Offense Comes Alive in Ole Miss Saturday Scrimmage

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI/Ole Miss Athletics) – After struggling last time out, the Ole Miss offense bounced back Saturday in the Rebels’ 11th practice and second full-scale scrimmage of spring drills.

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Senior quarterback Barry Brunetti was a big part of the Rebel offense coming alive in the first scrimmage of the spring season.

Friday’s practice was dominated by the defense, but in today’s morning scrimmage at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the Rebel offense showed better energy and was able to move the ball.

“They responded which is what you hope to see,” said Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze. “No question they had more passion and determination to do some things that were positive today. I’m proud of the offensive staff and the way those guys responded to yesterday’s beatdown.

“It’s good to go back and forth. That’s what good teams do. I know the defense will respond. They won’t be happy with the performance today, and they will come back and we will have some back and forth next week I’m sure.”

Junior quarterback Bo Wallace, who started all 13 games last year, is recovering from clavicle surgery, which has left senior Barry Brunetti and sophomore Maikhail Miller taking the snaps under center this spring. For Saturday’s scrimmage, Freeze elected to go full contact with the QBs, allowing them to take advantage of option plays.

“If we have two or three guys, I usually tend do to that somewhere towards the end of spring each year,” Freeze said. “I don’t really do that a lot in the fall, but some of it had to do with how poorly we did yesterday. I had a feeling we could get some quarterback runs with Barry and Maikhail and make us more successful.”

Wallace, the 2012 Conerly Trophy recipient, is among several Rebels held out of spring practices due to injury, but Freeze said the staff chooses not focus on that.

“I can’t afford to worry about that,” he said. “Obviously it’s a concern not having him, Aaron Morris, Donte Moncief, Korvic Neat and on and on. But it’s not something that I have to worry about, and it’s not something I dwell on.”

The final week of the Rebels’ spring will consist of 8 a.m. practices on Monday, Wednesday and Friday before suiting up for the BancorpSouth Grove Bowl Saturday at 1 p.m. at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Admission to the game is free this year, and the game will be televised live by CSS.

All spring practices are open to the public. Use of cell phones and cameras are prohibited for fans at practice, and fans must remain in the designated area. Fans are not allowed between the practice fields. Check the OleMissSports.com football home page for an updated schedule of practice times and locations.

Among the festivities surrounding BancorpSouth Grove Bowl week is Saturday morning’s Chucky Mullins Award Ceremony, which will be a breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at the Jackson Avenue Center (old Wal-Mart building). Tickets are now available for the event by visiting the OleMissSports.com ticket site or calling 888-REB-TKTS.