2011 Mississippi Rebels Football Preview

Head coach Houston Nutt walked into Oxford and won two January bowl games in his first two seasons at the helm. In 2010, he spent virtually all of the goodwill earned from those two seasons; Ole Miss drifted through a 4-8 season and another loss to hated in-state rival Mississippi State. Now Nutt enters the 2011 season with some questions about his ability to remain the coach in Oxford and even more questions about his team on the field. There’s no bigger challenge than being a rebuilding team in the SEC West, and that’s exactly the challenge Nutt faces in 2011.

The dominant headline for Ole Miss heading into the 2010 season was the need at quarterback and the attendant miracle found in the NCAA’s approval of Jeremiah Masoli to transfer and be eligible immediately. Fast forward one year and the dominant headline in Oxford is the collection of questions at quarterback. Once again a miracle approval for a quarterback has occurred in The Grove: Barry Brunetti from West Virginia has been allowed to transfer to the school and gain instant eligibility. Ole Miss finished spring drills with a three-man quarterback contest between Brunetti, Zack Stoudt, and Randall Mackey. Of the three, Mackey looks to be the leader heading into the fall. Nutt likes that in addition to being able to make all of the throws, Mackey is a threat to run the ball as well.

Whoever takes over the quarterback job in new offensive coordinator David Lee’s ground heavy offense will have the luxury of handing the ball to a stable of talented backs. Nutt feels that tailback Brandon Bolden is a cinch to go over 1,000 yards this season and when not running Bolden, he can turn to veterans Enrique Davis and Devin Thomas. For a change of pace, Nutt will turn to tailback Jeff Scott, who may be the Rebels’ fastest player. There’s not nearly as much of a threat at the wideout position. Nutt will rely on 6-6 Melvin Harris and Ja-Mes Morgan to keep teams honest and not overplay the run. The dearth of playmakers at receiver could open up opportunities for one of several freshmen to see playing time.

Four starters return along the offensive line, including the enormous Alex Washington (365 pounds) at guard. The offensive line shouldn’t struggle to open holes for Bolden and company running the ball; as long as his team can run the ball and run it well, Nutt will be a happy man.

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Defensively, the era of dominant defensive linemen like Jerrell Powe is officially over. The Rebels did get a boost when the NCAA granted Kentrell Lockett a sixth season of eligibility at defensive end, but beyond Lockett there’s not much for Nutt to work with up front. Nutt signed a pair of junior college defensive tackles in hopes of bolstering the defensive line. Still, at the end of spring practice there were few answers up front. The linebacking corps lost its leader, D.T. Shackelford, to injury at the end of spring ball and that leaves a big hole to fill at the last minute. Highly touted freshman C.J. Johnson will likely have no choice but to be prepared to play from day one.

While the front seven has issues of its own, the secondary is what is keeping Houston Nutt awake at night. Damien Jackson joined the team from junior college and should start at free safety and Marcus Temple is a returning starter at cornerback, but beyond that there’s very little to strike fear into the hearts of opposing offenses. That’s bad news for a defense that set a school record for points allowed last season. That means heretofore unknown players or perhaps freshmen will have to step up and provide quality depth right away.

The Rebels helped their schedule by getting rid of the opener with Boise State, but still wound up opening with BYU, no easy task. They’ll host Georgia, then travel across the country to play a very good Fresno State team before digging into conference play. October features home games against Alabama and Arkansas before trips to Auburn and Kentucky. The last two weeks of the season they host LSU and then travel to Starkville for the Egg Bowl against rival Mississippi State. It’s hard but not impossible to imagine Ole Miss missing the postseason once again, and then the heat would really be on.