Friday Morning Reading

One week from today, the first SEC game will be in the books. Just one more week...

* Pot, meet kettle. Is it just me or is a Duke fan calling the 2008 Ole Miss Rebels mediocre just a wee bit silly? The fact that the groundwork for our recent 4 year coma was laid by now Duke head coach David Cutcliffe and his utter refusal to recruit or hire a competent staff makes the irony just a little sweeter.

* Nothing groundbreaking here, but a nice read on Snead's path to Ole Miss and expectations for 2009 in The USA Today.

* I wonder what Beck Campbell and her precious little snowflake Mitch Mustain think about this. It's actually a sad tale of what overprotective, overzealous parents can do to a kid.

* A couple of things struck me from this article in The Sun Herald. First, I'm impressed they were able to publish an article mentioning Ole Miss football without also publicly lamenting the fact that Ole Miss and Mississippi State won't play Southern Miss in football. Secondly, who the hell wrote the caption for that picture of Tyson Lee? His mom?

Mississippi State quarterback Tyson Lee passes the ball during practice in Starkville. Lee, the 5-foot-10 senior from Columbus, is the gutsy team leader who overcame physical disadvantages last season with brains and heart, and is the current front runner for the starting position.

* This proves 2 things: Preseason polls are worthless and Jim Leavitt is a douchebag.

* Former Ole Miss tennis star Devin Britton drew a first round matchup with Roger Federer in the US Open.

Monday Morning Munchies

* Bad day yesterday for Tony Fein. It seems that he was put in an awkward situation by some overzealous employees, but you've got to keep your cool, particularly a guy of Fein's stature where every move is exaggerated.

* The Commercial Appeal has a nice read up about Jevan Snead.

* The Quad, the surprisingly good sports blog at The New York Times, has the Rebels ranked #13 in the preseason and offers one of the most in-depth previews I've come across.

* I'm as excited as the next guy about seeing Raymond Cotton in action, I just hope it's not this year. Barring any disastrous injuries to other QBs, I think he'd benefit greatly from a year on the scout team.

* If there's a more blatant homer in the "national media" than Lou Holtz, I'd like to know who it is. The good doctor and future senator has proclaimed that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on Florida in the national title game this season. As much as I would like to see a 35-point Florida win over the Irish, I'd rather not see the Irish taking a BCS berth from a much more capable and deserving team.

SEC Offensive Skill Players rankings, per Chris Low

He's very high on the quarterbacks (#2) and wide receivers (#1), but not so high on the running backs (#7).

Unless you're Steve Spurrier, the quarterback ranking goes without saying. Jevan Snead is the best pro prospect quarterback in the league, but should certainly rank behind Tim Tebow as a college quarterback. The wide receiver rating wasn't unexpected either as the Rebels are extremely deep there and catching passes from Snead is going to boost anyone's numbers.

I do think, by the end of the season at least, that we will rank much higher in the running back ratings. He has this to say about our stable of backs:

7. Ole Miss: It will be interesting to see how the rotation shakes out at Ole Miss. Brandon Bolden is the No. 1 guy right now, but Cordera Eason has looked a step faster in the preseason. Enrique Davis has a world of talent, and the coaches really like sophomore Devin Thomas and true freshman Tim Simon.

It's not really the top 3 teams I have an issue with. LSU was predictably first with (overrated) Chares Scott leading the way and Michael Smith and crew landed Arkansas #2. Florida RBs, who Low ranks #3, are hard to get a real read on because of the style of offense that the Gators run, but there's no denying they'll be productive.

Low also ranked Alabama, Mississippi State, and Auburn (AUBURN?) ahead of the Rebels. In his brief synopsis of Alabama's RBs, he points out that this pick is dependent on a variety of factors. With Alabama's green offensive line this year and a new QB, I don't know that the Tide will match last year's production.

As for State, sure Dixon's a good back and he's been around forever, but how effective is he going to be in such an impotent offense?

But the biggest problem I have is Auburn being ranked ahead of the Rebels. I get that when there's a running back by committee like the Rebels have, it can tough to gauge the talent level of each back effectively, but these rankings are for units as a whole. The Rebels averaged nearly 50 more rushing ypg last year (186.5 ypg to 137.5 ypg). The Rebels ranked 2nd in ypg, Auburn ranked 6th. Ben Tate, who Low singles out, averaged 55 ypg and scored a whopping 3 TDs.

That hardly sounds like a team that should be ranked ahead of the much more explosive Rebels.

Midweek Munchies

* Tony Barnhart thinks Peria Jerry will be missed

* Hesiman Pundit ranks Jevan Snead 8th in Heisman Poll

* Phil Fulmer wants back in coaching. When asked about Lane Kiffin he says "if you’re going to be brash you better be able to back it up". And if you have any extra donuts, you better share them.

* Check out my interview over at GatorsFirst.com

Embrace the hype. Love the Hype. Resistance is Futile.

26 days until the Rebels hang 50 on Memphis.

Friday Lunchtime Links

* This is a good read about Tony Fein and his winding path to Ole Miss and now the Ravens. Fein joins former Rebel teammates Michael Oher and Jason Cook as those competing for a spot on the roster.

* Looks like Lou Holtz will lisping and drooling next to Mark May for the foreseeable future. It's a shame really... his pep talks could have been just what people needed after being subjected to Corrine Brown.

* Ed Orgeron is making his presence felt in Knoxville. Lane Kiffin even drops this bomb about EOr:

this is somebody who can run our program exactly the way we need it run to be a national championship team

Yep, as long as you keep him away from microphones, staff hirings, the offense, and overall game planning, he's an effective coach.

* The Toccoa Record feels Javan Snead won't lead the Rebels to a Western Division title this year. Is that Jevan's less talented twin?

* In Alabama, there's a new play entitled Bear Country. There's a reason the old joke "What's the difference between a maggot and a Tide fan?" has stuck around so long

* JuCo All American over at RCR gets a little more in-depth in his rebuttal than I did of ATVS's thesis on why the Rebels won't win the West this season. Take a look when you get a chance.

In response to ATVS

I wanted to take a minute to respond to this post from And The Valley Shook, a very well done LSU blog. It's a fairly in-depth rundown of why Ole Miss won't win the West this year, and unlike Finebaum's pointless rant, actually offers some research.

Take this quote for example:

But this is a team that has to improve in order to win the division, and I don't see that improvement. I believe that it will be a major challenge to merely maintain the massive improvement the program made last season. I actually believe Nutt is up for that challenge, but expecting more seems a tad unrealistic. The jury is still out on whether last season was a one-year aberration or a new level for Ole Miss. The most likely answer is that the truth lies somewhere in between.

I take umbrage with a few points in that paragraph, and not just the misuse of the word "massive".

• First, I'm not sure how much the Rebels actually have to improve to win the division this year. I'd say there's signiifcantly more pressure on LSU to get better, particularly when they're building their offense around an unproven and (at least in my eyes) overrated commodity in Jordan Jefferson. There's also a lot of pressure on Alabama to simply maintain what they were last year with the loss of a senior QB, a huge chunk of their OL and some key defensive losses. Arkansas has the potential to be the most improved overall, but a killer schedule leaves them a year away from a run at the SEC West. Auburn and MSU are non-factors in the grand scheme of things.


• As for not seeing the improvement, considering the Rebels haven't even reported yet, that's a bold statement. No one will see any improvement or steps back until the product hits the field next week. And it'll most likely be the South Carolina game before the Rebels are faced with an imposing test, and that'll give Nutt and staff two games and an off week to rectify any problems. While everyone else in the West is trying to get their offense in sync, Snead and crew will be hanging 50+ on Memphis and SELA.


• Earlier in the post, he says that last year was good, but not great, which I agree with. The last 6 games were fantastic, but the seaon as a whole left something to be desired. But his sentence wondering whether 2008 was a one-year abberation or a new level for Ole Miss shows a subtle disrespect for the Rebels. Wiith a legitimate head coach in place for the first time since Pine Box Tommy skated town under a cloak of darkness and the current and incoming talent pool, there's no reason that the Rebels can't maintain a degree of success similar to 2008. It wasn't all that long ago that Ole Miss took 4/5 from the Tigers before the dark days of EOr ran the ship ashore.

Tuesday Linkage

* An amusing read from Souvenir City about a Big12 Rivals writer calling the SEC Overated.

* Reason #4,576 that SEC Football is the best in the land... Houston Nutt is in the top 10% nationwide for salaries, which is good enough to land him 6th in the SEC.

* Reason #4,577 that SEC Football is the best in the land... This quote right here from The Daily Illini:

Reporters at Big Ten Media Days didn't focus on Tebow, but there was no shortage of discussion on the SEC.

While I wasn't at SEC Media days, I feel certain that Houston Nutt, Urban Myer, Lane Kiffin, et al, weren't fielding questions comapring the SEC to the Big 10.

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez even had this to say:

"I think our league is poised to have a big bowl performance situation very, very soon if you look at who's coming back in our league and the teams ... As a league, once we get a few big wins, whether it's regular season, nonconference, a BCS bowl or bowl games, that perception will change,"

Talking about it and doing it are two completely different animals though. Talking about it won't make the players in the Big10 bigger, stronger, faster, better. That's the difference between the leagues right now... not perception.

* There's a piece in The Sun Herald today that really offers no newsworthy information... lots of hype in Oxford, Jevan Snead is good, Paul Finebaum is an idiot, Ole Miss has never to Atlanta, etc. But I did want to make a comment or two on this excerpt:

Ole Miss is generating this buzz based on three or four things:

1) The Rebels are loaded on the defensive line, even after Peria Jerry’s departure;

2) They waylaid LSU at Tiger Stadium, and were the only team to beat Tim Tebow and Florida in 2008;

3) They can score points in bunches and move the football, whether they’re in their conventional offense or Houston Nutt’s beloved “Wild Rebel” scheme;

4) And most important, they’ve got a big-time quarterback.

I'll grant Mashek that those are all major factors in the hype. It certainly doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure that out. But in no way shape or form is that the limit of what is generating this buzz. Here are 3 more that popped into my head while I read this.

• The Rebels have as strong a stable of running backs as they ever have. Their ability to break away is key to Jevan Snead having space to throw in


• Alabama and LSU both come to Oxford this year


• And, perhaps most importantly, the other starting QBs in the division have yet to prove themselves on the field. Ryan Mallett seems to be regarded as the best of the bunch, but he's going to be working behind a patchwork OL, runs about a 10.9 40, and struggled mightily against Big10 defenses. Jordan Jefferson and Greg McElroy will be working with talent around them, but are unproven commodities at this point. Snead is the only one in the West, and one of two in the conference, that you know what you're going to get on a week to week basis.

Links for a rainy Thursday

* The Tuscaloosa News has a good read about Jevan Snead and his winding road to Oxofrd.

* Jamar Hornsby is likely to be indicted this week. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we need to cut all ties with Hornsby sooner rather than later. His recruitment and commitment have been nothing but embarassing train wrecks for the program and there is far too much at stake this season to jeopardize it on this assclown. He's blown through his full allotment of second chances. Set him free to play in the Mississippi Penal League.

* John Adams has an brief breakdown of how the schedules shake out for every SEC team.

Because you really can't ever beat a dead horse enough

In what basically reads like a Southern Miss fan message board post, The Sun Herald editorial board proposes the novel concept that Ole Miss and Mississippi State should be ashamed of themselves for not subsidizing the Southern Miss football program. Even the headline - "It's what the people want" - shows the delusion has permeated the media. What "people" did they talk to? Southern Miss fans obviously. I know of very few Ole Miss or Mississippi State fans that want anything to do with the Southern Miss football program.

It's a lose-lose situation for either in-state SEC school. A win is a win over a CUSA school, a loss would be absolutely disastrous for recruiting and message board reading. With Nutt at the helm and the recent influx of talent to the Rebel program, I don't think a loss would be a realistic possibility, but the risk - however minimal - outweighs the benefits, which are basically non-existent.

Sure USM would look better than most or all of our 2009 OOC opponents, but this year is something of an aberration regarding scheduling. With upcoming games against BCS opponents as well as Tulane - which offers the best regional road trip - there's nothing appealing about such a series. Who wants to go spend a day in Hattiesburg?

I'm a big proponent of the baseball and current basketball series. One of the most exciting basketball games I've ever attended 113-107 2OT game in late 1995. The neutral site locations for the games certainly add some excitement to the series, but basketball and baseball are completely different animals than football, particularly in Mississippi.

Then there's this:

Gov. Haley Barbour and the Legislature should serve notice that Ole Miss, Southern and State will compete annually in major college sports. Because it is in the economic interest of taxpayers. Because it would be public policy that would bolster pride in the state’s athletic community.

Yep, that sounds about right. Mississippi has solved all its other problems and economic woes. It's time for federally-mandated football games. Bravo.

And, for your viewing pleasure, here's a completely uninformative blog entry from the SEC football mecca of Seattle. Ole Miss is listed as a possible team "from a BCS Conference who traditionally doesn't sit atop their conference (that could) have a great season and shake things up like Texas Tech did last year or like Kansas the year before."

Basic recap:
- Rebels have good QB with cool name
- Snead is getting unwarranted Heisman hype
- OMGWTFBBQ! Jevan Snead is white
- Picture of Jevan Snead and his whiteness
- Rundown of favorable schedule

Enjoy.

Coaches Pre-Season All-SEC Team Announced

It was posted here on the official conference site and raises some interesting questions.

John Jerry and Greg Hardy both landed 1st team nods, Dexter McCluster and Jevan Snead earned 2nd team nods, and Shay Hodge, Marcus Tillman, and Joshua Shene wound up on the 3rd team. Not a bad showing for the Rebels.

One thing of note though... three player were unanimous first teamers: Eric Berry, Ciron Black, and Julio Jones. Not Tim Tebow though. While he's the obvious choice as first team QB, there was at least one dissenter along the way and my guess would be Mr. Kiffin. And, by the way, I know Julio is great and all, but how is he unanimous and AJ Green isn't? Green's numbers were better than Jones' last year.

Speaking of quarterbacks, it's a sad state of affairs when the 3rd team nod gets split between Stephen Garcia and Mike Hartline. Those two combined for 2498 yards with a 15/16 TD/INT ratio. I'd say that Mallett or Cox will end up 3rd team. I'd even take McElroy before either Garcia or Hartline.

I also think it's interesting that no Rebel RB made the list. I know that the depth Nutt has at his disposal hurts individual numbers, but gimme Brandon Bolden over any back in the league except for Charles Scott. Michael Smith will put up gaudy numbers as the featured back at Arkansas, but if I need 2 yards, I'll take Scott or Bolden over anyone else.

Thursday Links

* As I predicted – not that I really went out on a limb – Chris Low ranks Jevan Snead the 3rd best player in the SEC. It’s hard to really disagree with him. Snead’s talents are best summed up in this sentence:

He's the kind of talent at quarterback that doesn't come along very often, and more importantly, the kind of talent you build championship teams around.

That leaves only UT DB Eric Berry and that one dude who plays QB at Florida… whatever his name is. If you were going to have a draft to start a college team, each would likely be the #1 overall pick for their side of the ball. Tebow and Berry are once a decade talents that have dominated their positions for the last 2 years. As good as Snead is, the gap between 2nd best and 3rd best players in the SEC is very, very big.

* Low also has a good read up entitled Simply Loaded in the SEC and looks at the stoutest units in the conference. Predictably, the stable of studs that Nutt and Nix have available at DL is mentioned:

Former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron obviously knew a thing or two about recruiting and developing defensive linemen. The Rebels will go about eight deep across the defensive front in 2009, and that's after losing first-round draft pick Peria Jerry. Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt says pass-rushing extraordinaire Greg Hardy is dialed in mentally like he hasn't seen him, and tackle Jerrell Powe lost weight and is coming off a stellar spring. Ends Marcus Tillman and Kentrell Lockett combined for 17.5 tackles for loss last season, and both are dynamic leaders. Ted Laurent, Lawon Scott and Justin Smith make for an imposing trio on the inside.

Other units mentioned are the Alabama DL, the LSU secondary, the UGA OL, the Arkansas WRs, and the UF secondary (which is doing just fine thanks since parting ways with the cancerous Jamar Hornsby.)

* Ole Miss guard Terrico White and 16 players you’ve probably never heard of were invited to the Team USA U19 Trials in Colorado Springs, CO.

Glancing over the roster, it appears that Terrico has a legitimate shot at making the roster. This is a great chance for him to get in some additional live game action and hopefully develop a little more reliable outside jumper. If he can consistently knock down an open 15-20 foot jump shot next season, it will open up world of possibilities for him and the Rebel offense in general.

Tuesday Things

* Chris Low rates Greg Hardy the 9th best player in the SEC. He sums up the essence of Greg Hardy in his first two sentences: “ Let's be honest here. Hardy has at times been a bit of an enigma.” When Hardy is healthy and properly focused and motivated, there are few offensive linemen who can match up with him one on one. He’s too quick and too good a slasher. With Peria Jerry gone, Hardy will be key to drawing double teams to let Patrick Trahan and others make plays in space.

My guess is that Jevan Snead ranks #3 in the conference behind Eric Berry and Tim Tebow. Or at least that’s how I’d rank them. Off the top of my head, in random order, Brandon Spikes, Rolando McClain, AJ Green, and Julio Jones will also be in the top 10. Who am I missing?

* The one thing Dan Mullen really had going for him so far this spring was he seemed to be the only rookie coach in the conference not making a spectacle of himself. Gene Chizik and his limos were all over the media and blogosphere. Lane Kiffin… well, that one speaks for itself. But Mullen seemed to just be going about his business. Until now.

Mullen used his recent stop at the Vestavia Country Club on his Bulldog Club tours to take jabs at Chizik and Kiffin. That’s most likely harmless as neither will be able to extract a painful revenge this season. Auburn and mitippi tate set modern football back 50 years with their heinous 3-2 game last year and Auburn won’t be blowing anyone out this season. And the bulldogs don’t face Tennessee in 2009, so no vengeance there.

Then Mullen decided to take a page out of the official “moou handbook for pandering to fans” and refer to Ole Miss by another name.

Go ahead, ask the New Hampshire native if he's already been introduced to his new school's rivalry with Ole Miss.

"The team up north?" he said. "We call them the team up north. I don't like to cuss by using the word that you just used."

That’s all fine and well. He needs to save up his profanities for when the season starts. This year’s Egg Bowl score may not be much different than the glorious 45-0 trouncing last year. I have a feeling that Mr. Mullen will be making up for lost profanities by the time the 4th quarter runs down to 0:00 this year.

* The All-SEC Baseball teams were announced and a big Dead Guy congratulations go out to first-teamer Jordan Henry and second-teamers Drew Pomeranz and Scott Bittle. Honestly, the Rebels weren’t as well represented as they should’ve been. Leaving Jake Morgan off is ridiculous. His numbers were fantastic – 7 Saves and a 1.29 ERA – but his emergence let us move Bittle to the starting rotation which turned our conference season around. David Brandt views it this way:

But really, as hokey as it may sound, this team hasn't been about individual honors. Almost every Ole Miss play(er) has good stats, but very few of them (except guys like Henry and Bittle) made you look at the numbers and immediately crown them All-SEC.

But hey, at least Alabama landed 5 guys on the first team alone.

* This is from last week, but somehow I missed it: Tommy Tuberville will talk SEC Football on BusterSports.com in 2009. In addition to radio appearances and podcast, he’ll interact directly with SEC fans through chat rooms, message boards, and call in questions.

After being tarred and feathered and run out of Auburn, it will probably be nice to take a year off and merely talk about the conference he coached in for nearly a decade and a half.

* After one of the worst years in recent memory, SEC basketball continues to improve itself for the 2009-10 season. With an influx of new coaches, including John Calipari, the league is set to return to relevance next season and prominence the year after that.

Calipari’s signing of John Wall to Kentucky will land the ‘Cats in the top 10 preseason. As the “basketball face” of the league, UK’s recent struggles under Billy Gilispie marred not only the school’s reputation, but also the conference’s as a whole. While I’m certainly not a Calipari fan, there’s no denying his impact.

Jevan Snead with Kirk Herbstriet

This has been around for a couple of days now, but it's worth checking out if you've missed it

Rebels in the 2010 NFL Draft

With the 2009 NFL draft now just a blip in history, it’s obviously time to get mock drafts together for 2010. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports offers his here, and projects Jevan Snead as the No.1 pick next year and lists Greg Hardy as No. 8. He says this about Snead:

An early look to next year's draft shows a class that could be quarterback heavy. My top guy, as always, is a quarterback. It's not who you think. It's not Oklahoma's Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy of Texas or even Florida's Tim Tebow.

It's Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead. Entering his junior year, this transfer from Texas has everything
I love in a quarterback. He has good size at 6-3, a rocket for an arm and sees the field.

He transferred from Texas because of McCoy. But I think come next April he will be the first pick in the draft. Snead, if he gives up his senior year, is next year's Matt Stafford.

Andrew Perloff of Sports Illustrated offers his here. He ventures to project the order of the draft and has Hardy going 18th to the Seahawks and Snead going 25th to the 49ers. Then there's this from Sports Illustrated that ranks Hardy #1 and Snead #32.

With a chance the NFL rookie salary cap comes to fruition in the 2011 season, I wouldn’t be surprised to Snead come out early, particularly if he plays like he did in the final 6 games of last season. The 3 consecutive throws he made to McCluster, Summers, and Wallace against LSU were as good as any throws any Rebel QB has made in a long, long time, including Eli.

With 2009 being the first draft the Rebels have ever had 2 players drafted in the first round, accomplishing it two years in a row would be a big statement for the program, particularly with the sad W/L record compiled in the EOr era. Nutt and his staff have done a good job replacing the outgoing talent, and while it remains to be seen whether it blossoms on the field, prospects are certainly high.

And if Snead is indeed gone after next season, here's hoping he goes out with an SEC title game appearance on his resume.

Spring Football Preview

Spring Football kicks off in Oxford tomorrow and Rivals has their preview up. As of now, it's on the front page of Yahoo! Sports College Football page.

There's nothing earth shattering there really, just more of the same: 2009 brings higher expectations than we've had in a long time, how will we handle it?, who replaces Oher and Peria, which Greg Hardy will show up, etc. It's a good read though and it uses the word "plethora" twice, which makes El Guapo happy.