Spring Football Outlook

Ole Miss spring practices are open to the public, and daily times and locations will be updated on the SpringPractice2010 ad on the right side of the OleMissSports.com football home page or via text through twitter.com/OleMissNow. Once again this season, OleMissSports.com will be publishing daily spring practice reports, and RebelVision will supply video highlights from each Rebel workout.

When looking back at Houston Nutt's first two seasons at the helm of the Ole Miss football program, it's easy to understand why long-time followers of the Rebels just might recall the days when legendary coach Johnny Vaught roamed the sidelines.

After all, Nutt's first two years have produced consecutive nine-win seasons for the first time since 1961-62 and back-to-back January bowl victories for the first time since 1960-61. Those milestones came when Vaught's teams were marching to what was then a national-record 14 consecutive bowl games.

Vaught's Ole Miss squads won six Southeastern Conference titles and a share of three National Championships as the Rebels finished nationally ranked 18 times. Both of Nutt's Ole Miss teams ended the season nationally ranked, 14th in 2008 and 20th in 2009.

In his first season in Oxford, Nutt led one of the greatest turnarounds in school history, reviving a Rebel squad that was coming off four straight losing seasons and a 3-8 campaign with no conference wins in 2007. With a 9-4 record (5-3 in the SEC), it marked the team's best improvement from one season to the next since Vaught's debut in 1947.

Rising as high as No. 4 in the national rankings in 2009, Nutt's Rebels knocked off No. 8 LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas en route to a second straight berth in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, in which Ole Miss prevailed over No. 18 Oklahoma State 21-7.

As Nutt begins his third spring football practice at Ole Miss, the 2009 FCA National Coach of the Year admits he is facing the biggest challenge since taking over the program, as his staff must develop an extremely young football team with major holes to fill.

While the Rebels do return 47 lettermen from last season, the team lost 27, including eight starters on offense and five on defense, plus one of the best place-kickers in school history.

"We thought the first year would be an enormous challenge, because we didn't win a conference game the previous year," Nutt said. "The youth on this team makes it our biggest challenge. We lost 24 seniors."

Offensive starters to be replaced include quarterback Jevan Snead, running back-wide receiver Dexter McCluster, fullback Andy Hartmann, wide receiver Shay Hodge, tight end Gerald Harris, guards John Jerry and Reid Neely and center Daverin Geralds. Only junior running back Brandon Bolden, junior tackle Bradley Sowell and sophomore tackle Bobby Massie return to starting positions on offense.

Defensively, Ole Miss starters lost include end Marcus Tillman, linebacker Patrick Trahan, cornerbacks Marshay Green and Cassius Vaughn and safety Kendrick Lewis. The Rebels return senior defensive end Kentrell Lockett, senior tackles Jerrell Powe and Lawon Scott, senior linebackers Jonathan Cornell and Allen Walker and senior strong safety Johnny Brown to the starting lineup.

"This spring will be a tremendous teaching time for us, especially since the main focus is the entire offense," Nutt said. "When you are replacing eight starters, it's a full challenge and you just need to take baby steps starting out. We need to get on the same page and won't be able to go as fast as we did last spring. We must get across to these guys that it's their time now. A lot of them were role players last season and must step up."

Offensively, Nutt enters the spring having to replace Snead, who opted to bypass his senior season to enter the National Football League Draft after earning his degree in December. Snead, a two-year starter, became just the second Ole Miss signal-caller to reach 2,000 passing yards in consecutive seasons.

The loss of Snead has left a big question mark at the QB position, with the Rebels returning almost no experience at the signal-caller spot. Sophomore Nathan Stanley saw limited duty last season, and freshman Raymond Cotton was redshirted.

"This is what makes the spring so needed when you have two guys who have very little experience and they've got to get ready for the SEC speed of play," Nutt said. "We can't go against our defense enough. They've got to see the speed of the game and there is a lot to learn. Going slower in the teaching process won't be just due to the quarterback position, but because of the inexperienced offensive line as well. We've just got a lot of work to do and are looking forward to it.

"When you lose the first 1,000-yard receiver in Ole Miss history (Hodge), and then lose a guy like Dexter, who was a 1,000-yard rusher and 500-yard receiver, that's 2,500-yards you've got to make up. We have a lot of questions and a lot of unknowns. Where's that going to come from? We are counting on guys like seniors Lionel Breaux and Markeith Summers, sophomores Jesse Grandy and Melvin Harris and redshirt freshman Ja-Mes Logan to step up.

"Brandon Bolden will be called on more at running back. We're also anxious to see how sophomore Rodney Scott, junior Enrique Davis, sophomore Devin Thomas and redshirt freshman Korvic Neat are going to do."

Another priority will be finding a fullback to replace Hartmann. "We're going to really miss Andy, because he was so valuable," Nutt said. "Fullback is a huge responsibility." Heading into the spring, sophomores E.J. Epperson and H.R. Greer and senior Derrick Davis are being counted on to battle it out for the fullback spot.

The loss of the dependable Gerald Harris has opened up the competition at tight end, and sophomore Ferbia Allen, who has gained 15 pounds and now weighs 245, senior Reggie Hicks and redshirt freshman Z. Mason will get strong looks.

After losing starters at center and both guard positions, Nutt still maintains the Rebels must continue to be strong up the middle.

"The biggest challenge will be the quarterback-center exchange," he said. "It may seem so easy and like it should just automatically happen, but it is brand new to these guys. With freshman Evan Swindall, junior Rishaw Johnson and freshman Chase Hughes, you have a lot of youth there. We have players like junior Alex Washington, sophomores Josh Tatum and A.J. Hawkins and redshirt freshman Michael Brown who will be called on for duty in the middle. We think they are ready step up their role."

Nutt feels the defensive line will once again be a major strength when the Rebels line up for the 2010 campaign. "That's what gives you a chance," he said.

"You look at Jerrell Powe, Lawon Scott, Ted Laurent, LaMark Armour, Kentrell Lockett, those guys are all seniors and have valuable experience. Sophomore Gerald Rivers is coming, and we hopefully will have sophomore Jason Jones. We're excited about JC transfer Wayne Dorsey. With freshmen Cameron Whigham and Mike Thomas, you have some new guys in there coming at defensive end. We feel good about the defensive line."

With Cornell and Walker returning as starters, Nutt is also excited about what he sees at the linebacker position. "Jonathan and Allen give us good experience, sophomore Joel Kight's been outstanding and sophomore D.T. Shackelford played a lot last year. So with Joel, D.T., freshman Mike Marry and redshirt freshman Alex Williams, we feel pretty good about our two-deep."

Nutt is quick to point out that the biggest challenge on defense will be having to replace two his two starting corners, Green and Vaughn. "Junior Marcus Temple and senior Jeremy McGee have the most experience right now, but it's mostly youth behind them," Nutt said.

"We lost a three-year starter in free safety Kendrick Lewis and we're going to miss him. I'm excited about senior Fon Ingram, who played a lot last year, and we have Johnny Brown at strong safety. Behind Fon and Johnny are some young people like redshirt freshmen Terrell Grant, Frank Crawford and Darius Barksdale, so everybody has to learn a lot this spring."

Special teams play has always been a top priority for Nutt-coached teams, and 2010 will be no exception. With the loss of Green, Grandy is expected to get the nod for kickoff returns and punt returns. "We need another back-up and we'll need some more guys working there," Nutt said. "We've got to figure out who that's going to be to help us with kickoff returns and punt returns. We feel like Scott and Bolden can do it at kickoff returns. However, we must find another punt returner."

The loss of All-SEC place-kicker Joshua Shene, who became only the second Rebel all- time to lead the team in scoring all four years, will be a major focal point in the spring. "Joshua's loss is huge," Nutt said. "The guy was so consistent and made some awfully big kicks for us. We're going to miss him." Sophomores Bryson Rose and Andrew Ritter or possibly junior David Hankins, who has kicked off in the past, are expected to challenge for the starting role.

Heading into the spring, Nutt feels good about the punting prospects, with the return of sophomore Tyler Campbell, who finished second in the SEC a year ago with a 44.0 average. Ritter is also back to kick off. Deep-snapper Preston Powers graduated, and senior Wesley Phillips moves into that spot.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related News

Related Videos