defense had been averaging two or three a day. We have been working on third and long plays and we made some more plays today, but we have to keep working."
Nutt was excited about the competition at running back heating up as the Rebels move towards two-a-days starting next week.
"It's a real battle right now. There is a lot of intensity. Enrique Davis ran every sprint today and he had one of the best summers I've ever seen from a running back. This Saturday will be a big step for everybody. You start hitting and things move a little faster. It will be interesting to see how they handle everything."
With senior Dexter McCluster departing after the season, the Rebels are looking for someone to replace him in the 'Wild Rebel'. Nutt was quick to point out that it is a difficult position to master.
"The first thing is being able to handle the huddle, the 40-second clock and the timing of ball handling with the motion guy coming in front of you. There are a lot of things. It's not as easy as Dexter makes it look."
Ole Miss will practice again on Friday as the Rebels continue to work toward the season opener on Sunday, September 6, at Memphis. Friday's workout is open to the public and begins at 5:45 p.m.
