Nutt on hot seat after poor 2010 campaign
OLE MISS REBELS
Coach: Houston Nut (22-16 in three seasons at Ole Miss, 133-86 overall)
Last Season: 4-8 (1-7 SEC)
Returning Starters: 14 (9 offense, 5 defense)
Season Opener: vs. BYU in Oxford, Miss., on Sept. 3
Coming off a disappointing season where the Rebels only won once in the SEC, the pressure is high in Oxford.
Despite returning 14 starters, the chances of improving on last year’s record aren’t in Ole Miss’s favor. It will play in an extremely talented SEC West that is complete with two preseason top-five teams and Auburn, the defending national champs.
“This is the most difficult league in America,” Nutt said at SEC Media days last month. “It’s hard, it’s hard. Just look at our league now — there’s some teams that thought they would never lose as many games as they did. But it’s hard and difficult.”
Offense: Attention at the quarterback position last year came as a result of Jeremiah Masoli coming to the program after being released by Oregon. This year, the position has controversy over who will be taking the first snap as Randall Mackey and Barry Brunetti have battled throughout the spring and fall for the starting job.
“If we played tonight, and I’m glad that we don’t, Barry Brunetti would probably go out there first,” Nutt said. “If there’s a little separation, we’d say he’s the most accountable. That’s why we have two-a-days. There’s nothing like that competition, that competitive spirit. It’s going to bring the best out of every one of them. We’ll pick one real soon once we get into camp.” The ground game is expected to be a high point for the Rebels as Brandon Bolden returns after rushing for 976 yards last season. Furthermore, the offensive line returns all-SEC tackles Bradley Sowell and Bobby Massie.
With new offensive coordinator David Lee, Ole Miss is expected to run the ball primarily, but the focus for the offense is eliminating the turnovers that haunted them last season.
“There’s too many times where we didn’t take care of the ball last year,” Nutt said. “We want to be able to run the ball, have a good play-action, mix things up. Last year we had so many different formations, multiple looks. Again, it always falls back; you want to be able to run the ball and be able to throw it when you want to.”
Defense: After yielding a school record 35.2 points per game last season, things got worse for the Rebels as veteran linebacker DT Shackelford suffered a knee injury during spring practice.
A boost for Ole Miss has been the return of Kentrell Lockett, a first-team all-SEC defensive end who earned a sixth year of eligibility after last year’s knee injury. But the defense will need to see freshmen step up if it plans to improve its poor performance last season.
“That was a true leader, especially in the locker room, for us,” said Nutt of Lockett. “We were able to get a 6-year back, which I think is going to be helpful, because of his leadership qualities and in the locker room, riding on the bus — all those little things you take for granted. Eating lunch, those freshmen are already looking up to him. I’m excited about having him back.”
Defensive end Wayne Dorsey has had an “outstanding summer” and is expected to come in along with Joel Kight, Mike Marry, Ralph Williams, Brishen Mathews, Damien Jackson, Charles Sawyer and Marcus Temple.
“The first two years I really thought we played with that passion and energy to get to the ball,” Nutt said. “I just didn’t feel like we did that last year.”
Special teams: Ole Miss is in good shape when it comes to punting, as junior Tyler Campbell led the NCAA in yardage last fall at 46.4 yards per punt. The Rebels also return kicker Bryson Rose, who had a consistent campaign last season.
Schedule analysis: While the Rebels have the good fortune of facing Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and LSU at home, they will shock the country if they were to upset any of those teams, as Ole Miss was picked to finish last in the West. BYU will not be an easy opener, and the Rebels will be tested early when they travel to play a rising Vanderbilt squad.
“Every time I look at Alabama before the game in warm-ups, they always look the same to me,” Nutt said. “LSU, they always look beautiful in their uniform. Auburn, what they did, what coach (Gene) Chizik did last year was just spectacular, to win 14 ballgames. Arkansas, I mean, they had a great year last year.”
The final word: “I don’t care who you play in the SEC West, you better buckle up both chin straps and be ready for a full, full day.” — Nutt
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Previous Two-A-Days: LSU