.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
AP: Bullish Bolden Maximizing Opportunities
9/22/2009 | Football
By CHRIS TALBOTT, Associated Press Writer
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Brandon Bolden sprinted left, delivered a devastating stiff-arm to a Southeastern Louisiana defender, then tore up the turf as he made a 90-degree turn up the field and sprinted past another.
``You can expect a lot more of that,'' the Ole Miss running back said.
The fourth-ranked Rebels will need as much as they can get out from Bolden as they head into Southeastern Conference play. Their first big challenge of the season comes Thursday night against South Carolina and the SEC's No. 2 rushing defense.
The play-by-play in the final statistics doesn't do the moment justice, calling it a 44-yard run. What it really was was the bullish sophomore showing what he is capable of providing for Ole Miss (2-0).
He is fifth in the SEC with an average of 88 yards rushing per game - with only 22 carries - and has gone over 100 yards in two of the last three games. The top rushers in the conference, Ben Tate of Auburn and Montario Hardesty of Tennessee, average about 20 carries per game.
Bolden has the look of a workhorse, but that's not necessarily in coach Houston Nutt's plan.
``I am not worried about a featured back. I'm worried about winning,'' Nutt said. ``That time will come. We're going to play the best guy at the right time.''
Nutt has experience with spreading the carries around between talented backs. He asked Darren McFadden and Felix Jones to share the ball, and even worked fullback Peyton Hillis into the mix when he was at Arkansas.
They coexisted peacefully and productively at Arkansas with McFadden twice finishing runner-up for the Heisman Trophy before moving on to the NFL, where all three former Razorbacks scored touchdowns last Sunday.
Nutt brought the philosophy to Oxford with him last season and used it to the maximum effect Saturday with Bolden sharing the backfield and opportunities with tailbacks Cordera Eason and Enrique Davis and fullback Andy Hartmann. Eason, Davis and Hartmann all scored touchdowns in the 52-6 win.
``I feel good with where we are with our backs,'' Nutt said. ``That's why Brandon's No. 1.''
The 5-foot-11, 220-pound Baton Rouge, La., native knew the deal when he signed with Nutt, committing shortly after the coach was hired.
``I really don't have a problem with it,'' Bolden said. ``If it's not broke, why fix it? That's kind of how I am right now. I'm OK with it. Even people on the team ask me and I tell them I'm cool with it. I just like to get out there and play. As long as I'm playing, I'm happy.''
Bolden chose Ole Miss over Alabama and a handful of less prominent FBS schools, telling his mom he was joining Nutt's Rebels before he even made a visit. He was a multi-position player in high school and quickly found not one, but several roles with the team.
He was Ole Miss' No. 3 rusher, No. 5 receiver and the backup Wild Rebel quarterback. It was pretty much everything he had hoped for when he decided to join the Rebels, capped by 101 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries against Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl.
He became such an important part of the game plan because of his brains. He picked up blocking Southeastern Conference blitzers quickly and was one of three players to rush, catch and pass the ball.
He spent the last nine months remaking his body, packing on muscle, and building speed, the one aspect missing from his game in 2008. That first-quarter run against Southeastern Louisiana shows the work was well worth it and may have turned Bolden into a highlight reel candidate.
That stiff-arm looked impressive on the big screen in the stadium Saturday.
``We saw it on the Jumbotron,'' defensive end Kentrell Lockett said. ``You ask the guys, they know he loves to do it. He does it in practice all the time. He kind of has to hold back in practice, but in the game he can just unleash it all. It's kind of his thing now.''
