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Volume 4, Issue 1 July/August 2016 Football Preview Published by Pevey Publishing, LLC Publishers Greg Pevey, Publisher Mendy Pevey, Chief Financial Office Featured Columnists John Davis, Jeff Roberson Contrubuting Writers Parrish Alford, Collin Brister, Ryan S. Clark, John Davis, Greg Pevey, Jeff Roberson, Acey Roberts Layout & Design Greg Pevey - Pevey Publishing, LLC/ Pevey Creative Contributing Photographers Florida State University Sports Information, Angie Ledbetter, Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics, Bobby McDuffie, Greg Pevey, Petre Thomas *Cover Photos by Petre Thomas Advertising Sales Greg Pevey, greg@rebelnationmagazine.com Jeff Roberson, jeff@rebelnationmagazine.com Rebel Nation Magazine™ is published bi-monthly by Pevey Publishing, LLC to promote the athletic programs, fans and businesses affiliated with the University of Mississippi in an informative, positive, and entertaining manner. Contributions of articles and photos are welcome. All submissions are subject to editing and availability of space. Rebel Nation Magazine™ is not responsible for the return or loss of, or for any damage or any other injury to unsolicited manuscripts, unsolicited artwork or any other unsolicited materials. Photographs, comments, questions, subscription requests and ad placement inquiries are invited. Return envelope and postage must accompany all labeled materials submitted if a return is requested. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Rebel Nation Magazine™ are those of the authors or columnists and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, nor do they constitute an endorsement of products or services herein. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Pevey Publishing, LLC is not directly affiliated with any institution, college, university, or other academic or athletic organization. Subscriptions are $24 (1 year, 6 issues) or $40 (2 year, 12 issues). Make checks payable to Rebel Nation Magazine, and mail to: P.O. Box 5842, Brandon, MS 39047 or subscribe on-line at www.rebelnationmagazine.com.

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LINEUP J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 1 6

COMMENTARY

VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 1

Photo by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine

8 - Baseball gets Another Chance in 2017

68 - Freeze Takes Credit

By Jeff Roberson

By John Davis

EXTRAS

11- Fan Commentary and Letters

9 - Rebels On Top of

Their Game - Accolades and Recognition

10 - FAN FINSUP™ PICTURES

and Responsibility

60 - 2016 Breakdown 64 - In The Grove - Tailgating 66 - SEC and Bowl Schedules

features 12

Rebel Pitchers James McArthur

Why Chad Kelly Can Win the Heisman Trophy

By Jeff Roberson

By John David

First Impressions

The “Super” SEC

Swag for Heisman

Speed of the Edge

How SEC Expansion would effect Ole Miss

DE Marquis Haynes has made Himself a Force in the SEC

By Acey Roberts

By Parrish Alford

A Q&A with Sports Turf Company, Inc.

Rebel WR Damore’ea Stringfellow has Big Shoes to Fill

By Greg Pevey

By Parrish Alford

Hugh Freeze; Regaining Redemption

An Inside Look at the Florida St. Seminoles

By Collin Brister

By Ryan S. Clark / FSU Beat Writer / warchant.com

There’s Grass in VHS

The New Normal

Next Man Up

Game One Preview:

26 JAMES STOREY

SCORING ONE OF HIS TWO TD’S VS. NOTRE DAME

2016 ole miss football preview

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 7

REBEL NATION

commentary Follow Jeff Roberson on Twitter @JeffRoberson_OW

Baseball gets Another Chance in 2017 JEFF ROBERSON Featured Columnist

hey won 40 regular season games, and three more in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Unfortunately, that was all. The Ole Miss Rebel baseball team wrapped up another highly successful season in June, but it ended way too soon. Ole Miss hosted a NCAA Regional in Oxford but went 0-2. That was not how anyone expected things to turn out. The top-seed Rebels lost to Utah 6-5 on opening Friday. The Utes were the four seed. On the following Saturday second-seed Tulane, which had lost 7-2 on Friday to third-seed Boston College, beat Ole Miss by an identical 6-5 margin as Utah had won. And the season was over for Ole Miss. Boston College didn’t lose a game and moved on to a Super Regional. By then, the Rebels were already in whatmight-have-been mode. Ole Miss wasn’t necessarily supposed to be a Regional host in 2016, although most Ole Miss fans would tell you they expect the Rebels to compete to host every season. That’s the type expectations Rebel head coach Mike Bianco has built through 16 seasons in Oxford. Once they were selected to host, then those expectations rose to higher levels, like moving on to a Super Regional and maybe even the College World Series, which would have been the second time in three seasons for the program. For all of the regular season it was the Rebels’ deep and talented bullpen that was the team’s strength. When they were called upon, they always produced. Sometime in late May, Ole Miss’ record was 37-0 when leading after six innings. That is an incredible stat. The flip side is that the Rebels, for the first time in memory, had three weekend starters and a couple of midweek starters who could not with any regularity get the Rebels deep into a game. Most of the time if they could get through six innings, that was 8 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

Ole Miss wasn’t necessarily supposed to be a Regional host in 2016, although most Ole Miss fans would tell you they expect the Rebels to compete to host every season. That’s the type expectations Rebel head coach Mike Bianco has built through 16 seasons in Oxford. about it. A few times they went deeper in a game. Much of the time they didn’t even make it through six. So when they led Texas A&M 8-5 with five outs to go in the semifinal of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., all of Rebel Nation expected the bullpen to finish the job. But they didn’t as the Rebels lost 12-8. In the opener of the Regional, the Rebels led Utah 5-2 in the sixth inning. Again the bullpen didn’t finish and the loss was by a one-run margin to the Utes. Then in the elimination game of the Regional, Ole Miss led Tulane by one run with one out in the top of the ninth inning. And lost on a two-run home run by Green Wave catcher Jake Rogers. The heartache was massive for all involved who wear red and blue. Bianco had a bit of trouble making it through the postgame press conference only minutes after the season ended. Junior third baseman Colby Bortles didn’t make it, audibly and visibly fighting through some tears to end his statement with all that he could come up with. “It sucks,” he said. Again, all in red and blue agreed whole-heartedly with his assessment. The Rebels were close to being one of the Top 8 national seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Their RPI had been in the top five nationally much of the year and as high as

three early in the season. And never lower than seven or eight. But their stellar 18-12 SEC regular season mark only allowed for a tie for sixth place out of 14 teams. And when the tabulations were done, the Rebels were the seventh seed in Hoover. Only by winning those three games there – against Georgia, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt – did they even get in Top 8 conversation. So the 2016 baseball season is a memory. Now it’s all about 2017. The draft this summer, although actually coming after the writing of this column, was likely going to claim a handful of talented underclassmen for the Rebels. And there was a good chance it would also claim at least a small handful of talented signees. And then there were the senior players whose eligibility was up that are also gone from the program. Fall baseball will again be an important aspect of the program as the Rebels look toward the 2017 campaign, which begins next February. One significant weekend already on the schedule for Ole Miss is a pre-conference trip to Houston, Texas, to play a tournament in Minute Maid Park, the home of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball. Ole Miss will play Baylor, TCU, and Texas Tech. Also in the field, but not playing Ole Miss, are fellow SEC members LSU and Texas A&M. It should be one heck of a baseball weekend. The full schedule will be released later, and as always it will be challenging. Ole Miss baseball throughout the Mike Bianco era has been successful. For 16 seasons his teams have been on the brink of greatness, and sometimes were able to break through, like the 2014 season. That’s why going 0-2 in its own Regional was not only a surprise but also a huge disappointment for everyone involved. That wasn’t the game-plan for anybody in Rebel Nation. The coaches, players, and staff hurt more than any group. But they’ve moved on and focused on the new team upcoming. Fall ball will reveal some things, but it never reveals everything. That only comes with the competition of a new season. And that means February through May and beyond in 2017. Several players who were a part of the College World Series team in 2014 have SEE BASEBALL - Continued on page 15

ACCOMPLISHMENTS, ACCOLADES, AND RECOGNITION

REBELS

On Top of Their Game

PICK

Ole Miss senior Robert Conyers is one of eight SEC players and 57 total players that have been included on the 2016 Watch List for the Rimington Trophy. The award is presented annually to college football’s best center by the Rimington Trophy Committee. A native of Miami, Florida, Conyers is a 3-year letterman and has played 24 games with 8 starts, including 5 starts at center in 2015 before an injury

Ole Miss center fielder J.B. Woodman was named 2nd Team All-American by Baseball America on June 7. Woodman became the 23rd All-American in Ole Miss Baseball history. The Orlando, FL native hit .323 during the season with team highs in runs scored (53), RBI (55) and slugging percentage (.578). He led the SEC in home runs during the regular season with 14 blasts. Woodman also named 1st Team All-SEC.

SIX QUESTIONS WITH...

MICHAEL THOMPSON Senior Associate Athletic Director/ Communications & Marketing

REBEL NATION: Can fans expect some new enhancements in 2016 as far as the new game day experience on campus and/or inside VHS for 2016?

Thompson pictured here with special guest Katy Perry, at the 2014 Alabama game. Photo by Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Atheltics

MICHAEL THOMPSON: Absolutely. Each year we have published the fan experience survey results and included the improvements we

In the past 12 years, more than 14,000 college athletes who left school early returned to earn degrees. Count 2009 NCAA Champ Devin Britton of Ole Miss men’s tennis among that group. The Jackson native left school to turn pro after becoming the youngest ever singles champ in NCAA history in 2009. After 4 years on the pro tour, Britton returned to finish what he started. Britton now holds 2 titles – NCAA Champion & graduate.

are making for the upcoming season. That report will be published in mid-August.

RN: Will there be any improvements to the sound system for 2016 and what will be some new features with the refurbishing of the jumbotron(s)? (The two new boards on South end.) MT: Yes. A whole new sound system is being installed as I type this. The Vaught will have three brand new video boards - new board on the existing north structure and two new 30 ft x 50 ft boards flanking the south end zone.

RN: Will there be improvements to the lighting before the 2016 season? If yes, what specifically will the improvements be? New bulbs? More bulbs?

Ole Miss sophomore Raven Saunders defended her NCAA outdoor shot put title on June 9 in Eugene, Ore. On her fifth throw, Saunders launched the 8.8-pound metal ball over 63 feet. She had just shattered a 33-year-old collegiate record with a mark of 19.33 meters, which is 63 feet, 5 inches. “Wow, I didn’t even notice,” Saunders said when asked about the 33 year old record. “My coach always stresses to me: records are going to get broken, but titles are forever. So, I got the win.”

More poles? A continuous string of lights atop the west press box or east side Rebel Club running the length of the field? MT: Yes. However, we cannot give details yet, but they will be awesome!

RN: Will there be any improvements to the “under-belly” to the West Side of VHS for 2016 or in the near future, that you know of? MT: Not much for 2016. The plan is to see how the new north end zone affects the underbelly of the West side. Having the completed bowl will drastically affect that area in a positive way when it comes to ingress/egress and overall flow. RN: Some fans say there

For her exceptional level of volunteer work in her community, Ole Miss sophomore Mercedes Mattix has been named to the 2016 Southeastern Conference Track and Field Community Service Team. A 400-meter runner for the Rebels on the track, Mattix has been involved in several volunteer efforts off the track during her first two years in Oxford. Mercedes is a native of Columbus, MS.

was a huge issue last year with the supply of chair backs. Some people paid only to find that they had run out but were never informed. Fans had to take the time to call the company responsible for getting a refund. This happened to several regulars in particular sections. Will there be more available for rentals to meet the presumed increase in demand? MT: Every chair back will be brand new this year, and we’ve worked with our partner to ensure an experience that exceeds expectations.

amazing). Many fans would like to know why we let the visiting teams colors dictate what Ole Miss fans wear, instead of the other way around? Most say Navy blue does not show up as good in person or on TV as red does. MT: This one definitely causes debate among our fan base. We have the best colors in sports, and fans have closets full of red and navy. We like giving fans opportunities to wear both of those colors at home and on the road.

XP 6. RN: Fans understand that switching shirt colors is about selling more merchandise. However, most fans prefer wearing red to all the home games (Vandy last season looked

EXTRA POINT: Is there any “real” talk of Ole Miss getting a live black bear mascot? MT: No real talk on this one. Sorry. - RN

OLE MISS BY DAMN!

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 9

REBEL FANS, THIS PAGE IS FOR YOU! SUBMIT YOUR FINSUP™ PHOTOS: If you would like to submit your photos of you and your friends and family throwing up the “Fin,” to be published in a future issue of Rebel Nation Magazine™; you can tweet them to us @RebelNationMag, post on the Rebel Nation Magazine™ Facebook page or email them to info@rebalnationmagazine.com. Please include names of each person in the photo, location the photo was taken, and hometown(s).

The Hurley Family

10 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

WHAT THE FANS SAY... Great fan banter from the “world wide web”... Some call Ole Miss fans irrational. Some may even have the gall t0 call us delusional. But one thing we can all agree on as Ole Miss fans, we’re always right. Right? We here at Rebel Nation Magazine™, are always perusing the world-wide-web looking for posts and comments made by Rebel fans that know the truth as we see it. Here’s a peek at some of the posts we’ve found online recently that we thought would be enjoyable to read, agree with, and maybe spark some debate among friends...and foe.

are you seriously asking why kids choose oxford over starkville? By RebelBruiser / Posted: May 11, 2016 (NAFOOM.com) Again, Coach (i.e. Coach34 - a self-proclaimed internet know it all and leader of all things “maroon” on EliteDawgs.com) really has no idea how we’re operating our program. He couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s still trying to figure out how we’re able to compete nationally with the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and other top programs. Hint: We do things in a very similar way to how they do them, except we actually have something pretty attractive to offer in terms of the college experience. That alone helps us compete when we actually do get consideration from these players. MSU clearly doesn’t have anyone that has a clue on how the “national recruiting game” is played. Of course, even if they did, they’d still have to convince a prospect that MSU was a reasonable destination, and it would take a LOT of extra benefits on their part just to get a guy to consider using one of his five official visits in Starkville, much less actually land the signature of a national out-of-state prospect. This is where the MSU folks really have an issue. Deep down they know this is the case. They know that to a random top prospect from say Virginia, Oxford is a more enticing trip to consider than Starkville. We’ve been written up for our beautiful women, our legendary tailgate scene, the beautiful campus, and social atmosphere on campus and in Oxford (just to

“This is where the MSU folks really have an issue. Deep down they know this is the case. They know that to a random top prospect from say Virginia, Oxford is a more enticing trip to consider than Starkville. We’ve been written up for our beautiful women, our legendary tailgate scene, the beautiful campus, and social atmosphere on campus and in Oxford (just to name a few). Starkville and MSU have not.”

name a few). Starkville and MSU have not. That reputation means that they by and large have to operate one of two ways in recruiting: 1) Find talented out of state guys that have issues that make them a questionable take for some of the local schools or more nationally recruiting schools. 2) Stick to recruiting Mississippi, where they can operate with the more traditional local booster system that can easily provide jobs for family members or extra cash to entice a player to stay in state and play for MSU. Starkville is just not a destination spot, and MSU doesn’t have any kind of regional or national appeal. Even their own players admit it. Wasn’t it Ladarius Perkins that tweeted that he wished Oxford’s nightlife was in Starkville, or something like that? Most of them know this to be a truth deep down, and it’s what burns them up so much. They know that our program, town, and university have more national appeal and always will. They know that it’s not just good PR either, even if they won’t admit it. That’s why all it takes is getting a few big names to consider us. Then as others come down to see what all the fuss is about, they are enjoy the experience too. Our brand with recruits is as good as it has ever been, and the big ones are all wanting to see what it is we have going on. When they come, many of them like what they see. How could you not?

Greatness is coming... By KappaSigReb / Posted: May 5, 2016 (OMSpirit.com) (On the status of Ole Miss and the NCAA and reaction from the Nation Media and opposing fans.) Most of the topics I read on the boards are full of doom and gloom. Guys, this is how greatness

starts. We have a visionary as an athletic director that is full-on Ole Miss success unlike some that we have had in the past. As far as football goes, we are in a period of growth like we have never seen. Expansion of the stadium is fantastic and doesn’t come without fan support. Talent level on the gridiron is better than we have seen since Vaught was coaching. Baseball is continuing to sign great classes and play some really good baseball. I, like all of you, would love to go to Omaha every year. Plain and simple, that isn’t easy to do. We had the stadium expansion and now we are about to start construction on the new facility that will be a HUGE selling point for our coaches. Basketball practice facility is top notch and now we have the new Pavilion at Ole Miss which is unbelievable as a venue. It is no wonder people are trying there best to drag us down. Overall, we are killing it right now from a facilities, AD, and coaching standpoint. Everyone needs to relax and sit back and enjoy the view!

DEAR REBEL NATION MAGAZINE, Letters from the fans! Dear Rebel Nation Magazine, Thanks so much for the back issues of Rebel Nation Magazine™ that I was missing. I subscribed several months ago and I wanted to get all the copies that I had already missed from the past. Great photos! Great Articles! My family looks forward to each issue. Go Rebels! Howard & Elise Leach Jackson, MS Dear Rebel Nation Magazine, Boy I can’t wait until I get the new issue! It’s hard to wait every two months on each issue to come in. I’ve got to have it. I can’t wait to see how recruiting is going and the start of football season. I’m looking forward to reading your take on the whole NCAA ordeal. Boy, I just love what you are doing and look forward to each and every issue! I’m so glad you are doing this. Gerald Keyes Raymond, MS

TO SUBMIT A LETTER: Email them to info@rebelnationmagazine.com and we’ll run them in future issues. JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 11

DIAMOND REBS

FIRST IMPRESSIONs are everythinG

RISING OLE MISS PITCHER JAMES MCARTHUR BY JEFF ROBERSON

CONTRIBUTING WRITER PHOTOS BY BOBBY MCDUFFIE,REBEL NATION MAGAZINE™

ack last summer when James McArthur arrived at Ole Miss, the tall, rangy, right-handed pitcher began to make an impression. That’s easy to do when you throw it hard and stand 6-foot-7. But it was more than just his physique or how he appeared. It was about his pitching. And in fall ball at Ole Miss in 2015, it was apparent that McArthur, a freshman from New Braunfels, Texas, could be a special pitcher, perhaps in his first season. That actually turned out to be the case. He was an integral part of the staff. But a setback before he went home for Christmas proved to delay just how good he might really have been in year one of college. “It was in December, actually after my last final,” McArthur said. “I was in the dorm and running down the stairs. I was pretty excited (about getting through with final exams), and I was going to get a bite to eat. I kind of slipped on the steps and landed weird, and my foot popped. Once I got the bottom of the stairwell, I couldn’t walk anymore. So I went to see the trainer and it was broken. It was a Jones fracture, the outside of my foot, the fifth metatarsal.” Bad news. But it wasn’t the first time McArthur had dealt with the exact same thing. “I had actually fractured the same bone on my other foot in high school playing basketball. So I knew the (recovery) process. It’s about 10 weeks,” he said. 12 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

So if you’re counting, the accident was sometime in early December. McArthur had been right on course to perhaps even step in as a weekend starter in his first season. Now that likely would not happen. Ten weeks would vault him sometime over into February just to get through the process of returning. And as with all injuries, there is a lot more than just healing. There is conditioning, or the loss thereof, and there is timing. There is the daily routine, and also just doing what a pitcher normally does to compete with regularity. All of that changed. “The whole thing with the foot injury was unfortunate,” McArthur said. “I came back after that and started to get back in my routine and doing rehab with (UM trainer) Josh Porter. Once I got back on the mound, it started to come back to me from the fall season. I really started commanding my fastball better and put myself in better situations. From there it just kept on growing. When they put me back out there, I was ready to go. My foot wasn’t bothering me at all. It was a matter of getting back out there and getting comfortable.” After the Rebels opened the season in mid-February with a weekend sweep of Florida International in Oxford, Ole Miss hosted Arkansas State the next midweek. The Rebels won 4-3. McArthur got the starting nod and went three innings. Fellow freshman pitcher Dallas Woolfolk got the win in relief. But it was a start and an assurance for McArthur and the coaches that he was fine and going to be able to help them during the 2016 season after all. “We felt he would be in the starting rotation at some point,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “When he broke his foot, that put him behind. We didn’t know how that would affect him. I had to remind myself early in the season that he was a few weeks behind everybody. Even I forgot that. Then all of a sudden, it seemed like he started getting in shape, started getting some confidence back, and went on a roll there. “In the non-conference and mainly the midweeks, that was

TIME OUT

“I ...McArthur was in the weekend rotation, along with Brady Bramlett and David Parkinson. He ended the season 6-1 with a 4.26 ERA. He had 15 appearances and made 12 starts. He pitched 61.1 innings, the third most on the staff behind Bramlett and Parkinson.

him,” Bianco continued. “Those were his starts for a long time. He gave us a great opportunity to win on Tuesday nights.” As the season moved on, McArthur was in the weekend rotation, along with Brady Bramlett and David Parkinson. He ended the season 6-1 with a 4.26 ERA. He had 15 appearances and made 12 starts. He pitched 61.1 innings, the third most on the staff behind Bramlett and Parkinson. All things considered, McArthur is pleased with his freshman season of college.

feel like I’ve done well and whenever things have gone bad, I put things behind me and kept moving forward,” he said. “That’s really important, especially if you’re a pitcher, getting into bad counts and bad situations, and being able to work out of them. I’m happy with how it’s gone.” This summer McArthur is pitching for the Conejo Oaks in the California Collegiate League. The team’s roster shows he is joined there by fellow Rebel pitcher Andrew Lowe and outfielder/infielder Ryan Olenek. Ole Miss assistant coach Carl Lafferty said McArthur’s first school year had its ups and downs, but that is not uncommon in the Southeastern Conference. “People forget how tough it is to pitch in this league,” he said. “They look back and they talk about Lance Lynn and Drew Pomeranz, who pitched on the weekend as freshmen. They are now pitching in the big leagues. James also has pitched on the weekend for an Ole Miss team that hosted a NCAA Regional. To say we are pleased with James is an understatement. Over the next couple of years he will continue to grow and get better, and he can be one of those elite type arms in our league.” Bianco agrees with Lafferty’s assessment and mentioned throughout this past school year that McArthur has many tools to be one of the best. “Of all the newcomers on the mound, he kind of separated himself this past fall right out of the gate,” Bianco said. “He always seemed confident but was a guy who wanted to learn. He’s a very smart kid. When you talk to him, you can see in his eyes he’s getting it. Very mature. Hard worker. He’s certainly one of the most talented arms we’ve got. “He’s got so many bigger and brighter days in front of him,” Bianco continued. “That start against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament (a 12-9 UM victory) against a very good team with a lot of pressure on him shows what he’s made of. He commands the fast ball, has a tremendous slider, and his changeup will be a plus pitch when all is said and done. He’s been terrific and will continue to be.” McArthur’s arrival at Ole Miss was a bit unexpected. But one never knows how recruiting will play out. “Recruiting was kind of a roller coaster,” McArthur, a Civil Engineering major, said. “My high school senior fall, I really didn’t know where I was going to end up. I went to Jupiter (Fla.) and was fortunate to have a good outing there. Coach Lafferty saw me. He stayed late. I think they had the roster wrong (at the tournament), and he was watching some other guy and almost crossed me off the list. Then he realized it wasn’t actually me, and he came back the next day to see me. So it was crazy how it worked out.” Said Lafferty, “It was one of those situations where we were looking for another arm. I made some phone calls to some travel team coaches in Texas and said, ‘Hey, are there any arms I need to see at this particular tournament in the fall?’ A guy called me back and said, ‘Yeah, James McArthur.’ He was a big body kid. His velocity had increased from the summer to that fall. I had the opportunity to see him pitch down in Jupiter, Fla., and he was terrific. We were on him, and the rest is history. It was the fall of his senior year, and after that tournament we had him in for a visit. Two weeks later he was a Rebel.” McArthur said his first season was basically a dream come true, and he looks forward to more as an Ole Miss Rebel “Being in the SEC is one of the best experiences of my life so far,” he said. “It’s such a competitive league, and the competition you play is so good. It’s been a blessing and a lot of fun.” Is being a weekend starter a goal for 2017? Without hesitation, McArthur answers. “Absolutely.” - RN

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 13

REBEL NATION

the super southeastern conference WILL future growth of the sec (we all know it’s coming) set up ole miss, and leave MISS. STATE by the wayside BY ACEY ROBERTS

CONTRIBUTING WRITER LAYOUT BY REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

alter Payton, Brett Favre and Jerry Rice are just a few of the many amazing athletes to come from Mississippi that did not play their college ball at Ole Miss. There are plenty of iconic athletes that did wear the red and blue, but it is safe to say, not everyone can play in Oxford. With the many different college options for high school athletes in this state, what will it take for Ole Miss to be the first option in Mississippi? Let me offer it could happen in less than ten years. 14 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

Most of the SEC states are dominated by one major university. LSU, Georgia, Arkansas, even Tennessee essentially dominates the state in football as Vanderbilt doesn’t pose too big of a threat. Alabama can support two SEC teams with their larger population base and the longterm success of Auburn and Alabama, but Mississippi is the odd man out in the SEC equation. A state with less than 3 million residents would be one of the smaller in the SEC to support one SEC school, but we have

to support two. It makes the margins razor thin when competing in the conference. 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of Tulane’s ill-advised decision to leave the SEC, fully placing LSU as the premier University in Louisiana. Tulane was arguably at least as good as LSU when the SEC began in the 1930’s culminating with an SEC conference championship in 1949, but Paul Dietzel and LSU’s success in the 50’s along with Tulane’s Southern Ivy League aspirations led to Tulane leaving the SEC. It was a bad idea, but no one could conceive of the money the SEC would garner 50 years later. In fact, several schools left the SEC with hopes of greener pastures. Georgia Tech left the SEC in protest of Bear Bryant’s Alabama squad and their brutal rivalry. But the biggest factors in New Orleans and Atlanta were the emergence of the NFL, which siphoned off the fan base’s and regulated Tulane and Georgia Tech to the back seat. Today we have another paradigm shift taking place in college athletics which has already shaken up the conferences and promises to do so in the future: CFB playoffs and television rights contracts. ESPN and its competitors are writing huge checks to conferences for the rights to carry games and secure the advertising blocks of air time. All of the major conferences are getting into the game but the SEC is garnering the top dollar and to continue to be the top dog will have to add (or potentially subtract) conference teams. The SEC is now in a unique position to rewrite the college landscape. If and when they choose to expand to 16 or possibly 24 teams, it will be an offer most teams would be smart to accept. The most recent expansions saw the SEC venture into the larger television markets of Houston and Saint Louis. The driving force in the next round could be based on strictly match ups. I know there is already a Florida team in the SEC, and I understand there are a lot of tv sets in the Washington DC area, but what would fans rather watch? The Gators blow out Virginia Tech or a knock down drag out game versus Florida State? If the SEC wants to continue to be the premier national conference, they must have the premier teams with national appeal. Texas has shown they cannot survive on their own as the Big 12 and the Longhorn network are dying a slow death. They should be begging to get into the SEC and play nice. Oklahoma’s AD and the president should already be fired for not jumping into the SEC when Texas A&M made the smart move. Florida State and Miami have to be mighty jealous of the checks Ole Miss and State are cashing at the end of the year. The next round of TV contracts will end

in 2023-2024, and you should expect every team in the nation to be lobbying to be a part of a potential SEC super conference. Teams like Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and MSU, haven’t won an SEC football title since Kentucky last won in 1950. If Ole Miss wants a chance to knock out MSU for good, this is their chance. Hugh Freeze has established Ole Miss as a national team in recruiting, and it is hard to say that he would take 20 kids a year from Mississippi even if he could. Unfortunately with all the talent in MS we do suffer from getting our kid’s college eligible academically. If you have a chance to sign the top wide receiver in Texas or the top wide receiver in Mississippi which one do you chase as a head coach? Dominating recruiting in Mississippi is a feather in the cap, but honestly, it may not win you the most games.

MSU has signed 20 more MS players than Ole Miss over the last four years. Both teams have won 34 games in the last four years, but Ole Miss is 3-1 over State head to head. MSU reached a top 6 bowl game in 2014’s Orange Bowl but comparatively, Ole Miss has reached two top 6 bowl games. If Ole Miss wants to dominate the home state truly, they just need to continue on their current path. Ole Miss is a top 10-15 team for 2016 while MSU is entering a rebuilding period with the graduation of Dak Prescott. Ole Miss has some of the best facilities in the SEC and is one of the top national recruiters that will keep them on top. By winning consistently, Ole Miss will be in the best position to survive the next round of expansion and possibly see MSU moved to a lower tier. - RN

BASEBALL -

Continued from page 8

departed from the program. They will be missed and were a big part of a lot of wins the past three seasons. So no matter where the team is picked to finish in the league next year, the expectations will be high – from not only the fans but also the players and coaches. It’s the type program Mike Bianco has built, and the kind of expectations he wants for his players and staff. And always with winning results. That’s why the first weekend of June was so devastating, disturbing, and disappointing for them. But 2017, as is the case with all new seasons, gives them another chance to get it just right. - RN

TIME OUT

Acey’s (Purely Speculative) 2024 - 16 team Southeastern Conference

“Super Conference” SEC West Alabama Ole Miss Arkansas Oklahoma Auburn Texas A&M LSU Texas

SEC eAst Clemson Miami Florida Missouri Florida St. South Carolina Georgia Tennessee

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 15

REBEL NATION

GRASS IS BACK AT THE VAUGHT A Q&A with “SPORTS TURF COMPANY, INC.” By GREG PEVEY

PUBLISHE BY JOSH MCCOY, OLE MISS ATHLETICS

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW natural grass TURF IN VHS

heir will be a noticeable difference at VHS this season, besides the expansion of the North Endzone, Ole Miss football will be returning to a natural grass playing surface for the 2016 season. The stadium’s surface made the transition from grass to artificial turf in 2003 when a deal was signed with AstroPlay. The school switched to FieldTurf in 2009. “It’s the right thing to do for our program on many levels,” Bjork said. “It’s the preferred playing surface of our players and coaches. In the SEC West only us and Arkansas have/had artificial turf. We think this is the right move for Ole Miss.” We got the opportunity to talk with a spokesperson with Sports Turf about the installation process. 16 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

RN: How long has Sports Turf been in the field turf business and do they handle both natural grass fields and artificial or is Sports Turf strictly grass? STC: Sports Turf Company, Inc. has been in business for 25 years and has built over 600 quality natural and synthetic fields, tracks, and courts. Sports Turf Company, Inc. doesn’t just specialize in natural grass we also specialize in synthetic turf, tracks and tennis courts. RN: Did Sports Turf handle the entire process from removing the old surface, constructing the dirt and drainage under the field as well as sod installation?

STC: Yes, Sports Turf handled the entire process, which included tearing away the synthetic surface, constructing the base layer and drainage and laying the sod. We are also constructing the two practice fields at the moment. Field one is synthetic turf and field two is natural grass. RN: What type of grass is now on the VHS field and is there a reason that type was selected? STC: Tifway 419 Bermuda is the type of grass that is now installed on VHS field. Tifway 419 Bermuda is extremely popular in the realm of athletic fields. It’s dense, rapidly spreading growth habit means it has a quick recovery from injury,

been shaded in the past. This will help or completely eliminate the destruction of natural grass from shade and high traffic.

was laid down? STC: 160,000 sq. ft. of sod is what we are currently estimating but we are still waiting for the exact calculation.

making it one of the most durable hybrid Bermudus. This grass was chosen due to its incredible track record and the familiarity with Turfway. RN: Where is the grass from? STC: The grass is from South Dallas Sod Farm in Selma, AL RN: How many truckloads of turf were delivered? STC: We sent seven full loads and one partial load to the stadium the week of June 6th. Each full load had 9,000 sq. ft. (26 rolls) and the partial load had 6,237sq. ft. (18 rolls) each roll contains 346.5 sq. ft. of sod. Total for all loads sent was 69,237 sq. ft. RN: How many sq. ft. of sod

RN: How long will it take for the sod to root and will it be ready by September 10 for Ole Miss’ opening home game? STC: The sod will begin to root and knit together within the next 2-3 weeks. There is no question that it will be ready for Ole Miss’ opening home game on September 10. It will be ready to go much sooner than that. RN: As far as the temperatures on the fields during the early hot months of college football in the south, how much cooler is a grass field as opposed to the artificial turf fields? STC: A natural grass field is approximately 35-40 degrees cooler than a synthetic turf field.

RN: When Ole Miss last had a grass field there was a problem with the shade from the South End Zone overhang. The grass in the south end zone in return did not get the proper amount of sun throughout the day or dry properly causing a fungus to develop. From my knowledge, that was a main reason Ole Miss switched to artificial turf. Will this be a problem with the new surface and how has the technology changed to prevent this from happening again with the new grass? STC: Ole Miss did have a previous problem with shade from overhangs not allowing the grass to flourish properly. The high traffic areas such as the sidelines also suffered, which drove them to synthetic turf. The new stadium is actually a mixture of synthetic and natural turf. The playing surface is strictly natural grass, while the sidelines and edges of high traffic are synthetic turf. These areas are also the ones that may have

RN: What are some of the safety reason teams are switching back to real grass? STC: I don’t think the switch back to natural grass from synthetic turf was due to an injury or safety standpoint. Sports and more specifically football was intended to be played on a natural grass surface. The heat index most likely played a part in the switch to natural grass, 35-40 degrees’ difference is a significant factor. There are only two schools in the SEC West that currently have synthetic turf fields. Synthetic turf has its own place in the industry and there are plenty of safe synthetic turf options. This switch back to natural grass is not due to the playability or safety factor of the existing artificial field that was installed. There have been no studies that prove that there are more injuries caused on a synthetic or natural grass field. RN: Is this a growing trend of fields that were converted to artificial turf switching BACK to real grass? STC: Over the years there has been a slight increase. I wouldn’t use the term trend because it is more of a case to case basis. Whether a school choses synthetic or natural depends solely on the school’s ability to manage it, the climate of the area and the amount of traffic on the field. Synthetic fields are mostly used for multipurpose fields and fields with a high amount of traffic. The University of Mississippi has the infrastructure to maintain a natural grass field at a high level of competition and the field is solely utilized for football games. - RN

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 17

REBEL nation

THE NEW NORMAL HUGH FREEZE:

REGAINING REDEMPTION BY COLLIN BRISTER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER PHOTOS COURTESY OLE MISS ATHLETICS

ugh Freeze took over as the head coach of the Ole Miss football program on December 5, 2011. The program he took over had lost 14 consecutive SEC games. The program he took over had discipline issues. The program he took over had effort issues. The program he took over was Ole Miss, and it was left for dead by Houston Nutt. He walked into his introductory press conference serenaded by chants of “Hugh.” He talked about his vision. He talked about Mississippi being his home. “I’ve taken (My family) all around the nation to get back to one place,” Freeze said as he choked up. “And that is the University of Mississippi.” Ole Miss had a talent gap that day. They went 0-8 in the SEC in 2011. They were outscored, on average, 37 to 12 in SEC play. They lost to Louisiana Tech. By 20. At home. On homecoming. Ole Miss had to recruit if they were going to get more talented. That’s how it works. The Rebels’ recruiting from previous seasons was ranked well. The problem was, half of the recruiting classes didn’t make it 18 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

to campus. Freeze had a different approach. “Recruiting will simply be this: to develop dynamic relationships with every student athlete that we’re recruiting and everyone that is involved in that decision making process,” Freeze said. “We have to win the state of Mississippi in recruiting, and it will start with great coaches understanding the families and making it happen here.” Freeze’s goal on that cold, rainy December day was simple. His goal was to get Ole Miss to the SEC Championship game. Ole Miss was not supposed to be competitive in 2012. Steve Spurrier quipped that he would rather play Ole Miss than travel to Baton Rouge. The Rebels opened the Hugh Freeze era on a muggy September night against Central Arkansas University in Oxford. Bo Wallace started at quarterback. Though they were losing 20-14 at halftime, they came back to win 49-27. Texas came to Oxford two weeks later in a game that would prove whether or not Ole Miss was ready to compete at a high level in the SEC. The answer came in the form of a 66-31 defeat. They played Alabama close and lost. They hosted Texas A&M the next week. The Rebels blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead

for another SEC West loss. A 41-20 victory over Auburn on October 13 would snap the Rebels’ 16-game SEC losing streak. “Obviously, words really cannot describe the feeling in that locker room and in the stadium. For the better part of two and a half years, the Rebel fans and students and players and administration have had to put up with some disappointing times,” Freeze said. “We’re not there yet, nor do we think we are, but today we were. We were good enough in four quarters to win an SEC game.” Ole Miss’ season would continue to be tumultuous. They won at Arkansas the next week, followed by three consecutive SEC losses. With one game left in the season, the

TIME OUT “Obviously, words really cannot describe the feeling in that locker room and in the stadium. For the better part of two and a half years, the Rebel fans and students and players and administration have had to put up with some disappointing times. We’re not there yet, nor do we think we are, but today we were. We were good enough in four quarters to win an SEC game.”

– Freeze on the Rebels win over Auburn ending their 16 game SEC losing streak.

Rebels needed a win to be bowl eligible. The Rebels were in on high profile recruits. They were in on the unanimous No. 1 player in the country, Robert Nkemdiche. They were in on a five-star receiver from Crete-Monee High School, Laquon Treadwell. They had a shot at the best offensive tackle in the country, Laremy Tunsil. They were trying to fend off Alabama to get hometown safety Tony Conner. Five-star recruits don’t often go to programs that have losing records. There was one opportunity to avoid their third losing season in as many years and keep their postseason hopes alive: beat Mississippi State for the first time since 2008. They carried the Egg Bowl trophy out of Vaught-Hemingway that night, and the win

changed the program’s perception, likely, forever. “We’re going to have some fun times together. Those kids have had some difficult times, and now they can hear the good side of it, so I’m thrilled,” Freeze said. “To send them out to a bowl game somewhere will be really nice.” Ole Miss beat Pittsburgh 38-17 at the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama. That victory paled in comparison to what the Rebels accomplished in the next few weeks. Laquon Treadwell committed to Ole Miss. “I wanted to be a part of something special. The program is on the rise with the

new coaching staff,” Treadwell said. “Coach Freeze stresses love and is a very positive man. I want to be a part of returning Rebel nation to glory.” The Rebels had their first chip in the game. The next few weeks were like Christmas for the Ole Miss football program. The hope of what might be coming, but the anxiety that it might not come. It was early on Feb. 3 when Robert Nkemdiche announced where he would play football. Most people were asleep at 6 a.m., but many Rebel fans woke up to see where the No. 1 player in the country would commit. They weren’t disappointed; Nkemdiche showed off his red suspenders and Ole Miss cap. “I feel like it’s the right place for me,” JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 19

Nkemdiche said after his announcement. “I feel like they can do special things, and they’re on the rise.” Two hours later, Laremy Tunsil was slated to make his college decision in Lake City, Florida. Tunsil had plenty of suitors, including high-profile programs Georgia and Alabama. As we all know, he chose Ole Miss. The last domino to fall was right up the road in Batesville. Tony Conner had been considering Alabama. Did he want to play for the home school or did he want to go to the already-elite program across the Mississippi border? Conner threw up Ole Miss’ Landshark. Conner stayed at home. They could have played football anywhere else in the country, but they chose Ole Miss. Expectations were high. They were still true freshmen. The Rebels went 7-5 their true freshmen season. They beat LSU for the first time in four years. They lost the Egg Bowl in Starkville. Bo Wallace fumbled. They faced Georgia Tech in the Music City Bowl in Nashville. They won. Everyone in the Rebel faithful was willing to wait. The heralded 2013 recruiting class was 18 and 19 years old. The 2014 season was the season in which the rise needed to take place. Reality tells us that most fivestar prospects get drafted after their junior year. That left some of the 2013 recruiting class with only two seasons left on campus. The Rebels 2014 season started off historic. They won their first four games. They hosted Alabama next. College GameDay came to campus. Katy Perry ate a corn dog. The Rebels were down 14-3 at halftime. They were the victim to the referees, who blew a face mask call that resulted in a touchdown for Alabama. Ole Miss dominated the second half. Laquon Treadwell scored a touchdown to cut the Crimson Tide lead to 14-10 in the third quarter. Laremy Tunsil protected senior quarterback Bo Wallace’s blindside the whole game. Robert Nkemdiche and Tony Conner made play after play to keep the Alabama offense in check. When Senquez Golson picked off Blake Sims in the end zone to end the game, Ole Miss had done something that hadn’t happened since a man named Eli was taking snaps for the Rebels. For the first time in Freeze’s tenure at Ole Miss, Ole Miss was relevant not only in the SEC West, but nationally. “We believed we could do this,” Nkemdiche said. “We believed we could beat these guys man, and we did.” Ole Miss would win its next two games before losing three consecutive SEC games. Laquon Treadwell broke his leg in the game against Auburn. The momentum was slowing. Ole Miss was looking to regain the Egg Bowl after losing it the previous year in Starkville. Some questioned the effort that the team would put forth since they had no chance to win the SEC West, not to mention an injured quarterback and star receiver. The Egg Bowl trophy would return to Oxford after a 31-17 Rebels win. “It’s a great feeling to reclaim the pride of our program and win the Egg Bowl. It’s 20 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

THE JOURNEY

When Senquez Golson picked off Blake Sims in the end zone to end the game, Ole Miss had done something that hadn’t happened since a man named Eli was taking snaps for the Rebels. For the first time in Freeze’s tenure at Ole Miss, Ole Miss was relevant not only in the SEC West, but nationally.

Follow Collin on Twitter at @CollinBrister

a priority we have every year,” Freeze said after the game. The Rebels had beaten their second top-five opponent in the 2014 season. They had gotten themselves into an access bowl. They were ranked No. 9 at the end of the regular season. In three years, Hugh Freeze and his staff had made the Ole Miss football program relevant nationally. The 2015 season would likely be the last for some of the program-changing 2013 class. The 2015 season would need to be the year the Rebels at least made a run at the SEC Western Division Championship. On Sept.19, 2015, Ole Miss looked more positioned than ever to compete for not only the SEC championship but the national championship. Ole Miss knocked off Alabama, the gold standard of the SEC, in Tuscaloosa for the second time in the history of their program. “I think there’s a lot of growing up that happened tonight with some kids,” Freeze said. “The maturity in some showed. Hopefully, we’ll take all the positives from it and be excited about the win, but look at everything that we didn’t do properly and get better for next week.” “This team is stuck in the moment,” Nkemdiche said. “Because the moment’s real beautiful.” The Rebels lost two of their next three games. They lost at the Liberty Bowl. They were dominated. Suddenly, the season that was, wasn’t. “I hurt for our kids, for our coaches, our fans and our administration,” Freeze said. “It is very difficult and gut wrenching. It will test everything about you.” At that point, the Rebels had a decision to make. They were still in play for the Sugar Bowl, somewhere, the Rebels hadn’t gone since 1969. They had two rivalry opponents left in LSU and Mississippi State. They dominated LSU. They won 38-17. It wasn’t that close. “Those guys had a choice to make after those disappointments. It’s all about how you respond and how you react,” Freeze said. “In this day and time, it is very difficult to maintain your focus, sometimes. Putting your team first can be hard. Those guys have continuously bounced back from disappointment after disappointment.” The Egg Bowl was likely the last time this group would play together. Treadwell, Nkemdiche, and Tusnil are all projected to be first round picks in this year’s NFL draft. “I approach it the same way,” Treadwell said. “Have fun with my teammates and make sure our energy is high. Keep loving on them and we’ll play together and look to get a W.” Ole Miss jumped to 21-0 and never looked back. The Rebels had beaten Mississippi State for the third time in four years. The Rebels program was changed, something that likely wouldn’t have happened without a win over Mississippi State three years ago. “I think in time we will certainly be able to know, but I want to say that I think that this group has made us nationally relevant. I don’t think we have a losing record against anybody in the SEC West,” Freeze said. “To come from where we did four years ago, I think this group made us relevant and it is hard for anyone to argue that.” - RN

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 21

REBEL nation

“THE NEW NORMAL”

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ‘THE JOURNEY”

Just over four short years ago (December 4, 2011 to be exact), Archie Manning and Mike Glen introduced Hugh Freeze as the 37th Head Football Coach at Ole Miss in front of a packed house at the Gertrude Ford Center. Our Rebels had come off two miserable losing seasons under Houston Nutt, so bad, that at times during the 2012 campaign, people believed Coach Nutt would be fired by the end of that particular Saturday.

fter his introduction, Coach Freeze took the microphone and began to explain his plans and goals for the Ole Miss Rebel football team. Freeze was quoted as saying last December, “the jungle was as thick as ever and it didn’t look like his new team was ready to cut its way out.” That’s when Freeze offered the Rebel faithful in attendance his solution: “The Journey.” He told players that he didn’t know how long it would take for them to make it out or find some sort of salvation, but if they followed him, they’d Freeze won his first Egg Bowl match-up with rival Miss. State in a find the light. And “find the light” they did.

22 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

Freeze’s first SEC win was a 41-20 trouncing of the visiting Auburn Tigers in 2012. The win ended a 16 SEC game losing streak for the Rebels.

2013

Here is a look back at some of the major accomplishments Coach Hugh Freeze and his Rebels have made during the first four years of “The Journey.”

freeze signature momentS 2012

“The reasonable expectation for us in Year 1 is for us to compete passionately for this university for 60 minutes,” Freeze said. “And whatever that scoreboard says at the end of that 60 minutes we’ll have to live with.”

41-24 win in the 2012 Egg Bowl. Freeze currently has a 3-1 record against the Bulldogs. - Photo by Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics.

Missing 5 starters, the Rebels’ defense was surprisingly stout, and Andrew Ritter kicked a last second FG to give the Rebels the 27-24 win over #6 LSU.

TOP MOMENT

national spotlight

OCTOBER 4, 2014 #11 Ole Miss - 23 #1 Alabama - 17

Senquez Golson’s interception of a pass attempt in the endzone against O.J. Howard of Alabama sealed the Rebels win on Oct. 4, 2014 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. The Rebels beat No.1 Alabama 23-17. - Photo Joe Murphy/Getty Images

OXFORD, Miss. – There are times in people’s lives when they will say to themselves, ‘I will never forget this moment.’ For the 61,826 fans that packed Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on a beautiful, cool, fall afternoon, No. 11 Ole Miss’ thrilling 23-17 victory over No. 1 Alabama was a moment that won’t soon be forgotten. On one of the biggest weekends in Ole Miss football history, the Rebels’ impressive defense stood tall once again, and the offense rallied and took advantage of opportune turnovers to top the Crimson Tide. It was the first win over a top-ranked team in program history, and it was the Rebels’ first win over Alabama (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) since 2003.

Freeze celebrates with Quarterback Bo Wallace after the Rebels 23-17 win over Alabama in 2014. - Photo by Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics

“I’m just so proud of our young men,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “You can’t lose a game in 30 or 45 minutes. You have to play for 60 minutes and that is something we’ve preached since we’ve been here. … At the end of the day, you get in this job to mentor young men, first. I preach that to our staff. I have the best staff of men that you want your kids around. These are great life lessons. Sometimes you’re on the other side of it and it stings and hurts. We’ve had our share of those. We have tremendous respect for Coach (Nick) Saban and Alabama. It’s a huge win for our program and our fans. It’s been a tremendous day.”

Ending the season at 9-4, the Rebels played TCU in the Peach Bowl. This game marked the first-ever “New Year’s Six” bowl under the new CFB Playoff system.

2015

2014

A weekend that began with Ole Miss’ (5-0, 2-0 SEC) first appearance on ESPN’s popular pregame show “College GameDay,” was closed out in style by outscoring Alabama 20-3 in the second half to move to 5-0 for the first time since 1962, and send thousands of the Rebel faithful onto the Hollingsworth Field in euphoria.

Ole Miss beat #2 Alabama in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. The win was also the Rebels first win in Tuscaloosa since 1988.

WHAT’S NEXT? JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 23

To say Coach Hugh Freeze has had some success as head coach at Ole Miss is an understatement, but to compare him to the legendary Johnny Vaught after just four seasons is a little premature, right? Just for the heck of it, let’s see how they compare so far.

coaching record during first four seasons at ole miss: hugh freeze:

2012 / 7-6 overall / 3-5 sec bowl: bbva compass bowl 2013 / 8-5 overall / 3-5 sec bowl: music city bowl 2014 / 9-4 overall / 5-3 sec bowl: peach bowl final ap: #17 2015 / 10-3 overall / 6-2 SEC bowl: alLstate sugar bowl final ap: #10

total: 34 wins, 18 losses

johnny vaught:

2012: 0-6 (losses to #1 Bama, #5 Texas A&M, #5 Georgia, #14 LSU, #19 Texas, #23 Vanderbilt) 2013: 2-4 (wins against #14 LSU, #24 Vanderbilt, losses to #2 Auburn, #5 Missouri, #7 Alabama, #18 Texas A&M) 2014: 4-2 (wins against #4 Alabama, #11 MSU, #16 Boise State, #25 Memphis, losses to #3 TCU, #22 Auburn) 2015: 3-1 (wins against #1 Alabama, #16 LSU, #20 Oklahoma State, loss to #25 Florida) Total: 9-13 (0.409 winning percentage)

NOTEWORTHY: Freeze’s winning percentage against teams finishing outside the Top 25 is (25-5) 0.833. That’s quite impressive to win over 40% of your games against the best teams in the country, especially if you throw out the 2012 season, since that was the

total: 26 wins, 13 losses, 1 tie 24 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

very beginning of the rebuild. Freeze has won 56.25% of his games against teams finishing in the Top 25 over the last 3 seasons. In just the last two seasons, that number jumps to 70% against teams finishing in the Top 25. For comparison reasons only, this is what Dan Mullen has done against teams finishing in the Top 25 over his seven years at Miss. State: 2009: 1-4 (win over #20 Ole Miss) 2010: 0-4 2011: 0-5 2012: 0-4 2013: 0-5 2014: 1-3 (win over #22 Auburn) 2015: 0-3 Total: 2-28 (0.067 winning percentage)

NOTEWORTHY: Mullen is 53-7 against teams finishing outside the Top 25, for a 0.883 winning percentage.

Freeze and Ole Miss finished 5-1 in 2015 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25, just one game short of Nick Saban and his Alabama Crimson Tide at 6-1. Bama’s one loss was to Ole Miss.

REBELS rising up in 2015 In 2015, Ole Miss beat Alabama, Auburn and LSU for the first time in the same season.

1948 / 8-1 overall / 6-1 sec final ap: #15

1950 / 5-5 overall / 1-5 SEC bowl: no postseason final ap: not ranked

2012-2015

Freeze’s Record against Final AP TOP 25 RANKED TEAMS through four seasons:

1947 / 9-2 overall / 6-0 sec bowl: delta bowl final ap: #13

1949 / 4-5-1 overall / 2-4 sec bowl: n/A final ap: Not ranked

STEADY PROGRESS

freeze bY the numbers

In 2015, Ole Miss beat Alabama and Auburn on the road FOR THE FIRST TIME in the same season.

27 4 3 1 149

Ole Miss was nationally ranked for 27 weeks consecutive weeks, longest streak since 1957-62.

Ole Miss has gone to four consecutive bowls for the first time since 1997-2000. Freeze is 3-1 in Bowl Games.

Ole Miss was ranked as high as #3 nationally in the polls, its highest ranking since the 1964 Rebels.

Ole Miss’ first win over a #1 ranked team came under Hugh Freeze with the Rebel’s 23-17 win over Alabama in 2014.

Most point ever scored by a SEC school in consecutive games. 76 pts. vs. UT-Matin and 73 pts. vs. Fresno State.

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 25

REBEL LEGENDS OLE MISS LEGENDS SPOTLIGHT:

JAMES STOREY

storey WAS THE STORY

The Ripley Native Helped Lift Ole Miss to One of Its Biggest Victories in Program History BY JEFF ROBERSON

CONTRIBUTING WRITER PHOTOS COURTESY OLE MISS ATHLETICS

ack in the fall of 1977, almost four decades ago now, Ole Miss beat Notre Dame 20-13 in football. The headliner was in Jackson, Miss., because that was back in the era when Ole Miss played most of its biggest games away from campus, either in the capital city or in nearby Memphis, Tenn. That practice came to a halt, for the most part, in the mid-1990s when Ole Miss decided to play almost all of its home games on campus in Oxford. But the Rebels’ big victory against the Fighting Irish will forever be linked to the football field at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, where State St intersects Woodrow Wilson Ave., in the neighborhood of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Notre Dame went on to win the national championship that season, and the loss to Ole Miss was its only setback. The Irish won the rest of its games, including a national title-clinching 38-10 victory against Texas in the Cotton Bowl. But on that unbearably hot and humid afternoon in Jackson, it is highly doubtful 26 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

Ole Miss would have won the football game without the services of a tough, hard-nosed linebacker turned fullback named James Storey. HHHHH James Storey’s hometown of Ripley is a moderately-sized community of a few thousand souls in the northeast section of Mississippi in Tippah County, which joins the Tennessee border. It’s where he lives today, still working as a part of the school system – having been teacher, coach, and principal. He played high school football there, graduating in 1974. Ole Miss came calling, along with other schools like Nebraska and Mississippi State. Storey decided Oxford was the place to spend four years going to college and playing football. His arrival at Ole Miss was as a part of one of the first classes which included black football players at the University of Mississippi. There were already some there, like Ben Williams and James Reed, Pete Robertson and Gary Turner. But not many, and Storey knew that was the case. “Ole Miss showed the most interest. And I remember my recruiting visit,” Storey said.

James Storey crossed the goal line twice as the Rebels scored only two touchdowns against the Irish defense on the day.

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 27

“I went to a ballgame, and they said they had four black athletes on the team. I sat there for a half and looked for the four and I never could find them all. Finally Gary Turner came off the field and took his helmet off and I said, ‘There he is.’ He had this real big Afro.” It was during that same year, his senior season of high school, that Storey recalls watching an Ole Miss game live on television. And that, according to him, was one of the moments that sealed it for him to head to Oxford. “It was Ole Miss and Tennessee,” he said. “I’ll never forget James Reed that day. He broke one run of about 90 yards, it seems like, and that was just a big game for me to watch live on TV. Back then I used to watch the Tennessee Volunteers football show on Sunday mornings. It was on a Memphis station. I remember their players like Condredge Holloway and Haskell Stanback. And I just really remember that game.” 28 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

TIME OUT “We played Shannon one Friday night and I took a beating,” said Storey, who played high school football for two different head coaches – “Red” Shelton and “Mac” Curlee. “I remember this one guy for Shannon, his name was Willie Bob Gates. I ran the ball up in there, and the next thing I knew, I was flat of my back. He was standing over me and he said, ‘Good evening. My name is Mr. Willie Bob Gates. You’ll be seeing me for the rest of the night.’ The Rebels won it 28-18. Tennessee had sent Storey some letters but wasn’t actively recruiting him. It was the 1973 season, and legendary John Vaught had come out of retirement to coach again. He had retired following the 1970 season, and Billy Kinard had made

it through two seasons and three games as head coach before being relieved of his duties after a 1-2 start in ‘73. Vaught returned, the Rebels went 5-3 the rest of the way, including wins over Southern Mississippi, Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Mississippi State, and finished 6-5.

But then Vaught retired again, and assistant coach Ken Cooper was elevated to head coach following the 1973 season. HHHHH Storey remembers how things were in his high school days, back when Mississippi didn’t have a high school football playoff system. His Tigers were an important part of the old Tombigbee Conference, named for the river that runs through northeastern Mississippi. Ripley played conference opponents each season like Baldwyn and Booneville, Saltillo and Okolona, Fulton and Kossuth, among others. One game against another conference foe that he remembers was a wakeup call to another level of football. Storey was supposed to visit Jackson State the following day on a recruiting visit but declined. “We played Shannon one Friday night and I took a beating,” said Storey, who played

never played in a bowl game. The final two high school football for two different head records were eventually changed to 6-5 with coaches – “Red” Shelton and “Mac” Curlee. MSU’s forfeiture of the Golden Egg each of “I remember this one guy for Shannon, his those seasons due to NCAA violations. name was Willie Bob Gates. I ran the ball up Some of the Rebels’ victories during those in there, and the next thing I knew, I was flat four seasons, however, were against some of my back. He was standing over me and he very good football teams. It was several of said, ‘Good evening. My name is Mr. Willie the losses against what many would consider Bob Gates. You’ll be seeing me for the rest of inferior opponents that didn’t allow those the night.’ I didn’t feel like going to Jackson teams to reach their goals. State the next day after all that.” “Man, we were the giant killer,” Storey Storey said from time to time through the said. “We’d show up one Saturday and then years he has run into Gates. “And I introwouldn’t show back up. We beat some good duce him to whoever I’m with as Mr. Willie teams. Georgia was ranked No. 4 in the Bob Gates,” he said, laughing. nation one year and we beat them. We beat Storey, 6-feet and 200 pounds back then, them two years in a row, and I scored my came to Ole Miss as a defensive player, and first touchdown in college against Georgia he admitted “defense was probably my better in 1975. The Notre Dame game was big. We game.” But after only one season with the beat Alabama down in Jackson.” Rebels, Cooper and staff decided Storey They also beat Tennessee, the team whose could better help the program in the offenhighlights show Storey used to watch on sive backfield. TV every Sunday, two times while he was in “The game was different back then,” he college. said. “You had your bruiser-type running He was supposed to finish backs, three yards and a cloud his Ole Miss career against of dust. Defensively you State in Jackson but he was had your Dick Butkus-type injured. linebackers. I came in as a “I missed the last game of linebacker and played there my senior year,” he said my freshman year. I made That was an Egg Bowl loss the traveling squad and was to Mississippi State, one of second-team linebacker. That those two games that later on, next spring, we had a couple because of forfeit, the Rebels of running backs get hurt. got back as victories. Coach Cooper called me in After graduation, James and asked me about moving Storey went back to Ripley to to running back.” James Storey Today raise a family with his wife, And that’s where he stayed Brenda Cowan, who he had the remainder of his Ole Miss gone to high school with at Ripley. career. “My high school sweetheart. She has During his senior season in 1977, Storey always been my biggest supporter,” he said. was the team’s leading rusher with 585 yards “She’s taught me and shown me to love on 143 carries and seven touchdowns. He unconditionally.” only caught seven passes all season, and He’s always been involved in their church. three of them were for touchdowns. They raised three children – Kedrick, Evie, So you may be wondering why he was so and Anthony. Two of them went to Missisimportant to that monumental and historic victory against Notre Dame. sippi State. None went to Ole Miss. That’s because James Storey, a fullback, They have six grandchildren. One of scored two touchdowns - on pass receptions. them, grandson, Kris, is going to be a freshThe photos of those touchdowns, espeman at Ole Miss this fall. “He is going to help with the ladies cially the first one with him hoisting the basketball team,” Storey said. “On that hill I football straight up in the air as he crossed used to run sprints on, he will be working as the goal line after a pass from quarterback a student manager in that new Pavilion.” Bobby Garner, are iconic. That makes James Storey quite happy, The other scoring pass, from quarterback since his kids chose a different path. Kris Tim Ellis, was thrown behind him a bit, and reconnects the Storeys with James’ alma he reached back and hauled it in one-handmater, the place that he made a name for his ed for what proved to be the winning score. family and left quite a legacy in the annals Those were the only two touchdowns of of Ole Miss football from his playing days in the game for the Ole Miss Rebels. the 1970s. “I told my family, this time we’re going to HHHHH get it right,” he said, through some laughter, of Kris’ decision. “We’re getting it right this Ole Miss went 3-8, 6-5, 5-6, and 5-6 time.” - RN during Storey’s years on the field, and they JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 29

2016 OLE MISS

FOOTBALL PREVIEW

30 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

HOW HUGH FREEZE AND OLE MISS FOOTBALL, ARE TAKING COLLEGE FOOTBALL BY STORM; WHETHER PEOPLE LIKE IT OR NOT (AND MOST DON’T ANYMORE).

in’t America Great! I mean, really! Where else on God’s green Earth can an ordinary, average Joe go from obscurity (he used to be a girl’s high school basketball coach for goodness sake) during the “2nd quarter of his life,” as he likes to use during his testimony.

of-thousand-aire (is that even a thing?) to a multi-millionaire in the past five years. Now that’s something to behold. How did this man, doing the one thing he loves the most, at the one place he loves the most, with a wife and three daughters which he loves the most, accomplish all this? He can now provide for his family in a way most can only

this man and hear his story.” You know, I would love to meet him face to face too. I’ve been covering Ole Miss football since before Hugh’s first season in 2012. You can usually find me walking the sidelines taking pictures of just about anything I think is unique inside VHS (and outside before the games in the Grove and around

ing events, press conferences, the “Rebel Road Trip” tour speaking to rooms from a few hundred people to several thousand, to just walking the sideline and field alone before a game and during team warmups. About all I ‘ve ever said to him may be “Hey Coach. How’s it going.” I’ve never shook the man’s hand.

Then 24 hard-working years later (he’s just starting the “3rd quarter” at age 46) became a head football coach in the Southeastern Conference. No doubt, the toughest football conference in America. Some even call the SEC the ninth-toughest division in the National Football League. Let me get back on track here; this man went from being a tens-

dream of. Wow! You say. Who is this man of whom you speak? Well, this man is Ole Miss head football coach Danny Hugh Freeze, Jr., from Independence, Miss. A small town between Batesville and Memphis near Senatobia. You’re probably saying to yourself right now, “I’d love to meet

campus). About 2 hours before kickoff, I’ll watch a few dozen or so players come out just doing some basic warm-up drills. Most have on their head-phones listening to their favorite music, getting psyched up to play. I guess taking pictures in an empty stadium is my way of getting psyched up? Back to Hugh. I’ve seen him all over, recruit-

I guess in a way I just assumed he has so much going on or on his mind before a game that he didn’t need me distracting him from all that. Even though we’ve never “officially met,” I know Hugh Freeze. I’ve read about him, seen him time after time on TV, heard him doing radio interviews, speaking at the SEC Media Days, and atJULY / AUGUST 2016 - 31

ow that you’re half-way through this story, you’re probably saying to yourself, “What does all this have to do with Freeze and Ole Miss Football taking over America?” Let’s delve into that right now. Freeze arrived back at Ole Miss in December of 2011, right after the departure of Houston “Heppin” Nutt. Archie Manning reintroduced Hugh and his family (Freeze was an assistant under the Coach O experiment) to the Ole Miss family in the Gertrude C. Ford Center. Freeze took the microphone and did all the things every new coach does when hired, the “coach speak.” You’ve all heard it before. “I’m so grateful to be here. This is a dream job for me (for Hugh it was). We’re going to turn this program around and into Conference and National Champions.” I mean, what else could he say to all those people? “Man, we’re a really bad team. We’re going to struggle and I doubt I’m the man who can turn this program around.” Freeze, no, he was different. You could hear it in his voice. See it in his eyes and his “swagger.” Freeze was on point and had the packed auditorium so enthralled on the edge of their seat you could have heard a feather drop in that place. THAT’S when I knew Ole Miss had the right “man.” WHY DOES AMERICA LOVE A HERO? People love someone who stands up for the good of all. 32 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

Freeze does that but in his own way of course. Freeze talks about “family” and how his teams don’t “play for hate of the opponent, but play for the love of their teammates.” Sometimes after hearing him speak at an event, he’ll make me even want to run through a wall for him. The guy just has “IT.” “IT” is what makes other schools’ fans despise Freeze. One university, in particular, HATES Hugh Freeze. And that’s a mighty strong word.

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tended several of his press conferences. But never met or talked to him for any amount of time. And here I am doing a magazine on Ole Miss football. The Lord works in mysterious ways I guess. Even though we’ve never met, I trust and admire this man. He’s the one man, not behind a pulpit every Sunday, who is not afraid to show and testify his faith. To me, that’s a “man’s, man.” Hugh is a better man than I.

with a win over Georgia Tech in the Music City Bowl. Man, the Rebels were trending up like no other team in recent memory. In 2014 (Freeze’s third year) it happened. Ole Miss got its signature win. And not just any win mind you, it was a win over then #1 Alabama. The stage was set perfectly for that day. ESPN’s College Gameday morning football show made it’s first-ever trip to Oxford. They were impressed, to say the least. Oxford even hosted na-

Sometimes after hearing him speak at an event, he’ll make me even want to run through a wall for him. The guy just has “IT.” “IT” is what makes other schools fans despise Freeze. One university, in particular, HATES Hugh Freeze. And that’s a mighty strong word.

Freeze’s “IT” is what people loved. What they wanted. Freeze took a team that was on a 0-16 SEC losing streak in his first season and not only broke that streak (vs. Auburn) but won two more SEC games that year, including a whipping of Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, and won the Birmingham Bowl in convincing fashion over Pitt. THAT was the arrival of Hugh Freeze even though their record that year was just 7-6 overall. The national media was going crazy over Freeze. They all wanted him on their shows. They all talked about how great of a coach and motivator he was. Now, it was time to see if he could recruit. And recruit he did. In 2013 Freeze signed a Top Five signing class and that day on ESPNU was a free Ole Miss infomercial. The class had the #1 WR in the Country with Laquon Treadwell, the #1 DL in Robert Nkemdiche, the #1 LT in Laremy Tunsil, 5-star Tony Conner of South Panola. I could go on and on. Freeze was on top of the world. Year two (2013) was even better. The Rebs ended the season

Hugh was the hottest thing on the market. People were praising him as the second coming of Rebel legendary coach Johnny Vaught. People all over the internet and national sports radio, TV shows, and networks wrote features on the team and interviewed Hugh again and again about how awesome Ole Miss, Hugh Freeze, the Grove, Oxford, the food, the beautiful women, how great the nightlife is. For example, Pat Forde of Yahoo sports, Dan Wolken of USA Today and Hugh KelPhoto by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine

Photo by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine

tional celebrity Katy Perry as the guest game picker on the show and then Perry even stayed for the game and hung around and experienced Oxford’s famous nightlife. It was quite the weekend. That win put Ole Miss on the national map and everybody in the sports world knew it. WE ARE OLE MISS! Right? After the 2014 Bama win,

lenberger of the Clarion-Ledger, just to name a few. Top celebrities from Hollywood like Thor’s little brother Liam Helmsly, Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, actors James Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (who played McLovin in the Movie Super Bad). We can’t forget of course, Matthew McConaughey who flew in for the Texas game. Many more

celebs were flocking to Oxford to experience it all. Then, Boom! The NCAA came calling and spent a three-year vacation in Oxford.

Photo by Greg Pevey, Rebel Nation Magazine

WHY DOES AMERICA LOVE it when a hero falls from grace? With any Top Five recruiting class signing with a non-traditional Power 5 school, the NCAA had to come check Ole Miss out. They spent three years in Oxford investigating the Rebels. What did they find after all that? Not much. Nothing on Freeze at all and just a few infractions on his staff that no other staff in America isn’t doing, probably as you sit here reading this. But the major gist of the whole thing appeared to come under the watch of Houston Dale Nutt and his staff. Nutt was “heppin” alright. With all the NCAA stuff going

These writers sure seem to have short memories, don’t they? He was the next big thing just a few months ago after the Rebels’ Sugar Bowl win. Why do people turn on others so quickly just as they were giving them praises on a job well done? Psychologist Dr. Sandy Rea of the Sun Herald Weekend says, “One thing that gets on our collective goat, is when the image projected by a celebrity about their real life doesn’t match reality. We invest in the “perfect picture” - and sometimes we can’t handle the truth. “But when it gets revealed they have the nannies, the cook, the cleaner, the trainer, there’s this conflict: we go, oh f--- off, you’re not this wonderful rainbow man, you’re living a surreal life, which is incongruent with the way any of us live our lives.” I really didn’t want to bring these guys into the discussion but

on the past few years surrounding the 2013 signing class, Freeze didn’t exactly “fall from grace.” As fast as the media jumped on the Hugh Freeze “Bandwagon” they jumped off just as quickly, taking every cheap shot at him as fast as they could type them in. “Liar.” “Cheater.” “Fraud.” I would think were some of their favorites.

they’ve played somewhat of a role in all this and they at least have to be mentioned. I’m not going to mention their names or give them any free advertising, but the hate these people spew toward Freeze and Ole Miss is almost addictive. It’s like being addicted to heroin. They don’t feel good until they spew their daily dose of rumors and

Photo by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine

Photo by Greg Pevey, Rebel Nation Magazine

hate toward a fanbase who, on the whole, doesn’t care much about them anyway. And that alone drives them crazy. They call us names like “TSUN” and “Northern Miss” and we end up putting them on t-shirts. It’s quite funny really. What these people really need is some coaching in how to live in reality. Believe it or not, football is NOT everything. I’ll take my family any day over a sport. But they are so blinded by their “little brother syndrome” and “I’d rather MSU lose, than Ole Miss win attitude,” that if they would spend the same amount of time on MSU as they do obsessing about Ole Miss, they might actually reach some goals. The funny thing about this year’s Egg Bowl in the Vaught is that, the future of Dan Mullen having a job at MSU in 2017 lies in the hands of his own fans. They will be the cause of the butt-whoopin (and I’m being very kind with that claim - kids read this magazine) they’re about to get at the hands of Freeze. State’s record sets up nicely to have a 7-win season and go to a bowl game, but and extremely embarassing loss to Ole Miss, remember Freno State and UT-Martin, and the openess of Dan looking at other jobs, could take the MSU powers that be, over the line. Hugh is a fine Christian man so I doubt he’d try to emabarass Mullen himself, but the State fans who have harrased him and his family and called him a “fraud,” “liar” and a “cheater,” well he might just give them a reason to leave after the first quarter. When Mullen gets fired at the end of the year after his 4th loss in five attempts against Hugh Freeze’s Rebels, Mullen can thank another “coach” and “addicted” fan for having to look for a new gig. To be quite honest, he might thank them. He’s been looking for a reason to get out Starkvile for the past few years anyway. He’ll leave Starkville and those award-winning McDonald’s hamburgers, with a nice severance package. He might even go play golf with Houston Nutt. - RN JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 33

OLE MISS

REBELS

AFTER BACK TO BACK NEW YEAR’S SIX BOWL GAMES, OLE MISS HAS ITS SIGHTS SET AT THE TOP OF THE SEC, ATLANTA AND MORE.

FOOTBALL 2016

OLE MISS FOOTBALL 2016

Sept. 5....@Florida State*

SEPT. 10........ WOFFORD SEPT. 17........ ALABAMA SEPT. 24......... GEORGIA OCT. 1............ MEMPHIS OCT. 8................. OPEN Oct. 15...........@Arkansas Oct. 22................... @LSU OCT. 29............AUBURN NOV. 5...... GEORGIA SO.

Nov. 12........@Texas A&M Nov. 19..........@Vanderbilt NOV. 26......MISS. STATE

* - Orlando, Fla. / (HOME GAMES IN ALL CAPS)

34 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

DE - FADOL BROWN Photo by Petre Thomas

BY J O H N DAV I S

CONTRIBUTING WRITER - THE OXFORD CITIZEN PHOTOS BY JOSH MCCOY, GREG PEVEY, PETRE THOMAS

hen you have the top returning quarterback in the SEC back for his senior season, expectations for a good season seem reasonable. When you have one of the better defensive lines in the SEC, a strong 2016 seems more realistic than not. How the Ole Miss Rebels are this coming fall will reside around the play of quarterback Chad Kelly and the defensive line. On a team that still has some talented players on it, Kelly and the line is the two biggest strengths. Every team in every conference has players they need to replace. Each school has a weak area or a side of the ball that isn’t quite as good as the oth-

er. In the case of the Rebels, they have developed depth and continued to recruit well. If a couple of key positions are taken care of in summer drills, then the 2016 season should be another good one for coach Hugh Freeze. QUARTERBACK Kelly stirs the drink for how the Rebels end up. Last season, Kelly threw for just over 4,000 yards and 31 touchdowns. He started to run the ball more as the 2015 campaign marched on. His dual-threat ability should be full go from the start compared to last season. Who backs up Kelly will be decided this summer will be a big topic this fall. Shea Patterson, the nation’s top quarterback for the 2016 signing class, impressed during the spring drills. Freeze said he only got better and wouldn’t have a

problem with him playing if needed. Jason Pellerin, who redshirted last season, also went through spring drills and he has a chance to see some playing time. RUNNING BACK Akeem Judd (5-foot-11, 222 pounds) and Jordan Wilkins are the thumpers that Ole Miss fans have been waiting on. Both had solid seasons in 2015. Judd, in his first year coming out of junior college, finished third on the team behind Kelly and Jaylen Walton with 421 yards on 77 carries, good for a 5.5 yards-per-carry average. He also had three touchdowns and caught nine passes. Wilkins (6-1, 214) had 72 carries for 379 yards and four touchdowns. He also averaged just over 5 yards per rush. Eric Swinney, who redshirted last season, impressed during the spring, and he is expected to see significant playing time this fall. Swinney (5-9, 197) is powerful, and he has speed to accelerate in the open field. His size also allows him to elude defenders a little easier than the taller Judd and Wilkins. A number of running backs were signed in this year’s class, and it’s possible that one or more of the newcomers mixes into the rotation. Eugene Brazley, who has always done well late in games when he is handed the ball, and D.K. Buford are the other two tailbacks on the roster with game experience. WIDE RECEIVER Tight end Evan Engram is heading into his senior season as the leader of all the pass catchers. He started 12 of the 13 games last year and finished with 38 catches for 464 yards and two touchdowns. Engram could end with 50 or more receptions this season due to his experience and ability to flex out and create mismatches, as well as Kelly feeling confident in his ability to make a tough catch. Quincy Adeboyejo is the top returning pass catcher on the outside for the Rebels. He tied Engram with 38 grabs

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531 pts. WR - MARKEL PACK

The 531 points scored by Ole Miss during the 2015 season ranks as the most ever, with the 2003 team ranking second with 442 pts. scored.

Photo by Greg Pevey, Rebel Nation Magazine™

2015 rebels in review 2015 RECORD:....... OVERALL......HOME...... AWAY......NEUTRAL ALL GAMES ............... (10-3) ...........(7-1) ..........(3-2) .......... (0-0) CONFERENCE ............. (6-2) ........... (3-1) ..........(3-1) ........... (0-0) NON-CONFERENCE .... (4-1) ........... (4-0) .........(0-1) .......... (0-0)

in 2015. Seven catches went for touchdowns, which was the second-best number behind Laquon Treadwell. Damore’ea Stringfellow caught 36 passes, with five going for touchdowns, in 2015 and he is back this fall as a junior. Markell Pack, who is also entering his junior season, continued to develop, and he has a chance for a breakout season.

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 35

HUDDLE UP

PSA:

H H HH H H H H H H H H H H H H

THE PROPER “FINSUP™” TECHINIQUE -

NO THUMB! The “Fin” has been in existence now since 2008 when former Rebels’ Jarrell Powe and Tony Fein started throwing in up in the Reb’s Cotton Bowl Season. Powe was actually the first player to use it during a game vs. Vandy in 2008. Still, after all these years, we see it done incorrectly. Here are two photos showing you the proper way (C.J. Johnson) and improper (Marshall Henderson). ALWAYS REMEMBER....NO THUMB!!!!!!!!!!

YES Photo by Greg Pevey, Rebel Nation Magazine

Sorry Marshall

NO Photo by Bobby McDuffie, Rebel Nation Magazine

TIME OUT

Van Jefferson, who redshirted in 2015, is almost certain to become a factor in the passing game after a very productive spring. DeMarkus Lodge is also a talented young wide receiver which big things are expected from in 2016. Derrick Jones, set to finish out his career, has also improved each season, and he may be poised for a larger role and some big moments. There is also a chance that AJ Brown and D.K. Metcalf or Tre Nixon, all signed in 2016, see action in 2016. All three were highly recruited coming out of high school, and all three are physically ready compared to most of the wide receivers Freeze inherited when he got to Oxford. Behind Engram at tight end are a number of names, including freshmen Gabe Angel and Octavious Cooley. Hunter Thurley, Taz Zettergren and Dawson Knox add depth a position that has lacked numbers over the past few seasons. OFFENSIVE LINE Laremy Tunsil is playing with the Miami Dolphins which means left tackle is the biggest position to get filled and secured heading into the season. Signee Greg Little is expected to be in that role, but he will have to earn a starting spot. The good news for Ole Miss is there are number of players back from last season along the line. Sean Rawlings, a sophomore, saw significant action in 2015 and he can play center, or tackle. Robert Conyers, who missed the spring, is also back and he is versatile in that he can play tackle or center. Conyers is entering his senior season. Javon Patterson saw action as a true freshman in 2015 and he has as much talent as anyone on the front. Rod Taylor also has ability, and if he remains focused, he should make a serious contribution up front. Jordan Sims is back after getting his feet wet as a redshirt freshman. Jeremy Liggins is back out at tackle as he heads into his senior season with the Rebels. Alex Givens will get a chance to be in the mix after redshirting last year. He will play tackle for the Rebels, who are also trying to replace Fahn Cooper, selected in the NFL Draft, at right tackle.

In just five combined starts, Jones and Breeland Speaks, who will be next to Jones up front, finished with 72 total tackles, and ten going for a loss. Fadol Brown, another experienced player, is also back on the line. He had 32 tackles in 11 games, with eight drawing a start. 36 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

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Quarterback Chad Kelly, was responsible for 41 touchdowns in 2015. Chad rushed for 10 touchdowns and threw for another 31.

A total of six linemen were signed this past February. Little was one of three who can play tackle. DEFENSIVE LINE Marquis Haynes continued to evolve as a pass rusher in his sophomore season. The Freshman All-American in 2014 had a great follow up in 2015 as he finished with ten sacks and 16.5 tackles for a loss. Haynes forced three fumbles and hurried the quarterback eight times. His speed off the edge make him a focal point for teams each week, and if he draws a double team, that only means good things for a teammate. D.J. Jones showed a lot of improvement as the 2015 season went on. He had a really good spring, according to the coaching staff, and Jones feels that much more comfortable with his role. “I paid more attention to detail and worked on my pass rush,” Jones said coming out of a spring that turned heads. “This is a young group, but we have a lot of speed. This group knows how to work with their hands and they work well. They want to learn, and that’s the main thing.” In just five combined starts, Jones and Breeland Speaks, who will be next to Jones up front, finished with 72 total tackles, and ten going for a loss. Fadol Brown, another experienced player, is also back on the line. He had 32 tackles in 11 games, with eight drawing a start. Another strength of the line will be the experience of Issac Gross. The former South Panola standout is now in his fifth year, and when healthy, he has tremendous explosion and the ability to rush the passer through the middle. LINEBACKER Demarquis Gates emerged as a player who made tackles by the bunches late last season. In just four starts, Gates finished with 76 tackles to lead the Rebels. He also had four pass breakups and four quarterback hurries. More is expected from Gates in 2016, but now that he has the confidence of the defensive coaching staff, he should produce even better results from the start.

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10 RB - JORDAN WILKINS

Ole Miss’ 48-20 victory over Oklahoma State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl capped the team’s first 10win season since 2003 and the fourth straight season with a higher win total than the previous year.

Photo by Greg Pevey, Rebel Nation Magazine™

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 37

DE - JOHN YOUNGBLOOD Photo by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine™

DL - BREELAND SPEAKS Photo by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine™ #38 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

Photo by Petre Thomas

TIME OUT With the Rebels appearance in the 2016 Sugar Bowl, Hugh Freeze became the first Ole Miss coach to guide the Rebels to bowl appearances in each of his first four seasons.

Who ends up complementing Gates from a play-making standpoint remains to be seen. Oregon State transfer Rommel Mageo will is the most likely candidate to fill that criterion. He arrives with 157 tackles under his belt. As a middle linebacker last season, he made 87 tackles and had two interceptions for the Beavers. Detrick Bing-Dukes, a junior college signee from Iowa Western, could also become a reliable performer. He started his career at Georgia, and he made 76 tackles this past season at one of the nation’s best programs.

DEFENSIVE BACK How healthy is Tony Conner? That’s the biggest question for a secondary that has numbers, but some inexperience with the graduation of Mike Hilton and Trae Elston from the safety spots. Conner was missed greatly last season after the fifth game. His physical style, and tackling ability, are the key to success of the Rebels on defense. That will not change this upcoming season either and having him back on the field is a huge upgrade for the Rebels. If he’s completely healthy and doesn’t need much time to back into the swing of things, so much the better for everyone involved. Tony Bridges is back one of the corner spots. His leadership and physical skills are very impressive. Kendarius Webster is another veteran returning at a corner spot. The key to the back five for Ole Miss will be the play of C.J. Hampton. Is this the year the former Meridian High

FLIM FLAM, BIM BAM, OLE MISS BY DAMN!

COACH HUGH FREEZE

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 39

FUTURE NFL STARS? Keep an Eye on these Rebels in 2016... CHAD KELLY

Quarterback - 6’2” / 215 lbs. CBS Sports Position Rank: #1 Kelly put up monster numbers at Ole Miss in 2015. As a junior he threw for 3,720 yards and 27 TDs leading the Rebels to a 10-3 record and a Sugar Bowl win. Impressive numbers for someone who was playing his first full year of major-college football.

TONY CONNER

Strong Safety - 6’0” / 215 lbs. CBS Sports Position Rank: #2 Kicking off 2015 as a Pre-Season All-American, Conner suffered a season ending knee injury vs. Alabama. Even coming off that injury, Conner was still considered a 1st Round pick had he skipped his Senior year at Ole Miss and declared for the 2016 NFL draft.

EVAN ENGRAM

Tight-end - 6’3” / 227 lbs. CBS Sports Position Rank: #4 At his size, Engram is not a prototypical NFL tight-end. However, with his skill set he could line up at multiple positions to create numerous mismatches. His ability to separate from defenders will make him a dynamic playmaker in a pass-happy NFL offense.

D.J. JONES

Defensive Line - 6’0” / 324 lbs. CBS Sports Position Rank: #15 Jones went a little under the radar as Robert Nkemdiche garnered most of the attention in 2015, but D.J. played in every game and had a strong season finishing with 23 solo tackles (40 total), 5.5 TFL’s for -27 yards, 4 sacks for -22 yards and forced a fumble.

40 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

TIME OUT

With Alabama winning the national championship in 2016, Ole Miss can say for the third time in its history that it was the national champion’s only loss. The Rebels also upended Notre Dame in 1977 and Florida in 2008.

TONY BRIDGES

Cornerback - 6’0” / 183 lbs. CBS Sports Position Rank: #12 Bridges is quick as a cat and has great hands and speed, as he showed MSU QB Dak Prescott by intercepting on of his 1st qtr. passes and returning it 45-yards for the score in last years Egg Bowl. He also has excellent size at 6’2”, 185 lbs. for a cornerbac, which means he’s able to shed blocks more effectively and help out in run support. The DB also intercepted a pass against Auburn and capitalized on the moment by doing the “Whip” (a popular dance move with the kids these days) with coach Hugh Freeze on the sideline. Bridges finished 2015 with 29 solo tackles (36 total tackles) 2 TFL’s, and 3 INT’s for 46 yards.

Photo by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine™

Photo by Greg Pevey, Rebel Nation Magazine™

PK - GARY WUNDERLICH

standout takes several steps to being the player many projected him to be? If so, his talent should push him into a starting spot. At the worst, he will only make the younger players and those in the rotation better with more consistent performances. Zedrick Woods, Armani Linton as well as A.J. and C.J. Moore should factor into the safety or rover positions. Myles Hartsfield, a transfer from East Coast Prep, went through spring drills and impressed the coaches with his ability. Greg Eisworth, another freshman who enrolled early out of high school, also did some good things in spring ball and his chances of playing early increased because of that extra work. SPECIAL TEAMS Gary Wunderlich made 19 of his 25 field goal attempts in 2015, and every one of his 63 extra point attempts. His experience and overall talent give Ole Miss a big advantage in the kicking game for sure. Will Gleeson is back to handling the punting duties, although Wunderlich is capable of doing that as well. Gleeson had a down year as a sophomore compared to his freshman campaign. He averaged just 40.7 yards per punt, and only

11 were downed inside the 20-yard line. With the defense expected to be strong, if Gleeson can do a better job of placing the ball deep, and pinning teams back, then the Rebels have an even better chance of pulling out some tight games. Nathan Noble, a senior, is back to handle kickoffs for the Rebels. He had 54 touchbacks in 2015 out of 94 kickoffs. The Rebels will have to replace Walton as kick-off returner. Carlos Davis had three returns last year, which makes him the most experienced in that department on the roster, although Wilkins and Brazley have both handled the duties in the past. A punt returner that is a threat to score on each return is likewise needed for the Rebels. Receiving punts, and then doing something with them after, has been a problem area. Last year Collins Moore took the most — 15 — and only averaged 1.4 yards per return. Freeze wanted his returners to at least secure the ball last year, and at least give the offense a chance. This fall, his feeling may be different, especially if he can find a candidate that offers reliability and the ability to make plays. SCHEDULE Ole Miss opens the season in Orlando,

TIME OUT

Place-kicker Gary Wunderlich set the Ole Miss record for Most PATs Made 63 and Most PATs Attempted with 63 in a single season.

Florida against the Seminoles of Florida State. The Noles are a huge early test for the Rebels, who could use the contest as a springboard into the meeting with Alabama in Week 3. Georgia is on the schedule this year, but the Bulldogs are at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Arkansas and LSU are on the road, back-to-back weeks, in October. The Rebels also travel to play at Texas A&M and Vanderbilt back-to-back weeks in November. The annual Egg Bowl will be in Oxford this year. Auburn visits to close out October, while Memphis, Georgia Southern, and Wofford also visit. - RN

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 41

official 2016 game day colors

9/5...............@FSU

9/10......WOFFORD

9/17............ BAMA

9/24....... GEORGIA

10/1...... MEMPHIS

10/15.......@Arkansas

10/22...........@LSU

10/29...... AUBURN

11/5...... GEORGIA SO.

11/12........@Texas A&M

11/19........@Vandy

11/26.............MSU

2015 results RECORD: ................... OVERALL .............HOME .............. AWAY ................NEUTRAL ALL GAMES .................. (10-3) ................. (7-1) ..................(3-2) .....................(0-0) CONFERENCE ................ (6-2) .................. (3-1) ..................(3-1) .....................(0-0) NON-CONFERENCE ........ (4-1) .................. (4-0) ..................(0-1) .....................(0-0) DATE.......................... OPPONENT.......................... W/L............ SCORE........ATTEND Sep 05, 2015............. UT MARTIN............................W................76-3.............60186 Sep 12, 2015............. FRESNO STATE......................W...............73-21............60302 *Sep 19, 2015............ at #2 Alabama.......................W...............43-37..........101821 *Sep 26, 2015............ VANDERBILT...........................W...............27-16............60654 *Oct 03, 2015............. at #23 Florida........................ L................10-38............90585 Oct 10, 2015............. NEW MEXICO STATE...............W................52-3.............60154 Oct 17, 2015............. at #22 Memphis.................... L................24-37............60241 *Oct 24, 2015............. #15 TEXAS A&M.....................W................23-3.............60674 *Oct 31, 2015............. at Auburn...............................W...............27-19............87451 *Nov 07, 2015............ ARKANSAS...........................L/OT.............52-53............60680 *Nov 21, 2015............ #15 LSU.................................W...............38-17............60705 *Nov 28, 2015............ at #21 Mississippi State.........W...............38-27............62265 2016 ALL-STATE SUGAR BOWL Jan. 1, 2016............... #16 OKLAHOMA STATE..........W...............48-20............72117 42 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

2015 STATS TEAM STATISTICS ............................................ OM .................................OPP SCORING ........................................................... 531 ................................. 294 Points Per Game .............................................40.8 ................................22.6 Points Off Turnovers ........................................ 107 .................................. 46 FIRST DOWNS .................................................... 341 ................................. 278 Rushing .......................................................... 131 .................................. 99 Passing ........................................................... 182 ................................. 157 Penalty ............................................................ 28 ................................... 22 RUSHING YARDAGE ........................................... 2380 ............................... 1652 Yards gained rushing ..................................... 2700 ............................... 2028 Yards lost rushing ........................................... 320 ................................. 376 Rushing Attempts ........................................... 463 ................................. 496 Average Per Rush ............................................5.1 ..................................3.3 Average Per Game .........................................183.1 ..............................127.1 TDs Rushing .................................................... 29 .................................... 9 PASSING YARDAGE ............................................ 4351 ............................... 3364 Comp-Att-Int .............................................318-489-14 ....................319-533-15 Average Per Pass .............................................8.9 ..................................6.3 Average Per Catch ..........................................13.7 ................................10.5 Average Per Game .........................................334.7 ..............................258.8 TDs Passing ..................................................... 35 ................................... 23 TOTAL OFFENSE ............................................... 6731 ............................... 5016 Total Plays ...................................................... 952 ................................ 1029 Average Per Play ..............................................7.1 ..................................4.9 Average Per Game .........................................517.8 ..............................385.8 KICK RETURNS: #-Yards .................................. 34-602 ............................40-765 PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards ................................. 30-112 ............................18-107 INT RETURNS: #-Yards .................................... 15-356 ............................14-188 KICK RETURN AVERAGE ......................................17.7 ................................19.1 PUNT RETURN AVERAGE .....................................3.7 ..................................5.9 INT RETURN AVERAGE ........................................23.7 ................................13.4 FUMBLES-LOST ................................................ 26-9 ................................25-8 PENALTIES-Yards ............................................ 79-702 ............................87-695 Average Per Game ..........................................54.0 ................................53.5 PUNTS-Yards ................................................. 52-2170 ..........................75-3133 Average Per Punt ............................................41.7 ................................41.8 Net punt average ............................................39.3 ................................39.7 KICKOFFS-Yards ............................................ 95-6094 ..........................64-3974 Average Per Kick .............................................64.1 ................................62.1 Net kick average .............................................41.9 ................................42.1 TIME OF POSSESSION/Game .............................26:32 ..............................33:28 3RD-DOWN Conversions ..................................70/169 ............................88/226 3rd-Down Pct .................................................41% ................................39% 4TH-DOWN Conversions ....................................7/15 ................................7/23 4th-Down Pct .................................................47% ................................30% SACKS BY-Yards ............................................. 29-197 ............................19-147 MISC YARDS ........................................................ 0 ..................................... 7 TOUCHDOWNS SCORED ...................................... 68 ................................... 33 FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS ................................. 19-25 ..............................22-28 ON-SIDE KICKS .................................................. 0-1 ..................................1-2 RED-ZONE SCORES .................................... (52-62) 84% ................... (42-50) 84% RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS .......................... (37-62) 60% ................... (25-50) 50% PAT-ATTEMPTS .......................................... (66-66) 100% .................. (28-29) 97% ATTENDANCE .................................................. 495472 ........................... 402363 Games/Avg Per Game ..................................8/61934 ..........................5/80473 Neutral Site Games ............................................ .....................................0/0 Score by quarters ....... 1st ........ 2nd ......... 3rd ........4th ........OT ............ Total Ole Miss .......................147 ....... 133 .........137 ....... 107 ......... 7 ............... 531 Opponents .....................39 ......... 86 ...........78 ......... 83 .......... 8 ............... 294

2016 ROSTER NO.....NAME............................ POS.......HT/WT.........YR-EXP........ HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL/LAST COLLEGE 1........Tony Bridges...................... DB........6-0/183...........SR-1L.............................. Collins, Miss./Hattiesburg/MGCC 3........DeMarquis Gates................LB........6-2/217...........JR-2L...............................................Hampton, Ga./Lovejoy 3........Damore’ea Stringfellow..... WR........6-2/220...........JR-1L.................... Perris, Calif./Rancho Verde/Washington 4........C.J. Hampton..................... DB........6-0/179...........JR-2L.......................................... Meridian, Miss./Meridian 5........Damarkus Lodge............... WR........6-2/190...........SO-1L.......................................Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill 5........Kendarius Webster............. DB.......5-11/180..........JR-2L................................... Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge 6........Fadol Brown.......................DE........6-4/280...........SR-2L....................................... Charleston, S.C./Burke/FIU 7........Jason Pellerin.................... QB........6-4/229...........FR-RS.......................... New Iberia, La./New Iberia Catholic 8........Quincy Adeboyejo.............. WR........6-3/195...........SR-3L.......................................Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill 9........Breeland Speaks.................DT........6-3/313...........SO-1L.......................................... Jackson, Miss./Callaway 10......Marquis Haynes..................DE........6-3/220...........JR-2L............. Jacksonville, Fla./Univ. Christian/Fork Union 10......Chad Kelly......................... QB........6-2/215...........SR-1L................. Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph’s/Clemson/EMCC 11......Greg Eisworth.................... DB.......5-11/180..........FR-HS...................Grand Prairie, Texas/South Grand Prairie 11......Markell Pack...................... WR........6-2/193...........JR-2L.................................................. Purvis, Miss./Purvis 12......Tony Conner...................... DB........6-0/215...........SR-3L.................................. Batesville, Miss./South Panola 12......Van Jefferson..................... WR........6-2/181...........FR-RS...................................Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood 13......Kailo Moore....................... DB.......5-10/195..........SR-3L....................................Rosedale, Miss./West Bolivar 14......Victor Evans........................DE........6-3/238...........SO-1L................................................ Dallas, Texas/Skyline 15......Myles Hartsfield................. DB........6-0/190...........FR-HS................................ Sayreville, N.J./East Coast Prep 16......Drew Davis........................ QB........6-1/208...........SR-1L.......Bonita Springs, Fla./E. Chapel Hill/Coffeyville CC 16......Jalen Julius....................... DB........6-0/180...........FR-RS..............................Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange 17......Evan Engram......................TE........6-3/227...........SR-3L...................................Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove 19......Derrick Jones.................... WR........6-2/189...........SR-3L................................................Eupora, Miss./Eupora 20......Shea Patterson.................. QB........6-2/195...........FR-HS...................................Shreveport, La./IMG Academy 21......Terry Caldwell.....................LB........6-1/216...........SR-1L..................Wilmington, N.C./John T. Hoggard/NWCC 21......Akeem Judd.......................RB.......5-11/222..........SR-1L................... Durham, N.C./Southern/Georgia Military 22......Ray Ray Smith....................LB........6-2/213...........JR-2L............................................. Florence, Ala./Florence 22......Jordan Wilkins....................RB........6-1/214...........JR-2L................Cordova, Tenn./St. Benedict at Auburndale 23......Eugene Brazley...................RB........5-9/189...........JR-2L................................... New Orleans, La./G.W. Carver 23......Carlos Davis...................... DB........5-8/171...........SR-3L........................................Birmingham, Ala./Huffman 24......Tayler Polk..........................LB.......5-11/212..........JR-2L..............................................Magee, Miss./Brandon 24......Eric Swinney.......................RB........5-9/197...........FR-RS...................................... Riverdale, Ga./Sandy Creek 25......D.K. Buford.........................RB.......5-11/221..........SO-1L.............................................Oxford, Miss./Lafayette 25......Montrell Custis................... DB........6-0/174...........FR-RS............................................ Jonesboro, Ga./Lovejoy 26......Martin Johnson...................RB........6-0/192...........SR-1L.............................Preston, Miss./Nanih Waiya/ECCC 26......C.J. Moore......................... DB.......5-11/190..........JR-2L......................................... Bassfield, Miss./Bassfield 27......Cale Luke.......................... WR........6-1/197...........JR-1L................................................Clinton, Miss./Clinton 28......Cam Ordway...................... DB.......5-11/174..........SO-1L.......................................Pulaski, Tenn./Giles County 29......Armani Linton.................... DB........6-2/206...........FR-RS................................................Walnut, Miss./Walnut 30......A.J. Moore......................... DB........6-0/199...........JR-2L......................................... Bassfield, Miss./Bassfield 32......Temario Strong...................LB........6-0/211...........SR-3L.................................. Batesville, Miss./South Panola 33......John-Patrick Sherling.........LB.......5-11/224..........JR-1L............................................. Fairhope, Ala./Fairhope 33......Nathan Vanderburg.............RB........5-7/167.......... JR-Sq...........................Olive Branch, Miss./Desoto Central 34......Shawn Curtis......................LB........6-3/247...........FR-RS....................................Doral, Fla./Ronald W. Reagan 35......Donta Evans.......................LB........6-1/222...........FR-HS.........................................Lawrenceville, Ga./Archer 36......Zedrick Woods................... DB.......5-11/197..........SO-1L........................................... Lake City, Fla./Columbia 37......Luke Davis..........................LB........6-2/216...........JR-1L................................Trussville, Ala./Hewitt-Trussville 40......Willie Hibbler......................LB........6-3/238...........FR-RS........................................Sardis, Miss./North Panola 41......Antwain Smith................... DB........5-9/175.......... JR-Sq..............................Southaven, Miss./DeSoto Central 42......Garrald McDowell...............DL........6-2/240...........SO-1L..........................................Covington, La./Covington 43......Ty Quick.............................TE........6-3/257...........JR-2L....................................Terry, Miss./Copiah Academy 44......Alex Ashlock.......................LB........6-2/225.......... JR-Sq....................Cordova, TN/St. Benedict at Auburndale 45......Tyler Pittman......................DL........6-0/232.......... JR-Sq...................Corinth, Miss./Kossuth/Bethel University 47......John Youngblood.................DE........6-3/255...........SR-3L................................Trussville, Ala./Hewitt-Trussville 48......Jack Raborn.......................LB........6-1/217.......... SO-Sq................................. Winston-Salem, N.C./Mt. Tabor 50......Sean Rawlings....................OL........6-5/280...........SO-1L.................................................Madison, Miss./MRA 52......Michael Howard..................OL........6-5/232...........FR-RS...................................Green Cove Springs, Fla./Clay 52......Austrian Robinson...............DL........6-4/292...........FR-RS.......................New York, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling School 53......Will Few..............................LS........6-3/232...........SR-1L............................................... Augusta, Ga./Aquinas 54......Sam Johnson......................OL........6-2/240...........FR-RS.......................Nashville, Tenn./Christ Pres. Academy 55......Tyler Putman......................OL........6-4/300.......... SO-Sq...........................Olive Branch, Miss./DeSoto Central 57......Chadwick Lamar.................LS........6-1/212...........SO-1L.................................................Oxford, Miss./Oxford 58......Michael Taylor.....................LS........6-3/185...........FR-RS.................... Jackson, Tenn./Univ. School of Jackson 61......Eli Johnson.........................OL........6-3/295...........FR-HS.............................................. Taylor, Miss./Lafayette 62......Kamden Darney..................LS........6-2/220...........FR-RS.........................................Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola 63......Jacob Feeley........................C.........6-2/273...........SR-1L..................... Picayune, Miss./Picayune Mem./EMCC 67......Alex Givens.........................OL........6-6/293...........FR-RS...........................Nashville, Tenn./Nashville Christian 70......Jordan Sims.......................OL........6-4/334...........SO-1L.....................................Homewood, Ala./Homewood 73......Rod Taylor...........................OL........6-3/320...........JR-2L.......................................... Jackson, Miss./Callaway 75......Robert Conyers...................OL........6-5/290...........SR-3L................................................Miami, Fla./Braddock 76......Daronte Bouldin..................OL........6-5/327...........JR-2L............................................... Canton, Miss./Canton 77......Talbot Buys.........................OL........6-8/310...........SR-2L.................Vicksburg, MS/Porters Chapel/Holmes CC 78......Jeremy Liggins...................OL........6-3/302...........SR-2L...................................Oxford, Miss./Lafayette/NECC 79......Javon Patterson..................OL........6-3/307...........SO-1L......................................................Petal, Miss./Petal 80......Elliot Markuson...................LB........6-0/235...........JR-2L.............................................Oxford, Miss./Lafayette 81......Trey Bledsoe...................... WR........6-1/213...........JR-2L........................................... Grenada, Miss./Grenada 83......Gabe Angel.........................TE........6-3/218...........FR-HS......................................Cookeville, Tenn./Cookeville 84......Hunter Thurley....................TE........6-4/232...........SR-1L.................Nashville, TN/Christ Presbyterian/Wofford 85......Dawson Knox......................TE........6-4/222...........FR-RS........................Nashville, Tenn./Brentwood Academy 85......Alex Weber........................ WR........6-1/185...........SO-1L........................................... Lake City, Fla./Columbia 89......Taz Zettergren....................TE........6-3/218...........SR-3L...................Senatobia, MS/Magnolia Heights School 91......Ross Donelly.......................DT........6-1/309...........SO-1L............................................. Houston, Texas/Cy-Fair

91......Nathan Noble.......................K.........6-3/224...........SR-3L.........................Greenville, Miss./Washington School 93......Tyler Jackson......................K........5-11/185......... SR-Sq...............................Oxford, Miss./Lafayette/BYU/ICC 93......D.J. Jones..........................DT........6-0/324...........SR-1L..................................... Greenville, S.C./Wren/EMCC 94......Will Gleeson.........................P.........6-3/197...........JR-2L.................... Melbourne, Australia/Viewbank College 94......Issac Gross.........................DT........6-1/240...........SR-4L.................................. Batesville, Miss./South Panola 95......Benito Jones.......................DT........6-1/285...........FR-HS............................ Waynesboro, Miss./Wayne County 96......Jordan Hebert.....................DT........6-0/230...........SO-1L......................................................Klein, Texas/Klein 97......Gary Wunderlich................ K/P........6-0/188...........JR-2L..................... Memphis, Tenn./Memphis Univ. School 98......Grant Warren.......................P.........6-1/201.......... JR-Sq..................................Pascagoula, Miss./Pascagoula 98......Charles Wiley......................DE........6-2/240...........FR-HS................................... Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge 99......Herbert Moore....................DT........6-1/322...........JR-1L................................. Memphis, Tenn./Memphis East

2016 NEWCOMERS NAME..................................POS........HT./WT.......................................................................HOMETOWN Deontay Anderson................. DB....... 6-1/212........................................................Manvel, Texas/Manvel * Gabe Angel......................... TE........ 6-2/222............................................... Cookeville, Tenn./Cookeville A.J. Brown............................WR....... 6-1/225.................................................. Starkville, Miss./Starkville Justin Connor...................... ATH...... 5-10/187................................................ Sardis, Miss./North Panola Octavious Cooley.................. TE ...... 6-3/254.......................................................... Laurel, Miss./Laurel Jack DeFoor......................... OL........ 6-4/276........................................................ Calhoun, Ga./Calhoun * Greg Eisworth.................... DB...... 5-11/180........................... Grand Prairie, Texas/South Grand Prairie * Donta Evans....................... LB........ 6-1/222.................................................. Lawrenceville, Ga./Archer * Myles Hartsfield................. DB...... 5-10/197........................ Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville/East Coast Prep * Eli Johnson........................ OL........ 6-1/287....................................................... Taylor, Miss./Lafayette * Benito Jones...................... DT........ 6-1/305..................................... Waynesboro, Miss./Wayne County Jaylon Jones........................ DB...... 5-11/171..............................................................Allen, Texas/Allen Greg Little............................. OL........ 6-6/326...............................................................Allen, Texas/Allen Bryce Mathews..................... OL........ 6-6/275.............................. Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood Academy Jacob Mathis........................ TE........ 6-4/228................................................. Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep D.K. Metcalf..........................WR....... 6-4/206.......................................................... Oxford, Miss./Oxford Royce Newman.................... OL........ 6-5/260.....................................Nashville, Ill./Nashville Community Tre Nixon..............................WR....... 6-1/170..................................................................Viera, Fla./Viera * Shea Patterson................... QB....... 6-2/198............................................ Shreveport, La./IMG Academy D’Vaughn Pennamon............ RB....... 5-11/214.......................................................Manvel, Texas/Manvel Jarrion Street........................ RB....... 6-2/207 | ....................................... Trussville, Ala./Hewitt-Trussville Tariqious Tisdale................... LB........ 6-5/249................................................ Lexington, Tenn./Lexington Chandler Tuitt....................... OL ....... 6-4/220....................................................Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek * Charles Wiley..................... DE........ 6-2/250.............................................Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge * January enrollee

COACHING STAFF COACHES • Hugh Freeze.........................................................................................Head Coach • Dave Wommack................................................ Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers • Dan Werner................................................Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks • Matt Luke..................................................Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line • Jason Jones............................................... Co-Defensive Coordinator/Cornerbacks • Chris Kiffin................................. Defensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator for Defense • Maurice Harris...................................Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator for Offense • Corey Batoon....................................................Special Teams Coordinator/Safeties • Derrick Nix...................................................................................... Running Backs • Grant Heard.....................................................................................Wide Receivers STAFF • Barney Farrar....................... Assistant A.D./High School & Junior College Relations • Paul Jackson.................................................. Head Strength & Conditioning Coach • Tom Luke.......................................................... Assistant A.D./Player Development • John Miller......................................................... Assistant A.D./Football Operations • Chris Rippon................................................... Assistant A.D./Recruiting Operations • Ben Aigamaua.............................................Coordinator of Recruiting Development • Chris Buttgen...................................................................Director of Football Media • Ken Crain................................................................................ Equipment Manager • Pat Jernigan............................................................................Head Athletic Trainer • Bruce Johnson............................................Coordinator of Recruiting Development • Emmanuel McCray.......................................................Graduate Assistant, Offense • Davis Merritt................................................................ Graduate Assistant, Defense • Sean Patterson..................................... Associate Director of Recruiting Operations • Robert Ratliff................................................................Graduate Assistant, Offense • Will Reid..................................................... Assistant Coordinator of Video Services • Christian Robinson....................................................... Graduate Assistant, Defense • Lee Wilbanks...............................................Coordinator of Recruiting Development JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 43

44 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

FOOTBALL 2016 OLE MISS FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT:

C H A d k e l ly

GOT SWAG? why chad kelly can win the heisman trophy BY J O H N DAV I S

CONTRIBUTING WRITER - THE OXFORD CITIZEN PHOTOS BY ANGIE LEDBETTER AND PETRE THOMAS

had Kelly is a winner. Ask anyone who knows him well. That could be Uncle Jim, who also played quarterback and is forever enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame, his coaches, from Buddy Stephens at East Mississippi Community College, the place he made his name, or Hugh Freeze, the one who leads him currently. Kelly had a fantastic 2015 season in Oxford as he led the Rebels to the Allstate Sugar Bowl. He finished with 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns in the air and then another 500 yards 10 touchdowns on the ground. Kelly completed 65.1 percent of his passes and ended the year with an efficiency rating of 155.86. He had all the stats needed to win awards, like the Sugar Bowl MVP, and be considered one of the top signal callers in the nation. With the 2016 season six weeks from starting, Kelly is firmly in the spotlight. Ole Miss fans are anxiously awaiting his encore, while the nation is looking to see how he leads a program void of offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and Laquon Treadwell helping out. Kelly has all the tools to win games; he’s already proven that. His leadership skills

Photo by Angie Ledbetter

improved dramatically as the year went on. He put more on his shoulders. Kelly got the tough yards on runs, and he threaded the needle to wideouts when needed to get that substantial completion. Can he do it all again? And can he lead the team to the wins that really matter, like Alabama or LSU on the road? If Kelly keeps his stats up, but even more importantly wins those huge matchups like he was able to last year, then he has a real chance of winning the Heisman Trophy. The

If Kelly keeps his stats up, but even more importantly wins those colossal matchups like he was able to last year, then he has as high of a chance of winning the Heisman Trophy as anyone. The key is to remain in the discussion, and let the voters have something to evaluate all the way until the end.

TIME OUT key is to remain in the discussion, and let the voters have something to evaluate all the way until the end. “I think a lot of it will depend on what Ole Miss does as a team,” said Robby Donoho, the sports director of WCBI in Columbus who is also a Heisman Trophy voter. “If they get their double-digit wins, if they can get to the top of the SEC West, I think Chad has a great chance of winning it. I believe that there are some quarterbacks in the mix to win the trophy this year, whether that’s (Clemson’s) DeShaun Watson or someone else. I think Chad goes into the season as a Heisman candidate because he did have that great season. That’s what most Heisman candidates do; they have a great season leading up to a big-time season. I think he’s had that launching pad season to get to that point.” Donoho has voted for the award the past two seasons and what he has looked for more than anything is consistency and a body of work for the entire year. “Take Christian McCaffrey for instance. He was the guy that ended up winning my Heisman vote last year. He consistently did it throughout the year where he had 100yard games every single game,” Donoho said. “(Alabama’s) Derrick Henry was great, but there were one or two games where he didn’t have the stats he should have. Marcus Mariota was the same way. His stats were exceptional every single game he played at JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 45

Photo by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine

46 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

Photo by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine

FACE-PLANT OF THE YEAR

TIME OUT

THE KELLY FILE CHAD KELLY - 2015 SINGLE SEASON RECORDS Total Offense Yards

Passing Yards

Passing Touchdowns

#2 - BO WALLACE - 3,701 (2013)

#2 - ELI MANNING - 3,600 (2003)

TIED ELI MANING - 31 (2003)

Total Yards Per Game

Total Yards Per Play

Completion Percentage

#2 - BO WALLACE - 284.7 (2013)

#2 - PARKER HALL - 7.53 (1938)

#2 - STEWART PATRIDGE - 64.8 (1997)

Passing Yards Per Game

Passing Efficiency

Pass Completions

#2 - ELI MANNING - 148.1 (2003)

#2 - BO WALLACE - 283 (2003)

4,542 349.4 310.9

#2 - ELI MANNING - 300.0 (2003)

4,042 8.02

155.8

65.1 298

• First QB to lead Ole Miss to wins over Alabama, Auburn and LSU in the same season. • First QB to lead Ole Miss to five victories over top-25 ranked teams. • Kelly’s 4,542 total yards and 4,042 passing yards are both third-most in a season in SEC history, while his 41 total touchdowns are tied for seventh all-time in league records. • 2nd only to Johnny Manziel (5,116/2012 & 4,873/2013 @ Texas A&M) in Single-Season Total Yardage with 4,542. • Most wins by a first-year starting Ole Miss QB (10) since Jake Gibbs in 1959. • First Ole Miss player to win Sugar Bowl MVP honors since Archie Manning in 1970.

Oregon. That’s why he got my vote. I want to be able to see consistency throughout the season. If they make a mistake, if they don’t make multiple mistakes in a game.” What Donoho means by multiple mistakes when talking about Kelly it revolves around interceptions or turnovers in general. “I want to see him not have three or four picks and a good completion percentage, and touchdowns and then get your team nine or 10 wins. I think that’s what he has to do to stay in consideration,” Donoho added. McCaffrey ultimately finished second to Henry in the voting of last year’s Heisman Trophy. Henry is now in the NFL, but McCaffrey is back at Stanford and gearing up his redshirt sophomore season. He is one of the top candidates coming into the season, along with Watson, who also threw for just over 4,000 yards like Kelly and led the Tigers to the College Football Playoff Championship. Of course, those are just a fraction of the players who are on the radar. In the SEC, Georgia’s Nick Chubb and LSU’s Leonard Fournette are major contenders. And both Georgia and LSU are on the Rebels’ schedule this season. “I think those 3, Watson, McCaffrey and Fournette, are the top three coming into the season. But coming into last season, everyone thought Fournette was going to be the Heisman guy, and then somebody came out of nowhere,” Donoho said. “I think being the Heisman guy or a potential Heisman candidate isn’t the best option. I believe that it may be better to have lower or tempered expectations so that you can work yourself up towards the top. That’s why Chad is in such a great position right now. He’s being talked about, maybe not a top 5 kind of guy, but he’s being mentioned. He is in the conversation, and he can work himself into the top with some good stats and a good season.” There are some early challenges, and showcases, that will help Kelly if he can lead the Rebels to wins. Ole Miss opens up with Florida State, which has a Heisman candidate in Dalvin Cook. In Week 3, the Rebels host Alabama and then follow that up with Georgia. LSU is on the Rebels’ calendar later in the year, and on the road. A win at Tiger Stadium would be another feather in Kelly’s cap. Donoho said former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott was hurt late in the 2014 season by the way he played against Alabama. “He was the leading candidate going into that game, but after State lost that game, it all went downhill,” Donoho said. “There are certain games that are more important than others; more eyes are on them. There was a magnitude to that Alabama game, so I think for Chad, the Alabama game this season, is going to be big. I think the LSU game is goJULY / AUGUST 2016 - 47

“I expect him to be more of the player that I think he can be. He can be even more dominant than he was last year, and that’s saying a lot,” Stephens said. “When I went to Pearl River and played junior college ball, I was able to room with Scott Favre. I’ve seen him and Brett Favre throwing the ball. There have only been two guys that I’ve ever heard the ball going through the air when they threw it besides Brett Favre. One was Randall Mackey, and the other is Chad Kelly. The ball whistles.” – EMCC Head Coach Buddy Stephens

48 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

ing to be large as well later in the year. He has the potential, with the Egg Bowl at the end, to possibly leading the team into the SEC Championship. Those are the types of games where you want to showcase your talents and your school. I think those are the ones he has to perform well in and Ole Miss has to get to nine or 10 wins for him to have a chance for him to be in New York for the Heisman ceremony.” Stephens laughed a little when asked if Kelly can win the Heisman because he looks at it as a team award. As good as the former Lion can be from a stat standpoint, wins, and losses, and help from his teammates is what will determine things for Kelly. “If Chad plays well and the rest of the team plays well, I think he has a very good chance of winning the Heisman,” Stephens said. “Very few times do you find somebody that wins the Heisman on a subpar team. I think it’s a big team effort. If he plays at a high level, and the rest of the team does as well, there are accolades that come along for everybody. Does he have the talent? I absolutely think so. Will the team have the talent? No doubt. I’m excited for the year and to see what happens.” Kelly and Stephens keep up with each other on a regular basis. Stephens knows for a fact that Kelly is very comfortable with the

Photo by Angie Ledbetter, Rebel Nation Magazine

offense and the coaching staff, and his leadership has grown tremendously. “I expect him to be more of the player that I think he can be. He can be even more dominant than he was last year, and that’s saying a lot,” Stephens said. “When I went to Pearl River and played junior college ball, I was able to room with Scott Favre. I’ve seen him and Brett Favre throwing the ball. There have only been two guys that I’ve ever heard the ball going through the air when they threw it besides Brett Favre. One was Randall Mackey, and the other is Chad Kelly. The ball whistles.” Humble is the word that Stephens used to define Kelly from a personality standpoint, especially when it relates to winning awards. “I’ll be honest with you; I don’t think the Heisman Trophy is Chad Kelly’s end all. I don’t think that’s what his goal is,” Stephens said. “He wants to win a championship. If Chad is in contention for a Heisman, and the thing that will make him in contention for the Heisman, is that he’s not worried about the Heisman. He is only worried about winning as a team and the goals the team has. That’s why I think he will have the opportunity to put himself in that conversation because of the way he thinks.” Eli Manning was the last Ole Miss quarterback that even entered the discussion about

The biggest difference between Kelly and Archie Manning is the exposure college football gets now. Years ago, a campaign had to be formulated, and voters had to get constant information on that player. Now, with every game on TV, and the Internet filled with instant stats, exposure isn’t a problem.

TIME OUT winning the Heisman Trophy. He was a finalist his senior season in 2003, losing out to Oklahoma’s Jason White. Before that Deuce McAllister garnered a lot of attention heading into the 2000 season, but his campaign only produced moderate success before fading and then being completely out of the discussion. Ole Miss has never had a player win the Heisman. Archie Manning got close in the voting when he quarterbacked the Rebels, but even his overall play-making ability didn’t impress enough to win college football’s top individual award. The biggest difference between Kelly and Archie Manning is the exposure college football gets now. Years ago, a campaign had to be formulated, and voters had to get constant information on that player. Now, with every game on TV, and the Internet filled with instant stats, exposure isn’t a problem. It will all revolve around wins, and losses, for Kelly. If he plays well, and the Rebels are as good, or better than they were in 2015, then he will be in the discussion all the way until the end. A trip to New York as a finalist would be outstanding. A win would be program changing in a lot of ways. The Heisman shouldn’t be the main goal for Kelly this season or even thought about. Focusing on each week, on each opponent, is all he needs to worry about. Still, if he can lock up the hardware, then the significance will be huge for the Rebels and the program moving forward. Kelly’s legacy would be cemented forever, just like Archie’s and Eli’s are. A Heisman Trophy would be a fitting end for a quarterback who has all the talent, and the pedigree, to be at the top of the college football ranks. - RN JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 49

FOOTBALL 2016 OLE MISS DEFENSIVE SPOTLIGHT:

M A R Q U I S H AY N E S

speed OFF THE EDGE BY PARRISH ALFORD CONTRIBUTING WRITER - DAILY JOURNAL PHOTOS BY PETRE THOMAS

he road to major college football – perhaps the NFL – isn’t always smooth. For Marquise Haynes, it included an unwelcome detour from the plan he’d had in place for almost two years. Prep school was a humbling experience, but one that he embraced and through which he learned. The result was not his first choice, but his second, and well, the SEC as first runner-up is a pretty good fall-back plan. A former North Carolina signee, Haynes was a grade casualty and unable to enroll at Chapel Hill. He spent a year at Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia, a time he calls disappointing but valuable. “What I learned was never to give up, because you never know what opportunities may be coming your way,” Haynes said. Now Haynes is in his third year and coming off a sophomore season in which he was named SEC defensive lineman of the week three times and earned second-team AllSEC honors from league coaches, The Associated Press, and Phil Steele. He tied a school record and ranked fourth in the SEC with ten sacks. Over the past two seasons, he ranks fourth 50 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

They wanted to help him find a landing spot as long as he didn’t land in the SEC. Haynes grew close to North Carolina defensive coordinator Dan Disch, who was previously on staff with North Carolina coach Larry Fedora when Fedora coached at Southern Miss. When Disch realized he wouldn’t be able to have Haynes wreaking havoc off the edge in his 4-2-5 scheme, he picked up the phone and called a friend. There was one requirement, though. “They didn’t want me playing in the ACC because they didn’t want to play against me,” Haynes said. The non-ACC friend Disch called was Ole Miss administrative assistant Barney Farrar, who had been on staff with Fedora and Disch in Hattiesburg. The idea of not playing for North Carolina was crushing for Haynes. “I felt hurt because that was my dream school that I wanted to go to,” he said. That attachment he felt with the Tar Heels was due to the strength of the relationship he’d established with the staff. “I had a bond with Coach Disch and coach Fedora.” Soon he was building a bond with Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and his staff. “Coach Disch told me had had an old friend that he grew up with at Southern Miss. He called coach Barney over here at Ole Miss. They had a great talk. The next thing I knew coach Barney was talking on the phone to me like 48 hours non-stop, telling me about what Ole Miss is. It was crazy for me because I was getting calls from every SEC school. As soon as coach Barney got me on the phone, and I came out for a visit, I just

TIME OUT

in the SEC with 17 1-2 sacks. That’s quite a bit of production from a guy who questioned his ability to compete in the SEC. “In the beginning, I felt like I wasn’t good enough to play in the SEC,” Haynes said. That wasn’t the way North Carolina coaches felt. They had a long recruiting relationship with Haynes, who played high school ball in Jacksonville, Fla. He’d been committed to the Tar Heels for more than a year and a half.

Now Haynes is in his third year and coming off a sophomore season in which he was named SEC defensive lineman of the week three times and earned second-team AllSEC honors from league coaches, The Associated Press, and Phil Steele. He tied a school record and ranked fourth in the SEC with ten sacks.

fell in love with the place.” While the staff, the campus and the facilities caught his attention, trust still came slowly. “It was hard at first because I had was committed to North Carolina for so long. Coach Disch and I had a talk. He told me to trust them. It took a while at the beginning, but when they were coaching me, I started to open up my eyes more. I realized I could be an important part here at Ole Miss. I didn’t

know when, but I knew my chance was coming. All I had to do was trust them and let them coach me. That’s what I tried to do.” It wasn’t about receiving coaching only from the staff. Former defensive end C.J. Johnson, a junior when Haynes arrived, and fellow defensive end Fadol Brown, who will be a senior this year, were key in helping Haynes get settled in. Haynes had been able to defeat opponents

with his skill and athleticism in high school and prep school. The idea they can continue that approach is a familiar trap for college athletes. Johnson helped Haynes understand that was not the way to go. When Haynes was drowning in the playbook as a freshman, Johnson let him know the most important thing was to find his role in each certain play and focus on that. “My first game was just fast. It was crazy. JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 51

“I feel like I accomplished playing the run game against LSU, Arkansas, and Alabama. Me being out there on the field the whole game for the first time was an amazing feeling, and I feel like I did well. I feel like I’m strong enough to hold my own,” Haynes said

TIME OUT My head was spinning with the play calls. I had to learn all those play calls,” Haynes said. “When the coaches call them in a game you have to think about your responsibility because one assignment could mess up the whole defense. “I had C.J. here and Fadol. They would teach me and say, ‘You’ve just got to know one part of the play. That’s all you’ve got to do.’” It was not necessary at the time for Haynes to take on a “big picture” role. He needed to master his responsibilities. He’s done that now and is ready to lead in the same way he was led by his former teammates. He says he’s taken newcomers under his wing, mentioning Texas safety Deontay Anderson in particular. “I feel like he has a lot of potential, a lot of talent.” Haynes is not a loud, vocal guy, but that doesn’t keep him from being a leader. That’s not important, he says, pointing out that leadership is in actions. Actions became easier for Haynes in the middle of his freshman year. That’s when the light came on. The swimming, sometimes sinking, in the playbook became a much more manageable situation. “It was a big relief. I felt myself getting way better than when I started the season. I would think, ‘Why didn’t I do that in the first game?’” Haynes was a situational player as a freshman. Kiffin and defensive coordinator Dave Wommack liked Haynes’ potential as a pass rusher, somewhat of an unknown coming off the edge opposite Robert Nkemdiche, who 52 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

certainly was not unknown. Anonymity was not something Haynes enjoyed for long. He earned freshman All-America honors and left that rookie season saying he wanted to be better against the run. He committed himself to strength and conditioning in the off-season. “I feel like I accomplished playing the run game against LSU, Arkansas, and Alabama. Me being out there on the field the whole game for the first time was an amazing feeling, and I feel like I did well. I feel like I’m strong enough to hold my own,” Haynes said. It’s a trend he’s continued and has added 30 pounds, he estimates, to his 200-pound frame since arriving in town. Haynes did become better in the run game and times last year played 80 snaps. He believes the Auburn game, a 27-19 Ole Miss road win, was his best performance with six tackles, three tackles for loss, a pressure and two sacks. It earned him league honors for a second straight week.

TIME OUT

DE Marquis Haynes led the Rebel defense in 2015 with 10 quarterback sacks. Haynes finished the year rank 4th in the SEC behind DL Myles Garrett (Texas A&M) with 13, DL John Allen (Alabama) with 12, and LB Tim Williams (Alabama) with 11.

Still, it’s the sack, the tackle for loss, the simple disruption in the backfield that marks his game now and moving forward. When Haynes can get a step on the tackle and beat him to the inside, he feels he’s on top of his game. “The get-off is so important, especially for someone my size. You look at Von Miller (Denver Broncos) and all the other defensive ends in the “League” their first step is what gets an offensive tackle.” - RN

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 53

FOOTBALL 2016 OLE MISS OFFENSIVE SPOTLIGHT:

next man UP

DAMORE’EA STRINGFELLOW HAS BIG SHOES TO FILL IN 2016 BY PARRISH ALFORD

CONTRIBUTING WRITER - DAILY HOURNAL PHOTOS BY PETRE THOMAS

s Ole Miss wide receivers turn the page from perhaps the program’s greatest player at the position, aspiring to duplicate the success of Laquon Treadwell is an admirable goal. In only three seasons Treadwell set the school’s career receptions record with 202 and in 2015 set single-season records for catches (82), yards (1,153) and touchdowns (11). It’s easy to see why Damore’ea Stringfellow would want to be like his former roommate, but Stringfellow’s first comparison isn’t what comes to mind for most people. “He’s pretty clean, which is good. I don’t like a dirty house, and he loves to clean,” Stringfellow said. That’s not where the comparisons end. Part of Treadwell’s phenomenal success was due to both size and strength. At 6-foot-2 his height could be an advantage against smaller defensive backs and would allow him to more than hold his own against the “bigger corners” that defensive coaches crave and that have become trendy across college football. Equally important were Treadwell’s work ethic and competitive streak. All three are attributes that Stringfellow shares. So as Ole Miss moves on from Laquon Treadwell, breaking up doesn’t have to be hard to do – especially with Stringfellow having taken a few notes as they cleaned 54 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

house together. “We bounced ideas off each other. We grew together. We lived together for the last year and built a relationship.” A transfer from Washington entering his third season in the program, the junior Stringfellow is also 6-2. He’s currently listed at 220 pounds, slightly less than the weight Treadwell carried before his season-ending leg and ankle injuries in 2014. Treadwell played at a lighter weight, around 212, upon his return. He was quite

comfortable doing that, but shedding weight is not a goal for Stringfellow. After what he called a breakout game at Mississippi State last year, Stringfellow injured an ankle in the Sugar Bowl and sat out spring drills. “Spring was an opportunity for me to get healthy again,” he says, “getting everything right and making sure everything was OK for right now, the season.” Breaks from routine tend to change body types if guys aren’t careful. Stringfellow says his weight on the website is not exactly true, and he’s working to get back to 220 pounds. He was running routes and participating in summer workouts in early June. He listed himself as about 90 percent healed then. Putting on a few summer pounds is important because he expects to lose weight in camp. “I’ve put on six pounds in the last week, so it’s going well. You have your team workouts in the morning, then you go to class, come back and get in some extra work. Right now I’m eating a couple of meals a day, doing some extra push-ups, whatever to get a little bulkier,” Stringfellow said. Bulk is a big help that he doesn’t want to lose. “It gives you a physical advantage because obviously you’re a lot bigger than everybody else,” he said. “It plays a lot different strengthwise because a lot of corners don’t want to play man up or play close. They know they can’t beat you at the line.” Some cornerbacks will play Stringfellow at the line of scrimmage early in the game, but as time moves on they move off the line. “Some will try it out, but after a while, you eventually have to give up, because I’m pretty good at the line. The majority of them play off.” The majority, perhaps, but not all corners respond that way. Size and strength are just as important down the field as at the line of scrimmage. “You need to be physical enough to go up and get the ball. If you’re physical enough, more physical than the other guy, you have a great chance.” Size and strength are fabulous assets for a receiver, but other tools – speed, route-running, and hands – must come into play and complete the package. Those are what helped Stringfellow run free in the Mississippi State secondary on first down from the Bulldogs’ 36. He had a couple of steps on the MSU defender, and after Chad Kelly’s perfectly placed pass, no one would catch him on the way to the end zone. The play capped an 8-play 75-yard drive – on which Kelly was 4-for-5 and also had a 12-yard run – and gave the Rebels a 28-3 lead with 10 minutes, 45 seconds left in the

second quarter. Ole Miss would go on to win 38-27 at MSU’s Davis-Wade Stadium, a final score that did not reflect the competitive nature of the game. The Bulldogs scored the game’s last two touchdowns as Ole Miss defensive coordinator Dave Wommack was content for his players to keep the ball in front and allow yards while MSU chewed up the clock. The Bulldogs’ last two drives consumed 19 plays and more than seven minutes. The Rebels’ first road win against MSU since 2003 was a coming out party for Stringfellow. His first touchdown catch of the game covered 2 yards, a fade in the corner of the end zone with 5:10 left in the first quarter for

So as Ole Miss moves on from Laquon Treadwell, breaking up doesn’t have to be hard to do – especially with Stringfellow having taken a few notes as they cleaned house together.

TIME OUT a 14-0 lead. Treadwell was quiet by his standards – four catches for 22 yards – but the game was a prelude to Stringfellow’s future, he hopes. He finished with five catches for 84 yards and two scores.

“That game was paramount,” he said. “It was my coming out party to get the feel for getting the ball and doing a little bit. It was important for the fan base and myself too to gain confidence, in my abilities and get a little taste of what I’m going to bring to the table.” Maybe it was more important for the fans. Stringfellow says his confidence has never wavered even though his first shot at college football ended with a transfer. So did Kelly’s. The two of them often compare notes about previous experiences. “Of course, we do that all the time,” Stringfellow said. “Chad’s a great guy. He talks about how blessed he is all the time. We talk about things that we didn’t take full ad-

this summer and also on strengthening his relationship with Kelly, with whom he spends leisure time, not just football time. “Our chemistry is excellent. I’d like it to be a lot better, and that will happen over time. It’s good off the field too. We hang out all the time around the house, bar-b-cue, throw some stuff on the grill.” It’s Stringfellow who does the throwing then, not Kelly. “I’m going to have to throw my boy under the bus. He doesn’t touch the grill too much.” Those throwing and catching roles will revert to normal during the season. Stringfellow says he hopes to improve every aspect of his game. He can’t shake thoughts of one ball in his hands that he dropped last season.

vantage of, I guess, in our previous opportunities. We talk about how excited we are just to play and have this year.” Stringfellow was a factor at Washington as a freshman. He appeared in 12 of 13 games and started the last three of the season, finishing with 20 catches for 259 yards and a touchdown. His best game was against UCLA when he totaled eight catches for 147 yards and a score. He sat out the 2014 season at Ole Miss under transfer rules. He’s focusing on his health and class work

“It’s the one I think about most,” he said. There’s an upside to thoughts like that. They’re motivational fuel to help players get where they want to be. Stringfellow is eager to show the MSU game can be a regular occurrence, not an isolated incident. “I think week to week I can be pretty consistent. It’s all based on your work ethic, and I feel like I have a great work ethic. I want to be consistent. That’s the most important part of it. When you want to be consistent, when you want to do something, all you have to do is put your mind to it.” - RN JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 55

AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE REBELS’ LABOR DAY OPPONENT - OR, EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ‘NOLES BUT DIDN’T KNOW WHO TO ASK.

F L O R I DA S TAT E

SEMINOLES

GAME ONE

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 KICKOFF - 8:00PM (ET) orlando, fl 56 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

COACH JIMBO FISHER

B Y R YA n S . C L A R K

CONTRIBUTING WRITER - LEAD FLORIDA STATE BEAT WRITER, WARCHANT.COM / PHOTOS COURTESY FLORIDA STATE SPORTS INFORMATION

dentical records doesn’t always mean similar results. Ole Miss’s 10-3 campaign in 2015 was reason to celebrate one of the stronger seasons in program history. Florida State’s 10-3 mark did not quite achieve the same fanfare. The Rebels enter the 2016 season with the goal of building from last season while developing another heralded recruiting class. The Seminoles believe 2016 could be the year they capture the fourth national title in school history. FSU was dismantled in a 38-24 loss to Houston in on New Year’s Day in the Chickfil-A Peach Bowl. A year in which the Seminoles went back-and-forth on quarterbacks

ended with the offense struggling to keep pace with Houston. Under seventh-year coach Jimbo Fisher this could be a year to remember. Fisher and his staff pieced together what Rivals rated as the No. 2 class in the nation. Some of those players could be expected to contribute although FSU does have plenty of options. Fisher opened spring practice with a 30-minute press conference. He described his expectations and how this can be a big year. Then the Seminoles had their first practice. And he was far from happy. In fact, he was more critical during some portions of the spring than he was during the regular season. “Today’s practice had a lack of enthusiasm,” Fisher said after one practice. “Practice was decent but not at the level which we’re used to practicing. One of the worst ones

SEMINOLE FOOTBALL 2016

Sept. 5.................. OLE MISS* SEPT. 10.....CHARLESTON SO.

Sept. 17................. @Louisville

Sept. 24........................ @USF OCT. 1......NORTH CAROLINA

Oct. 8......................... @Miami OCT. 15......... WAKE FOREST

Oct. 22...........................OPEN OCT. 29................ CLEMSON

NOV. 5....................@NC State NOV. 11....BOSTON COLLEGE

Nov. 19.................. @Syracuse

NOV. 26..................FLORIDA * - Orlando, Fla. / (HOME GAMES IN ALL CAPS)

since I’ve been here. No enthusiasm. No life. Just out here going through the motions. That’s all it is. That’s why we lost three games last year.” Offense The Seminoles return their entire offense but not every player is guaranteed a spot. Redshirt senior Sean Maguire missed the spring with an ankle injury. He’s expected to face strong competition from redshirt freshman Deondre Francois to be the team’s starting quarterback. Maguire threw for 1,520 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. Francois spent last season running FSU’s scout team offense to rave reviews from Fisher and other players. He starred during the spring and went 20 for 33 with 246 yards, two touchdowns and two interception in the spring game. While Maguire may have experience, the argument is Francois provides athleticism, a stronger arm and speed. FSU’s offensive line was also an area of concern last season. Fisher and his staff went through several combinations in an attempt

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RB - DALVIN COOK

to find consistency. At least nine offensive lineman started or received significant playing time. Junior Roderick Johnson, who was named the ACC’s best blocker in 2015, leads what is expected to be an improved unit. Then there’s Dalvin Cook. FSU’s star junior tailback is a Heisman Trophy candidate. He rushed for 1,691 yards and 19 touchdowns. Cook did miss some games due to

2015 SEMINOLES in review 2015 RECORD:....... OVERALL......HOME...... AWAY......NEUTRAL ALL GAMES ............... (10-3) .......... (7-0) ..........(3-2) ...........(0-1) CONFERENCE ............. (6-2) ........... (4-0) .........(2-2) .......... (0-0) NON-CONFERENCE .... (4-1) ........... (3-0) ..........(1-0) ...........(0-1)

injury and needed shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum toward the end of spring practice. He’s expected to recover months before FSU breaks for fall camp. Although Cook should be fine, it does raise some health concerns. He had ankle and hamstring issues throughout 2015. They were nothing major but he did have to miss at least 95 percent of the Wake Forest game and was held out against Syracuse. This will also be the third time he’s had a labrum surgery going back to when he was in high school. Don’t worry. FSU has a backup plan in the form of sophomore Jacques Patrick. At 6-foot-2 and 233 pounds, he’s a wrecking ball with speed. He started against Syracuse and rushed 24 times for 162 yards and three touchdowns. JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 57

Receivers are another area of intrigue. FSU returns seniors Kermit Whitfield and Bobo Wilson. Both are burners with Whitfield, a former high school track star, clocked at running more than 22 miles per hour at practice. The key for this group depends upon a few things. The first being the emergence of junior Travis Rudolph. The nation’s No. 1 receiver in 2014, he both starred and disappeared at moments in 2015. Rudolph arguably had the strongest spring of any player. Fisher said he was the most consistent player and is now considered to be one of the best talents coming into 2016. FSU is also looking for a bigger receiver. Whitfield and Wilson are less than 5-10 and Rudolph is 6-1 and 185 pounds. FSU has signed big targets in its last few signing classes but numerous hiccups have hindered those plans. Sophomore Auden Tate could be the guy going forward. The 6-5 and 218-pound sophomore had six receptions for 100 yards in the spring game. DEFENSE Any talk about FSU’s defense starts and ends with Derwin James. He came to FSU as a five-star recruit and finished his freshman season with 91 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. FSU used the spring to experiment with him

coming off the edge in pass-rushing packages. At 6-3 and 213 pounds, he’s menacing and can stick with any offensive player. He’s fast enough to stay with a receiver yet strong enough to handle a tight end. And as for offensive linemen, he jettisoned a Florida graduate transfer offensive tackle en route to reaching the quarterback in FSU’s 27-2 win in Gainesville. “I mean, it’s not easy to block that man. He’s easily one of the freakiest athletes I’ve ever seen,” said starting tight end Ryan Izzo about James. “You know, you’re just running a route and he’s right on your hip. Always. Him rushing off the edge, he’s one of the quickest rushers I’ve ever seen. “He’s definitely a special player.” Izzo would know as he’s 6-5 and 243 pounds. Keep in mind, the Seminoles lost junior cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the NFL. Even though, they are trying to fill his spot, there is a high amount of expectation with this defense. At times, the defense carried FSU was the offense struggled to find a rhythm. Defensive end DeMarcus Walker returns for his senior year. He led FSU with 10.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. He’s going to be paired with former five-star prospect Josh Sweat on the other side. Sweat played in all 13 games and recorded 41 tackles and two sacks.

DB - DERWIN JAMES

TIME OUT “I mean, it’s not easy to block that man (Derwin James). He’s easily one of the freakiest athletes I’ve ever seen. You know, you’re just running a route and he’s right on your hip. Always. Him rushing off the edge, he’s one of the quickest rushers I’ve ever seen. “He’s definitely a special player.” - FSU TE Ryan Izzo 58 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

DL - DEMARCUS WALKER

FSU lost both its linebackers to graduation yet return Ro’Derrick Hoskins and Matthew Thomas. Injuries vaulted Hoskins into a major role. He played in 12 games and had 52 tackles. Thomas was ineligible in 2015 but when the former five-star has played in previous seasons, he’s created excitement. It appears former five-star Tarvarus McFadden is the front runner to fill Ramsey’s spot at corner. McFadden is 6-2 and 197 pounds. Should he win the job, he’ll be opposite Marquez White. White was a breakout player finishing with 25 tackles in 12 games. SPECIAL TEAMS Make no mistake. Roberto Aguayo is considered by some to be the best kicker in college football history. Losing Aguayo should sting. And it could but there’s optimism in the form of another Aguayo. FSU signed Roberto’s younger brother Ricky, who will be a freshman. Roberto said Ricky was the more accurate high school kicker between the two. Ricky’s accuracy and leg strength was on display during spring. There was one practice when Aguayo missed a field goal attempt. It led to Cook saying, “Stop playing with me Ricky” before Aguayo drilled a 30-yarder with near ease. FSU also lost punter Cason Beatty to graduation. He’ll be replaced by three-star Logan Tyler. Tyler could be one of the more underrated athletes in the 2016 class. In high school, he was a kicker, punter, quarterback and linebacker among other things.

The return game was mixed. FSU succeeded in kickoff returns but was near the bottom in punt returns. It’s something Fisher and his staff have worked on during spring. THE BOTTOM LINE The 2015 year was one of growing pains for FSU. Aside from Cook and Johnson, it was a brand new offense. Aside from the season-opener, the Seminoles never had a performance where they put an opponent away from start to finish. That’s expected to change this year. Every setback the Seminoles encountered in 2015 is viewed as a learning lesson heading into the 2016 season. Several signs point toward 2016 being one to remember. FSU signed a top-end recruiting class and has one of the best players in the nation in Cook. Then there’s rising stars like James and Sweat coupled with experienced players like Johnson and Walker. Let’s take away the national title talk. It’s an important year because ACC rival Clemson is coming off a national championship game appearance. And for the first time, the Tigers could actually be the primary challenger to FSU for conference supremacy. Don’t forget in-state rival Miami. The Hurricanes hired Mark Richt and there’s an optimism around South Florida not seen or felt in quite some time. And then, FSU starts the season against a SEC staple like Ole Miss. Simply. The expectations are reach and win the College Football Playoff. Or die trying. - RN

2015 results DATE.......................... OPPONENT.......................... W/L............ SCORE........ATTEND Sep 05, 2015.............. TEXAS STATE.........................W...............59-16............80917 Sep 12, 2015.............. USF........................................W...............34-14............72811 Sep 18, 2015.............. at Boston College...................W................14-0.............39111 Oct 03, 2015.............. at Wake Forest.......................W...............24-16............28588 Oct 10, 2015.............. MIAMI....................................W...............29-24............82329 Oct 17, 2015.............. LOUISVILLE............................W...............41-21............71225 Oct 24, 2015.............. at Georgia Tech...................... L................16-22............55000 Oct 31, 2015.............. SYRACUSE.............................W...............45-21............67630 Nov 07, 2015.............. at #1 Clemson....................... L................13-23............83099 Nov 14, 2015.............. NC STATE...............................W...............34-17............71210 Nov 21, 2015.............. CHATTANOOGA......................W...............52-13............66412 Nov 28, 2015.............. at #10 Florida........................W................27-2.............90916 2015 PEACH BOWL Dec 31, 2015.............. vs Houston Cougars............... L................24-38............71007

2015 STATS .......................................................................... FSU..................................OPP. SCORING ........................................................... 412 ................................. 227 Points Per Game .............................................31.7 ................................17.5 Points Off Turnovers ......................................... 62 ................................... 27 FIRST DOWNS .................................................... 268 ................................. 246 Rushing .......................................................... 107 ................................. 107 Passing ........................................................... 141 ................................. 122 Penalty ............................................................ 20 ................................... 17 RUSHING YARDAGE ........................................... 2187 ............................... 1889 Yards gained rushing ..................................... 2548 ............................... 2171 Yards lost rushing ........................................... 361 ................................. 282 Rushing Attempts ........................................... 425 ................................. 493 Average Per Rush ............................................5.1 ..................................3.8 Average Per Game .........................................168.2 ..............................145.3 TDs Rushing .................................................... 27 ................................... 10 PASSING YARDAGE ............................................ 3325 ............................... 2491 Comp-Att-Int ..............................................264-419-9 ......................252-443-8 Average Per Pass .............................................7.9 ..................................5.6 Average Per Catch ..........................................12.6 .................................9.9 Average Per Game .........................................255.8 ..............................191.6 TDs Passing ..................................................... 22 ................................... 14 TOTAL OFFENSE ............................................... 5512 ............................... 4380 Total Plays ...................................................... 844 ................................. 936 Average Per Play ..............................................6.5 ..................................4.7 Average Per Game .........................................424.0 ..............................336.9 KICK RETURNS: #-Yards .................................. 25-624 ............................33-557 PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards ................................. 34-127 ............................21-197 INT RETURNS: #-Yards ..................................... 8-104 ...............................9-28 KICK RETURN AVERAGE ......................................25.0 ................................16.9 PUNT RETURN AVERAGE .....................................3.7 ..................................9.4 INT RETURN AVERAGE ........................................13.0 .................................3.1 FUMBLES-LOST ................................................ 16-6 ................................16-7 PENALTIES-Yards ............................................ 89-702 ............................74-631 Average Per Game ..........................................54.0 ................................48.5 PUNTS-Yards ................................................. 62-2793 ..........................85-3586 Average Per Punt ............................................45.0 ................................42.2 Net punt average ............................................40.6 ................................39.3 KICKOFFS-Yards ............................................ 84-5273 ..........................53-3194 Average Per Kick .............................................62.8 ................................60.3 Net kick average .............................................42.2 ................................36.7 TIME OF POSSESSION/Game .............................29:25 ..............................30:35 3RD-DOWN Conversions ..................................61/160 ............................82/209 3rd-Down Pct .................................................38% ................................39% 4TH-DOWN Conversions .....................................4/9 .................................9/19 4th-Down Pct .................................................44% ................................47% SACKS BY-Yards ............................................. 32-189 ............................26-222 MISC YARDS ....................................................... 10 ................................... 78 TOUCHDOWNS SCORED ...................................... 50 ................................... 26 FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS ................................. 21-26 ..............................15-17 ON-SIDE KICKS .................................................. 0-0 ..................................0-0 RED-ZONE SCORES .................................... (41-46) 89% ................... (29-35) 83% RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS .......................... (26-46) 57% ................... (17-35) 49% PAT-ATTEMPTS .......................................... (49-49) 100% .................. (24-25) 96% ATTENDANCE .................................................. 512534 ........................... 296714 Games/Avg Per Game ..................................7/73219 ..........................5/59343 Neutral Site Games ............................................ .................................1/71007 Score by quarters ....... 1st .............2nd ............ 3rd ............. 4th ............Total Florida State ..................93 ..............90 ............. 113 ............. 116 .............412 Opponents .....................53 ..............65 .............. 24 ............... 85 ..............227 JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 59

FOOTBALL 2016

Predictions by Collin Brister Contributing Writer, Guest Picker and Gypsy Fortune Teller (So you can blame him if the season goes nothing like this)

HOW WE SEE IT BREAKing DOWN THE 2016 SEASON GAME 1 - OLE MISS @ FLORIDA ST. (WEAR WHITE)

SEPT. 5 (MEMORIAL DAY - OrlandO kick-off classic - ORLANDO, FLA.) For the third time in Hugh Freeze’s five years, Ole Miss opens up the season with stiff competition. The Rebels defeated Vanderbilt and Boise State to open the 2013 and 2014 football seasons, respectively. This contest will be a primetime contest, and get national attention, as it will be the only college game on Labor Day. The Rebels will have the best quarterback on the field, as Florida State is relatively unstable at the QB position. Greg Little will likely start his first game at left tackle, and while the freshman is extremely talented, he is still an 18-year-old playing against a top ten opponent. The Rebel OL will have to give Chad Kelly time to throw the football to his numerous, talented receivers to move the ball against a stiff Seminole defense. The Rebs will be challenged in stopping Heisman hopeful Dalvin Cook at RB, but the Rebels have shown a propensity to stop top flight running backs under Dave Wommack’s tenure. Leonard Fournette says hello. Florida State is an ACC team that plays like a SEC football team. They recruit like a SEC team. They play physical like a SEC team, so conference affiliation will have little to do with the result of this contest. Ole Miss has played well in opening contests under Freeze, but if I had to pick one loss for the Rebels in 2016, it would be this one. PREDICTION: FSU 38 / OLE MISS 34

GAME 2 - wofford @ Ole Miss (WEAR RED) SEPT. 10 (vaught-hemingway stadium)

You know you “Googled” where Wofford is before you read this. The only concern for the Rebels here is that they’ll return late from Orlando on Monday and have to turn back around and play on Saturday, but Wofford isn’t going to beat Ole Miss. They’re not going to keep it within 30 points of the Rebels. This will probably the first time that Shea Patterson, the heralded five-star freshman, gets onto the field as Ole Miss will likely be up big to start the fourth quarter. Ole Miss usually puts these types of games away early during the Freeze era and allows themselves to play backups in the second half. Ole Miss will likely get freshmen like D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown some touches in this game to get them acclimated to life in the SEC.

PREDICTION: OLE MISS - AS MUCH AS HUGH WANTS / WOFFORD 6

GAME 3 - ALABAMA @ Ole Miss (WEAR POWDER BLUE) SEPT. 17 (vaught-hemingway stadium)

It’s funny what this game has become. Ole Miss has beaten Alabama two years in a row (you read that right), and if we are being honest with ourselves it bothers our friends a little bit from our sister-state to the east. The Rebels seem to give Nick Saban’s defense an inordinate amount of issues, as the Rebels have put up 63 points in the past three halves against the Tide. And for kicks, Chad Kelly threw for over 300 yards against Bama in 2015. ESPN’s College Gameday will likely be back in The Grove for the second consecutive time these teams have met in Oxford. As any team does, Bama lost some key players from last year and will be looking to replace their quarterback for the third straight year. Cooper Bateman startred against Ole Miss last year, his only start of 2015, and is a likely candidate to man the QB position for the Tide this year. Bo Scarbrough, a former Ole Miss target, will likely be the starter for Bama at RB in 2016. Ole Miss will have to get pressure on whoever is at the helm for Bama, along with taking away the running game (a la LSU in 2015). Can Ole Miss make it THREE in a row over the “Great One” Nick Saban? Let me just say that Ross Bjork better put some 24-hour security (not Cobra) in the Grove Saturday night and into Sunday to protect our precious Oaks. Bama Nation will be in complete “melt-down” and Ole Miss will have “officially” arrived on the National Scene. PREDICTION:

OLE MISS 31 / ALABAMA 20 60 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

GAME 4 - GEORGIA @ OLE MISS (WEAR NAVY) SEPT. 24 (VAUGHT-HEMINGWAY STADIUM)

Georgia will be making their first trip back to the friendly confines of Vaught-Hemingway since they beat the Rebels 27-13 in 2011 (who didn’t beat Ole Miss in 2011 - thanks Houston Nutt!). Some consider Georgia to be one of the most underachieving teams in the SEC. So much potential but no SEC Championships since 2005. The Dawg’s will either play Grayson Lambert or Jacob Eason at quarterback in Oxford. Lambert was mediocre, and that may be putting it nicely, in 2015, and if it is Eason under center, he will be making his first road start in the SEC as an 18-year-old true freshman. The Bulldogs will return junior running back Nick Chubb who missed most of the 2015 season after suffering a gruesome leg injury at Tennessee. The Bulldogs will have played North Carolina in week one of the 2016 season, so whoever the quarterback in Oxford is will have a little game experience against decent competition. Ole Miss has had success the past two years against Kirby Smart’s defenses at Alabama, but we’ll see how he handles the duties in Athens this season in his first year as Head Coach of the Dawg’s. Ole Miss will be coming off an emotional match-up the week before against Alabama, and sure, a let-down is possible. The Rebs could start the game a litte shaky, but will likely be able to pull everything together as the game progresses and put up a decent amount of points on a Bulldog defense (although not terrible by any means) that will still be trying to learn Smart’s system against an experienced Ole Miss t alone, can pull this one out at home. PREDICTION: OLE MISS 34 / GEORGIA 23

GAME 5 - MEMPHIS @ OLE MISS (WEAR RED) OCT. 1 (VAUGHT-HEMINGWAY STADIUM)

Yeah to Memphis! Even a blind squirrel in The Grove finds a nut every now and then. To say the Rebs took Tiger High lightly last season is an understatement. Ole Miss jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first six minutes of the 1st quarter and thought the Tigers were just going to lie down and take a beating after that. Well, that’s not exactly what happened that sunny afternoon in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The Tigers rorared back responding with 31 unanswered points to take a 31-14 lead early in the third quarter. Memphis gave the Rebels probably it’s most “gut wrenching” loss of the Hugh Freeze era that day. Lynch torched the “Landshark Defense” throwing for 384 yards and three touchdowns. Well, in 2016, Paxton Lynch (now in the NFL) and Justin Fuente (who is the new head coach at Virginia Tech will not be walking down that tunnel onto the Hollingsworth Field turf this season, thank God. The Rebels will be looking for revenge against the Tigers after that embarassing loss, quite honestly, last season. Memphis will be starting a new quarterback this season and the Rebel D will be looking to redeem themselves and show Tiger fans last years was just a fluke. The Vaught will be rocking as Memphis will be sure to bring a lot of fans down the 60 mile stretch down I-55 South thinking they will go back-to-back agains the Rebels. To say the loss last season left a sour taste in the mouth of many Ole Miss fans, as well as Hugh Freeze, is an understatement. Look for teh Rebels to come out fast and put thir foot on the Tigers throats by the time half-time rolls around, ssending Tiger fans heading for the exits early. I don’t think this game will be close at all. PREDICTION: OLE MISS 55 / MEMPHIS 10

GAME 6 - OLE MISS @ ARKANSAS (WEAR NAVY) OCT. 15 (razorback STADIUM)

Arkansas has been Hugh Freeze’ kryptonite during his tenure at Ole Miss with a record of 2-2 against the Pigs, but only 1-2 against Bret Bielema. The Rebels loss to Arkansas last year, all but ended the Rebs SEC West title hopes on a fluke 4th and 25 play that was as horrific to watch as Brice Drew’s last second buzzer-beater for Valporaiso that knocked Rob Evans’ 1998 Rebel team out of NCAA tournament. Like Memphis, this will be a game where the Rebels are out for revenge, but Ole Miss has had issues playing in Fayeteville over the years. Playing the Hogs in November is never a fun thing to do. But this game is in mid-October and the weather should still be comfortable if not tropical by November standards in the Ozazrks. The Razorbacks will likely start Austin Allen, brother of former quarterback Brandon Allen, continuing the trend of new quarterbacks the Rebels are going to face this year. Arkansas did lose several key defensive players off the 2015 team along with losing the SEC’s 3rd leading rusher Alex Collins. Is this the year the Rebels get over the hump on Arkansas? I say yes, in a hard fought game, that the Rebels will put out of reach with a late 4th quarter score. PREDICTION: OLE MISS 31 / ARKANSAS 17 JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 61

GAME 7 - OLE MISS @ LSU (WEAR RED) OCT. 22 (TIGER STADIUM)

Even though Ole Miss has played well in Baton Rouge in recent years (minus 2011’s 52-3 loss to the Tigers – thanks AGAIN Houston Nutt), they’ve won four time in Death Valley since 1997. The Rebels last trip to Baton Rouge saw them lose their first game of the 2014 season as Bo Wallace had, arguably, his worst performance in an Ole Miss uniform as the Rebels lost 10-7. The Rebels also lost Laremy Tunsil that night who missed most of the second half dealing with a shoulder injury. The Rebels dominated #4 LSU in Oxford in 2015 and walked out of Vaught-Hemingway winning the Magnolia 38-17. The advantage for Ole Miss this time around is that it appears Chad Kelly handles “most” road environments extremely well, other than Florida in 2015. The senior played extremely well in Tuscaloosa and Starkville last year, so the rowdy Tiger fans likely won’t affect him too much, especially if he can get the offense rolling and on the scoreboard early. At the same time, the Rebel defense will have to have another stellar defensive game like they did against LSU last season. Tigers star running back Leonard Fournette had a decent day with 108 yards rushing on 25 carries, but his presence was mostly neutralized after LSU fell into an early hole and had to throw to try to score points quickly. Ole Miss, simply, is better than LSU. Their quarterback play should be better, and by the time this game rolls aound the Tigers could have lost a few games and Les Miles could have a “for sale” sign placed in his front yard. The Tigers do return some talented players on both sides of the ball, but the Tiger offense has struggled late in the past few seasons as their schedule gets tougher near the end of the year. If Ole Miss can contain Fournette like they did in Oxford last year and make Brandon Harris make plays at QB, the Rebs will likely walk out of Tiger Stadium with their first victory there since 2008. PREDICTION:

OLE MISS 30 / LSU 17

GAME 8 - AUBURN @ OLE MISS (WEAR RED) OCT. 29 (vaught-hemingway STADIUM)

After a tough two game road stretch the Rebels will return home to face the Auburn TIgers. We all know what happened he last time that Ole Miss played Auburn in Vaught-Hemmingway. There’s no need to rehash that. With the victory over Alabama earlier in 2015, the Rebels secured wins in Tuscaloosa and Auburn in the same season for the first time in school history. Ole Miss racked up 558 yards of total offense, including 402 passing yards. Junior quarterback Chad Kelly went 33-of-51 through the air for 381 yards and two touchdowns, surpassing the 300-yard plateau for the sixth time in 2015. I see the Rebel offense being just as good or better agains the Tigers in 2016. Going into 2016, the Tigers have absolutely zero stability at quarterback and do not appear to have amended the issue on the recruiting front. They did sign John Franklin III, but Franklin III’s performance in Auburn’s spring game left a lot to be desired. There were high hopes from the fans on the planes about the development of Jeremy Johnson, but Johnson struggled mightily last season as the starter, eventually being benched for Sean White. White’s immobility doesn’t fit well with the offense of Gus Malzahn and the offense that he brings to the table. Auburn is in an interesting spot this year, as of three years ago the Tigers were playing for the national title and this year they may be talking about firing their football coach. The Tigers will have to get great quarterback play in Oxford to beat the Rebels as two of their biggest rushing threats, Peyton Barber and Roc Thomas, are no longer with the team. The Tigers do return Carl Lawson who will be a nuisance at the defensive end position. If Ole Miss can contain Lawson and contain Auburn on the edges, they’ll beat the Tigers for the second season in a row. PREDICTION: OLE MISS 45 / AUBURN 14

GAME 9 - georgia southern @ ole miss (WEAR RED) NOV. 5 (vaught-hemingway STADIUM)

This game could be more interesting than Ole Miss fans believe as Georgia Southern is a quality football team that runs the triple option. Georgia Southern took Georgia into overtime last year before the Bulldogs were able to put them away. While Ole Miss will likely be able to score on Georgia Southern with relative ease, the Rebels could have an issue, at least at first containing the triple option. Georgia Southern also went into the Swamp in 2013 and knocked off the Gators, without completing a pass. Ole Miss should and likely will win, but like my friend Lee Corso says it’ll be closer (at least early) than the experts think. PREDICTION: OLE MISS 40 / GEORGIA SOUTHERN 17 62 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

GAME 10 - OLE MISS @ TEXAS A&M (WEAR NAVY) NOV. 12 (College Station)

This will be an interesting contest for the Rebels. In Ole Miss’ first trip to College Station, in 2014, Ole Miss was able to jump out to a big lead and silence the crowd of over 110,000 relatively quickly. Kyle Field is one of the larger venues in college football, so if the Aggies are able to keep the Rebels close it will be interesting to see how the 12th Man effects the game. The Aggies will likely be better than they were in 2015, but I’m not sure how they couldn’t be. They’ll have Trevor Knight at quarterback, who transferred in from Oklahoma and they’ll still have talented receivers on the outside that will be matchup issues. On defense the Aggies will be better this year simply because John Chavis is extremely good at his job. This is the year for Kevin Sumlin, and with a man on the hot seat, he’ll likely respond and have the Aggies in position to compete with most teams in the SEC West. But at the same time, there is always that one game each year that Ole Miss just doesn’t show up. It’s hard to get your players up every week and something about this game reminds me of the Flroida and Memphis games in 2015. But, I do think the Rebels can take this game if they don’t get behind the eight ball early with turnovers and an inability to move the ball on offense. This game may be the Rebels closest one of the season. PREDICTION: OLE MISS 34 / TEXAS A&M 31

GAME 11 - OLE MISS @ VANDY (WEAR RED) NOV. 19 (NASHVILLE)

The Commodores showed signs of improvement last year under second-year head coach Derek Mason. The Commodores were very stingy on defense and actually took the Rebels into the fourth quarter before Ole Miss was able to put them away on the back of Jaylen Walton. The Rebels will travel to Nashville this year in the next to last week of the season. Vanderbilt is notorious for not being as deep as other SEC squads so playing them late is usually an advantage for better teams. The Commodores will have questions at the quarterback position, as they have the past three years, but Mason will have them ready to go on the defensive side of the football. This could be a key opportunity for Mason to notch his first quality win under his belt and earn some praise from the Vanderbilt faithful. But he won’t get that “signature” win against Ole Miss. The Rebels will be firing on all cylinders and won’t be overlooking the ‘Dores with a mactchup with rival Miss. State the following weekend.

PREDICTION: OLE MISS 35 / VANDY 20

THE EGG BOWL

GAME 12 - MISS. STATE @ Ole Miss (WEAR NAVY)

NOV. 26 (vaught-hemingway STADIUM)

The good ole Egg Bowl. This year’s Egg Bowl will be one of the more heated, passionate, and intense games that the two Mississippi universities have ever played. With Ole Miss having won the previous two egg bowls, and spoiling Dak Prescott’s senior night, the Bulldogs will likely be out to avenge last year’s defeat. The problem for the Bulldogs is the questions that they have at the quarterback position. Is Nick Fitzgerald or Damian Williams going to be good enough to come into Oxford and win on Ole Miss’ senior night. Mississippi State also lost a good amount of defensive contributors from last years season, but do return A.J. Jefferson and Richie Brown to the front seven. The Rebels have done well in shutting down Dan Mullen’s offense since Dave Wommack got to Oxford. Mississippi State hasn’t lost three consecutive egg bowls since 2005, but could this be the year that Ole Miss pulls off the trifecta on the Bulldogs? PREDICTION: OLE

MISS 41 / STATE 27 OK, I could barely get through all that with a straight face. That was the “politicially correct” version of our prediction. But let’s talk about what’s “really” going to go down. And I’ll be brief. This riavalry has become more heated than Bama and Auburn. And this time, Mullen wasn’t the one running his mouth feuling the flames. It was the outsiders in the Bulldog fanbase who took this to another level. With MSU message board wanna-be gangsters slinging accusations that our coach is a “fraud” and a “liar” and other personal and family attacks; this pick is a no-brainer. Dan Mullen will be embarassed on this night, but not because of anything Dan usually does or says to stir things up, but of his fans own doing. Fans who care more about Ole Miss losing than Miss. State winning. If Freeze doesn’t let up, this could be the worst defeat in the history of State’s program. PREDICTION:

OLE MISS: TILL HUGH SAYS STOP / STATE 10 (and I think 10 points is being generous) JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 63

IN THE GROVE

– Scott Jackson is a certified sommelie (with Colonly Wine Market in Ridgeland, MS), restaurateur and Ole Miss alumnus. He has always believed that our beloved Rebels will once again rise to the top of the college football world where they belong!

getting ready for game day in the GROVE BY SCOTT JACKSON

GUEST COLUMNIST - COLONY WINE MARKET

can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat back and thought that this year is the most eagerly anticipated football season in the modern era for my Ole Miss Rebels, but here we go again! The season simply can’t start soon enough. Will the Rebs make an opening statement against the Seminoles? Will the newly bowled-in stadium sound much louder when the Dynasty of Darkness, Alabama, comes to town? And how will the team respond to all of the adversity and “piling on” from our rivals? I’m betting that we send a very special message to our opponents this year and do some piling on ourselves, on the field! I thought it might be fun to look at some tailgating ideas to help us welcome our special guests to Oxford this fall. But, before the first home game, there is a big, big game down in Orlando against an opponent that

NO MAS ‘NOLE is highly ranked preseason and led by a bigmouthed coach who has wondered aloud before how our beloved Hugh Freeze could be flipping some of his recruits the way he has. I think we will be better than Florida State on the Fifth of September and by the fourth quarter the ‘Noles will be saying “No mas”! So, I created a killer summer cocktail 64 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

that I have dubbed the No Mas ‘Nole! It is a Dark, and Stormy made with Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple rum, which if you haven’t tried it, is one of the unique and delicious spirits you will ever taste! It is Caribbean rum finished with real Victorian pineapples by French master distiller and cognac extraordinaire Alexandre Gabriel of Maison Ferrand. It goes like this: No Mas ‘Nole 2 ounces of Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple Rum by Plantation ½ ounce of fresh lime juice Fill with ginger beer Two dashes of Angostura bitters Combine all ingredients over ice and stir. Garnish with lime. You can make a pitcher of these for the tailgate, just pour over ice in a red solo cup! Another school that has been complaining about Ole Miss (and losing to Ole Miss, I might add) is Alabama, the Evil Empire of the SEC! With all of their resources and tradition and 5-star athletes, does anyone want to hear little Nicky complain about us not huddling? And if like me, you’ve heard one too many Bama fans accuse us of cheating you should try this cocktail I concocted in their honor, the Alabama Waaambulance! I like to use Tin Cup Colorado Whiskey for this cocktail. It’s made like bourbon but then cut with Rocky Mountain spring water to 84 proof. It is a great summer whiskey with its bright, spicy aromatics! Here’s the recipe: Alabama Waaambulance 2 ounces of your favorite whiskey (I like Tin Cup Colorado Whiskey for this drink) ½ ounce of fresh lemon juice Two teaspoons of Elixir No. 1 Orange & Green Chile syrup Two dashes of Angostura bitters Combine all ingredients over ice and stir. Garnish with a lemon or orange slice. You can also make a pitcher of these ahead of time for the tailgate table. Tailgating wouldn’t be tailgating without good food and this year I can’t wait to do

this new burger I’ve been working on for a while, the “Tom the Tiger” Memphis -Style Burger. It utilizes ground prime sirloin cooked however you wish. Then melt some good provolone cheese over the top and finish them with my spicy slaw recipe and some fried onions. I love this burger on a good brioche bun that you can usually find at your local bakery. For the slaw, just chop a head of cabbage and put into a large bowl. Add two cups of Wickles brand spicy pickles that you can buy already chopped into a relish with one cup of extra virgin olive oil and one heaping tablespoon of mayonnaise. Add some sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste and mix well.

“TOM THE TIGER” MEMPHIS-STYLE BURGER For the fried onions, start by slicing a large Vidalia onion very thin and toss the onion in a mixture of flour seasoned with Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning. Fry the onions in oil until golden brown and crispy. If the oil is too hot the onion will get dark before getting crispy, so keep the heat about medium. My favorite tailgate wine is always the La Vieille Ferme Rouge from the famous French Perrin family. It is medium-bodied showing rich red and black fruits, violets, and a hint of earthiness with its black pepper and baking spices. Well-balanced, it is the perfect all-around food wine for the many different things on your tailgate table. You can buy it in regular or magnum bottles and now in a box also! As always there will be lots of good food and drink and much revelry in The Grove this season. But for the Egg Bowl, I encourage everyone to help keep an eye on our beautiful oaks in and around The Grove lest some Harvey Updike copycat from Starkville tries to sneak in and poison our trees! Hotty Toddy everybody! - RN

Alabama Waaambulance

BROKEN GOAL POST PHOTO BY JOSH MCCOY, OLE MISS ATHELTICS

Alabama Waaambulance 2 ounces of your favorite whiskey (I like Tin Cup Colorado Whiskey for this drink) Â½ ounce of fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons of Elixir No. 1 Orange & Green Chile syrup 2 dashes of Angostura bitters Combine all ingredients over ice and stir. Garnish with a lemon or orange slice. You can also make a pitcher of these ahead of time for the tailgate table. JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 65

2016 SEC SCHEDULES WEEK BY WEEK COMPOSITE DATE......................... GAME WEEK 1 Thurs., Sept. 1..............South Carolina at Vanderbilt Sat., Sept. 3....................Alabama vs. Southern Cal (Arlington) Sat., Sept. 3....................Louisiana Tech at Arkansas Sat., Sept. 3....................Clemson at Auburn Sat., Sept. 3....................UMass at Florida Sat., Sept. 3....................Georgia vs. North Carolina (Atlanta) Sat., Sept. 3....................Southern Miss at Kentucky Sat., Sept. 3....................LSU vs. Wisconsin (Green Bay) Sat., Sept. 3....................South Alabama at Mississippi State Sat., Sept. 3....................Missouri at West Virginia Sat., Sept. 3....................Appalachian State at Tennessee Sat., Sept. 3....................UCLA at Texas A&M Mon., Sept. 5................Ole Miss vs. Florida State (Orlando) WEEK 2 Sat., Sept. 10.................Western Kentucky at Alabama Sat., Sept. 10.................Arkansas at TCU Sat., Sept. 10.................Arkansas State at Auburn Sat., Sept. 10.................Kentucky at Florida Sat., Sept. 10.................Nicholls State at Georgia Sat., Sept. 10.................Jacksonville State at LSU Sat., Sept. 10.................Wofford at Ole Miss Sat., Sept. 10.................South Carolina at Mississippi State Sat., Sept. 10.................Eastern Michigan at Missouri Sat., Sept. 10.................Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech (Bristol) Sat., Sept. 10.................Prarie View at Texas A&M Sat., Sept. 10.................Middle Tennessee at Vanderbilt WEEK 3 Sat., Sept. 17..................Texas State at Arkansas Sat., Sept. 17..................Texas A&M at Auburn Sat., Sept. 17..................North Texas at Florida Sat., Sept. 17..................New Mexico State at Kentucky Sat., Sept. 17..................Mississippi State at LSU Sat., Sept. 17..................Alabama at Ole Miss Sat., Sept. 17..................Georgia at Missouri Sat., Sept. 17..................East Carolina at South Carolina Sat., Sept. 17..................Ohio at Tennessee Sat., Sept. 17..................Vanderbilt at Georgia Tech WEEK 4 Sat., Sept. 24.................Kent State at Alabama Sat., Sept. 24.................LSU at Auburn

Sat., Oct. 29...................Samford at Mississippi State Sat., Oct. 29...................Kentucky at Missouri Sat., Oct. 29...................Tennessee at South Carolina Sat., Oct. 29...................New Mexico State at Texas A&M Sat., Sept. 24.................South Carolina at Kentucky Sat., Sept. 24.................Georgia at Ole Miss Sat., Sept. 24.................Mississippi State at UMass Sat., Sept. 24.................Delaware State at Missouri Sat., Sept. 24.................Florida at Tennessee Sat., Sept. 24.................Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (Arlington) Sat., Sept. 24.................Vanderbilt at Western Kentucky WEEK 5 Sat., Oct. 1......................Kentucky at Alabama Sat., Oct. 1......................Alcorn State at Arkansas (Little Rock) Sat., Oct. 1......................Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn Sat., Oct. 1......................Tennessee at Georgia Sat., Oct. 1......................Missouri at LSU Sat., Oct. 1......................Memphis at Ole Miss Sat., Oct. 1......................Texas A&M at South Carolina Sat., Oct. 1......................Florida at Vanderbilt WEEK 6 Sat., Oct. 8.....................Alabama at Arkansas Sat., Oct. 8.....................LSU at Florida Sat., Oct. 8.....................Vanderbilt at Kentucky Sat., Oct. 8.....................Auburn at Mississippi State Sat., Oct. 8.....................Georgia at South Carolina Sat., Oct. 8.....................Tennessee at Texas A&M WEEK 7 Sat., Oct. 15...................Ole Miss at Arkansas Sat., Oct. 15...................Missouri at Florida Sat., Oct. 15...................Vanderbilt at Georgia Sat., Oct. 15...................Southern Miss at LSU Sat., Oct. 15...................Mississippi State at BYU Sat., Oct. 15...................Alabama at Tennessee

WEEK 10 Sat., Nov. 5....................Florida at Arkansas Sat., Nov. 5....................Vanderbilt at Auburn Sat., Nov. 5....................Georgia at Kentucky Sat., Nov. 5....................Alabama at LSU Sat., Nov. 5....................Georgia Southern at Ole Miss Sat., Nov. 5....................Texas A&M at Mississippi State Sat., Nov. 5....................Missouri at South Carolina Sat., Nov. 5....................Tennessee Tech at Tennessee WEEK 11 Sat., Nov. 12..................Mississippi State at Alabama Sat., Nov. 12..................LSU at Arkansas Sat., Nov. 12..................South Carolina at Florida Sat., Nov. 12..................Auburn at Georgia Sat., Nov. 12..................Vanderbilt at Missouri Sat., Nov. 12..................Kentucky at Tennessee Sat., Nov. 12..................Ole Miss at Texas A&M WEEK 12 Sat., Nov. 19..................UT-Chattanooga at Alabama Sat., Nov. 19..................Alabama A&M at Auburn Sat., Nov. 19..................Presbyterian at Florida Sat., Nov. 19..................Louisiana-Lafayette at Georgia Sat., Nov. 19..................Austin Peay at Kentucky Sat., Nov. 19..................South Alabama at LSU Sat., Nov. 19..................Arkansas at Mississippi State Sat., Nov. 19..................Western Carolina at So. Carolina Sat., Nov. 19..................Missouri at Tennessee Sat., Nov. 19..................Texas-San Antonio at Texas A&M Sat., Nov. 19..................Ole Miss at Vanderbilt

WEEK 8 Sat., Oct. 22...................Texas A&M at Alabama Sat., Oct. 22...................Arkansas at Auburn Sat., Oct. 22...................Mississippi State at Kentucky Sat., Oct. 22...................Ole Miss at LSU Sat., Oct. 22...................Middle Tennessee at Missouri Sat., Oct. 22...................UMass at South Carolina Sat., Oct. 22...................Tennessee State at Vanderbilt

WEEK 13 Thurs., Nov. 24............LSU at Texas A&M Sat., Nov. 26..................Auburn at Alabama Sat., Nov. 26..................Florida at Florida State Sat., Nov. 26..................Georgia Tech at Georgia Sat., Nov. 26..................Kentucky at Louisville Sat., Nov. 26..................Mississippi State at Ole Miss Sat., Nov. 26..................Arkansas at Missouri Sat., Nov. 26..................South Carolina at Clemson Sat., Nov. 26..................Tennessee at Vanderbilt

WEEK 9 Sat., Oct. 29...................Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville) Sat., Oct. 29...................Auburn at Ole Miss

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP Sat., Dec. 3.....................SEC Football Championship Game (Atlanta)

2016-17 bowl schedule - all times EASTERN Date

Time (ET)..................................................Game......................................................................................................Matchup ...................................Network

TBA TBA.....................................................................Foster Farms Bowl......................................................................................... Big Ten vs. Pac-12.......................................... ESPN Sat, Dec. 17 Noon...................................................................Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl.................................................................MEAC vs. SWAC.............................................. ABC 2 p.m..................................................................Gildan New Mexico Bowl................................................................................... CUSA vs. MWC............................................. ESPN 3:30 p.m.............................................................Las Vegas Bowl.................................................................................................MWC vs. Pac-12.............................................. ABC 5:30 p.m.............................................................AutoNation Cure Bowl.................................................................................American vs. Sun Belt....................................... ESPN 5:30 p.m.............................................................Raycom Media Camellia Bowl..........................................................................MAC vs. Sun Belt........................................... ESPN 9 p.m..................................................................R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl..................................................................... CUSA vs. Sun Belt.......................................... ESPN Mon, Dec. 19 2:30 p.m.............................................................Miami Beach Bowl...........................................................................................American vs. MAC.......................................... ESPN Tue, Dec. 20 7 p.m...................................................................Marmot Boca Raton Bowl..............................................................................American vs. CUSA......................................... ESPN Wed, Dec. 21 9 p.m..................................................................San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.................................................BYU vs. MWC.............................................. ESPN Thu, Dec. 22 7 p.m...................................................................Famous Idaho Potato Bowl................................................................................ MAC vs. MWC............................................. ESPN Fri, Dec. 23 1 p.m...................................................................Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.............................................................................. American/CUSA/MAC....................................... ESPN 4:30 p.m.............................................................Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.............................................................. Navy vs. Big 12............................................ ESPN 8 p.m..................................................................GoDaddy Bowl.................................................................................................MAC vs. Sun Belt........................................... ESPN Sat, Dec. 24 8 p.m..................................................................Hawai’i Bowl...................................................................................................... CUSA vs. MWC............................................. ESPN Mon, Dec. 26 11 a.m..................................................................St. Petersburg Bowl.................................................................................... ACC/ND vs. American....................................... ESPN 2:30 p.m.............................................................Quick Lane Bowl............................................................................................. ACC/ND vs. Big Ten......................................... ESPN 5 p.m..................................................................Camping World Independence Bowl.................................................................ACC/ND vs. SEC.......................................... ESPN2 Tue, Dec. 27 Noon...................................................................Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl.......................................................................... Big Ten vs. CUSA........................................... ESPN 3:30 p.m.............................................................Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman........................................ ACC/ND vs. American....................................... ESPN 7 p.m...................................................................Holiday Bowl................................................................................................... Big Ten vs. Pac-12.......................................... ESPN 10:15 p.m............................................................Cactus Bowl..................................................................................................... Big 12 vs. Pac-12........................................... ESPN Wed, Dec. 28 2 p.m..................................................................New Era Pinstripe Bowl................................................................................. ACC/ND vs. Big Ten......................................... ESPN 5:30 p.m.............................................................Russell Athletic Bowl...................................................................................... ACC/ND vs. Big 12.......................................... ESPN 9 p.m..................................................................AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl............................................................................... Big 12 vs. SEC............................................. ESPN Thur, Dec. 29 2 p.m..................................................................Birmingham Bowl............................................................................................ American vs. SEC.......................................... ESPN 5:30 p.m.............................................................Belk Bowl..........................................................................................................ACC/ND vs. SEC............................................ ESPN 9 p.m..................................................................Valero Alamo Bowl.......................................................................................... Big 12 vs. Pac 12........................................... ESPN Fri, Dec. 30 Noon...................................................................AutoZone Liberty Bowl...................................................................................... Big. 12 vs. SEC............................................. ESPN Noon...................................................................Hyundai Sun Bowl.......................................................................................... ACC/ND vs. Pac-12.............................................CBS 3:30 p.m.............................................................Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl.......................................... SEC vs. Big Ten/ACC/ND..................................... ESPN TBD.....................................................................Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl............................................................................... TBD....................................................... TBA 8 p.m..................................................................Capital One Orange Bowl........................................................................... ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC/ND..................................... ESPN Sat, Dec. 31 11 a.m..................................................................Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.................................................................. SEC vs. Big 10/ACC/ND........................................ ABC 11 a.m..................................................................TaxSlayer Bowl........................................................................................... SEC vs. Big 10/ACC/ND...................................... ESPN 3 p.m. or 7 p.m...................................................CFB Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl................................................ TBD..................................................... ESPN 3 p.m. or 7 p.m...................................................CFB Playoff Semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.................................................................. TBD..................................................... ESPN Mon, Jan. 2 1p.m....................................................................Outback Bowl.................................................................................................... Big Ten vs. SEC.............................................. ABC 1 p.m...................................................................Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.................................................................... At Large vs. At Large....................................... ESPN 5 p.m..................................................................Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual................................... Big 10 vs. Pac-12........................................... ESPN 8:30 p.m.............................................................Allstate Sugar Bowl........................................................................................... Big 12 vs. SEC............................................. ESPN Mon., Jan 9 8:30 p.m.............................................................CFBNational Championship Game............................................................................. TBD..................................................... ESPN

66 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

SEC TEAM SCHEDULES ALABAMA Sept. 3.................. Southern Cal (Arlington) Sept. 10............... WESTERN KENTUCKY Sept. 17............... at Ole Miss Sept. 24............... KENT STATE Oct. 1................... KENTUCKY Oct. 8................... at Arkansas Oct. 15................. at Tennessee Oct. 22................ TEXAS A&M Oct. 29................ open date Nov. 5.................. at LSU Nov. 12................ MISSISSIPPI STATE Nov. 19................ UT-CHATTANOOGA Nov. 26............... AUBURN ARKANSAS Sept. 3.................. LOUISIANA TECH Sept. 10............... at TCU Sept. 17............... TEXAS STATE Sept. 24............... Texas A&M (Arlington) Oct. 1................... ALCORN ST. (Little Rock) Oct. 8................... ALABAMA Oct. 15................. OLE MISS Oct. 22................ at Auburn Oct. 29................ open date Nov. 5.................. FLORIDA Nov. 12................ LSU Nov. 19................ at Mississippi State Nov. 26............... at Missouri AUBURN Sept. 3.................. CLEMSON Sept. 10............... ARKANSAS STATE Sept. 17............... TEXAS A&M Sept. 24............... LSU Oct. 1................... LOUISIANA-MONROE Oct. 8................... at Mississippi State Oct. 15................. open date Oct. 22................ ARKANSAS Oct. 29................ at Ole Miss Nov. 5.................. VANDERBILT Nov. 12................ at Georgia Nov. 19................ ALABAMA A&M Nov. 26............... at Alabama FLORIDA Sept. 3.................. UMASS Sept. 10............... KENTUCKY Sept. 17............... NORTH TEXAS Sept. 24............... at Tennessee

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Oct. 1................... at Vanderbilt Oct. 8................... LSU Oct. 15................. MISSOURI Oct. 22................ open date Oct. 29................ Georgia (Jacksonville) Nov. 5.................. at Arkansas Nov. 12................ SOUTH CAROLINA Nov. 19................ PRESBYTERIAN Nov. 26............... at Florida State GEORGIA Sept. 3.................. North Carolina (Atlanta) Sept. 10............... NICHOLLS STATE Sept. 17............... at Missouri Sept. 24............... at Ole Miss Oct. 1................... TENNESSEE Oct. 8................... at South Carolina Oct. 15................. VANDERBILT Oct. 22................ open date Oct. 29................ Florida (Jacksonville) Nov. 5.................. at Kentucky Nov. 12................ AUBURN Nov. 19................ LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE Nov. 26............... GEORGIA TECH KENTUCKY Sept. 3.................. SOUTHERN MISS Sept. 10............... at Florida Sept. 17............... NEW MEXICO STATE Sept. 24............... SOUTH CAROLINA Oct. 1................... at Alabama Oct. 8................... VANDERBILT Oct. 15................. open date Oct. 22................ MISSISSIPPI STATE Oct. 29................ at Missouri Nov. 5.................. GEORGIA Nov. 12................ at Tennessee Nov. 19................ AUSTIN PEAY Nov. 26............... at Louisville LSU Sept. 3.................. Wisconsin (Green Bay) Sept. 10............... JACKSONVILLE STATE Sept. 17............... MISSISSIPPI STATE Sept. 24............... at Auburn Oct. 1................... MISSOURI Oct. 8................... at Florida Oct. 15................. SOUTHERN MISS Oct. 22................ OLE MISS Oct. 29................ open date Nov. 5.................. ALABAMA Nov. 12................ at Arkansas Nov. 19................ SOUTH ALABAMA Nov. 24 (Thurs)........ at Texas A&M

OLE MISS Sept. 5 (Mon)....... Florida State* Sept. 10........... WOFFORD Sept. 17............ ALABAMA Sept. 24........... GEORGIA Oct. 1............... MEMPHIS Oct. 8............... open date Oct. 15............. at Arkansas Oct. 22............. at LSU Oct. 29............. AUBURN Nov. 5.............. GEORGIA SOUTHERN Nov. 12............ at Texas A&M Nov. 19............ at Vanderbilt Nov. 26............ MISSISSIPPI STATE * - Orlando, FL. MISSISSIPPI STATE Sept. 3.................. SOUTH ALABAMA Sept. 10............... SOUTH CAROLINA Sept. 17............... at LSU Sept. 24............... at UMass Oct. 1................... open date Oct. 8................... AUBURN Oct. 15................. at BYU Oct. 22................ at Kentucky Oct. 29................ SAMFORD Nov. 5.................. TEXAS A&M Nov. 12................ at Alabama Nov. 19................ ARKANSAS Nov. 26............... at Ole Miss MISSOURI Sept. 3.................. at West Virginia Sept. 10............... EASTERN MICHIGAN Sept. 17............... GEORGIA Sept. 24............... DELAWARE STATE Oct. 1................... at LSU Oct. 8................... open date Oct. 15................. at Florida Oct. 22................ MIDDLE TENNESSEE Oct. 29................ KENTUCKY Nov. 5.................. at South Carolina Nov. 12................ VANDERBILT Nov. 19................ at Tennessee Nov. 26............... ARKANSAS SOUTH CAROLINA Sept. 1 (Thurs).......... at Vandy Sept. 10............... at Mississippi State Sept. 17............... EAST CAROLINA Sept. 24............... at Kentucky Oct. 1................... TEXAS A&M Oct. 8................... GEORGIA Oct. 15................. open date

Oct. 22................ UMass Oct. 29................ TENNESSEE Nov. 5.................. MISSOURI Nov. 12................ at Florida Nov. 19................ WESTERN CAROLINA Nov. 26............... at Clemson TENNESSEE DATE.................... OPPONENT Sept. 3.................. APPALACHIAN STATE Sept. 10............... Virginia Tech (Bristol) Sept. 17............... OHIO Sept. 24............... FLORIDA Oct. 1................... at Georgia Oct. 8................... at Texas A&M Oct. 15................. ALABAMA Oct. 22................ open date Oct. 29................ at South Carolina Nov. 5.................. TENNESSEE TECH Nov. 12................ KENTUCKY Nov. 19................ MISSOURI Nov. 26............... at Vanderbilt TEXAS A&M Sept. 3.................. UCLA Sept. 10............... PRAIRIE VIEW Sept. 17............... at Auburn Sept. 24............... Arkansas (Arlington) Oct. 1................... at South Carolina Oct. 8................... TENNESSEE Oct. 15................. open date Oct. 22................ at Alabama Oct. 29................ NEW MEXICO STATE Nov. 5.................. at Mississippi State Nov. 12................ OLE MISS Nov. 19................ TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO Nov. 24 (Thurs)........ LSU VANDERBILT Sept. 1 (Thurs).......... SOUTH CAROLINA Sept. 10............... MIDDLE TENNESSEE Sept. 17............... at Georgia Tech Sept. 24............... at Western Kentucky Oct. 1................... FLORIDA Oct. 8................... at Kentucky Oct. 15................. at Georgia Oct. 22................ TENNESSEE STATE Oct. 29................ open date Nov. 5.................. at Auburn Nov. 12................ at Missouri Nov. 19................ OLE MISS Nov. 26............... TENNESSEE

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www.oxfordcitizen.com @oxfordcitizenjd JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 67

REBEL NATION

overtime

Freeze Has Taken Credit for Success, but Has Also Owned up for Failures J O H N DAV I S

Hugh Freeze is the kind of leader every school needs. Someone who won’t run from issues and handle all of it head on.

Featured Columnist - The Oxford Citizen

f Ole Miss fans ever wondered what the nation thinks of Hugh Freeze and the football program, the NCAA allegations that were made public in May revealed it all. Columnists closed in and circled Freeze and his staff. They couldn’t wait to point out that some of the transgressions came under his watch. Ole Miss football was the focal point even when women’s basketball and track & field committed violations as well. The nation, the national media, wasn’t concerned with those sports. They don’t bring in revenue, and they don’t get hits on a website. What the fans of other teams that play the Rebels, or fans of other top conferences, want to read about is a program with some warts. Fingers pointed directly back to Freeze; the ‘Ah ha’ moment is what those people want. And the national pundits were happy to oblige. To many, Ole Miss should never be able to compete in the SEC. The Rebels should never play in four straight bowls, and not in bowls like the Chick-Fil-A or the Sugar. And they sure shouldn’t land players like Laremy Tunsil, not Ole Miss, not a year removed from two losing seasons under Houston Nutt and a “rookie” head coach leading the way. Georgia fans have screamed foul about Tunsil signing with Ole Miss since, well, ever since he picked the Rebels. There was no way he could want to live in Oxford over Athens is what a Georgia fan told me one time. When Tunsil had his demise on the night of the NFL Draft, both sets of Bulldog fans rolled with laughter. They had their cake, and they were finally able to eat it. Ole Miss had gotten some respect with wins over Alabama the past two years. We all remember the Mississippi Mayhem cover Sports Illustrated put together. There have been some that have to acknowledge the work turned in by Freeze, and his staff, on the recruiting trail. Still, when the time was right, there was no benefit of the doubt given to the Rebels. Cheaters, cheaters is all we heard when those NCAA allegations came out into the light. It’s a shame because what I saw in there wasn’t terrible stuff. There were a lot of things that I would consider minor from a benefits standpoint. That doesn’t mean Ole Miss shouldn’t have to pay a penalty if infractions are found, but my thoughts have always been some of the rules shouldn’t exist in the first place. How many rules can be eliminated or adjusted to meet the current landscape? My belief is a lot. Freeze took credit for all the great success the Rebels have had the past four years. He also took responsibility for the failures, for the things that have been reported about. That’s the kind of leader every school needs. Someone who won’t run from issues and handle all of it head on. There are more than 68 - REBEL NATION MAGAZINE

...if there are rules in place, regardless of opinion, they need to be followed. Ole Miss self-reported a large number of the allegations. And the things taken away speak volumes to what they think of the charges.

It’s tough for schools to defend themselves and fall on the sword for the benefit of the program all at the same time. Ole Miss was able to accomplish that without looking weak or rolling over in the process.

Follow John Davis on Twitter @OxfordCitizenJD

enough people that feel opposite of that. There are some that feel like Freeze needs to be let go if the NCAA hands down punishment much worse than what Ole Miss self-imposed. It was clear that Ross Bjork was firmly behind Freeze at the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida in May. He and Freeze did a great job on the Paul Finebaum show. And that’s not always an easy place to look good. The bullets have flown from everywhere, and both Bjork and Freeze have taken them all in stride. The response to the allegations was lengthy, 154 pages to be exact, and the steps are taken to correct mistakes, so they don’t happen again were more than admirable. Again, if there are rules in place, regardless of opinion, they need to be followed. Ole Miss self-reported a large number of the allegations. And the things taken away speak volumes to what they think of the charges. It’s tough for schools to defend themselves and fall on the sword for the benefit of the program all at the same time. Ole Miss was able to accomplish that without looking weak or rolling over in the process. What happens from here is anybody’s guess. The process still has some hurdles left to jump over. We still don’t know what will come from the Tunsil texts. The NCAA is unpredictable for sure. The national media is not. Be sure, that if more scholarships are reduced, that it will be documented in a harsh tone. It may be several years for Ole Miss to gain much positive attention outside of those that cover the team on a regular basis. My thoughts on that are no big deal. Ole Miss has always had to overcome hurdles the hard way. This will be no different. This is the time for all fans that bleed red and blue to come together. It’s obvious that no one else will provide shelter during the rain. They don’t think much of the leadership, and if the Rebels lose this season, or next, expect the jeers to be amplified. It’s OK; this team can take it. This program and staff can take it. Any and all final results from the allegations will be dealt with in stride. They should make the program stronger, rather than weaker. That’s how you have to deal with issues when they happen. Here’s looking forward to the season, and the future. It’s all in how this fan base, this school, and this administration handle things, together, rather than divided. - RN

JULY / AUGUST 2016 - 69

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