Football Preview • August 2015 – 3
4 – Football Preview • August 2015
No time like the present for area teams to finish
I
f you’re a fan of any football team we cover here in the Oxford area, you had a bad taste in your mouth at the end of last season. The primary reason is obvious. Teams take the field for one reason — to win and win big. Sure, there were some big wins, which led to some division titles along the way, but Ole Miss nor any of the area’s three high school teams ended up as the last team standing in their respective levels of play. And some came oh so close. For the first time in the modern era, Ole Miss tasted real national title contention a season ago. The Rebels, using the momentum of a historic upset of then-No. 1 Alabama, sprinted out to a
7-0 start and vaulted as high as No. 4 in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings. That would’ve put the Rebels in the four-team playoff if the season ended in late October. But it didn’t. The Rebels fell victim to LSU on the bayou at night to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, lost star wideout Laquon Treadwell and a game of top-4 teams in gut-wrenching fashion to Auburn on the first Saturday in November, and it all went downhill from there. Injuries piled up for a team that couldn’t afford them, and Ole Miss’ late-season swoon ended with a thud in a blowout loss to TCU in the Peach Bowl. The end wasn’t much better in the prep ranks for Oxford High.
HUNTERS’
The Chargers’ offensive firepower and defensive stability blazed a second straight path to the Davis MHSAA Potter Class 5A Sports Editor state championship game, where Oxford met Laurel with every intention of righting the wrong of blowing a double-digit lead in the final minutes against Picayune that kept the Chargers from bringing home the Gold Ball a year earlier. Oxford is still waiting to hoist the hardware after dropping a back-and-forth game with the Tornadoes last December at Mississippi
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State’s Davis Wade Stadium. And don’t forget about Lafayette and Water Valley. The Commodores won their first division title since 2011 last fall only to be ousted in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs by Cleveland in a low-scoring affair. Only a loss to 3A power Charleston kept the Division 2-3A title away from Water Valley, which quickly exited the playoffs with a first-round loss to Kemper County. But Lafayette always has a stout defense under head coach Eric Robertson, and the Commodores should have one of the best offensive lines around this season anchored by tackles Eli Johnson and Jordan Jamison. See PRESENT on Page 9
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Football Preview • August 2015 – 5
Inside Slant 6 7
Classifications A look at Mississippi’s new prep regional alignments
35
Ole Miss preview The headliners of the Rebels’ 2013 recruiting class have lived up to the
hype, but they want to help deliver a championship before heading off to the NFL Starting QB vows to be ready — whoever that may be (Page 37)
Schedules
Q&A with Chad Kelly (Page 38)
Primetime matchup highlights prep area slates
10
Engram works to become high riser at TE (Page 42)
Oxford High preview A growth spurt caused Will Swindoll to change positions, and the
senior has quickly morphed into one of Oxford’s top offensive linemen Hill yearns to bring title to city in final go-around (Page 15)
18
Lafayette High preview Rashuan Rockette has shown flashes of his potential, but the speed-
ster is determined to become a leading consistent force in his final season Ard ready to make most of his turn at QB (Page 25)
22
Q&A with Dave Wommack (Page 39)
Water Valley High preview The Blue Devils experienced some turnover at wide receiver, but
Mark Gooch is back and ready to emerge as the go-to target Horton, Varner give Blue Devils fresh faces at QB (Page 26)
JUCO transfers Shepard, Bridges ready to fill holes at CB (Page 47)
45 48 52 54 58
Ole Miss schedule and roster A look at who the Rebels play and who’s set to suit up
Northwest Mississippi CC preview Rangers more experienced in Wright’s second year
Ole Miss recruiting Immediate contributors highlight Rebs’ newcomers
Recruiting lookahead Could Ole Miss’ 2016 haul match 2013’s success?
Tailgating Tips What to know in preparation for gamedays at Ole Miss
2015 MHSAA Football Regions
6 – Football Preview • August 2015
CLASS 1A Region 1 Biggersville Coffeeville Coldwater Falkner Hamilton Smithville Thrasher Vardaman West Lowndes
Region 2 Broad Street J.F. Kennedy Ray Brooks Shaw Simmons
Region 1
Region 2 Coahoma AHS Coahoma Co. J.Z. George Strayhorn West Tallahatchie
Region 3 Durant Ethel French Camp Leake County McAdams Montgomery Co. Nanih Waiya Noxapater Sebastopol
Region 4 Bogue Chitto Dexter Lumberton Mount Olive Resurrection Sacred Heart Salem Stringer
CLASS 2A Baldwyn East Union H.W. Byers Mantachie Potts Camp Walnut Region 5 Bay Springs Clarkdale Enterprise-Clarke Heidelberg Newton Union
Region 6 Lake Pelahatchie Pisgah Puckett Scott Central St. Joseph-Madison
Region 3 Leflore Co. Leland O’Bannon Riverside South Delta West Bolivar Region 7 Amite Co. Bassfield Enterprise-Lincoln Loyd Star Prentiss West Lincoln
Region 4 Bruce Calhoun City East Webster Eupora Okolona Winona Region 8 East Marion Mize North Forrest Richton Taylorsville
CLASS 3A Region 1 Alcorn Central Belmont Benton Co. Booneville Kossuth New Site Region 5 Choctaw Central Choctaw County Forest Kemper Co. Philadelphia SE Lauderdale
Region 2 Charleston Holly Springs Independence M.S. Palmer North Panola Water Valley Region 6 Crystal Springs Magee McLaurin Morton Raleigh St. Andrew’s
Region 3 Amanda Elzy East Side Humphreys Co. Ruleville Velma Jackson Yazoo Co. Region 7 Franklin Co. Hazlehurst Jefferson Co. Port Gibson Wesson Wilkinson County
Region 4 Aberdeen Hatley Mooreville MSMS Nettleton North Pontotoc South Pontotoc Region 8 Collins Perry Central Seminary St. Patrick Tylertown West Marion
CLASS 4A Region 1 Amory Corinth Itawamba AHS Pontotoc Shannon Tishomingo Co. Region 5 Mendenhall NE Jones NE Lauderdale Newton Co. Quitman West Lauderdale
Region 2 Byhalia Lafayette New Albany Ripley Rosa Fort Senatobia Region 6 Florence Lawrence Co. McComb North Pike Richland South Pike
Region 1 Center Hill Clarksdale Lake Cormorant Lewisburg New Hope Oxford Saltillo West Point
Region 2
Region 3 Cleveland Gentry Greenwood Raymond Yazoo City Region 7 Columbia Forrest Co. AHS Green Co. Poplarville Purvis Sumrall
Region 4 Caledonia Houston Kosciusko Leake Central Louisville Noxubee Co. Region 8 Bay East Central Moss Point Pass Christian St. Stanislaus Vancleave
CLASS 5A Canton Germantown Grenada Holmes Central Lanier Neshoba Central Ridgeland Vicksburg
Region 3 Brookhaven Laurel Natchez Provine South Jones Wayne Co. West Jones Wingfield
Region 4 Gautier Hattiesburg Long Beach Pascagoula Pearl River Central Picayune Stone West Harrison
CLASS 6A Region 1 Columbus DeSoto Central Hernando Horn Lake Olive Branch Southaven South Panola Tupelo
Region 2 Callaway Clinton Greenville Madison Central Murrah NW Rankin Starkville Warren Central
Region 3 Brandon Forest Hill Jim Hill Meridian Oak Grove Pearl Petal Terry
Region 4 Biloxi D’Iberville George Co. Gulfport Hancock Harrison Central Ocean Springs St. Martin
Football Preview • August 2015 – 7
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
BRUCE NEWMAN
Oxford quarterback Jack Abraham (left) is sacked by Starkville’s Maleke Bell during last year’s meeting in Oxford on Aug. 29, 2014. The Chargers will try to avenge the lopsided loss this year in front of a national television audience.
Primetime matchup highlights prep area slates ESPNU picks up Little Egg Bowl By Jake Thompson Assistant Sports Editor
Another high school season begins Friday, and with that comes one of the most important aspects of a team’s success. Yes, the players, coaches and performance on the field matters, but the games that are played between late August and early November play as much a part of the teams success as anything else. Getting a favorable schedule at the right time of the year makes all the difference in the world. For Oxford, Lafayette and Water Valley, unfortunately
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there is not an easy stretch of games, only opportunities here and there to take advantage of and better their postseason chances.
Oxford
The Chargers went 10-1 last year during the regular season on their way to their second straight MHSAA Class 5A state championship appearance. Their one blemish came from 6A powerhouse Starkville when the Yellowjackets defeated Oxford, 52-29, at Bobby Holcomb Field last August. This year, the Little Egg Bowl moves down to Starkville on Aug. 28 where the Chargers will try to exact revenge. See SLATES on Page 8
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8 – Football Preview • August 2015
Slates: ‘Dores go into Missouri to fill out non-region Continued from Page 7 The game will have a little more significance as ESPNU selected the matchup to air on national television. Due to being on television, the game will start an hour later at 8 p.m. “It’s going to be an exciting ball game,” Oxford coach Johnny Hill said. “It’s going to be a good ball game even if we were to play it in a pasture somewhere. Throwing ESPN on top of it, maybe that will give both teams a little more incentive, but whether it’s on there or not, it’s going to be a ball game. It’s just kind of icing on the cake, I guess you could say.” The Yellowjackets jumped on Oxford early last season, hitting the Chargers in the mouth before they could even get going. This game was going to be on the schedule regardless if ESPN came calling or not. There was also going to be a motivation factor for revenge. With the bright lights on, Hill wonders how that will play out. “What kind of mindset is Starkville going to have? What kind of mindset is Oxford going to have?” Hill said. “I don’t think talent is going to win the game. I think the mindset is going to win the game… Are our kids going to play with a chip on their shoulder and (ticked) off and do whatever they’ve got to do to beat that guy and make no excuses? If both teams don’t have the right mindset, you’re going to lose. It’s all about the mental edge of the game.” The rest of the Chargers’ schedule is not something to be forgotten about due to the attention the Starkville matchup has garnered. Oxford once again has the home-away rotation and never play more than one home and road game at a time. Their first opponent is Southaven on Friday night. After Starkville, the Chargers round out their non-region schedule with Madison Central and the Crosstown Classic against Lafayette. Oxford has a bye week before beginning region play against West Point on Sept. 25. “Our football schedule is tough,” Hill said. “It was created that way to get our guys better early and get ready for district play. First of all, it’s hard to find games at times. When we were 5-6, a lot of people wanted to play us. When you’re 13-1, 13-2 and got a lot of guys coming back,
“We had North Panola (on Aug. 28), and they just up and canceled on us. So we were scrambling trying to find somebody for Week 2 in the state of Mississippi. That’s a hard game to find, so we had to go out of state.” — Lafayette coach eric robertson
on scheduling Clayton, Missouri, in non-region
they have a tendency to find somebody else to play. It was really difficult finding a schedule this year.”
Lafayette
The schedule starts off a little differently for the Commodores this season. No longer is Tupelo their season opener as has been the case the past few years. Head coach Eric Robertson had to find a replacement and found it in the form of Horn Lake. Lafayette will travel to Horn Lake on Friday night to start its season before playing a string of three straight home games, including hosting the Crosstown Classic against Oxford on Sept. 11. After playing Horn Lake, the Commodores’ first home game of the season is against an out-of-state opponent. Clayton High School, out of St. Louis, will come to William L. Buford Stadium on Aug. 28. It will be the first meeting between the two schools. “We had North Panola (on Aug. 28), and they just up and canceled on us,” Robertson said. “So we were scrambling trying to find somebody. That was hard to do to find somebody for Week 2 in the state of Mississippi. That’s a hard game to find so we had to go out of state. … (Clayton) is a little bit bigger school than us, so it should be a good game.” After Oxford, the Commodores finish up their non-region portion of the schedule with two away games at Louisville and Charleston on Sept. 18 and 25, respectively. The region stayed the same for Lafayette in terms of opponents, but that did not make them any easier. Ripley, TunicaRosa Fort, New Albany, Sentatobia and
Byhalia will be in Lafayette’s way of fighting for a region championship. New Albany will be a challenge for everyone with new head coach — and former Oxford assistant coach — Jake Hill taking over in his first year at the helm for the Bulldogs. “Tunica-Rosa Fort is a talented team. Speed everywhere on the field, and they’re a scary team,” Robertson said. “Then Ripley always plays us extremely hard. Each year, they seem to put a really good football team on the field and those are our first two region games.” Lafayette will end the regular season against Byhalia at home on Oct. 29, which is an uncommon Thursday night matchup.
Water Valley It’s more of the same for the Water Valley Blue Devils as they have a near carbon copy schedule from a season ago. The only trades Water Valley made were New Albany for Eupora in the season opener and Bruce for Pontotoc. After what is dubbed the Classic Game against Eupora Friday night to open the season, Water Valley will then host Coffeeville on Aug. 28 in what is known as the Railroad Rivalry. The rest of the non-region schedule includes games against Calhoun City, Pontotoc, Senatobia and Winona. Four of those five games will be played in the friendly confines of Blue Devil Stadium. The other side of that coin means the bulk of the Blue Devils’ region schedule will be played on the road as three of the five games will be out of town. As is the case for every season with Water Valley, the biggest game on the schedule is once again the matchup versus Charleston on Oct. 2. That is usually the game that decides the region champion even though it is played a month before the regular season even ends. “The schedule fell pretty good for us,” Water Valley coach Brad Embry said. “Sometimes things do and sometimes they don’t. Hopefully they can take advantage of that. It’s a good mix of home and away.” —jake.thompson@oxfordeagle.com
Football Preview • August 2015 – 9
Present: Teams have talent to make up for last year’s sour endings Continued from Page 4 Running backs Tyrell Price and Tay Tay Owens will benefit from that in Lafayette’s run-first spread attack, and if new quarterback Will Ard can make enough throws to keep defenses honest, Lafayette will be better. Ditto for Water Valley. Oxford has to replace pieces on the back end of its defense, but head coach Johnny Hill still has all his toys to play with on offense for one final shot at that elusive state title. The Chargers’ collection of talent, which includes quarterback Jack Abraham (Tulane commit), wide receiver D.K. Metcalf (Ole Miss commit), tight end Zach Cousar (multiple FBS offers) and defensive end Korbin Harmon (multiple FBS offers), has made Oxford a sexy preseason top-25 team nationally, but all the players
mentioned will be gone after this season — and so will Hill. Ole Miss has to find a quarterback while the offensive line needs to stay healthy, but the Rebels have everything else to go from pretender to serious contender in the SEC West. The headliners of that 2013 signing class — Treadwell, Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil and Tony Conner — are considered among if not the best player in the league at their respective positions, and players that talented don’t stay in school long. This is likely the last season in red and blue for them — tight end Evan Engram could bolt, too — as they could be part of a historic NFL draft class for Ole Miss next year. There’s not a better time than now for all these teams to finish what they’ve started. —davis.potter@oxfordeagle.com
BRUCE NEWMAN
Oxford wide receiver D.K. Metcalf and the rest of the Chargers have come up just short of a state championship two straight years, something they want to correct with a talent-rich senior class leading the way.
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10 – Football Preview • August 2015
FAST LEARNER Quick Hits Nickname: Chargers Field: Bobby Holcomb Field Region: 1-5A 2014 Record: 13-2 Head coach: Johnny Hill (20th) Assistant coaches: Stan Hill, Steve Herring, Chris Cutcliffe, Bobby Sanders, Jason Russell, Terrence Metcalf, Logan Dodson, Matt McCrory, Greg Kennedy
Swindoll transitions into one of Chargers’ best up front By Davis Potter Sports Editor
2015 Roster # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 42 43 44 46 47 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 70 71 72 74 75 76 77 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 97 99
Name Hiram Wadlington Jack Abraham CJ Terrell Dontarius Thompson Korbin Harmon Andre Pegues Jack Turner Drew Bianco Dee Fair Quentin Wilfawn Ben Bianco Ferron Houston Zac Jenkins D.K. Metcalf Zach Cousar Kyree White Connell Yost James McKey D.Q. Thomas Tias Hilliard Devin Rockette Josh McManus Preston Perkins Kenzie Phillips Jaquanzi Johnson DeChristian Cummings Chris Walton Trevin Wadlington Alex Franco Jordan Carothers Damarion Parham Howard Phillips Marcel Pegues Kalin Brown Josh Patton Liam Cooper Key McGuirt Gregory Milliner Giles Lamar Martin Guzman Malik Mathis Jamar James X’Zavier Thomas Gray Jenkins Keynin McEwan Kolbe Leary Jay Frierson Trayshun Jefferies Adrian Davidson Tyler Miller Tay Pegues Ashton Stewart Reed Cooper Stone Threlkeld Isaiah Jones David Evans Jose Gutierrez Kobin Ross Brandon Hill JT Owens Will Hollingsworth Colton Skidmore Brian Vaughn Nick Sisk Will Harvey Will Swindoll Tag Gatlin Quen Bolden Carlos Moreno Daniel Kelly Jacquez Neilson Hunter Leopard Barry Flowers Jaquavious Lloyd Jake Stone Jake Riffe Joe Trott Ken Presley Kentrel Lester Joe O’Keefe Jaquan Webb Jimmy Greaser Jerry Quiller Kent Hickinbottom Luther Hayes Jerron Poindexter Peyton Schiller Isaiah Slate Xavian Herod
Pos. TE QB DB LB DL LB LB RB TE/LB LB QB DB LB WR TE WR K QB DB RB/DB RB/DB DB WR RB DB DB WR DB DB DB DB LB DL RB RB K DB DB LS RB RB LB SS K DL OL OL LB OL OL OL OL OL OL DL OL OL OL DL DL OL OL OL DL OL OL OL OL DL OL OL OL WR TE WR WR WR WR WR TE WR WR DL DL DL DL DL DL DL
Grade 10 12 10 11 12 10 12 10 12 10 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 11 12 11 12 10 12 10 10 12 12 10 11 10 12 12 11 12 12 12 10 11 12 11 10 12 10 11 11 10 10 10 12 12 11 11 12 11 10 10 10 12 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 10 11 12 12 10 11 10 10 10 12 12 10 10 12 11 11 11 10 10 10 10
N
ot many — if any — job in sports is more selfless than that of an offensive lineman. Quarterbacks throw touchdowns, wide receivers catch them and running backs run for them, all made possible by a protective front five that quietly goes about its business keeping its signal caller clean in the pocket and opening up lanes for tailbacks to navigate on their way down the field. Will Swindoll doesn’t mind the lack of attention he and his fellow Oxford blocking mates get. In fact, it’s better that way in his opinion. “Unless (quarterback) Jack (Abraham) gets sacked seven times,” Swindoll said, “nothing gets said about us.” But Swindoll is starting to make a name for himself. Swindoll is set to begin his second season as the Chargers’ starting right tackle, a feat that was nearly unthinkable at the beginning of his prep career. Swindoll has never been small, but he spent his eighth-grade season as a bruising 5-foot-9 running back. “Which was kind of a weird thing,” Swindoll admitted, “because I was probably the biggest running back in the state in the eighth grade.” But Swindoll hit a major growth spurt the summer before his freshman year, climbing to 6-2. The change in stature wasn’t completely unexpected — Swindoll said doctors told him from an early age he’d be “around 6-3, 6-4” — but the increase in height and weight meant he’d have to move away from the skill positions. Swindoll, who’s entering his senior season at 6-3 and 275 pounds, knew where he was headed. “I got way too big for all that,” he said. “I’d have to end up playing offensive line.” Swindoll made the move to his new position his freshman season, and the learning curve was steep. He soaked up as much coaching as he could from offensive line coach Jason Russell and progressed enough by his sophomore season to get some varsity action in mop-up duty. “It’s definitely something you’ve got to get used to,” Swindoll said. “All the other guys (on the offensive line) had head starts on me basically about technique, I guess you could say. I was just kind of raw.” See OXFORD on Page 12
2015 Schedule Date
Aug. 21 Aug. 28 Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6 * - Region 1-5A game ^ - homecoming game
Opponent
Southaven at Starkville (8 p.m.) Madison Central at Lafayette West Point* at Saltillo* Lewisburg*^ at New Hope* Clarksdale* at Center Hill* Lake Cormorant*
Winning Ways 16 14
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Football Preview • August 2015 – 11
PHOTO BY BRUCE NEWMAN
12 – Football Preview • August 2015
Oxford: Tennis helps Swindoll’s footwork on football field Continued from Page 10 But Swindoll did have one physical trait working for him. The son of former Mississippi State tennis player and Lafayette High tennis coach Debbie Swindoll, who’s in the MSU Sports Hall of Fame, the younger Swindoll possesses the kind of natural athleticism and footwork rarely seen in people his size. He’s used it to win five state championships as a member of the Chargers’ tennis team, and he’ll join the varsity basketball team in the winter. “Watching him last year in the state championship (match), he was doing pirhouettes out there at the net,” Oxford coach Johnny Hill said. “They had quick hands and were returning everything. Finally they got it up, and he smashed it. He has very good feet, and I think good tennis players have to have pretty good feet to do what they do. It’s one of those things where tennis has really helped him with his football skills. “You don’t see a guy his size win five state championships in tennis playing
“You don’t see a guy with his size win five state championships in tennis playing right tackle for you. That’s very unusual.” — OxOrd cOach JOhnny hill
on Will Swindoll’s athleticism
right tackle for you. That’s very unusual.” Swindoll added enough technique to break into the starting lineup last season, and he’s been there ever since. Swindoll said he likes his new home up front, but just three years removed from being a big-bodied ball carrier, there are still plenty of aspects of his game he has to fine-tune to ultimately become the lineman he wants to be. “You’ve got to have violent hands at offensive line,” Swindoll said. “You can’t be passive. Some plays, for some reason it just won’t be the same, and those are the plays you get beat. You’ve always got to be violent at offensive line with hand
placement definitely.” The goal, Swindoll said, is to improve his game enough to be on a roster at an FBS school in 2016. Some schools are already reaching out. Swindoll doesn’t yet have any scholarship offers, but Vanderbilt, Troy, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State and Louisiana Tech are keeping tabs on him. He said Troy and Memphis have shown the most interest. Now Swindoll wants to show them that he’s worthy of some offers. “Have a good senior year,” said Swindoll, who noted football is the sport he wants to keep playing in college. “Have good film, and get stronger. Just keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully improve on what I’m doing.” Swindoll said he gets the most satisfaction watching any of the Chargers’ running backs rip off a long run that ends in the end zone or close to it, but he admitted his pass blocking still needs some refinement. He has a full season to try to put it all together, and if he does, his coach believes he’ll have everything
Football Preview • August 2015 – 13 he needs to suit up at the next level. “His size, his smartness, and he’s got a mean streak in him,” Hill said. “When he wants to, he can play. That’s the thing. He’s got to play every play with that chip on his shoulder. If he’ll do that, I think he’ll have a good shot to go somewhere.”
Offense
Swindoll is part of a deep and experienced Charger offense that returns every starter from last year’s run to the MHSAA Class 5A state championship game. Left tackle Stone Threlkeld is back to anchor the other side of the line opposite Swindoll. Junior center Colton Skidmore is the most experienced player up front entering his third year as a starter, and Hill has plenty of options at his disposal to rotate in at guard. Tag Gatlin is back at right
guard while Hunter Leopard returns on the left side, but Quen Bolden, Will Harvey, Reed Cooper, Ashton Stewart and Daniel Kelly will provide depth and could gets some snaps in the Chargers’ hurry-up, no-huddle attack. “We’re going to be rotating some folks in and out to keep them fresh,” Hill said. The group will be blocking for one of the best collections of skill talent around. Senior quarterback Jack Abraham enters his third and final season at the controls at Oxford’s spread offense having already thrown for 7,000 yards and 72 touchdowns in his first two seasons at the helm. The Tulane commit completed 60.2 percent of his passes last season for 3,353 yards and 34 touchdowns against just eight picks and continued his hot play into the summer, helping lead the Chargers win four of the five 7-on-7 passing tournaments in
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which they played. “We’re hoping for bigger and better things his senior year,” Hill said. Abraham, who will again be backed up by junior Ben Bianco, won’t have any shortage of options to target when he drops back to pass. Oxford possesses arguably the deepest group of pass catchers in the state led by Ole Miss commit D.K. Metcalf. A constant threat from anywhere on the field, the 6-foot3, 205-pound Metcalf, who hauled in 81 passes for 1,256 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, has a habit of making the tough catches look easy and using his bigger body and athleticism to high-point the ball even with one or two defenders draped all over him. Fellow senior Kyree White was Oxford’s second-leading receiver a season ago in yards (824) and touchdown receptions (8), but he and senior running back Kenzie Phillips
are suspended from team activities as they await their legal fate following an offseason arrest on auto burglary charges. Jaquan Webb and Jimmy Greaser are the favorites to take over that No. 2 spot for now with sophomore Hiram Wadlington emerging as a viable option in the slot. “He’s somebody that we’re going to have to get on the field,” Hill said of Wadlington. “Where, I don’t know, but he’s going to have to be on the field somewhere. He catches the ball in a crowd well, runs well, runs in the open field well.” Preston Perkins, Ken Presley and Chris Walton will also be a part of the rotation out wide. Senior Zach Cousar gives Abraham a 6-4 target at tight end, and newcomer Joe O’Keefe will spell Cousar from time to time. See CHARGERS on Page 14
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Chargers: OHS looking for answers in backfield, on defense for the Chargers on the back end. Oxford could also use Ben and Drew Bianco on the defensive side of the ball at different positions. “If you turn the lights on, they’re going to come to play,” Hill said, referring to the Bianco brothers. “Both of them tackle well, both of them play the ball well, and both of them run well. They’re too good of athletes to stand over there beside me. They need to find a place to play.”
Continued from Page 13 “We’re deep enough where we can just about put in four new receivers and not be bad,” Hill said. The Chargers have a trio of ball carriers Hill will look at to fill in for Phillips in sophomore Ben Bianco, Josh Patton and Wadlington, who’s got the versatility to play different positions. All three bring something different to the position, Hill said, but Bianco will have a chance to be the Chargers’ every-down back. “(Bianco) just makes plays,” Hill said. “He sees the field and can make that cut and make them miss. We feel like we’ve got some pretty good depth there at running back.”
Special teams
Defense
The Chargers bring back a wealth of experience along the defensive line, but things get much more green after that. Senior pass-rush specialist Korbin Harmon, who’s got multiple scholarship offers from FBS schools, is back at one end and will be flanked by fellow senior Marcel Pegues on the other. Nick Sisk returns to anchor the line at noseguard, and Jacquez Neilson and Kent Hickinbottom provide seasoned reinforcements on the interior who are athletic enough to give Oxford flexibility in the looks they throw at opposing offenses up front. “We can jump into a fourman front fairly easy,” Hill said. “And we’ve got some good backups in there. We feel like our defensive line is one of our stronger points coming into this year.” Things aren’t as settled at the second and third levels. Senior Dee Fair is the only returning starter in a linebacking corps that was home to Oxford’s top three tacklers a season ago in Thomas Allen,
BRUCE NEWMAN
Rising sophomore Drew Bianco is one of the options for Oxford at running back in the absence of Kenzie Phillips.
Harland Stewart and Mike McGhee, a four-year starter in the middle. “(Fair) will be our go-to guy in there,” Hill said. Fellow senior Jack Turner has waited his turn and will take over for McGhee in the middle. Sophomores Jamar James and Quentin Wilfawn as well as junior D.T. Thompson, who’s spent most of the summer at outside linebacker, are also in line to get plenty of reps at the position. Hill said his staff has done what it can in junior varsity games and over the summer to get its younger linebackers ready for varsity snaps. “Our coaches do a really good job of rotating people in and getting them prepared,” he said. “You’ve got to prepare so that when Mike or Thomas went down, you better have somebody ready to go. You can’t call timeout and say, ‘We’re going home. We lost our middle line-
backer.’ Our coaches do a really good job of getting kids ready to go and step up and know the calls and where to play.” The Chargers also have to retool the secondary after losing cornerbacks K.T. McCollin and D.K. Hutchins and safety J.R. Anderson to graduation. Sophomore C.J. Terrell and junior Devin Rockette are the top two options at corner after putting together a strong summer while senior Tias Hilliard is the frontrunner to take over at rover alongside strong safety D.Q. Thomas after spending most of last season on the offensive side of the ball. “We’ve been repping (Terrell and Rockette) in the spring and of course in the 7-on-7s,” Hill said. “That’s the biggest thing we’re doing is trying to teach our corners how to play corner.” Jordan Carothers, Ferron Houston and Jaquanzi Johnson are among the other options
Seniors Liam Cooper and Connell Yoste are back to handle the placekicking duties after splitting them a season ago. Cooper will also serve as the Chargers’ main punter after averaging 33.6 yards on his 42 punts last season. “We’ll kind of rotate them in and do different things with them,” Hill said. Ben Bianco and Gray Jenkins, who kicked for the freshman team a season ago, could also help in the punting game. Junior Giles Lamar, the brother of former Oxford snapper Chadwick Lamar, is back to handle the long-snapping duties. “He’s got a chance to be really, really good,” Hill said of Lamar. Hill said he’s looking at “10 or 11” players to return kicks and punts, including Metcalf, Wadlington, Hilliard, Terrell, Rockette, Johnson, Webb, Patton and Barry Flowers. “All these guys can run,” Hill said. “We’ll kind of see how that puzzle fits and take the first four games to kind of decide who’s going to be main ones back there. “We’ve got several guys that we feel like could be dangerous running kicks back. That slot is kind of wide open.” —davis.potter@oxfordeagle.com
Football Preview • August 2015 – 15
Swan Song
Oxford’s Hill yearns to bring title to city in final go-around By Davis Potter Sports Editor
At this point, Johnny Hill has lost count. The upcoming season will be the last for Oxford’s head football coach, an announcement he made back in January. Hill, a 40-year veteran in the coaching profession, will retire at the end of the fall semester, and ever since making that decision public, he’s fielded the same question over and over again. Coach, what are you going to do without football? The inquiry doesn’t bother Hill. He’s come to expect it any time he crosses paths with someone he hasn’t seen in a while asking for the first time or even friends who keep pressing hoping Hill will come up with an answer. But he doesn’t have one. Hill has a good idea what he’ll do in the short term — fishing, hunting, spending more time with his wife, Laura, and their grandchildren — but hasn’t come close to mapping out his long-term plans for retirement because that’s still five months away, which means it’s in the future. With one last chance to capture that elusive state championship, nothing is going to steer Hill’s thoughts from the present. “I don’t even think about the very end of December when my whole concern is from now until the end of the season, whenever that is, my job is to make this football team the best that it can be and mentally try to get them ready to play those big ballgames,” Hill said. The biggest of them all has left a sour taste in the collective mouth of Hill and his team the past two seasons, something Hill desperately wants to replace with a sweet taste of victory once this year’s MHSAA state championship games are completed in the Chargers’ backyard at Ole Miss’ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. And not just for himself. See HILL on Page 16
BRUCE NEWMAN
After leading Oxford to all three of its previous state championship game appearances, head coach Johnny Hill doesn’t want to end his coaching career without winning a Gold Ball for the school and the community. “I honestly feel that they deserve a state championship football team,” Hill said. “It’s time.”
16 – Football Preview • August 2015
Hill: Veteran coach’s final team out to ‘finish the job’ Continued from Page 15 “It would be very satisfying to win a state championship for this town, for this school and for those kids,” Hill said. “That’s more added incentive for me than anything.” Oxford is loaded with skill players on a roster most teams around the state envy. Tulane commit Jack Abraham, who enters his third and final season as the starting quarterback having already thrown for 7,000 yards, has a deep and talented receiving corps at his disposal led by 6-foot3 Ole Miss commit D.K. Metcalf and 6-4 tight end Zach Cousar, who’s weighing multiple offers from FBS schools. Running back Kenzie Phillips, who owns the school’s all-time single-season rushing record (1,737 yards), is
still around as are all five starting offensive linemen from a season ago, and pass-rushing specialist Korbin Harmon, who holds offers from Duke, Middle Tennessee State and others, leads a stout defensive line for the Chargers. But all that top-line talent hasn’t been good enough in the last two Class 5A title games as Oxford coughed up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter in a 42-35 loss to Picayune in 2013 before falling to Laurel, 29-26, last December. Hill also guided Oxford to its first-ever trip to the state championship game in 2003, the first of three title game losses for him. The only state championship team Hill has been a part of came in 1988 when he was an assistant at Warren Central.
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Hill reminisced about that Warren Central squad. The whole of that team was by far greater than the sum of its parts, Hill recalled, a sticking point he hopes his current team can add to its talent to make it that much more difficult to contain. “That’s the first time they had ever won a state championship, and the kids we had were not near as talented the other three years I was there,” Hill said. “They just played so hard, and they played together. They laid it on the line every play, every day. You can win a state championship and not be real talented. But you’ve got to come ready to play. You’ve got to want it more than the other guy, and that’s something that I hope our seniors develop and develop within themselves.”
That’s really why Hill wants to be No. 1. Not to end his four decades of coaching with a personal cherry on top, but to help a group of players, a school and a community that have helped the program become what it is today start getting the recognition they deserve. “I honestly feel that they deserve a state championship football team. It’s time,” Hill said. “We’ve been there the past two years and didn’t get it done, and hopefully we’re going to be able to get back there. “We’re just going to continue to work hard and try to finish the drill and finish the job.” —davis.potter@oxfordeagle.com
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Football Preview • August 2015 – 17
BRUCE NEWMAN
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18 – Football Preview • August 2015
SPEED TO BURN Quick Hits Nickname: Commodores Field: William L. Buford Stadium Region: 2-4A 2014 Record: 8-5 Head coach: Eric Robertson (4th) Assistant coaches: Dusty Finley, Stan Robertson, Jimmy Murphrey, Cody Stubblefield, Luke Kiihnl, Wayne Davis, Jay Jones, Shane Ard, Nacoma James
Versatile Rockette ready to provide ‘explosion’ for Lafayette By Jake Thompson Assistant Sports Editor
2015 Roster # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 21 22 23 24 25 27 30 31 32 33 34 36 37 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 60 61 63 67 70 71 73 74 75 78 80 82 84 85 86 87 88
Name Zeke Liggins Dillon Woods Tay Tay Owens Tyler Williams Vincent Lewis Allen Mathis Quin Jones Tyrell Price Juwan Kinds Kobe Sims Rashuan Rockette Will Ard Marlon Shaw Justin Blake Malik Vaughn Jamarcus Quarles Ross Ingram William Woodall Xavier Martin Brandon Curry Josh Hamilton Cameron Adams Ladarius Brown Bradley Winters Grayson Mays Jacob Rudd Quin Twilley Kyler Campbell Amani Johnson Bryce Hertl Nick Onsby Hunter Chance Tay Reed Doug Tanner Corey Williams Vassar Marion Keontre Toles Luke Gossett Darius Sanders Joseph Mangrum Kade Campbel Jarod Tolbert Keonte Booker Matt Toles Drew Tapp Bradley Thomas Dallas Boggs Daniel Walton Marcus Daniels Rashad Sharp Jalen Buford Jordan Jamison Keegan Starks Cody Brewer Tyler Allan Eli Johnson Josh Alba Zack Pritchard Makal Wade Robbie Langley Terry Welch Olten Kent Eddie Tyson Taylor Tutor
Pos. Grade OLB 12 OLB/WR 11 RB 11 DB/WR 11 DE 12 DB/WR 12 LB 12 RB 12 DB/WR 12 RB/DB 10 DB/WR 12 QB 11 DB 10 OLB 10 DB 12 RB 10 QB 11 LB 10 DB 11 OLB 10 WR 12 DB 11 DB 10 DB 12 LB 11 DB 10 OLB 11 LB 11 DE 11 K/P 11 TE 10 DE 11 LB 11 DL 11 DE 11 NT 12 LB 12 TE/LS 11 NT 12 DE 10 DE 10 NT 12 G/LB 11 OL/DL 11 OL 11 OL 12 LB 10 OL 10 NT 10 NT 10 C 11 OT 12 OT 10 OT 12 OL 10 OL 12 OL 11 WR 11 WR 12 K/P 10 WR 10 WR 10 WR 10 WR 10
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he 2014 season was not one that Rashuan Rockette is particularly proud of in his personal opinion. The rising senior was a two-way player for Lafayette and was an important piece on offense and defense. Rockette backed up star running back Tyrell Price and also played some at the wideout position. He racked up 180 total yards on offense (142 rushing, 38 passing). On the defensive side of the ball, Rockette was a key cog in the secondary, picking up 22 tackles and one sack in 10 games played. “He’s a guy that gives us a He was not satisfied. chance to score any time “My junior year, it was all right, but it the ball is in his hands. He’s wasn’t what I expected,” Rockette said. “So I’m planning to go out there and make caught exceptionally well something big this year. Being a starter on this summer.” defense at safety, I wasn’t really focused. So this year, I plan to focus more and be — Lhs coach eric roBerTson better.” on Rashuan Rockette’s skill set Head coach Eric Robertson expects his senior to become a leader in the locker room and on the field. Rockette knows what his role is and plans to fulfill it to the fullest. “My role on the team is to be the explosion on the team,” Rockette said. “So when we’re down, I’m the one to pick us up or to make a big play to get everybody excited and back into the game.” Explosion is Rockette’s attribute of choice when he describes himself. That explosion is useful on both sides of the ball, but he likes to save those big-time plays for when he is on the offensive side of the ball. While he did not contribute much as a receiver last year, Rockette wants his reps and his role to increase, which will in turn help the team as he will be able to use the one ability he is most proud of more often. See LAFAYETTE on Page 20
2015 Schedule Date
Aug. 21 Aug. 28 Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 29 * - Region 2-4A game ^ - homecoming game
Opponent
at Horn Lake Clayton St. Louis Grenada Oxford at Louisville at Charleston Ripley* at Rosa Fort* New Albany* at Senatobia* Byhalia*
Winning Ways 16
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Football Preview • August 2015 – 19
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20 – Football Preview • August 2015
Lafayette: ‘Dores sport plenty of experience in the trenches Continued from Page 18 “Speed and catching the ball,” Rockette said when asked what his best skills are as a receiver. “I like beating my opponent so that’s a lot of fun.” Robertson echoes those sentiments and is ready for Rockette to step up his game on offense. “He’s a guy that gives us a chance to score any time the ball is in his hands,” Robertson said. “He’s caught exceptionally well this summer.” Do not let the confidence fool you into thinking the senior is not aware of his weaknesses and his plans to make them strengths this season. “Getting stronger so I can be ready for anything that
comes during the season,” Rockette said. “So I wont be the weakest link on the team. … Whatever helps them helps me. Being a safety at (5-foot10), I got to get a little bit bigger. I heard the running backs got bigger, so I got to get bigger.” Rockette does not have any scholarship offers heading into the 2015 season but plans on letting his performance speak for itself and let the offers roll in as they may. “I’m looking forward to seeing some offers this season,” Rockette said. “I’m going to be working hard to get some. They’ll come, but right now I’m just working on playing with my team and making it to state.” Along with Rockette, a wealth of experience is returning on both sides of the ball,
and the opportunity to play for a state championship in their own backyard gives the Commodores plenty of motivation heading into the season.
Offense
Lafayette is returning three starters on the offensive line, anchored by Ole Miss commit Eli Johnson and fellow senior Jordan Jamison, which gives the Commodores some much-needed experience up front for junior starting quarterback Will Ard. Ard is replacing Devon Thomas as the signal caller for the Commodores after transferring in from Pontotoc last summer, playing minimally in the early part of the 2014 season. “They’re big,” Ard said of his front five. “You’ve got
Double-J (Jamison) and Eli, of course. There are a couple new guys, and the new guys have really impressed me from the spring that I played in. They look good.” While there is experience up front protecting Ard, the offensive line will also be blocking for a talented group of running backs led by Price, a senior. He’s joined by fellow senior Jordan Harmon and junior Tay Tay Owens. Price was injured during the early part of last season, but Owens helped pick up the slack, rushing for more than 700 yards and racking up four touchdowns on the ground. Even though he missed three games, Price still became the Commodores’ leading rusher with more than 900 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. Price worked hard over the
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Football Preview • August 2015 – 21 offseason and put in a lot time in the weight room during the summer, which has made the standout running back even bigger for his senior campaign. His size may potentially increase his role even more when it comes to situational downs and short-yardage plays. “What’s unique about him is he’s a good zone back,” Robertson said. “With his size and strength, he’s also a good power back. So he’s a guy that you don’t have to take out in short yardage. He’s got great hands, so he’s a guy that you like to throw to in third-down situations. We think he’s one of the better backs we’ve had over the years.” Four returning players at the wide receiver position will join Rockette. Senior Juwan Kinds is the anchor of that group along with Josh Hamilton, who spent time between wideout and free safety last season. Kinds produced the most receiving yards of the returning players with 81. Fellow senior Quin Jones also had 81 yards and will see time as a receiver in addition to being one of Lafayette’s top tacklers at linebacker and safety. See ‘DORES on Page 24
BRUCE NEWMAN
Lafayette coach Eric Robertson likes the potential of his receivers, even if the group is a bit green.
22 – Football Preview • August 2015
TIME TO SHINE Quick Hits Nickname: Blue Devils Field: Bobby Clark Field Region: 2-3A 2014 Record: 7-5 Head coach: Brad Embry (8th) Assistant coaches: Jeff Roberts, Clint Faust, Bryant Mix, Jeb Lee
Gooch ready to become leader for Blue Devils’ offense By Jake Thompson Assistant Sports Editor
2015 Roster # 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 21 22 24 25 26 28 31 32 33 35 40 42 44 45 49 50 52 53 54 55 56 58 59 61 62 63 64 65 67 70 71 72 73 74 77 79 85 90 99
Name Anthony Smith D’Onterrius Hervey Jalin Morgan Trenderrious Brock Kirkland Horton Hartley Camp Quez Towns Ty Varner Javarius Benson Quaterrious Tolbert Nate Murphy Keegan Faustin Taghee James Kenterrious Rucker Jacob Welch Maleek Joy Jamie Owens Julian Williams Devontre Bailey Daniel Fleming Mark Gooch Jayvon Morgan Ceddrick White Emanuel Judson Brian White Kijonathan Woodard Edgar Guzman Joseph Washington Grant Blake Deferrion Justice Jeremiah Ray Jacob Swinkowski Zack Ivey Paris Adams Rob Mitchell Andrew Tarver Jake Rotenberry Kody Gilley Will Brock J.P. Dennis Nate Griffin John Thomas Stanford Clardis Galloway Jalin Murphy Dakota Clements Landon Turner Sam Dunn Jeremy Jenkins Austin McCluskey Jarius Gooch Marley Cook Tony Person Payden Surrette Marcus Burt Isaiah White
Pos. Grade WR/DB 12 RB/DB 10 WR/DB 11 RB/LB 9 QB/DB 12 WR/DB 11 WR/DB 11 QB/DB 10 RB/LB 9 WR/DB 9 QB/DB 9 TE/DE 12 RB/LB 11 RB/DB 9 WR/DB 9 WR/DB 9 WR/DB 10 WR/DB 11 TE/LB 9 WR/LB 12 WR/DB 12 WR/DB 10 WR/DB 9 TE/LB 10 WR/DB 12 WR/DB 11 K/LB 11 WR/DB 10 TE/LB 12 RB/DB 9 TE/DL 10 OL/DL 12 OL/DL 9 OL/DL 9 OL/DL 11 OL/DL 9 OL/DL 11 OL/DL 12 OL/DL 9 OL/DL 12 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 12 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 9 OL/DL 9 OL/DL 9 OL/DL 11 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 12 OL/DL 12 OL/DL 9 OL/DL 11 TE/DE 11 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 9
L
ast season, the Water Valley football team had L.J. Hawkins and Derrick Gooch roaming the field waiting to make a catch and big play every Friday night. This season, the Blue Devils are without their top producers at the wideout position, but Water Valley fans should not be worried. “We got a lot of leaders Rising senior Mark Gooch is ready to pick up in there, but I just try where Hawkins and his cousin left off. and keep (the receivers) “I know we’re going to have a big throwing game. I think we’re good,” Gooch said. “I believe to a high (standard). we can do what we did last year. We’ve just got When I first got up here, to get some more guys and build them up.” I was watching L.J., how Last season, Gooch was not as productive offensively as he will need to be this year prihe moved around and marily due to not being as heavily relied upon stuff, so I just caught on with the other targets Water Valley had at their disposal. In the 2014 campaign, he caught 15 to what he was doing.” passes for 231 yards, good enough for third-best behind Hawkins and Derrick, and scored three — WVhs WR maRk Gooch touchdowns. on evolving into a leader for offense The production was low also because Gooch is a two-way player for Water Valley, not uncommon at the high school level for many schools. Besides adjusting to becoming a bigger player on offense, he is also having to acclimate himself to a new spot on the defensive side of the ball. Head coach Brad Embry is moving his senior from cornerback to safety this fall, a spot he is much more comfortable playing. He used his time during 7-on7 competitions this summer to help adjust. “To me, I’ll play wherever coach wants me to play,” Gooch said. “When a guy breaks loose from a corner I know I can go get him.” Being one of the more seasoned players in the receiving corps, Gooch feels the leadership role is something that will not be a difficult burden for him to bear. See BLUE DEVILS on Page 30
Winning Ways
2015 Schedule Date
Aug. 21 Aug. 28 Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 * - Region 2-3A game ^ - homecoming game
Opponent
Eupora Coffeeville at Calhoun City Pontotoc^ Senatobia at Winona at Charleston* Independence* North Panola* at Holly Springs* at Marks Palmer*
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Football Preview • August 2015 – 23
PHOTO BY BRUCE NEWMAN
24 – Football Preview • August 2015
‘Dores: Lafayette expects back end of defense to be better Continued from Page 21 “We feel good about those guys,” Roberston said. “Juwan Kinds had a good summer. He’s a big target out there. He just needs to be consistent with catching the football. Dillon Woods caught a lot of balls for us last year that can play the slot or the wideout. I think he’ll be an important part of our passing game.”
Defense
The linebacker position is a major area of concern for the Commodores after losing a lot of production with the departure of Eli and John Murphree. With the graduation of Darren Toles, the Commodores are having to fill a position that is losing a lot of experience. “Between them two, that
is 190-something tackles that we’ve got to replace,” Robertson said. “We lost a defensive end, and we lost some defensive lineman due to injuries that won’t be back until later in the season. Not a lot of holes to fill but some pretty big spots. … I think we’ll have a good grasp on it after a week or two.” Another area that the Lafayette defense is looking to shore up is the play of its secondary. Many times over the last season, the Commodores’ defensive backfield got burned on big passes and plays, including one during their playoff game against Cleveland that aided in ending the season. With the return of Rockette along with Jones, the secondary is getting a lot of experience back as well as players who are a year older and wiser.
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“We had a lot of seniors leave that defense, but we’ve got a lot of (rising) seniors coming back,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of experience coming back. We’ve got a real good corner in Tyler Williams. The back end of that defense is going to help, and they’re going to be real experienced.”
Special teams
Football is a three-phase game made up of offense, defense and special teams. Lafayette is having to fill a huge gap in the latter category with the graduation of Ryan Holland in May. Holland served as the Commodores’ main field goal and extra point kicker as well as kickoffs. Holland accounted for 54 of the Commodores’ 222 points last season. He made 27 of 28 extra points and converted nine of 12 field goal
attempts. Not only did Lafayette lose its kicker but also the man who snapped him the ball. Center and long snapper Austin Arrington graduated as well, leaving two key positions to fill in the special teams. Junior Bryce Hertl and sophomore Robbie Langley will replace Holland with the kicking duties while Lafayette baseball player and rising junior Luke Gossett is taking over as the snapper. “Those are definitely areas of concern,” Robertson said of his special teams. “We feel good about our kickers coming back. We’ve got quality people right there, it’s just that game experience you lose is a concern for you.” —jake.thompson @oxfordeagle.com
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Football Preview • August 2015 – 25
LHS’s Ard ready to make most of his turn at QB After mostly watching following transfer, junior takes over reins of offense By Jake Thompson Assistant Sports Editor
Will Ard transferred to Lafayette High School last summer from Pontotoc. His arrival was one that gave the future of the Commodores’ football team some stability at the quarterback position. After a year of learning under former quarterback Devon Thomas, the rising junior is ready to take the reigns heading into the 2015 campaign. Sitting for the majority of the season was not viewed as a negative by Ard but as a positive. It gave him a chance to return to 100 percent after being banged up at Pontotoc his freshman year. “It got me back healthy again because my ninth-grade year, I started and I got beat up pretty good at Pontotoc,” Ard said. “I think the year off helped me get healthy again. I had a concussion, and I just got beat up every game. I got hit pretty hard.” The year off was not only beneficial health-wise, but it allowed Ard to not have to jump completely into a new system, instead learning the Commodores’ system under Thomas and head coach Eric Robertson’s guide. “It was pretty different,” Ard said of the system he had at Pontotoc. “It was more throwing the ball and dropping back. Here it’s a little different because I’ve got Tyrell Price and a big offensive line. It’s a lot faster than I was
BRUCE NEWMAN
Lafayette rising junior Will Ard hopes a year of learning — and the pieces he has around him — will help in his first season as the Commodores’ starting quarterback.
used to. I mean, I’ve got better players around me, which helps. It’s not easier, but it’s a lot more fun playing around those guys.” With that experienced
offensive line as well as a seasoned stable of running backs, including Price, it will only make Ard’s first full season as the starting quarterback that much easier. He played in six
games last season but in a limited capacity, throwing eight passes and completing one for 49 yards and a touchdown. See ARD on Page 27
26 – Football Preview • August 2015
SHARING THE LOAD
JAKE THOMPSON
Senior Kirkland Horton (left) and sophomore Ty Varner are battling it out to be Water Valley’s quarterback this fall, but with each player bringing different skill sets to the position, both will take snaps under center.
Varner, Horton give Blue Devils fresh faces at QB Both likely to get snaps for WVHS this fall By Jake Thompson Assistant Sports Editor
For several years, E.J. Bounds occupied the quarterback position at Water Valley. Each year, head coach Brad Embry knew who his signal caller would be and game planned around him. That dynamic has changed the past two seasons with the departure of Bounds. Last year, it was Jonathan Kent who took over the post–Bounds era. It was also his first full-time stay at quarterback in nearly three years as he played mostly on the defensive side of the ball. Kent was a senior though, which meant
Embry and his staff had to go back to the drawing board once again to find a quarterback for the 2015 campaign. It will be the Blue Devils’ third starting quarterback in as many years. The drawing board produced two candidates who are vying for the job and may end up sharing it once all is said and done. Senior Kirkland Horton and sophomore Ty Varner have spent the summer and all of preseason camp jockeying for position, and much like Ole Miss’ QB competition, it has been close. “We’re not settled at all,” Embry said right before fall camp started. “(Horton and Varner) are learning and are very athletic. ... We’ve got two quarterbacks who I’m very confident in being in the game. I know Ty is young, but he does some
things very well. He’s just young.” Embry also has freshman Nate Murphy in his quarterback stable but is not planning on using him his first year if he can help it. Being a sophomore and having never taken a snap of varsity football at the quarterback position — he was the backup punter to Brandon Bounds last year — does not bother Varner a bit. Neither does the prospect of him sharing playing time with Horton. Varner also used the time last year to study and learn the playbook from front to back. “I didn’t throw any last year. I was just behind Kirkland and Jonathan,” Varner said. “We might do a two-quarterback system. See FACES on Page 32
Football Preview • August 2015 – 27
Ard: Year of watching helped QB mentally, physically Continued from Page 25 “It’s going to be huge,” Robertson said. “(Offensive lineman) Eli (Johnson) is coming into the year having started since his ninth-grade year. He’s as knowledgeable about offensive schemes as anybody out there. I definitely think that Will, having that confidence that his line is going to know what to do, definitely carries over.” Ard is replacing Thomas, who was the starting quarterback for the past couple seasons. The two were also teammates on the baseball team. Having to play a fulltime sport in the spring hindered Ard’s progress on football field as he was not able to participate much, if any, during spring drills. “That was kind of hard because I missed the whole spring,” Ard said. “I didn’t get really any reps. It hurt me a little bit not being able to get used to the guys. I practiced a couple times and was feeling good, then we have playoff games with baseball.”
“It was pretty different (at Pontotoc). It was more throwing the ball and dropping back. Here it’s a little different because I’ve got Tyrell Price and a big offensive line. It’s a lot faster than I was used to. I mean, I’ve got better players around me, which helps.” — QB Will Ard
on transferring to Lafayette from Pontotoc
To make up for that lost time, Ard competed in all the 7-on-7 competitions Lafayette entered as well as the weekly drills the players held on their own every Monday over the course of the summer. “I thought we did good,” Ard said of the 7-on-7s. “We’d execute what we’d do. We’re not out there trying to win 7-on-7 games. That’s not our goal, but it definite-
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ly helps. It helps receiving and timing.” When it comes to the difference in styles between Thomas and Ard from a coaching standpoint, Robertson sees some but not as many as one would think when bringing in a new quarterback. “I think one of Will’s strengths is his arm strength. I think he throws the ball really well,” Robertson said. “Will has become more consistent. He comes a little bit better at reading the defenses. I think there are some similarities, but each kid is different.” With the arm strength, Ard does not like to limit himself to the pocket-passer label. With how much offenses have evolved at every level over time, Ard wants his team to know that if the need to become a scrambling quarterback arises that they can count on him to do it. “I like to throw it around and I like to run. I like to do it all,” Ard said. “Whatever they want me to do I’m going to do my best to do it.” —jake.thompson@oxfordeagle.com
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Blue Devils: WVHS breaking in new faces in backfield Continued from Page 22 He also watched Hawkins and studied him to help make himself a better player. “We got a lot of leaders in there but I just try and keep (the receivers) to a high (standard),” Gooch said. “When I first got up here, I was watching L.J., how he moved around and stuff, so I just caught on to what he was doing.” “Mark leads by example,” Embry said. “He’s a hard worker and practices well, and it shows on Fridays.” There is not a concern on Gooch’s part when asked if fatigue plays a factor midway through a season for a player who is asked to be on the field the majority of a game week in and week out. “Most of the time when I’m out on the field, I’m in the zone,” Gooch said. With the quarterback situation unresolved and the potential that Gooch could be seeing passes from both Ty Varner and Kirkland Horton throughout the season, he is confident with whoever is out there sending him the football. “There is no difference between them,” Gooch said. “I can play with any quarterback.”
Offense
After finishing 7-5 and 4-1 in Division 2-3A and being ousted from the MHSAA Class 3A playoffs by Kemper County in the first round last season, Gooch and the Blue Devils are preparing for the 2015 season in hopes to better that performance from a season ago. This season also marks the first time Water Valley will not have Brandon or E.J. Bounds on its roster in the past five years.
BRUCE NEWMAN
Water Valley coach Brad Embry will have a different look to his offensive backfield as the Blue Devils are breaking in their third starting quarterback in the last three years as well as a new running back.
E.J. graduated two seasons ago and was a valuable threat during his time as the Blue Devils’ quarterback while Brandon graduated last year and takes with him a lot of
production from the running game. “We’ve gotten to a point that we’re a program now and I’m excited about the guys coming in to take those guys’
place,” Embry said. “Each and every year, somebody rises to the top and takes the initiative and works.” Water Valley’s football team will have its third starting
Football Preview • August 2015 – 31 quarterback in as many years this season, but who that will be remains to be seen. Last year, Jonathan Kent replaced E.J. Now this season, Embry and his staff once again have the task to replace Kent, who graduated in May. Horton, a senior, and Varner, a rising sophomore, are the two candidates heading into camp who will compete against each other to see who walks onto the field with the offense come Friday night against Eupora. Whoever the quarterback is, he will have a plethora of targets to throw the ball to along with Gooch. The Blue Devils did lose key production, but they are returning a group of wideouts that Embry is ready to see what they will do. Senior Jalin Morgan along with juniors Anthony Smith, Hartley Camp and Quez Towns and sophomore Jayvon Morgan will look to bolster
and support Gooch. “I’m really, really excited about the group of receivers that we have,” Embry said. “Jayvon is only a sophomore, but he’s a big, fast kid that can run. We’ve got some more kids that have really worked that didn’t hardly catch a ball for us last year. Daniel Fleming, Quez and Jalin. Those three kids have really worked hard, and I’m excited about their potential. We don’t have L.J., but as a receiving corps, we’re better. Our depth is there.” When it comes to the running game and who will step up to replace the 1,083 yards Brandon racked up last season, Embry will utilize a platoon of kids in the Blue Devil backfield. Junior Taghee James will be what Embry considers the A back. Fellow junior Julian Williams, who injured himself during the spring, will see action at the running back slot as well. “Taghee played a little bit
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behind Brandon last year and every down at linebacker as a sophomore. So he’s been on the field a lot,” Embry said. “He’s really worked hard and done well in the weight room. He’s going to play a lot of running back and linebacker for us.” James is a big-bodied back that is also agile enough to fit any situational scheme Embry and offensive coordinator Clint Faust can come up with. “I’m a four-down back,” James said with confidence.
Defense
The first area Embry had to address on the defensive side was the loss of end Dee McNeal, who was the sack machine for Water Valley last year with 11. The next closest player was rising senior linebacker Grant Blake with four. “Dee is going to be a tough guy to replace,” Embry said. “He was a good player for us. When you lose those kind of
kids, it makes a difference, but by the end of the year with injuries and so forth, we got really, really thin up front. That was our Achilles heel by the end of the season. We got in trouble trying to stand up with power running teams. We’ve really addressed that this year in the weight room and got some people healthy.” Water Valley will get some help on the defensive line with the return of junior Rob Mitchell. Mitchell tore his ACL last year and missed the second half of the season and the meat of the Blue Devils’ schedule. “Getting Rob back, who was playing as well as anyone on defense as a sophomore last year, hopefully he gets back to his form on the field,” Embry said. “He’s in shape and there’s still a recovery time mentally and physically. I think he’ll be fine. He’s a tough kid.” See WVHS on Page 33
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32 – Football Preview • August 2015
Faces: Varner wants to grab starting job, hold onto it Continued from Page 26 It doesn’t matter to me. I just want to go out there and help us win. … That’s all I did last year was learn the plays. That’s all I could do, and it helped me a lot this year to get ready.” Varner took full advantage of the summer, competing in 7-on-7s trying to get used to his receivers as well as seeing the plays for the first time on the field instead of on a piece of paper in a binder. “I’ve been doing 7-on7s all summer. Just me and Kirkland,” Varner said. “That’s how we’ve been getting better. Just seeing routes and getting better for the season.” With Varner potentially being named that third quarterback in three years, it has added some pressure on the sophomore as he wants to help add stability to that position for the next few years. “I do think about it a lot,” Varner said. “There’s nothing I can do about it. I just do what I can do now and maybe that will help me in the future.” One thing that may be useful in determining who could wind up the victor in the race is the factor of experience. While he does not have a lot of it, Horton did spend some time at quarterback during live action for Water Valley last season. Horton attempted three passes and completed all of them for 62 yards. He did more damage on the ground as he is also a dual-threat, rushing for 322 yards on 44 carries. He scored five rushing touchdowns. “I feel like I need to figure out what defenses are running,” Horton said. “Last year, I was more of a run quarterback. No matter what
BRUCE NEWMAN
Horton brings more of a running element to the position for Water Valley, but the senior hopes a better understanding of defenses will help him stay in the pocket and use his arm more this season.
the defense was in, I was going to run. I feel like if I can call out the coverages and all that, I can do a lot more.” On the other side of that coin, though, is the fact that Horton is a dominant player on the Water Valley defense. Recording a team-high 127 tackles last season, it does not appear Embry is going to keep his standout player off the field when the other team has the football. “He’s our leader (on defense),” Embry said. “He’s a defensive player mentality-wise. We don’t think we’ll have to keep him out there the entire game. If you have one quarterback whose far and away better than every-
“I do think about it a lot. There’s nothing I can do about it. I just do what I can do now and maybe that will help me in the future.” — WVHS QB Ty Varner
on desire to be three-year starter
body else, that’s a good thing. Right now, I have two guys and the positives are that if one guys goes down, we have another.” Varner, unlike Horton, is strictly a quarterback this season, which could give him the upper hand in the competition as all he has to worry
about is the offensive playbook. The environment of a competition has not gotten in the way of the two quarterbacks working hard to get better. They have used the opportunity to make the rest of the team better in the process. Varner and Horton look at it as they are in this together and not looking to knock one guy out of a spot over the other. “I feel like we have each other’s back,” Horton said. “It is a race, but as far as helping each other out, I think we work better together and talk to each other.” —jake.thompson @oxfordeagle.com
Football Preview • August 2015 – 33
WVHS: Devils bring in professional help for new kickers Continued from Page 31 The injury bug, especially on defense, is something Water Valley wants to avoid this season as the Blue Devils became a M.A.S.H. unit toward the end of the year. “We had way too many (ACL tears) last year,” Embry said. “All at one position, too. Two (defensive) linemen go down with an ACL, that’s a tough one. We should’ve had more depth and somebody should’ve been ready to step in, and we weren’t. But everybody is thin on the d-line. There’s not one coach that says he has enough d-linemen probably.” Seniors Jacob Swinkowski, Kody Gilley, J.P. Dennis, Austin McCluskey and Jarius Gooch will be called on to fight in the trenches not only on defense but offense as well. Horton will continue to be a two-way player for Water Valley as he’ll resume his duties in the defensive backfield. Horton will try to improve on the team-high 127 tackles he recorded a season ago.
Special teams
The Blue Devils take another hit in the special teams department with the loss of seasoned kicker Alex Robles. Behind Hawkins, Robles was responsible for the second-most points on the team with 70, two shy from tying Hawkins’ mark. Robles handled nearly all the kicking duties ranging from kickoffs to field goals and extra points. The only thing he did not handle were punts, which Brandon Bounds was responsible for. Varner, who is fighting for the starting quarterback spot, was the backup punter to Brandon but will be called upon to punt at times this season as well. Last season, Robles converted 37 of 40 extra point attempts and was perfect with field goals, hitting 11 of 11. His longest was 41 yards. “Brandon was our punter, he’s gone. And Alex was our kicker, and he’s gone,” Embry said. “We’ve got two kids that I’m pleased with right now, but they’ve got to keep coming.”
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Junior Edgar Guzman, who is Robles’ cousin, will handle the bulk of the kicking responsibilities this year. He has recruited some professional help as well. Former NFL and Ole Miss punter Steve Lindsey, who works at Water Valley High School now, is working with Guzman. Lindsey played two seasons in the NFL from 1999-2000, spending time with Jacksonville and Denver. Lindsey was the Rebels’ field goal kicker in the 1997 season. “They’ve come a long way,” Embry said. “Obviously Edgar hasn’t been there and done that, but he’s got the ability. He’s working hard at it, and right now, I’d say he’s the guy. He’s Alex’s cousin, so he can lean on Alex and has that in his back pocket. He can talk to Alex about it. Alex was great physically, but he was also really good mentally. Things didn’t bother him, and Edgar can pull from Alex on that. I hope he’s the guy.” —jake.thompson@oxfordeagle.com
34 – Football Preview • August 2015
HEAD OF THE CLASS photos by Bruce Newman
Football Preview • August 2015 – 35
Crown jewels of Ole Miss’ 2013 signing class live up to the hype, but quartet wants titles before NFL comes calling terbacks vying for the starting job this year in Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade, but the much-ballyhooed fourSports Editor some led a signing day charge that resulted in the school’s first-ever top-5 class aquon Treadwell won’t soon nationally and got the college football forget it. world talking about the SEC program in Shortly after the members Oxford. of the best recruiting class the The talented quartet has spent the last Ole Miss football program has ever seen two seasons trying to turn that chatter arrived on campus in the summer into results. Nkemdiche, Treadwell, of 2013, they walked into Tunsil and Conner all enter their their first workout junior season as preseason first- and with head strength second-team All-SEC selections after helping the Rebels to nine wins and a “We ’re n ranking as high as No. 4 in the inauguot lo ral College Football Playoff polls s from ers. a season ago. ther Only e. B w All that top-end e th inners e fir talent has w a st cl nt to many as c
“Not saying the work is done, but to still be in front of what you knew you could do all your life, it’s a dream come true.” There are still questions to answer before the group can think about being part of a historic draft class. Will Tunsil and Treadwell be the players they were before suffering broken legs? Can Nkemdiche take the next step and finish plays consistently? Can Conner improve his coverage skills enough to go from a physical safety to a complete safety? Every one of them will address those inquires on the field — for better or for worse. “Their résumé will take care of that. Nothing else,” head coach Hugh Freeze said. “The résumé that they put on the film will decide whether all that stuff has any validity to it or not, and that’s the only thing that will decide it. That’s s to o what I hope they hear from me every sindo s me her ome e. .. gle day. It’s your résumé and, you’re coach thin . Th making it today.” g no is is Paul Jackson. bod our The case can be made But they didn’t y ha visio s n that it started ever get far before Jackson set to b d e when o t the record straight. ne, and he top “On the first day, he just checked tea ho on d esire — o peful m in everybody, the whole class,” Treadwell to w le M ly th the S thinksaid. “He didn’t make it about any in S i i EC ss wiDe s will EC an ing Ole Miss specific individuals. He was just like, b d bu and nati receiv e the can improve on that ‘I don’t want to see any camp shirts. ona er l year ild on l ch this season. The Rebels are it I don’t want to see any Five-Star amp aquon .” ions t No. 15 in the preseason coaches’ Challenge (attire), nothing. You’re Ole r hips e at O aDwel poll while Sports Illustrated put them at Miss Rebels.’” le M l No. 13 in its preseason top 25. iss Treadwell, ranked as the nation’s top Jackson “I think this is the season right here wide receiver prospect in that recruiting insisted they that we can really do it,” Conner said. cycle, was one of four five-star recruits to put their star rankings And for good reason. sign with the Rebels just months earlier. and egos to the side that For some — if not all — this will be Ole Miss also inked the nation’s No. 1 summer day two years ago. their last season in a Rebel uniform. All overall recruit in Robert Nkemdiche, “We’re brothers,” Conner said. “We four are projected as first-round picks in the No. 1 offensive tackle prospect in call each other brothers. Just because next year’s NFL draft with ESPN draft Laremy Tunsil and ESPN’s No. 2-ranked Laremy and Laquon are on offense, we guru Mel Kiper Jr. pegging Tunsil No. safety in South Panola’s Tony Conner, still compete and get after each other, 2 overall, Nkemdiche No. 4, Treadwell an astonishing haul for a program that’s but it’s just family. We get along really No. 7 and Conner No. 20 on his first historically struggled to keep up with good.” Big Board for 2016 released in late May. the behemoths in the Southeastern Said Treadwell, “From that day, everyCBSSports.com also has the group Conference. body just blended.” among the top 22 picks next spring. The star-studded class also included “It’s really a dream come true to live tight end Evan Engram, wide receiver See CLASS on Page 40 up to your expectations,” Treadwell said. Quincy Adeboyejo and a pair of quarBy Davis Potter
L
Opposite page: (Clockwise from top left) Laremy Tunsil, Laquon Treadwell, Tony Conner and Robert Nkemdiche have met the lofty expectations heaped on them ever since signing with Ole Miss as part of a historic recruiting class in 2013. But the juniors don’t want to be remembered simply for their stars and rankings during the recruiting process.
36 – Football Preview • August 2015
ARMS RACE
PHOTOS BY BRUCE NEWMAN
(From left) Ryan Buchanan, Chad Kelly and DeVante Kincade are locked in a heated battle to replace Bo Wallace as Ole Miss’ starting quarterback, a competition head coach Hugh Freeze has said will likely trickle into the early part of the season.
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Football Preview • August 2015 – 37
Rebs’ starting QB vows to be ready — whoever that may be Buchanan, Kelly, Kincade not backing down in competition By Jake Thompson Assistant Sports Editor
It has probably been the most documented quarterback race in the Ole Miss football program’s history whether it’s due to the names involved, the potential for great things this season or the fact all three are talented enough in different areas to land the job. The most obvious reason could be that head coach Hugh Freeze has kept his feelings on the situation close to the vest and has only released small morsels about the prog-
ress of the competition itself. After spring drills were completed, Freeze gave the ever-so-slight, razor-thin lead to redshirt sophomore Ryan Buchanan over fellow sophomore DeVante Kincade and junior college transfer Chad Kelly. Buchanan having been in the program going on his third year now after fighting for a backup spot behind Bo Wallace the last two seasons gives the Jackson native the edge when it comes to the experience factor. “I feel a lot more comfortable,” Buchanan said. “Each camp since I’ve been here has just been about trying to get the game to slow down for me. Each camp, I’ve gotten better and I’ve seen stuff before I snap the ball and call for the ball that I didn’t see two or
three camps ago.” Buchanan has tried to keep the blinders on when it comes to drowning all the noise and talk of the three-man race. It is still something new to him that he has never experienced during his time at Ole Miss and even in his high school days playing for Jackson Prep. “I’ve been waiting for this for a while,” Buchanan said. “Last year, I was battling for a backup quarterback position and this year, it’s starting for that position. It’s what I’ve always wanted. ... It was a lot easier in high school. That’s how it is for a lot of athletes. You’ve got to compete in college. Last year, I competed with DeVante and I guess still competing with him this year. It’s just part of it.” For Kincade, this dynamic has been more about patience
than anything else. Behind Buchanan, the consensus seems to be that Kelly is a close second nipping on the heels of the starting position after spring drills with Kincade fighting to stay relevant in third place. That has never once deterred the Skyline High School product out of Dallas to question if this is where he was supposed to be. “My freshman year, that’s when I had all my frustration,” Kincade said. “Once I redshirted, I realized this is for the better. ... I always felt like this is where I wanted to be because when I came here, I came to so many relationships with my teammates, coaches. I really just want to be the guy. I’ve wanted to be the guy for a long time.” See QB on Page 41
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38 – Football Preview • August 2015
Q&A with quarterback
Chad Kelly DAVIS POTTER: What have you learned from all of your off-the-field situations? CHAD KELLY: Just know that everything is under a microscope. Everything you do. DP: Is there anything specifically that you’ve changed since you dealt with your arrest in December? CK: I try to not go out of the house. I’m almost scared of going out of the house really because you just never know how someone could perceive something or look at something a certain way. I just try to always make the right decision. DP: Where do you feel like you are in the quarterback competition heading into the fall? CK: I mean, that’s for the coaches to decide that one. But I know every day I’m going to come to work and try to work as hard as I can every day and show the coaches that I want to be the best and I want to be that quarterback and the leader of the team. DP: You said you don’t go out as much. What were your days like this summer? CK: Watched film, stayed in the (indoor practice facility) and worked hard, watched film, watched more film and eat. That’s every day. DP: After your arrest in December, was there a point where you thought you wouldn’t play at Ole Miss? CK: I never lost faith. I’ve been through a lot. I lost my grandma while I was on the way to Haiti (for a mission trip this spring), and I used to live with her. That was a big crush. It kind of didn’t feel the same after that. But I never lost faith, like I said. To kind of get through the summer, she was always
BRUCE NEWMAN
just in the back of my mind to just keep on pushing. Some days you wake up and you’re like, ‘Man, this really stinks.’ But you’ve just got to understand that you’ve got to keep pushing every day if you want to be the best. DP: What were the talks like between you and coach Hugh Freeze in the days after your arrest? CK: I just knew that he had my back. He understood that a lot of the stuff that came out was untrue. We just had faith. We had faith in God, and that’s
one thing that me and him both have in common is that we believe in the Lord. That’s truly what I believe. DP: Do you feel like you’ve earned the trust of Ole Miss fans or do you feel like that’s something you’ll have to do once the season starts? CK: I think you have to keep on building it. You’ve just got to keep on making the right decisions. I think as long as you play on the field good, I think they’ll keep on rallying around you. That’s about all you can ask for.
Football Preview • August 2015 – 39
Q&A with defensive coordinator
Dave Wommack DAVIS POTTER: Last year’s defense was so good. You guys led the nation in scoring defense. How can this year’s defense be better? DAVE WOMMACK: I think it’s a whole new year with a whole new chemistry. You’ve got lots and lots of the same guys back, but there’s always a different chemistry with a team. But I love the way these guys worked in the spring. I loved the competitiveness of it. To sit there and say statistically, I’m going to do this or do that, I don’t know. We’re trying to be one in everything we can do and most importantly win football games. To me, it’s all about making the best football team you can — offense, defense and the kicking game. DP: What specific area do you look at and say, “This is where we have to get better”? DW: It’s hard to say. When you lose two All-Americans in the secondary, you’ve got to look at that and say, “Hey, can we replace them?” Probably the answer is no right off from the standpoint of experience and so forth. But golly, I love the talent of the guys we brought in, and I love the depth we have there. Linebacker is kind of the same way. We lost three guys, but we’ve got six or seven guys that I think are really pretty good. Some of them made vast improvements in the spring. Until you really get into the games and see what you’ve got, I like what we have. DP: You guys struggled some last year against the power running teams you face in the SEC. What makes you feel like you will be better against those teams this year? DW: The biggest thing is because we’ve been able to develop some depth, we can now play Robert (Nkemdiche) at defensive end at times. Where we were smaller with C.J. (Johnson) and maybe a Marquis
BRUCE NEWMAN
(Haynes) in there, we can now put Fadol (Brown), Robert, Channing (Ward), all those guys at defensive end, and still have Breeland Speaks, D.J. (Jones), Woody (Hamilton), Issac (Gross) in there. We have more depth on the defensive line — and quality depth — than we had last year. So we can get big guys on the defensive line with some bulk or we can be fast and play with quicker guys in there. I think that’s certainly a positive. And then we also created some packages that we think will help us against some of those teams as well. DP: How has the group of freshmen you guys redshirted last year along the defensive line progressed, and what will their roles be this year? DW: Each one will earn his own role. If it’s anything like the spring, I think
Breeland made vast improvement and is a very athletic guy that will get a lot of playing time if he stays healthy and continues to do what he does. I thought Garrald McDowell made some improvements and Victor (Evans) made some improvement, but there’s a lot of competition in there for their playing time. They’re going to have to go earn it. DP: Tee Shepard and Tony Bridges take over at cornerback. Do you feel comfortable putting those guys on an island? DW: All day. DP: How does that change the rest of the defense in terms of what you can call and how aggressive you be? See WOMMACK on Page 43
40 – Football Preview • August 2015
Class: May be now or never for juniors to win big Continued from Page 35 The group ranges from outgoing and charismatic to quiet and private in their personalities, which were on display during the recruiting process. A self-proclaimed motivator, Treadwell was the first of the group to commit, pulling the trigger for the Rebels in January of that year in hopes that the other crown jewels would follow his lead. “With Robert being No. 1 coming out, it was just like, ‘Is he really going to come here?’ It was just a thought in the back of your head,” Treadwell said. “I committed because of the possibility of him coming and loving coach Freeze and what his vision was and Denzel (Nkemdiche) showing his vision to me on visits, telling me what he believes and how they were so close in playing LSU and Alabama.” The younger Nkemdiche, Tunsil and Conner followed suit with signing day announcements, though Conner made Ole Miss coaches sweat it out as he went back and forth between the Rebels and
“We call each other brothers. Just because Laremy and Laquon are on offense, we still compete and get after each other, but it’s just family. We get along really good.” — Ole Miss safety tOny COnner
on relationship among junior class
Alabama before being the last of the four to sign that afternoon. “It was a tough decision,” said the soft-spoken Conner, who rarely does media interviews. “Nothing against Alabama because coach (Nick) Saban is a great coach. I just had to make a decision on my own. “Me and Robert had good communication. Me and him was talking all the time. Me and Laquon, we’d talk every once in a while. All of us, we just talked about it throughout the recruiting (process). At one point, we just decided that all of us were
going to go to the University of Mississippi.” But the group wants to be known for more than just hype. They’re part of a retooled roster and a depth chart that has more than half its starters returning on each side of the ball, including the entire offensive line. The group has helped vault Ole Miss into the national conversation and briefly taste a playoff push. But the head of the Rebels’ talented junior class wants to help the team finish what it started a season ago. “We all want a national championship,” Treadwell said. “If we don’t win that, we feel like wherever we’re projected to go goes down. That’s our main goal, and that’s our intent.” It’s a mindset that’s been more than two years in the making. “We’re not losers. Only winners want to come here,” Treadwell said. “This is our vision to be the top team in the SEC and build on it from there. Be the first class to do something nobody has ever done, and hopefully this will be the year.” —davis.potter@oxfordeagle.com
Football Preview • August 2015 – 41
QB: Rebels taking patient approach to finding signal caller Continued from Page 37 With the well-documented arrival of Kelly, who played at East Mississippi Community College last season, it clouded the quarterback conversation even further. It was expected to be Buchanan with Kincade playing the role of backup and used in certain game situations, but all that changed when the nephew of Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly arrived in Oxford. Kelly has had the hardest road to take to get to Ole Miss with off-the-field issues taking place back in his hometown of Buffalo, New York, putting his future with the Rebels in doubt. Now that he is here and suited up with the Rebels, he is ready to prove his worth. “I’ve been through a lot. That I have,” Kelly said. “You just have to approach it every day and try to get better on and off the field. Just keep looking forward and never look back and just hope for the best. ... (Freeze) has pushed me on and off the field a tremendous amount. I’m
BRUCE NEWMAN
Hugh Freeze is taking his time to evaluate his three options at quarterback before deciding on his guy.
just thankful he gave me the opportunity to play here.” For Freeze, the key to competing in the SEC hinges on the play of a team’s
quarterback. With that in mind, he knows how imperative it is to make the right decision when the time comes to name a starter and be confident that his choice is the right guy to lead his team toward a potential SEC Championship in December. The three candidates will likely have the entire month — and then some — to continue auditioning for the job. Freeze said during his appearance at SEC media days in July that the competition would likely extend into the first two weeks of the season before he nailed his choice in advance of the Rebels’ league opener at Alabama in mid-September. Freeze wants to be sure. “I think the team or teams that will emerge to be the top will be the teams whose defense is the most stingy in the red zone and whose quarterback plays the best,” Freeze said. “I don’t know that I can overstate the importance of our quarterback situation, us finding the guy that can hopefully make us efficient.” —jake.thompson@oxfordeagle.com
42 – Football Preview • August 2015
Engram works to become high riser at tight end An afterthought in 2013 class, junior could leave early, too By Davis Potter Sports Editor
Mel Kiper Jr. believes four Ole Miss juniors will be selected in the first round of next spring’s NFL draft. ESPN’s draft guru is equally as high on another member of the Rebels’ star-studded 2013 signing class. Kiper has Evan Engram ranked as the top underclassman tight end in the country for 2016, and depending on how Engram’s third year in a Rebel uniform plays out, Kiper believes the preseason first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection could make a case to be the first tight end off the board. “Yet another draft prospect in the Rebels’ loaded junior class,” Kiper wrote as part of his evaluation for Engram earlier this summer. “At just shy of 230 pounds, he won’t be confused with a classic tight end, but he’s a matchup threat and can pluck the ball.” It’s been a quick, unforeseen ascent among the nation’s best for a player who was a polar opposite from his classmates — Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil, Laquon Treadwell and Tony Conner — in terms of expectations entering college. Every other member of the Rebels’ 2013 signing class took a back seat to that foursome three Februarys ago, but as an undersized tweener who committed to the Rebels eight months before signing day, the 6-foot-3 Engram, a See ENGRAM on Page 44
BRUCE NEWMAN
An undersized tight end coming out of the Georgia prep ranks in 2013, Evan Engram has kept the speed that makes him a mismatch for linebackers and safeties despite packing on nearly 30 pounds and has morphed into one of the nation’s top players at his position.
Football Preview • August 2015 – 43
44 – Football Preview • August 2015
Engram: Athletic pass catcher adds weight the right way Continued from Page 42 three-star prospect coming out of Hillgrove High (Powder Springs, Georgia), was all but forgotten. “When I got here, I was 209, 208 (pounds),” Engram said. “I was very little.” Said senior safety Mike Hilton when first seeing Engram, “I thought he was a receiver.” But Hilton and the rest of his teammates soon found out size was the only question mark with their new tight end. “The more he got out there, he was able to move pretty well and catch the ball pretty well, and once he got in the weight room and started picking up some weight, I was like, ‘OK, I see why they recruited him,’” Hilton said. Engram routinely visited the weight room and ate as much as he could to speed up the process of packing on some girth. By the time he started his first fall camp in Oxford, Engram got up to 225, a weight that allowed him to at least get by in the rigorous SEC. “Lift as much and eat as much as I can,” Engram said. “Eat the right stuff, and then all the bad weight comes off when we grind. We basically lift and make sure we take care of our bodies and eat right. … It’s just come in, work as hard as you can and see what we can do here.” Engram eventually worked his way into the starting lineup as a freshman and became a tough cover for linebackers and safeties over the middle. He hauled in 21 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns on his way to second-team AllSEC honors, becoming just one of two true freshman in school history to earn that distinction, before setting a
What they’re saying about Evan Engram “He’s really a mismatch. Going against him every day in practice, he runs faster than most people think. His catch radius is really good, so we’re going to count on him a lot this year.”
— Ole Miss s Mike HiltOn
at SEC Media Days in July
“Yet another draft prospect in the Rebels’ loaded junior class. At just shy of 230 pounds, he won’t be confused with a classic tight end, but he’s a matchup threat and can pluck the ball.” — Mel kiper jr. ESPN draft anyalst
“He is a playmaker who can make plays from all over the field. He has very good straight line speed and good acceleration, he is athletic enough to make guys miss in the open field, and he can break some tackles.” — lijaH spencer
NFLDraftDiamonds.com writer
“Junior Evan Engram is arguably the nation’s top tight end and will also be considered for the first round.” — Dan kaDar
SBNation.com NFL draft editor
single-season school record for a tight end and leading all SEC tight ends with 662 yards receiving last season. Engram is listed at 227 pounds on Ole Miss’ updated roster, but he said he’s closer to 235 pounds. He’s added the size without giving up the speed and athleticism that make him a unique player at his position. “He’s really a mismatch,” Hilton said. “Going against him every day in practice, he runs faster than most people think. His catch radius is really good, so we’re going to count on him a lot this year.” Said head coach Hugh Freeze, “He’s a very difficult matchup that we think makes
us more difficult to defend when he’s on the field.” Kiper isn’t the only one high on Engram. He is listed as the No. 2 tight end prospect in his class by CBS Sports, but he may not have to wait until 2017 to start his professional career. “It’s hard not to think about it,” Engram said of the NFL draft projections. “It’s been a dream, but right now, our main focus is winning ball games here. That time will come. All that will come with winning. That’s the way we look at it. We want to be here and focus on what our mission to win as many games as possible and compete for a championship, both confer-
ence and national. And then that day will come.” As much as Engram tries to not let his mind wander into the future, it’s a position he’s worked to put himself in just three years removed from being an afterthought among his peers. “I have high expectations for myself with just the way I work,” Engram said. “A lot of people slept on me in the recruiting process. I know what I bring to the game. I know I can make plays, so I’m definitely not surprised. But I am very blessed and very thankful for the point I’ve worked myself to.” —davis.potter@oxfordeagle.com
Football Preview • August 2015 – 45
2015 OLE MISS SCHEDULE AND ROSTER Date
Team
Sept. 5
UT-Martin
Sept. 12
Fresno St.
Sept. 19
at ALABAMA
Sept. 26
VANDERBILT
Oct. 3
at FLORIDA
Oct. 10
New Mexico St.
Oct. 17
at Memphis
Oct. 24
TEXAS A&M
Oct. 31
at AUBURN
Nov. 7
ARKANSAS
Nov. 21
LSU
Nov. 28 at MISSISSIPPI ST. ALL CAPS denotes SEC game
# 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 16 17 19 20 21 21 22
Name Pos. Tony Bridges DB Laquon Treadwell WR Tee Shepard DB DeVante Kincade QB C.J. Hampton DB Damore’ea Stringfellow WR Denzel Nkemdiche LB DaMarkus Lodge WR Robert Nkemdiche DT Jaylen Walton RB Trae Elston DB Jason Pellerin QB Quincy Adeboyejo WR Chief Brown DB Breeland Speaks DL Ryan Buchanan QB C.J. Johnson DE Chad Kelly QB Channing Ward DE Markell Pack WR Will Easter WR Van Jefferson WR Tony Connor DB Eugene Brazley RB Kailo Moore DB Victor Evans DE Bo Wallace QB Kendarius Webster DB Jeremy Liggins TE/OL Drew Davis QB Jalen Julius DB Collins Moore WR Evan Engram TE Derrick Jones WR Christian Russell LB Terry Caldwell LB Akeem Judd RB Ray Ray Smith LB
Year Jr. Jr. Jr. So. So. So. Sr. Fr. Jr. Sr. Sr. Fr. Jr. Sr. RS-Fr. RS-So. Jr. Jr. Sr. So. Jr. Fr. So. So. Jr. RS-Fr. Sr. So. Jr. Jr. Fr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr. So.
# 22 23 24 24 24 25 26 26 27 27 28 29 29 30 31 31 32 33 33 34 35 35 36 37 38 39 41 42 43 47 48 50 52 52 53 54 55 56 57
Name Jordan Wilkins Carlos Davis Tayler Polk Johnathan Ratliffe Eric Swinney Montrell Custis Quintavius Burdette C.J. Moore Marquis Haynes Cale Luke Cameron Ordway Brandon Bell Armani Linton A.J. Moore DeMarquis Gates Justin Anderson Temario Strong Nathan Vanderburg John-Patrick Sherling Shawn Curtis D.K. Buford Josh Johnson Zedrick Woods Luke Davis Mike Hilton Martin Johnson Antwain Smith Garrald McDowell Ty Quick John Youngblood Jack Raborn Sean Rawlings Michael Howard Austrian Robinson Will Few Sam Johnson Tyler Putman Woodrow Hamilton Chadwick Lamar
Pos. RB DB LB DB RB DB WR DB DE WR DB WR DB DB LB DB LB RB LB LB RB DB DB LB DB RB DB DL TE DE LB OL OL DL LS OL OL DT LS
Year So. Jr. So. RS-Fr. Fr. Fr. Sr. So. So. So. Fr. Jr. Fr. So. So. So. Jr. So. So. Fr. RS-Fr. So. Fr. So. Sr. Jr. So. RS-Fr. So. Jr. RS-Fr. RS-Fr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Fr. RS-Fr. Sr. RS-Fr.
# 58 59 63 64 67 68 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 91 92 93 93 94 94 97 98 99
Name Michael Taylor Bobby Daggett Jacob Feeley Ben Still Alex Givens Justin Bell Jordan Sims Christian Morris Aaron Morris Rod Taylor Fahn Cooper Robert Conyers Daronte Bouldin Talbot Buys Laremy Tunsil Javon Patterson Willie Hibbler Elliot Markuson Trey Bledsoe Dylan Dyer Dillon Barrett Hunter Thurley Alex Weber Jordan Gallegos Matt Brown Cody Core Taz Zettergren Fadol Brown Ross Donelly Nathan Noble Andy Pappanastos Tyler Jackson D.J. Jones Issac Gross Will Gleeson Gary Wunderlich Grant Warren Herbert Moore
Pos. LS LS C C OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL TE LB WR TE TE DE WR WR TE WR TE DE DT K K K DT DT P K P DT
Year Fr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Fr. Sr. RS-Fr. So. Sr. So. Sr. Jr. So. Jr. Jr. Fr. Fr. So. So. Sr. Sr. Jr. RS-Fr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Jr. So. Jr. Jr. Sr. So. So. So. So.
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46 – Football Preview • August 2015
Football Preview • August 2015 – 47
PLUG AND PLAY
JUCO transfers Shepard, Bridges ready to fill holes at CB By Jake Thompson Assistant Sports Editor
The Ole Miss secondary took a major hit with the departure of standout Senquez Golson. Golson was responsible for 10 interceptions, second-most in the country, during his time in the Rebels’ defensive backfield last season. The Rebels will look to two highly touted junior college transfers Tee Shepard and Tony Bridges to step up and fill the void that one player left behind. Their confidence level is high when asked if they can fulfill that task. “It’s motivation,” Shepard said. “We’ve never had a lockdown corner like Tony or Ken Webster. Not only are we just good. We’re tight. Everybody is doing their part to fill the void and I fell like that’s what you need in the SEC.” After transferring from Holmes Community College by way of Notre Dame last year, Shepard was not able to make the impact he hoped he would his first year in Oxford as he tore a tendon in his toe that required surgery, keeping him out for the 2014 season. “Getting hurt last year, it really made me better today,” Shepard said. “I had to take the time to get stronger and faster and rehab my toe. It was real hard because I was supposed to be a part of (the secondary). I feel like I could have helped a lot. It was definitely hard to watch.” Bridges transferred in from Mississippi Gulf Coast See PLUG on Page 53
PHOTOS BY BRUCE NEWMAN
Ole Miss lost just one starting cornerback from last season in Senquez Golson, but coaches are so confident in the abilities of former junior college All-Americans Tee Shepard (opposite page) and Tony Bridges (above) that Mike Hilton was moved to safety in the offseason to make room for both of them to start. Shepard is fully recovered from a toe injury that kept him out of action all of last season while Bridges was the topranked cornerback in the junior college ranks last season at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC.
48 – Football Preview • August 2015
Rangers more experienced in Wright’s second year NWCC not content with taste of playoffs By Jake Thompson Assistant Sports Editor
Things are looking up for the Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers’ football team. A year after finishing 1-8 overall, the Rangers improved to 4-6, which included a first-round appearance in the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges (MACJC) playoffs in their 2014 campaign. Second-year head coach Jack Wright is looking to take another step in a positive direction and improve upon their performance from a season ago. “We wish we had won
more,” Wright said of his first season with the Rangers. “I felt like there were a couple of games where we had an opportunity to win and maybe we let that slip. We can’t do anything about that now. We’re just going to try and improve and be better and try to win them this year. ... Any time you win a few more, and to me looking back last year, it was very important to me to make the playoffs in Year 1 and we did that. It gives us a lot of momentum (heading into this season).”
Coaches
When Wright took over the program a year ago, he completely revamped the coaching staff minus wide receivers coach Scott Oakley, who he kept from the previous regime. The first campaign as a staff
2015 Schedule Date
Aug. 29 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 Oct. 15 Oct. 22
Opponent
at Jones County Gulf Coast Northeast* at Itawamba* Hinds Holmes*^ at Miss. Delta* at East Miss.* Coahoma*
* - MACJC North Division game ^ - homecoming game
went so well that there was not any turnover during the offseason and every coach stayed on board for the 2015 campaign. “Everybody came back, and I’m tickled to death about that,” Wright said. “I joke around, but it’s true — every one of these guys was the only guy that was offered that (coaching) position. It’s truly a staff that’s here that’s my dream staff, and they’re just going really good.” Benjy Parker is back as the Rangers’ defensive coordinator.
Jonathan Webster will again coach defensive backs while Travis Macon will oversee the defensive line. Wright, who served as the Rangers’ offensive coordinator from 2008-2012 before returning as the head coach, will help run the offense. Jim Jones will coach the offensive line.
Offense
What is becoming a common theme among area schools, both at the high school and collegiate level, is the search for a new starting quarterback. That trend is the same in Senatobia as NWCC is looking to replace sophomores Karsten Miller and Kyle Morgan along with the 1,616 passing yards and 9 touchdowns worth of production between the two. See RANGERS on Page 50
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Football Preview • August 2015 – 49
JUCOWEEKLY.ORG
With the likes of All-American running back Justin Crawford on the roster, the Rangers have enough pieces to improve on last season’s win total.
50 – Football Preview • August 2015
Rangers: NWCC seeks starting QB to complement Crawford Continued from Page 48 Wright has several options at the signal caller position with freshman Gardner Minshew, who played at Brandon High last fall, and Shea Chism, who was the starting quarterback at Southaven in 2013. Minshew was a three-year starter for Brandon and accumulated over 3,500 passing yards and 31 touchdowns his senior year. Minshew made a brief stop at Troy University as a walk-on this spring but found his way to NWCC by way of a transfer this summer. Minshew was also named one of the top incoming freshman for the 2015 season by the National Junior College Athletic Association earlier this month. The third quarterback that is fighting for the starting position is Tasleem “Taz” Wilson from Atlanta. Much like Minshew, Wilson had committed to UAB prior to signing with the Rangers. “We’re having a real healthy competition right now,” Wright said. “We’ve got
“We’re having a real healthy competition right now. We’ve got three kids that are here and all competing and making each other better. (Minshew) has had a really good summer throwing the football. We’ll see how everything goes when the bullets start flying.” — NWCC CoaCh JaCk Wright on Rangers’ quarterback competition
three kids that are here and all competing and making each other better. (Minshew) has had a really good summer throwing the football. We’ll see how everything goes when the bullets start flying. In the summer it’s really tough to tell.” One position that is not a concern for Wright is the running back slot. Breakout star Justin Crawford is coming back and will bolster the offense and be one of the
centerpieces Wright will plan around. Crawford had a team-leading 1,627 rushing yards and had 12 more touchdowns (14) than the next closest running back. He didn’t just amaze on the ground as he also was a threat through the air on his way to second-team NJCAA AllAmerican honors. He had 306 receiving yards, good enough for third-best on the team. Wright feels Crawford will be just as productive if not more but also knows last season’s production was due to several circumstances. “I think that was a result of a few things last year,” Wright said. “Our starting quarterback got hurt, and unfortunately we kind of became one-dimensional offensively. We weren’t as efficient throwing the football as we would have liked to have been. He gave us the best chance to win, and he had a large number of carries. Hopefully this year, we have a little more balance and will make defenses use a little bit more of the field.” The wide receiving unit got a big boost
Football Preview • August 2015 – 51 when a former Ole Miss player joined their ranks. Former Rebel tight end Sammie Epps left Oxford in the summer before joining NWCC. Epps will be part of a group that loses its top three wideouts as Kentrell Spencer, Jalen Gaston and Jamarius Mabry moved on. Rising sophomore Jacob McCray is the most experienced receiver to return as he recorded 371 receiving yards, which was just 16 yards less than Mabry, the Rangers’ leading receiver, had last year (387).
Defense
When Wright arrived on the scene in Senatobia last year he implemented a traditional 4-3 scheme on the defensive side of the ball. He plans to keep it that way with second-year defensive coordinator Benjy Parker at the helm but will also evolve his defense when the situation
NWCCRANGERS.COM
Second-year head coach Jack Wright enters the fall with higher expectations for his team.
calls for it. “We’re a 4-3 base,” Wright said. “In today’s game, us included, everybody’s got to have a degree of multiplicity. You’ve got be able to move
around and line up in a three man front at times and be able to show a lot of different pressure looks. If you just sit in one look and just kind of sit there in a 4-3 I think
today’s quarterbacks are going to be able to move the ball pretty easily.” The Rangers lose their top tackler in Terry Caldwell who racked up 61 tackles last season as well as Kendall Carr who had 43 but they do get back rising sophomore linebacker Malik Hawkins who picked up 48 tackles. The defense is going to be much improved this season though as they return four starters. The defensive line also returns five players from last season. “We’ve got a lot of seasoned big guys,” Wright said. “You say seasoned, but I mean they are only 19 or 20 (years old). It’s only their second year of college football but in junior college that second year guy usually is a lot better.” Northwest begins its season on Aug. 29 when they travel to Ellisville to take on Jones County. —jake.thompson @oxfordeagle.com
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52 – Football Preview • August 2015
Immediate contributors highlight Rebs’ newcomers rotation along the defensive line. The 6-foot, 324-pound Jones adds another big body on the interior to help against the power running teams Ole Miss will see in the Southeastern Conference. “When they’ve played a power team whose bread and butter is to run it north and south between the tackles, they’ve struggled at times to stop that,” Johnson said. “Arkansas, LSU, even Alabama at times. D.J. Jones is a guy you can put in there that can be that run-stopper in the middle.”
Freeze’s third full signing class helps further team’s depth By Davis Potter Sports Editor
Hugh Freeze has spent the last three years retooling Ole Miss’ roster, and the Rebels’ head coach has it the deepest and most talented it’s been since he took over the program in December 2011. But it still won’t keep some members of Freeze’s latest recruiting class from contributing immediately. Ole Miss signed 22 players in February for its third straight top-25 recruiting haul. Eighteen of the new signees were ranked as a four-star prospect or higher by at least one recruiting service, the most in program history, with four members of the class being from the junior college ranks. That’s where this class’ contributions will begin. “When you look at the (junior college signees) with D.J. Jones, Chad Kelly, and Tony Bridges, those guys right there, they’ve all got a great chance to start,” said Yancy Porter, Mississippi’s recruiting analyst for Scout.com. Northwest Mississippi Community College linebacker Terry Caldwell rounds out the quartet of junior college additions, but Kelly, Jones and Bridges are at positions of more pressing need for the Rebels. Kelly, the former Clemson quarterback who was ranked by some recruiting services as the nation’s top junior college signal caller coming out of East Mississippi CC last season, joined third-year sophomores Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade in the competition
Advanced freshmen
BRUCE NEWMAN
Former Petal High standout Javon Patterson, one of the nation’s top guard prospects in 2015, is a building block for the future of the interior of Ole Miss’ offensive line and may be talented enough to work his way into the rotation as a freshman.
to replace Bo Wallace in the spring as an early enrollee. Freeze said the race will likely trickle into the season with all three in line to get snaps in the first couple of games, but Kelly could end up being the guy under center. “I don’t think they brought Chad Kelly in to help with depth,” said David Johnson, publisher and recruiting analyst for Rebels247, Ole Miss’ 247Sports.com affiliate. “I think he was brought in to compete for the starting job, which still has to be played out. But certainly they strengthened the quarterback position with the addition of Kelly.” The role is more clear-cut for Bridges, a first-team NJCAA
All-American last season at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC rated as the top junior college cornerback in the country by Scout, Rivals.com and ESPN. com. The 6-foot-1 Bridges, who had three interceptions and nine pass breakups a season ago, will step in and start opposite another former junior college signee, Tee Shepard, with Senquez Golson off to the NFL. “I think they really helped themselves at cornerback with the addition of Tony Bridges to go along with Tee Shepard, who had to sit out last year with an injury,” Johnson said. Jones, another signee out of East Mississippi CC, will immediately be a part of the
Not all of the 18 incoming freshmen will play, but both analysts have three in mind who are likely too talented to keep off the field. Petal offensive lineman Javon Patterson chose Ole Miss over Auburn and got a head start on his college career by enrolling early. The 6-3, 313pound Patterson, ranked as one of the nation’s top 5 guard prospects by every recruiting site, was running with the second team by the end of spring practice after a rash of injuries decimated the Rebels’ numbers up front, and he’s talented enough to at least be a part of the rotation on a line returning all five starters. “With Justin Bell, Aaron Morris, Roderick Taylor, (Jordan) Sims, they’ve got a lot of experience from being there a year or two or some of them three, four or five years, but I think Javon’s going to be in the rotation. I do,” Porter said. “I just think he’s another guy who it really helped him to go through spring practice. Athletically, he’s in there with the Roderick Taylors and (Laremy) Tunsils. He’s just got really light feet.” See NEWCOMERS on Page 57
Football Preview • August 2015 – 53
Plug: Rangy CBs give Ole Miss length on back end Continued from Page 47 Community College and joined the program in the winter of this year, participating in spring drills as well as the Grove Bowl. With a fully healthy Shepard on one side of the field and Bridges on the other, two players who are 6 feet or taller, gives the Rebels the height they have not had in the secondary in recent years. With two talented defensive backs keeping tabs on some of the Southeastern Conference’s top wide receivers, there is added confidence in the defense heading into this season. “The length that Tee and Tony provide and bring to the defense, it helps,” defensive backs coach Jason Jones said. “Especially nowadays with the wide receivers being as big as they are, 6-feet-4 and 6-5. They can line up and compete with those guys. So they give us a shot.” Getting prepared to cover the elite receivers of the SEC, Shepard spends
much of practices assigned to Rebel standout receiver Laquon Treadwell. That in itself is a task that has made the Ole Miss secondary better before even facing opposing receivers this year. “It’s an everyday competition,” Shepard said. “Either (Treadwell) wins or I win. There’s not too many receivers in the league that we’re going against that are like Laquon. Not every team has a Laquon. Maybe one or two or three teams.” There is also a competition on the same side of the ball that happens with Shepard and Bridges, who has not yet been made available to the media. It’s a friendly competition being that they are on the same team, but it’s a competition that has made them better and in turn made the team better. “Just by (Bridges) doing what he does, it makes me more motivated, too,” Shepard said. “It’s like we’re competing, but we’re on the same team. We both be fighting to see who can get the most (interceptions)
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and the most tackles.” The receivers of the SEC will not be the only ones who could have a tough time trying to get around the Ole Miss duo. The quarterbacks of the league could have a tough time finding open guys to get the football to or will have to fit the ball through a smaller window than they might have anticipated. The Rebels’ quarterbacks have already gotten a taste of how difficult that can be during preseason camp this month. “You’ve got to be precise,” redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Buchanan said. “When you throw a fade, you’ve got to put it over the shoulder. You can’t leave it behind. They have such long arms, they can knock it down and can break quick on the ball. Along with our two safeties, Mike (Hilton) and Trae (Elston), I mean, these guys are experienced. I feel like I’m getting some great experience going against them.” —jake.thompson@oxfordeagle.com
54 – Football Preview • August 2015
Could Ole Miss’ 2016 haul match 2013’s success? Patterson, Metcalf highlight consensus top-5 class for now By Davis Potter Sports Editor
Ole Miss tabbed Hugh Freeze as its head football coach four years ago, and with his hire came a heightened degree of success on the recruiting trail. No recruiting class in school history has been better than the one Freeze assembled in 2013, a top-5 group nationally that’s produced All-Southeastern Conference performers Laremy Tunsil, Robert Nkemdiche, Laquon Treadwell, Tony Conner and Evan Engram — most of whom are in line to be taken in the first round of next year’s NFL draft. But recruits and analysts believe the class Freeze is currently putting together could rival its quality once pen meets paper come February. “I think we have the potential to be something really special,” said quarterback Shea Patterson, who headlines the Rebels’ 19 verbal commitments for the 2016 class. “One of the best classes to ever come up through high school football. I know that’s saying something crazy, but similar to Laquon Treadwell’s class in 2013.” Ole Miss’ 2016 class is ranked in the top 5 nationally by every recruiting site with Rivals.com giving the Rebels the highest ranking at No. 4. More than half of the Rebels’ commits are ranked as a fourstar prospect or higher by at least one site with Patterson being a consensus five-star recruit.
DAVIS POTTER
Led by the verbal commitment of five-star quarterback Shea Patterson, Ole Miss is piecing together a recruiting class for 2016 that’s among the best in the country.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Patterson, who will play his senior season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, is also the consensus choice as the nation’s No. 1 signal caller. “Obviously with Shea Patterson there at quarterback, that’s the most important piece,” said Yancy Porter,
Mississippi’s recruiting analyst for Scout.com. “Having Shea there really solidifies the future at the quarterback position. Recruiting other elite prospects is going to help Ole Miss big-time. I’ll be very surprised come signing day when it’s all tallied up if Ole Miss doesn’t have a top-10 class.”
Ole Miss will lose wide receivers Cody Core, Quintavius Burdette and Collins Moore to graduation after this season and could take even more of a hit at the position should Treadwell head to the NFL early, but a year after signing DaMarkus Lodge and Van Jefferson from
Football Preview • August 2015 – 55 the prep ranks, the Rebels have another reinforcement coming in Oxford’s D.K. Metcalf. The 6-3 Metcalf, the son of former Ole Miss All-American Terrence Metcalf, is ranked as one of the top 10 wideouts in the country. Another wide receiver target, Meridian’s Daniel Crowell, decommitted late last month. “They’ve got arguably the top wide receiver in the country in my opinion in D.K. Metcalf,” Porter said. “Daniel Crowell is a guy that’s being overlooked by the services, but there’s a reason why Ohio State just offered him in June. He’s a very explosive guy.” Ole Miss is also working on hitting its needs along the defensive line and at tight end, arguably the thinnest position on the roster. Wayne County defensive tackle Benito Jones, the top-ranked defensive lineman in the state, gave his verbal pledge to Ole Miss last August, but the Rebels will have to fight off Alabama and others until signing day. Jones joins Stockbridge (Georgia) defensive end Charles Wiley as the Rebels’ only commits on the defensive front.
2016 Commitments Pos. Name
Hometown
Ht. Wt.
QB Shea Patterson
Shreveport, La.
6-1 200
WR D.K. Metcalf
Oxford
6-3 205
DT Benito Jones
Waynesboro
TE
Octavious Cooley Laurel
6-2 260 6-3 220
CB Jaylon Jones
Allen, Texas
OT Bryce Matthews
Brentwood, Tenn. 6-5 280
RB
Sardis
Justin Connor
5-11 182 5-10 190
DE Charles Wiley
Stockbridge, Ga.
6-3 234
RB
Hamilton, Ala.
5-10 197
Denzel Mitchell
G
Chandler Tuitt
Tyrone, Ga.
6-3 294
RB
D’Vaughn Pennamon
Manvel, Texas
5-11 199
TE
Gabe Angel
Cookeville, Tenn. 6-3 212
C
Eli Johnson
Oxford
LB
David Luafatasaga Honolulu
6-3 225 6-0 185
6-3 295
S
Greg Eisworth
Grand Prairie, Texas
LB
Donta Evans
Lawrenceville, Ga. 6-1 230
RB
Jarrion Street
Trussville, Ala.
LB
Tariqious Tisdale
OT Jack DeFoor
Rivals Scout 247Sports
6-1 195
Lexington, Tenn.
6-5 247
Calhoun, Ga.
6-5 260
See 2016 on Page 56
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56 – Football Preview • August 2015
2016: Little, Simmons, Knott among Rebels’ top targets defense, could join them to leave some holes on the back end. South Grand Prairie (Texas) safety Greg Eisworth committed early on, and the Rebels recently got a pledge from one of their top defensive back targets in Allen (Texas) product Jaylon Jones, a four-star cornerback who could be versatile enough to slide over to safety at the next level. Two four-star safeties, Meridian’s Quincy Lenton, a Florida commit, and Manville (Texas) standout Deontay Anderson, are among other defensive backs the Rebels are targeting.
Continued from Page 55 The Rebels have two tight ends in the fold in Laurel’s Octavious Cooley and Cookeville (Tennessee) product Gabe Angel, the top-rated players at the position in their respective states. The 6-foot-3 pass catchers bring different styles to the position. “Gabe is that hybrid tight end, the kind of guy that can fit into that offense,” said David Johnson, publisher and recruiting analyst for Ole Miss’ 247Sports.com affiliate, Rebels247. “And when you look at Octavious Cooley, he not only can be that receiving threat, but he’s also a guy that can shift inside, put his hand in the dirt and help you in the run game. He’s more of an allaround tight end.” But Ole Miss could be in the market for a third tight end depending on what Engram decides to do after the season now that Sammie Epps has been dismissed from the team. Madison Central’s Grayson Gunter, an Arkansas commit, Buford (Georgia) product Isaac Nauta and Berkley Prep (Tampa, Florida) pass catcher Jacob Mathis are some of the ones Ole Miss is keeping an eye on. The Rebels are also piling up at running back where they have four commitments in North Panola’s Justin Connor, Hamilton (Alabama) standout Denzel Mitchell, Manville (Texas) speedster D’Vaughn Pennamon and Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville, Alabama) product Jarrion Street, the biggest of the group at 6-1 and 203 pounds.
Needs to address
But Ole Miss is still working on its other pressing needs at linebacker, offensive line and safety. The Rebels have three linebackers com-
In hot pursuit DAVIS POTTER
North Panola standout Justin Connor is one of four running backs committed to Ole Miss.
mitted in Tariqious Tisdale of Lexington, Tennessee, Arizona Western Community College’s David Luafatasaga and their most recent pledge, Archer (Lawrenceville, Georgia) product Donta Evans, with three linebackers in the rotation set to leave after this season in Denzel Nkemdiche, C.J. Johnson and Christian Russell. Both Johnson and Porter believe the bigger-bodied Tisdale could be a long-term solution in the middle, but the Rebels may have a harder time keeping Luafatasaga in the fold. The 6-3 Luafatasaga, a Hawaiian native, is still being recruited heavily by Arizona and other schools closer to his West Coast home. “(Tisdale) is listed as a defensive end by most recruiting services, but he will play linebacker at Ole Miss in the middle,” Johnson said. “He is a 6-foot-5, 250-pound guy that can run from sideline to sideline. I think he’s going to be a big-time edition in the
’16 class.” Lafayette’s Eli Johnson, Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Georgia) guard Chandler Tuitt, Calhoun (Georgia) product Jack DeFoor and Brentwood Academy (Tennessee) standout Bryce Matthews make up the Rebels’ current offensive line class for this recruiting cycle, but with Tunsil projected as a top-10 pick in next year’s draft, Ole Miss will likely lose all five starters up front after this season. Ole Miss would like to add one or two more, Johnson said. “The number we keep hearing is five, but I think we could see them six if that sixth one is the right one,” Johnson said. “I think they’re done with offensive line recruiting in Mississippi. I think the next two or three offensive linemen they get will come from out of state.” Starting safeties Trae Elston and Mike Hilton will be gone after this season while Conner, the third safety in Dave Wommack’s 4-2-5
Other prospects the Rebels are heavily pursing are Noxubee County fourstar defensive end Jeffrey Simmons, Germantown fourstar cornerback Nigel Knott, Starkville four-star defensive lineman Kobi Jones, North Webster (Springhill, Louisiana) four-star athlete Devin White, Allen five-star offensive tackle Greg Little, John Curtis (New Orleans) five-star offensive tackle Willie Allen and Paramus Catholic (New Jersey) defensive tackle Rashan Gary, the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, according to 247Sports and Scout. Any of them would help the Rebels improve on an already impressive class. “Just going down the list — and I’m using 247Sports’ rankings here — you’ve got the nation’s (No. 1) quarterback, No. 3 wide receiver, the nation’s No. 3 tight end, No. 7 guard, No. 5 center and No. 2 JUCO linebacker,” Johnson said. “This class has got the potential to equal or perhaps even better the success that the 2013 has brought to Ole Miss.” —davis.potter@oxfordeagle.com
Football Preview • August 2015 – 57
Newcomers: Young WRs, OL could see field early Continued from Page 52 Said Johnson, “He’s going to be a guy that factors into that offensive line at some point here in 2015.” Ole Miss added to an already deep receiving corps with the additions of DaMarkus Lodge and Van Jefferson, but similar to Patterson, both analysts believe they’ve got skill sets to get on the field at some point. Rated as a five-star recruit by Scout, Lodge, a Cedar Hill (Texas) product, was the Rebels’ top target at receiver and chose Ole Miss on National Signing Day. The 6-2 Lodge has been praised by coaches and analysts alike for his ability to high-point the ball, something the Rebels could use when approaching the end zone. “I think Lodge is a special weapon in red-zone situations,” Johnson said. Jefferson is also an out-of-state grab, signing with Ole Miss out of Ravenwood
High in Brentwood, Tennessee. The U.S. Army All-American checks in at 6-2, has added weight in the offseason and has a strong background in the game as the son of former NFL player and Tennessee Titans wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson. “I think Van has got a good chance to make a real quick impact because of how fundamental he is and the route-running ability that he has,” Porter said. “He’s very sharp, and he’s already close to 190 pounds.” Ole Miss’ lone running back signee, Eric Swinney, was in line to get carries this season until the former four-star prospect out of Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Georgia) recently suffered a fracture in his leg that will require surgery. Offensive linemen Alex Givens and Michael Howard are also in line to redshirt as is quarterback Jason Pellerin. Ole Miss lost linebackers Serderius Bryant and D.T. Shackelford to grad-
uation, but Caldwell will help inside and out. Freshman Shawn Curtis, who was signed as a middle linebacker, is a redshirt candidate but could be needed with just two viable options there in C.J. Johnson and Christian Russell. “He’s a big, strong, fast kid,” Porter said of Curtis. “I think the question everybody wants to see is what kind of lateral speed does he have if wants to settle in there at middle linebacker? But he’s a guy that’s 6-foot-4, 255 pounds and extremely intelligent.” The Rebels signed four defensive linemen and four defensive backs from the prep ranks, though end Joe Anderson will start his career at a junior college while fellow end Rasool Clemsons is likely headed there, too. Newcomers who could help at those spots include Cameron Ordway, Armani Linton, Zedrick Woods, Ross Donelly and Austrian Robinson, who may also get a look at offensive line. —davis.potter@oxfordeagle.com
58 – Football Preview • August 2015
TA I LG AT I N G T I P S Some advice and information to know about Ole Miss’ campus and the Grove — Campus, the Grove and the Circle will open at 7:30 a.m. each Friday before a home football game and close three hours after the end of the game or at midnight, whichever comes first. All tailgating areas will be cleared from 6:30-7:30 on Friday.
— No extenstion cords will be allowed to be run or pass through open windows or through doors of campus buildings. Only electrical outlets on the exteriors of buildings may be used.
— All spaces are first come, first serve with the exception of approved university-sponsored tents.
— Electrical circuits are not to be overloaded by plugging in multiple extension cords by using splitters or power strips. Circuits that are tripped will not be reset.
— Tents measuring 12x20 or smaller are permitted while tents requiring stakes are not. If a tent is determined to be too large or is housing unacceptable activities, the owner or vendor will be asked to reduce the size of the tent or it will be removed. — Drinking is illegal for anyone under the age of 21. Individuals and tent groups that do not follow alcohol regulations will be subject to removal and/or arrest.
— No solicitation, including commercial or political advertisement or handouts, is allowed. — Open flame, propane tanks and propane bottles are strictly prohibited. — Amplified sound is prohitited.
— Portable generators with a decibal level of 60db or less are permitted.
— Do not leave valuables unattended. The university is not responsible for tents or items left alone.
— No extension cords will be allowed to run across streets or sidewalks.
— Help keep the Grove and the Circle litter-free by placing all recyclables in designated recycling bins and other trash in proper receptacles.
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